—🇷🇸 WATCH: Security forces in Republika Srpska have begun preparations for the January 9 Republic Day celebrations, with a ceremonial parade planned in the entity’s capital, Banja Luka, to mark the founding of the republic.

➡️ The date, repeatedly ruled unconstitutional as an official holiday by Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Constitutional Court, has nonetheless continued to be marked with police and security force parades in recent years.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

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—🇽🇰/🇺🇸/🇬🇱/🇩🇰 Do you think Kosovo would recognize a potential annexation of Greenland by the United States?

➡️ Let us know your opinion!

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🇷🇸/🇺🇸/🇬🇱/🇩🇰 NEW: Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic reportedly stated that Serbia would not join any war or even issue a public condemnation if the US were to “occupy” Greenland, while also saying EU states should apologize to Serbia over Kosovo.

➡️ He reiterated that Serbia will not recognize Kosovo and will maintain military neutrality as long as he is president.

🔗 Picture: The Global Eye (@tglobaleye)

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—❗️🪖🇭🇷 NEW: Croatia is preparing to buy the two largest warships in its history, with an estimated cost between €660 million and €1.6 billion, in a program focused mainly on coastal defense capabilities.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🇲🇰❌🇧🇬 NEW: North Macedonia’s PM Hristijan Mickoski has accused Bulgaria of seeking a “complete redefinition” and even “destruction” of the Macedonian nation and identity, after Sofia again refused to fully recognize the Macedonian language and objected to official documents drafted in it.

➡️ Mickoski’s remarks come amid a renewed diplomatic clash over an Action Plan on minority rights and broader EU-related documents, with Skopje demanding “full respect and recognition of the Macedonian language” from Bulgaria, which continues to question its distinct status.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🪖🇭🇷/🇺🇦 NEW: Croatian President Zoran Milanović said Croatia will not send soldiers to Ukraine, stressing that as commander-in-chief he wants to remove any doubt about the role of the Croatian Armed Forces in the so‑called “coalition of the willing.”

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🇦🇱/🇺🇸 NEW: Albanian PM Edi Rama has been photographed closely mingling with Donald Trump’s son‑in‑law Jared Kushner in Paris, underscoring Tirana’s political backing for the couple’s planned luxury resort project on Albania’s strategic Sazan island in the Adriatic.

➡️ The Kushner–Ivanka Trump scheme, framed by the Albanian government as a flagship “strategic investment” to drive high‑end tourism, would transform the former military outpost into an ultra‑luxury Mediterranean destination for wealthy foreign visitors.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—❗️🪖🇧🇦/🇵🇸 URGENT: Bosnia and Herzegovina’s tripartite Presidency has unanimously given in‑principle consent for members of the Armed Forces (AFBiH) to join a future International Stabilization Force peace mission in Gaza.

➡️ The defence minister was authorized to formally notify the United States of the country’s readiness once domestic legal procedures for deployment are completed.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

🇮🇱🇵🇸🇺🇸❗️ — URGENT: According to AP News, both Israel and the U.S. have agreed to designate Bulgarian diplomat and UN Middle East Envoy Nickolay Mladenov as director-general for Trump's Board of Peace in Gaza.

▶️ While the announcement is not yet official, a U.S. official confirmed the appointment to AP News.

▶️ The Board, headed by Trump but led in day-to-day tasks by Mladenov, is expected to implement the second part of the ceasefire, including the disarmament of Hamas, the establishment of a Palestinian government in Gaza, and the deployment of peacekeepers, among others.

🔗 AP News

—🪖🇽🇰/🇹🇷 WATCH: Kosovo has received a second batch of Turkish-made OMTAS anti-tank missile systems, further boosting the Kosovo Security Force’s ground-based anti-armor capabilities in cooperation with Turkish defense manufacturer Roketsan.

➡️ The latest delivery, contracted under a 2023 agreement, adds to earlier OMTAS transfers and is presented by Pristina as a step toward stronger NATO-aligned deterrence against armored threats.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

🇦🇪🇷🇴Emirates Islamic Bank will invest $500 million to help Romania fully commission the Mintia gas-fired power plant

The 1.7GW plant will be Romania's largest and should be ready before 2027

📝:I wanted to write "will be ready before 2027" but I changed it because after all this is Romania and government deadlines are optional(unless the EU sets them)