—🇧🇦/🇭🇺 NEW: Former Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán and his wife visited SNSD leader Milorad Dodik and his family near Banja Luka.

➡️ Dodik described the Orbáns as lifelong friends and thanked Viktor Orbán for his support for Republika Srpska during his time as prime minister.

🔗 Dodik’s statement · Local report

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🇵🇱 BREAKING: Poland’s president has turned his plane around mid-flight and headed back to Warsaw as riot police surround the Constitutional Tribunal and rival judges dispute control of the court. Karol Nawrocki was travelling to Senegal when he cancelled the visit. “At such a moment, the president must be in Poland,” he said.

It comes after Anna Korwin-Piotrowska announced the suspension of Tribunal president Bogdan Święczkowski and his deputy, Bartłomiej Sochański. A notice appeared on the court’s website, while its official X account rejected the move, said both men remained in office and accused those involved of committing a “coup d’état.” The account also alleged that the website itself had been unlawfully taken over.

The confrontation then moved to the gates. Footage shared by Mario Nawfal showed Święczkowski attempting to regain access after chains were cut, with police continuing to block his way. Demonstrators gathered outside, and three people were detained after attempting to enter the complex. Police said their deployment followed warnings about threats to judges and staff, and maintained that officers were securing the grounds without entering the building.

Inside, Korwin-Piotrowska confirmed that seven judges were present. The Tribunal’s spokeswoman said they had been escorted in by State Protection Service officers through a gate connecting the grounds to the prime minister’s chancellery. Outside, opposition leader Jarosław Kaczyński accused the government of turning Poland into a police state, while Supreme Court chief Zbigniew Kapiński also described the developments as a coup. Nawfal subsequently reported that Nawrocki’s convoy was heading to meet Kapiński.

The dispute follows months of deadlock over parliamentary appointments that Nawrocki has refused to complete and Święczkowski has refused to recognise. Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek has now requested that the Tribunal leadership’s immunity be lifted. Tusk, meanwhile, is defending decisive action to restore the rule of law: “There is no other way.”

📸 Picture: Mario Nawfal

@thebalkanletter

#NEWS | 🇨🇭 🇰🇵 — Switzerland is opening a diplomatic office in Pyongyang to maintain direct contact with North Korea and support its good offices.

🌐 — The Global Eye | Subscribe ✈️

—🇽🇰🤝🇹🇷 WATCH: Türkiye’s Republic Day was celebrated by illuminating building in Kosovo’s capital, Prishtina, with the Turkish flag.

🔗 kos_data

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English