—🇧🇬/🇺🇦 NEW: Bulgaria will not participate in the so-called Coalition of the Willing, the group of countries supporting Ukraine, PM Rumen Radev has said, arguing that the conflict should be resolved through diplomacy rather than continued military assistance.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🇷🇸/🇽🇰 WATCH: Videos circulating online appear to show two Serbian Air Force J-22 Orao ground-attack aircraft flying at low altitude near Jarinje, along the administrative boundary between central Serbia and Kosovo.

➡️ The footage has not been independently verified.

🔗 Dunav Intel

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🇲🇰 NEW: North Macedonia’s ruling VMRO-DPMNE will return to using the Skopje building known as the “White Palace” as its headquarters.

➡️ The structure, whose design draws on ancient Macedonian motifs promoted by the party as part of its heritage, had faced possible confiscation.

➡️ A Skopje court acquitted former prime minister Nikola Gruevski of abuse-of-office charges linked to the building’s construction, removing the basis for its seizure.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🇷🇸/🇺🇸 NEW: Serbian FM Marko Đurić announced during his visit to Washington that Serbia will join the US-led Artemis Accords, the framework governing international cooperation in civil space exploration.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🇲🇩 NEW: Starting August 10, retailers in Moldova will be required to display the country of origin of products alongside the price tag.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—❗️🇹🇷 WATCH: Turkish authorities have arrested 119 suspected members of the Islamic State (ISIS) in coordinated counterterrorism raids across around 30 provinces, according to the Interior Ministry.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—⚽️🇸🇮 CRAZY: Slovenian referee Slavko Vinčić, who has been appointed to officiate the FIFA World Cup final, was briefly detained by police during a 2020 operation at a property near Bijeljina, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

➡️ Authorities said the raid uncovered cocaine, firearms and around €20,000 in cash, and media linked the gathering to Serbian influencer Tijana Ajfon.

➡️ Vinčić denied any involvement in criminal activity, telling investigators he had been invited to lunch and was released without being charged.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🇧🇴/🇷🇴 NEW: Bolivian FM Fernando Aramayo met with Romanian Secretary of State for European Affairs Oana Toiu in Washington, D.C., to discuss the bilateral agenda and explore new areas of cooperation.

➡️ Both sides highlighted the strengthening of Bolivia–Romania relations, including Bolivia’s visa-free entry regime for Romanian citizens, in force since December 2025.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—❗️🇺🇸/🇧🇬 NEW: The United States has asked Bulgaria to allow the deployment of up to eight US aerial refueling tanker aircraft at Bezmer Air Base in southeastern Bulgaria to support operations in the Middle East.

➡️ PM Rumen Radev said the Bulgarian government will seek parliament’s approval before authorizing the deployment.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—❗️🇽🇰❌🇷🇸 WATCH: Authorities in Kosovo are demolishing Serbian-owned cottages near Gazivode Lake.

➡️ The EU said the demolitions do not appear to follow due legal procedures and called for an immediate halt to further demolitions.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🇬🇷 POLL: New Democracy remains comfortably ahead in Greece.

🔹 New Democracy (ND): 118 seats
🔹 PASOK: 33
🔹 Course of Freedom (Gr. Sol.): 30
🔹 KKE: 20
🔹 ELPIDA: 17
🔹 Greek Solution (EL): 10
🔹 MeRA25: 10
🔹 Plefsi Eleftherias (PE): 10

❌ Parties below the parliamentary threshold in this projection include SYRIZA, NIKI, Nea Aristera, and Democratic Movement (D. PK).

🗳 New Democracy falls short of the 151 seats required for an outright majority, meaning coalition options would remain central if these figures were reflected in an election.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English