Balkan Spectator - US Midterm Elections Balkan Edition

—🗳🇺🇸/🇦🇱 One of the Albanian-American candidates has an unusual interest: UFOs ➡️ Joe Hoxha, Republican 🇺🇸 state representative from Connecticut, introduced a bill earlier this year proposing an official study of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs), commonly known as UFOs. ➡️ A longtime UFO enthusiast, Hoxha argued that unexplained sightings deserve scientific investigation, proposing the involvement of the University of Connecticut and state agencies. ➡️ The bill advanced through committee but did not become law. ✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🗳🇺🇸/🇷🇸 Serbian-American former congresswoman seeks return to Washington in US midterms ➡️ Melissa Luburich Bean, a Democrat 🇺🇸 of Serbian descent, is running for Illinois' 8th Congressional District in today's US midterm elections against Republican Jennifer Davis. ➡️ Born in Chicago to a Serbian-American family, Bean previously served three terms in the US House of Representatives between 2005 and 2011. ➡️ After 15 years outside Congress, she is seeking to reclaim her former seat. Her campaign has also engaged with Chicago's Serbian-American community. ✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🗳🇺🇸/🇷🇴 Three candidates with Romanian roots are contesting today's US elections: 🇺🇸 Republican Ionel Roiban for Florida's state House 🇺🇸 Democrat Mihaela Pleșa for the Texas House 🇺🇸 Republican Ciprian Ivanof for Washington DC's shadow representative position. ➡️ Roiban previously served as an adviser in Romania's government, while Pleșa is the daughter of Romanian immigrants and a sitting Texas legislator. ✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🗳🇺🇸/🇦🇱🇽🇰 Four candidates of Albanian or Kosovar origin are on the ballot in today's US midterm elections: 🇺🇸 Peter Lumaj for Connecticut Secretary of State 🇺🇸 Joe Hoxha for Connecticut's state legislature 🇺🇸 Shpëtim Qorraj for the New York State Assembly 🇺🇸 Diamant Hysenaj for the federal House in New York ➡️ The pictures belong to each one of the candidates in the same order as the list above. ✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🗳🇺🇸/🇬🇷 NEW: Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis said today that relations between Athens and Washington enjoy broad bipartisan support and should not be negatively affected by a possible change in congressional control. ➡️ He also linked American voters' concerns to the cost of living and warned that further military escalation involving Iran could increase pressure on energy prices. ✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—💸 NOTE: According to FEC data collected by Ballotpedia, Ocasio-Cortez had reported approximately $38 million in campaign income compared to $446,000 for Hysenaj, as of October 14. ✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🗳🇺🇸🇺🇸/🇽🇰 Kosovo-born Republican challenges Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York ➡️ Diamant Hysenaj, a Kosovo-born businessman who immigrated to the United States at the age of nine, is challenging Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York's 14th Congressional District. ➡️ Running as a Republican, Hysenaj has focused his campaign on affordability, public safety, immigration and support for small businesses. ✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🇺🇸 NOTE: Pappas, co-chair of the Congressional Hellenic Caucus, has played an active role in US congressional initiatives concerning Greece 🇬🇷, Cyprus 🇨🇾 and Türkiye 🇹🇷 ✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🗳🇺🇸/🇬🇷 Two candidates with Greek ancestry face off in New Hampshire Senate race ➡️ Democrat Chris Pappas and Republican John E. Sununu are competing for New Hampshire's open US Senate seat in today's midterm elections. ➡️ Pappas is a descendant of Greek immigrants, while Sununu has a mixed Lebanese, Palestinian, Greek and Central American family background. ✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

🗳🇺🇸 US MIDTERMS BALKAN EDITION!

—🇭🇷 NEW: Rail projects worth €1.7 billion are underway in Croatia, with approximately €6 billion in additional investment planned by 2035. ➡️ The programme aims to shorten journey times, improve safety and reliability, and strengthen freight links to Croatian ports. ➡️ Major projects include the €900 million upgrade of the Dugo Selo–Novska line, adding a second track and enabling speeds of up to 160 km/h. 🔗 HRT · HŽ Infrastructure · Daily Croatia ✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🗳🇷🇸 SERBIA ELECTS | Following its defeat in the snap parliamentary election on 25 October, the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) is moving closer to a decision not to contest the upcoming presidential election. ✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🇫🇷/🇷🇸 NEW: French President Emmanuel Macron said he spoke with Ilija Srdanović, the Student List’s lead candidate, congratulating him on its decisive parliamentary election victory and hailing the historic turnout. ➡️ Macron reaffirmed France’s friendship with Serbia and its commitment to supporting the country’s path towards EU membership. 🔗 Emmanuel Macron ✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—❗️🇷🇸 Bloomberg: "Serbian police reportedly arrested Davor Macura, the owner of Alta Banka whose license was revoked and offices closed over the weekend" ✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🇸🇮❌🇪🇺 Slovenian PM Janez Janša:

When we decided to join the EU, no one imagined that in any of its member states and in the union as a whole, the following could happen without consequences: 1. Invalidate presidential elections (Romania); 2. Abolish the informational program on national RTV (Hungary); 3. Send police to the Constitutional Court (Poland); 4. Send the leader of the party leading in polls to prison three weeks before elections (Slovenia); 5. Seize national RTV with police and replace the leadership (Poland); 6. Terminate the mandates of the national RTV leadership and carry out a purge of employees (Slovenia); 7. Send members of the previous government to prison without the possibility of defense (Hungary); 8. Grant nearly one million citizenships to illegal migrants through a fast-track procedure (Spain); 9. Close the new Nuclear Power Plant and build a pipeline to Russia (Germany); 10. Tax carbon energy sources while simultaneously closing the NPP and relocating industry to countries with low environmental standards under the pretense that this is how we are saving the planet. An EU has emerged that must resolve its own issues.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🇲🇰/🇦🇱 WATCH: Arkin Jahiji, representing the DUI-led National Alliance for Integration, won Sunday’s runoff in Brvenica, defeating VMRO-DPMNE’s Stojančo Radičevski by 265 votes, according to results reported by local media. ➡️ DUI leader Ali Ahmeti hailed the victory as historic, declaring: “Macedonia does not belong to Hristijan or Branko Crvenkovski; Macedonia is the homeland of Albanians who are indigenous.” 🔗 KOHA · Ahmeti’s remarks ✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🇧🇦/🇫🇷 Milorad Dodik: "The Arc de Triomphe is a symbol of national victories. A short break and a walk along the Champs-Élysées on the way to America." ✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

JUST IN: 🇰🇵 North Korea says it is not responsible for the $6.3 billion Binance crypto hack. @WatcherGuru

🇺🇸🗳❗️ — PREDICTIONS ARE OUT. 🟥 Frontline Report officially releases our predictions for the 2026 U.S. Senate midterm elections. ▶️We project Republicans to retain control of the Senate with a 53–47 majority, with North Carolina flipping Democratic and Michigan flipping Republican. ▶️Our forecast covers all 35 Senate races, including some of the most competitive battlegrounds across the country.

—❗️🇸🇮 URGENT: An attacker accessed more than 15,000 government user records through a compromised server, Slovenia’s information security office said. ➡️ Some 7,216 records contained password hashes. Authorities have isolated the server and ordered resets for affected accounts, while urging users to change any similar passwords used elsewhere. 🔗 Slovenian government statement ✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English