More than 45,000 students across Germany joined protests against plans for compulsory military service, with demonstrations held in over 100 cities.

The protests began after the Defense Ministry started calling 18-year-old men for medical screenings under a new military service law.

While the system remains voluntary, students argue the government is moving toward a gradual return of conscription.

French President Macron said he will leave office in 2027 due to term limits but did not rule out a future return to the presidency.

In an interview with Variety, Macron said the Constitution allows only two consecutive terms, meaning he will leave after his second term, but added: “I don’t exclude anything.”

Peter Thiel on Trump terms:

I think the two administrations kind of made opposite mistakes.

The first administration brought in all these people who couldn’t agree, and it was just all this internal fighting.

The second administration overcorrected for the mistake of the first term with all these loyalty tests.

You got sort of an administration staffed by not very smart but very loyal people.

Peter Thiel on the Antichrist:

I think everybody says that the Antichrist is a crazy idea, and the reality is they actually secretly agree with me.

Peter Thiel on Germany:

It’s very important for us to find a way to turn Germany around. It’s at the heart of Europe. Europe is still at the core of Western civilization.

Peter Thiel on the 2028 election:

I am still a Vance partisan. I worry that it will be very hard for either Vance or Rubio to win.

I think there's a decent chance that it will not even be close.

Azerbaijani FM Bayramov:

Even though the decades-long conflict with Armenia brought immense tragedy to our people and left deep scars across our land, Azerbaijan has chosen to look ahead and turn the page of enmity.

We offered Armenia peace fully in line with norms and principles of international law based on mutual recognition of and respect for each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Mexico's Foreign Minister Velasco Álvarez:

For the first time in two centuries of independent life, Mexico is being governed by a woman.

She's not governing alone either. She has a cabinet with gender parity, a congress with gender parity, and a reform that made substantive equality a constitutional mandate.

And today, girls in Mexico grow up knowing that they can achieve anything they want to.

Trump Rejects Iran Ceasefire Proposal, Expects Strikes After Midterms

Trump has rejected a proposed seven-day pause that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, as he privately considers another bombing campaign after November’s midterms.

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German Foreign Minister Wadephul on Putin’s G20 invitation:

I believe that this invitation will be a litmus test really also for Putin to negotiate. These kinds of opportunities one would have to take advantage of.

We have repeatedly asked the Russian government and Putin to come to the negotiating table, and if it is a possibility, then perhaps it would be at least a start to serious negotiations.

Intelligence Watchdog Probes How Officer Deceived CIA for $40M in Gold

The intelligence community’s inspector general is examining how CIA vetted David Rush and the extent of his alleged misconduct after investigators found 303 gold bars at his home.

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Kimberly Guilfoyle, the U.S. ambassador to Greece, has faced scrutiny over remarks she allegedly made during a private dinner in Athens in March 2026.

The discussion at the dinner, attended by Greek and U.S. officials, turned to the collapse of the Romanian government. A person who attended the dinner and others briefed on the exchange said Guilfoyle remarked:

“We can do that to any country we want. We can do that here.”

The comment reportedly led to a tense exchange with Greece’s energy minister Stavros Papastavrou, who responded that the U.S. could not replace Greece’s government, which was elected by voters.

Source: WSJ

Saudi Arabia Has Not Ruled Out Nuclear Weapons, US Intelligence Says

A classified US assessment says Riyadh has not excluded a weapons program, as Congress reviews a civil nuclear deal that could eventually allow uranium enrichment of up to 20%.

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Peter Thiel on Germany:

In the U.S., nine out of 12 of the youngest wealthy people made their own money. In Germany, all 20 inherited it. Not a single person built a large new scalable company.

French Presidential Candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon:

I support Russia withdrawing from Ukraine because we French cannot accept in any way that any problem is solved through the invasion of a neighbor.

And we have experience with this. We have been invaded four times by our neighbor.

Therefore, ultimately, a French person cannot accept that problems are solved in Europe through invasion.

French Presidential Candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon:

Now, if Trump brings Putin to the G20, it seems to me that the first question we have to ask is: why are you bringing him there? What do you expect from it?

Is something going to be on the table? If there is nothing on the table, there is no point in him coming.

We would already tell him: start by withdrawing from Ukraine, and then we could, for example, before bringing him to the G20, explain what our conditions are.

WATCH: Woman wearing "Israel Kills Children" shirt gets harassed outside a kosher bakery in LA's Pico-Robertson.

YULA High School students surrounded her, chanting "Am Yisrael Chai" and waving Israeli flags.

French Presidential Candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon:

Where are the U.S. nuclear weapons located? In Germany. In Germany.

So our neighboring country that wants to have the largest conventional army has on its territory the U.S. nuclear weapons that could potentially cause them to receive a strike in return.

French Presidential Candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon:

There is history, after all. I know that it does not count for everyone, but for me it counts.

I have never believed that the Germans crossed borders so many times simply because they liked crossing borders. There are certain factors that led them, several times in history, to cross borders.

I do not see that their geographical position has changed.

OpenAI AI agents accessed U.S. government websites during testing after behaving unexpectedly.

The agents accessed Commerce Department and SEC websites, where they copied public SEC data and used a Census data API in an unintended way. OpenAI described the activity as “misaligned” behavior.

The company began investigating in late July and later notified the agencies. OpenAI said most activity involved routine research tasks, but some agents showed unexpected actions such as bypassing rate limits, creating fake email addresses and falsely claiming not to be bots.

The SEC said no nonpublic information was accessed, while the Education Department reported no impact from a separate alleged incident.

Source: WSJ

Europe’s Far Right is Rising, but Power Remains a Different Test

AfD won two eastern German state elections, National Rally is preparing for France’s presidential race, and Reform UK remains competitive. Their next obstacle: turning support into power.

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