World
EU warns of 'serious consequences' as Bosnian Serbs mark breakaway day
Brussels has sounded the alarm over celebrations planned in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s post-war Serb region, the Republika Srpska, to mark its breakaway anniversary.
The so-called ‘Republika Srpska Day’ celebrates the region’s 1992 claim of independence from Bosnia during the breakup of Yugoslavia, which led to a bloody interethnic war that claimed 100,000 lives.
The commemoration, which coincides with a religious Orthodox holiday, has been deemed unconstitutional by Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Constitutional Court because it discriminates against non-Serbs.
Tuesday’s events come amid increasing tensions as Republika Srpska’s President Milorad Dodik, widely seen as a Kremlin ally, ratchets up secessionist threats, prompting international concern. Dodik has vowed to “declare full independence” of Bosnia’s Serb-controlled regions should Western democracies attempt to intervene in the country’s shared, multi-ethnic institutions.
The European Commission reaffirmed on Tuesday the bloc’s long-standing opposition to any act that undermines the Balkan country’s territorial integrity.
“When it comes to the legality of the ‘Republika Srpska Day,’ the Constitutional Court of the country already ruled twice in 2015 and 2019 that the legislation in Republika Srpska about the ‘Republika Srpska Day’ is not in line with the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said Peter Stano, spokesperson for foreign affairs.
“The European Union has always emphasised that the sovereignty, territorial integrity, constitutional order and international personality of Bosnia-Herzegovina need to be maintained,” Stano added.
“Any action against these principles will lead to serious consequences.”
On the eve of the celebrations, the United States flew F16 fighter jets above Bosnia and Herzegovina in a show of support. Its embassy in Sarajevo also called for an investigation into the celebrations and said it would “not hesitate” to act in response to acts that violate the 1995 US-brokered peace deal.
Breakaway threats spark concerns
Republika Srpska, whose 1.2 million population is made up mostly of Orthodox Christian Serbs, is one of the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The second entity, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, is made up of mostly Bosniaks and Croats.
Both entities were formed under the 1995 Dayton Agreement, which brought the three-year Bosnian war to an end and split the country into two entities along ethnic and religious lines.
The country’s stability and intricate power-sharing arrangements, the result of Western democracy building, are considered precarious and have recently been threatened by President Dodik’s intensified separatist rhetoric.
Adnan Ćerimagić, a senior analyst at the think tank European Stability Initiative, told Euronews that although Dodik’s warnings have not changed in substance over recent months, their increased intensity, combined with a fast-changing geopolitical environment, now merit international attention.
“While the idea of dividing Bosnia-Herzegovina into three mono-ethnic territories is not new, what is new is that Dodik has support not just from Belgrade in Serbia (…) but also from the outside,” Ćerimagić explained.
“It’s the support that comes from certain EU and NATO members like Hungary,” he added. “Just today, the Prime Minister of Hungary, a NATO and EU member, Viktor Orbán has been decorated as part of the celebrations of the Day of Republika Srpska.”
Region’s future in the balance
Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić has also lent his support to the controversial cause, promising synchronised fireworks would take place in the Serbian capital of Belgrade on Tuesday evening in a sign of its support for Republika Srpska’s holiday celebrations.
The spat over the commemoration comes less than a month after the international observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) found that thousands of ethnic-Serb voters had been bused in from Bosnia and Herzegovina to cast their ballots illegally in the recent Serbian elections.
“We tend to think that this alliance between Vučić and Dodik is, is natural and is explicit, but I would say that it is not,” Berta López Domènech, a policy analyst on the Western Balkans for the European Policy Centre, explained.
“Vučić has used this card of not explicitly supporting Republika Srpska’s secession because he knows that this would be a red line in his relations with Western partners, such as the EU.”
ADVERTISEMENTBut Ćerimagić believes Belgrade could see its ability to rein in a potential escalation of tensions in Bosnia and Herzegovina as a “bargaining chip” in dialogue with Western partners as they scrutinise the recent results of December’s parliamentary elections, which were marred by allegations of electoral fraud.
Bosnia and Herzegovina has been an official candidate for EU accession since December 2022. However, the opening of accession talks has been stalled by deeply entrenched ethnic divisions and delays in constitutional, judicial and electoral reforms.
EU leaders said in December that the bloc would open accession talks with the country “once the necessary degree of compliance with the membership criteria is achieved.”
But both experts fear Dodik and the Republika Srpska ruling coalition’s increasingly defiant stance could have implications for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s EU membership bid.
“It’s clear that for some member states, a condition to start accession talks (with Bosnia and Herzegovina) is actually to see some of the steps that the ruling coalition in Republika Srpska and Milorad Dodik have done in the past couple of years to be reversed,” Ćerimagić said.
ADVERTISEMENT“That means that Milorad Dodik and the ruling coalition in Republika Srpska have a sort of a veto on that EU path,” he added.
Meanwhile, López Domènech warned that “marking a day that celebrates a genocide is clearly not in line with the European Union’s priorities.”
World
With US unleashing attacks, Iranian official threatens that the Islamic Republic will deliver a ‘hard slap’
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An Iranian official warned that the Islamic Republic will deliver a “hard slap” while another blatantly threatened the U.S. that “if you strike, you’ll get hit,” according to automatic translations from the two men’s Persian-language posts on X.
Ebrahim Rezaei, whose profile on the social media platform indicates that he is a representative in Iran’s Parliament and the spokesperson for the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, wrote in a post on X, “The martyred Khamenei taught us not to fear America and showed that ‘falsehood will perish.’ Await the hard slap from the Iranians.”
The speaker of Iran’s Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, warned, “America still hasn’t learned that bullying and breaking promises are no longer cost-free. Let me put it plainly: if you strike, you’ll get hit. Don’t flail around pointlessly, or you’ll sink even deeper: the Strait of Hormuz will only open with ‘Iranian arrangements,’ not American threats.”
Both of the men issued their posts on Wednesday after U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced more strikes against Iran.
“At the direction of the Commander in Chief, U.S. Central Command forces have started conducting additional strikes against Iran to further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. The United States is holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway,” CENTCOM had noted in a post on X.
TRUMP SAYS IRAN CEASEFIRE DEAL IS ‘OVER’ AFTER NEW ROUND OF STRIKES
People gather at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla for a farewell ceremony for Iran’s late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on July 4, 2026, in Tehran, Iran. (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)
The U.S. military later provided more information about the attacks.
“U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces completed an additional round of strikes against Iran, July 8, to further degrade Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping and innocent civilian mariners in the Strait of Hormuz,” CENTCOM noted on Wednesday night.
“U.S. forces struck approximately 90 Iranian military targets including air defense systems, coastal surveillance assets, missile and drone storage sites, naval capabilities, and military logistics infrastructure along Iran’s coastline. The latest strikes follow successful execution of offensive strikes in Iran the night before,” the announcement noted. “CENTCOM forces hit approximately 80 Iranian military targets July 7, including more than 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps small boats, to impose heavy costs for Iran violating the ceasefire by attacking three commercial vessels navigating the Strait of Hormuz.”
TRUMP DEMANDS END TO TRADE WITH KEY US ALLY, CALLS IT A ‘WASTED CAUSE’
President Donald Trump indicated on Wednesday that, as far as he was concerned, the U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding ceasefire was “over.”
Kuwait and Bahrain have both reported coming under attack.
The Kuwait Army noted in a Thursday post on X, which was written in Arabic, “The Official Spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, Major General Saud Abdulaziz Al-Otaibi, stated that the armed forces detected, at dawn today, (3) ballistic missiles, (1) cruise missile, and (10) hostile drones within Kuwaiti airspace, which were successfully intercepted and dealt with.”
TRUMP SAYS ‘IRAN LIES AND CHEATS’ AS IRGC EMERGES AS DOMINANT FORCE IN NEGOTIATIONS WITH US
President Donald Trump speaks as he meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, on July 8, 2026. (SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images)
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The Bahrain Defense Force noted in a post that was in Arabic, “The General Command clarifies that, with firm resolve and high combat readiness, the Bahrain Defense Force’s air defense systems confronted, intercepted, and destroyed several treacherous Iranian aerial attacks this morning, Thursday, July 9, 2026 CE.”
Three wins to go. How can your team reach the final and win the World Cup 2026? Click here to find out.
Who: Norway vs England list of 3 itemsend of list
What: FIFA World Cup 2026 – Quarterfinals
Where: Miami Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida, the United States
When: Saturday, July 11, at 5pm (21:00 GMT)
How to follow: We will have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 18:00 GMT before our live text commentary stream.
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Four weeks ago, if you told Norwegians their team would be in the World Cup quarterfinals, they might have laughed it off. But this weekend, the Scandinavian country is set to break new ground.
Norway’s dream run in North America enters a new chapter when the tournament’s dark horses take on title contenders England for a place in the semifinals.
It took Norway a whopping 28 years to return to the sport’s biggest stage, and they have made their mark in style – from their traditional Viking row celebrations capturing global attention to striker Erling Haaland becoming the internet’s darling.
A lethal presence in the box and a goofy, no-nonsense personality off the pitch, Haaland has become somewhat of an all-round entertainer for viewers. His exemplary goal-scoring figures make you almost forget he’s playing in his debut World Cup – and next up, the towering striker will go toe-to-toe with England’s Harry Kane, another number nine who delivers when it matters most.
How did Norway and England reach the round of 16?
Norway finished second in Group I with six points, beating Senegal and Iraq and losing to France. They started their knockout phase with a late 2-1 win over the Ivory Coast before stunning Brazil by the same scoreline to reach the quarterfinals for the first time.
England topped Group L with seven points, beating Croatia and Panama and drawing with Ghana. They needed a second-half comeback to beat the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the round of 32 and knocked out cohosts Mexico 3-2 in a scintillating last-16 contest at the iconic Azteca Stadium.
Pressure firmly on England
The chants of “It’s Coming Home” were louder than ever when England’s fighting spirit – against the background of high altitude, history and a red card – steered them to victory against the home side Mexico.
Sharing 10 of the team’s 11 goals between them, the dynamic duo of Kane and Jude Bellingham has kept England alive in the title race, especially at a time when there are defensive deficiencies in the squad.
The in-form side, which also boasts more World Cup experience than Norway, are deemed favourites to reach the semifinals for the first time since 2018.
“We’ve been here a few times,” said England winger Bukayo Saka. “But the best team on the day is going to be the team that wins, so we’re aware of that and that’s where our focus is.”
England’s leaky defence – which has kept only two clean sheets in five games – will face its toughest test yet against Haaland, whose seven goals rank him third in the Golden Boot race, only behind Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe.
Haaland: The most recognisable face at the World Cup
In their first World Cup since 1998, Norway, a nation of just more than five million people, has exceeded expectations.
After stunning the record five-time world champions Brazil to reach their first-ever quarterfinal, Norway will be eager to take down another giant and extend their fairytale run.
As much as their success has been a team effort, the spotlight has centred on their poster boy, Haaland – the blond, pony-tailed, 1.95-metre- (6ft4-) tall striker and a new social media sensation.
With his nonchalant replies in news conferences, awkward post-match selfies on Snapchat and a glittering collection of luxury handbags, the striker has drawn attention for more than just his goal-scoring prowess. In fact, “Haaland mania” has reached a fever pitch during the course of the World Cup.
Instagram is flooded with AI-generated and animated videos of him, stitched with his now-famous song “Ha-ha-ha-Haaland”.
“It’s important to joke around … I like to joke a little bit, and I like to have fun,” Haaland said. “That’s a key for my daily life – to joke around and, of course, train well and prepare well.”
Haaland’s top-notch preparation has delivered outcomes that even the 25-year-old did not expect.
“To be in the quarterfinals with Norway in the World Cup is quite surprising, even for me,” he said.
“Just to be able to play in the World Cup is, for me, a huge honour, and it was a huge goal for me in my career. To be able to be here and play on the biggest stage with my Norwegian friends against the best teams in the world, it’s really special.”
Norway vs England predictions
The Opta supercomputer gives England a 50.4 percent likelihood of winning in regulation time, while Norway’s chances of winning are 25.1 percent.
The model estimates a 24.6 percent probability of the game going to extra time.
What time is Norway vs England?
- Norway: NRK1, NRK2, TV 2 (11pm, Central European Summer Time)
- United Kingdom: STV, STV Player, ITV1, ITVX (10pm, British Summer Time)
- USA: Peacock, Fox, Fox One, Telemundo App, Telemundo Network (5pm, Eastern Daylight Time)
To check the TV listings for your country, head to FIFA’s TV listing schedule here.
Who will the winner face in the semifinals?
The winner of the Norway vs England match will play Argentina or Switzerland in the semifinals in Atlanta on Wednesday.
Norway vs England: Head-to-head
Norway and England have never met at the World Cup, but have previously faced each other 12 times. England have won seven times, Norway twice, while three matches ended in a draw.
Their most recent encounter came in a 2014 international friendly, which England won 1-0 at Wembley.
Norway vs England: Team news
England will be without defender Jarell Quansah after he was handed a two-match ban for picking up a red card in the game against Mexico. He will miss the quarterfinal and a potential semifinal should England advance.
Centre-back Marc Guehi has a slight hamstring strain and will be assessed later on Friday to see if he is fit to play, while Reece James remains doubtful with a hamstring injury.
Defensive midfielder Jordan Henderson has been ruled out of the rest of the tournament with a broken wrist.
No issues have been reported in the Norway camp.
Norway’s predicted lineup
(4-3-3): Nyland (goalkeeper); Ryerson, Ajer, Heggem, Moller Wolfe; Berg, Berge, Odegaard; Sorloth, Haaland, Nusa
England’s predicted lineup
(4-2-3-1): Pickford (goalkeeper); Konsa, Stones, Guehi, O’Reilly; Rice, Anderson; Saka, Bellingham, Gordon; Kane
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