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The leading Balkan news channel in English on Telegram.
—☪️ 🇦🇱/🇨🇭 NEW: The Albanian Muslim community has withdrawn its plan to turn the historic Läufferhaus in the village of Siebnen, canton Schwyz, into an Islamic cultural center after a residents’ petition opposing the project gathered around 5,000 signatures, largely organized by the conservative SVP.
➡️ The association says it is shelving the project “for now” and will seek an alternative location in consultation with local authorities to avoid further tensions.
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
—🇽🇰/🇷🇸/🇷🇺 NEW: Kosovo PM Albin Kurti told the London Defence Conference that Serbia is acting as a proxy of Russia.
➡️ He claimed there are 48 Serbian forward operational bases around Kosovo’s border, all located inside what is formally designated as the NATO security zone.
➡️ He added that the Kremlin maintains an office within Serbia’s Ministry of Defense in Belgrade and that the Balkan regional centers of Russia Today and Sputnik are based in Serbia.
🗒 Note: the picture just illustrates the claims of PM Kurti but does not assume they are true.
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
—🇮🇱/🇽🇰/🇵🇸 NEW: Israel has welcomed Kosovo’s readiness to contribute to peace efforts in Gaza, with Ambassador Tamar Ziv stressing that the move reflects growing ties between the two countries.
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
—❗️🇷🇸 NEW: Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said the man behind the planned attack on the Balkan Stream gas pipeline previously held a military rank in his home country’s army before defecting, linking the foiled sabotage near Kanjiža to an individual with formal military training.
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
—🇺🇸/🇷🇸 (🇧🇦) WATCH: Donald Trump Jr said Republika Srpska has “great energy potential” and educated, hardworking people, calling it a major opportunity for US companies to invest during an interview with filmmaker Boris Malagurski in Banja Luka.
➡️ His visit, framed around business and investment outreach, highlighted hydropower and cheap electricity as key advantages for the entity in attracting American capital.
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
—🇲🇩/🇪🇺/🇷🇺 NEW: Moldova has formally requested accelerated EU accession and pledged to contribute to European security, arguing it brings “battle-tested” experience in countering Russian hybrid threats, including disinformation, cyberattacks and election interference.
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
🇬🇷🇹🇷 — Turkey’s foreign ministry accuses Greece of violating the rights of Muslims in Western Thrace (statement)
Читать полностью…
—🇧🇬 NEW: With each election cycle, the Ministry of Interior conducts police operations targeting vote-buying practices.
➡️ Following the launch of the campaign for the April elections, more than 50 individuals have already been detained in connection with vote-buying schemes representing a 300–400% increase compared to the 2024 elections.
➡️ Notably, these are the first elections in which the party led by Delyan Peevski is participating independently, after splitting from Ahmed Dogan.
➡️ Observers suggest that this development may be a contributing factor to the reported rise in vote-buying activities.
ℹ️ Information reported by our source in Bulgaria.
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
—🇪🇸/🇹🇷/🇮🇹 NATO’s Mediterranean Triad is officially rising:
1. Spain helps Turkey build a carrier;
2. Turkey fills it with homegrown drones;
3. Italy partners with Turkey in aerospace;
4. Italy buys those drones for its own carrier;
NATO’s southern flank is rewriting the playbook!
🔗 Soner Cagaptay
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
—Dear Friends, I'm extremely busy these days at a personal level. Not a big deal, but if you see a decline in the number of posts, it's because of that, and it's temporary.
Читать полностью…
🇺🇦🇧🇬 Ukraine signed a 10-year defence agreement with Bulgaria, a major arms and ammo manufacturer, covering production of drones and other weapons.
According to government data, nearly 4% of Bulgaria's GDP comes from the defence industry, which has thrived since Russia started the war in Ukraine in 2022.
The arms deal with Bulgaria follows other agreements Ukraine signed with the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar during Zelensky's recent tour to the Gulf states.
—✝️ 🇻🇦 Quote from the reflection of His Beatitude the Patriarch on Palm Sunday:
Jesus keeps silent, not because he has nothing to say, but because he does not want to enter into the logic of verbal violence; his silence is a refusal to participate in the game of crushing power, it is a silence that does not feed the circle of hatred and evil, and does not want to cause harm to anyone.
—❗️✝️ URGENT: For the first time in centuries, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and the official Custodian of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre were blocked by Israeli authorities from entering the church to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass one of the holiest days in the Christian calendar.
➡️ The Latin Patriarchate called it a grave precedent that ignores the sensitivities of billions of people worldwide. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called it unacceptable and instructed Italy’s ambassador in Israel to formally protest.
🔗 GeoInsider
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
🇷🇴🇮🇷 Romania is considering sending troops for missions in the Strait of Hormuz!
Defense Minister Radu Miruță announced that Romania is considering the possibility of sending troops to support mine clearance operations in the Strait of Hormuz area, in the context of tensions in the Middle East.
According to the official, a final decision has not yet been made, as coordination with allied states and an assessment of operational needs are necessary. Romania's participation could include staff officers, information exchange and personnel specialized in mine clearance, given the experience gained in the Black Sea in recent years.
The statement comes after Nicușor Dan announced that Romania has joined an international initiative to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, along with states such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan.
The Minister of Defense emphasized that the concrete involvement will be determined "at the right time", depending on the evolution of the situation and the decisions of international partners.
@Wallachian_Gazette
—🇺🇸/🇸🇦 WATCH: President Trump mocks Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Bin Salman.
He didn’t think he would be kissing my ass, he really didn’t… and now he has to be nice to me… he better be nice to me, he’s gotta be.
—🇸🇮 NEW: Zoran Stevanović, leader of the Resnica (Truth) party, has been elected Speaker of Slovenia’s parliament with 48 votes in a secret ballot, backed by the Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) of Janez Janša and other center-right allies.
➡️ His election strengthens the emerging center-right bloc and increases the likelihood that SDS leader Janez Janša will assemble the numbers for a fourth government once coalition negotiations conclude.
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
—🇲🇩/🇲🇩 NEW: The Transnistrian de facto authorities in Tiraspol have requested a meeting with the Moldovan government in Chișinău, officially citing the need for guarantees for Transnistria’s residents and their return to permanent places of residence.
➡️ The move appears prompted by Moldova’s withdrawal of citizenship from separatist figure Mova and the refusal to allow him entry into the country.
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
—❗️🇺🇸/🇷🇴/🇷🇺 Romanian President Nicușor Dan:
The FBI, alongside partners including the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI), have announced the disruption of a sustained cyberattack targeting sensitive infrastructure in several Western states.
Cyber operatives associated with the GRU (the Russian military intelligence service) were collecting military, governmental, and critical infrastructure-related information.
Russia therefore continues its hybrid war against Western countries - only those acting in bad faith could fail to see this.
Romania must improve its cybersecurity and continue to coordinate with Western partners on these matters.
—🇧🇦/🇺🇸 NEW: The House of Representatives of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has amended the Law on the Southern Interconnection, clearing the way for a U.S. investor to build a new pipeline to bring American gas into the country.
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
—❗️🇪🇺❌🇷🇸 NEW: Serbia risks losing up to €1.5 billion in EU funding as the European Commission considers suspending payments over democratic backsliding, judicial concerns and Belgrade’s close ties with Russia, according to Politico.
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
—🇲🇩/🇪🇺/🇲🇩 NEW: Moldova has proposed that the EU assume temporary external administration of the breakaway region of Transnistria to facilitate its peaceful reintegration into Moldova.
➡️ Brussels would manage a convergence fund focused on social aid and key infrastructure projects in the territory.
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
JUST IN: 🇺🇸🇮🇷 President Trump says US and Iran may launch joint venture to charge tolls in the Strait of Hormuz.
@WatcherGuru
—🇮🇱/🇷🇸 NEW: Israel and Serbia are tightening defense ties as Belgrade prepares to manufacture drones in cooperation with Israeli arms giant Elbit Systems.
➡️ This comes together with expanded Serbian arms exports that include major orders for Elbit-produced artillery, missiles and advanced UAVs, according to Israel’s Haaretz daily.
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
BREAKING: 🇺🇸🇮🇷 US and Iran agree to 2-week ceasefire, completely reopening Strait of Hormuz.
@WatcherGuru
🟨📉The most recent intention poll shows AUR dropped to 33%.
CURS, the agency that conducted the poll, usually had AUR stagnating at 35%, while giving SOS 5% and POT 2%. Now, the entire sovereigntist pole went from 43% to 40%.
It also seems that the parliamentary parties, both in coalition and opposition, only have 94% of voting intentions, leaving 6% to other parties. This makes me speculate where votes have been migrating to, for the last two months:
AUR (-): AUR's lost votes are likely going to SOS, or back to PSD, since they have been very hostile to them in the recent weeks (PSD voters are mostly elders, who are socially conservative and view AUR as the second best option after the social-democrats).
PSD (+): The only party in the coalition that gained popularity is likely getting their support back from those who drifted towards AUR.
PNL (-): The National Liberal Party's disappointed supporters probably have no other choice, and can only nullify their voice by not voting at all. It's popularity dropped in the last two months, but is overall doing better than how it started after the 2024 elections.
USR (-): The disappointed progressives are definetly migrating to SENS. This is worrying.
UDMR (±): Magyars are always going to vote the same, so it is obvious that they are always going to be at 5-6%.
SOS (-): Șoșoacă's party is fully reliant on Romanians who don't see AUR as 'enough', but are still scared that their votes might be wasted if they don't pass the electoral threshold in 2028.
POT (+): I don't know why these guys are still trying. My guess is that Gavrilă wants to negotiate a few seats for her colleagues on the AUR electoral lists, and until then are still going to campaign for a bit of support.
I think that this should be a wake-up call for George Simion and other political leaders on the right to play their cards right if they want to secure a majority in the next elections. Otherwise, we are slowly going back to the 35% sovereigntist votes we had in 2024.
@Wallachian_Gazette
Pope Leo and Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople have initiated discussions on the possibility of establishing a common date for the celebration of Easter for Christians of the Western and Eastern rites. This step is aimed "at achieving liturgical unity and may lead to a revision of the centuries-old traditions of calculating the date of the main Christian holiday."
https://raskolamnet.info/en/?p=102907
@raskolamneten
—❗️🇮🇹❌🇮🇱 NEW: Italian PM Giorgia Meloni condemned Israeli police for preventing Jerusalem’s Latin Patriarch, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and the Custos of the Holy Land from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass.
➡️ She called the move “an offence not only to believers but to every community that recognises religious freedom.”
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
—✝️ We wish a blessed Palm Sunday to all our Catholic friends!
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—🇺🇸/🇬🇷 WATCH: President Trump walked out at the Greek Independence Day celebration in the White House.
I'm supposed to be some place a 5 o'clock — I said, there's no way I'm missing this one!