# Balkan Lens — Geopolitical Intelligence & Situational Awareness Radar
> Real-time open-source intelligence (OSINT), strategic corridor telemetry, and cross-border crisis monitoring across the Balkans, NATO Eastern Flank, and the Middle East.

## Platform Identity
- Organization: Balkan Lens (Independent Civil OSINT Desk)
- Canonical URL: https://balkanlens.com
- Official X / Twitter: https://x.com/Balkanlensnews (@Balkanlensnews)
- Official Telegram Channel: https://t.me/balkanlensnews (@balkanlensnews)
- Primary Contact: legal@balkanlens.com
- Supported Languages: Turkish, English, Bulgarian, Serbian, Greek, Romanian, Albanian
- Freshness: Continuous real-time edge telemetry with 5-minute automated polling

## Strategic Observation Desks
- Western Balkans: Kosovo / Ibar Corridor, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania
- NATO Eastern Flank: Suwałki Gap, Baltic airspace, Black Sea maritime corridor, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria
- Middle East & Maritime: Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, Red Sea logistics, Persian Gulf, Levant crisis zones

## Strategic Corridors & Definitions
- Suwałki Gap: Strategic 65-kilometer land corridor between Belarus and Kaliningrad connecting Poland to the Baltic States.
- Ibar River / Mitrovica: Geopolitical partition corridor in northern Kosovo monitored for civil stability.
- Bab-el-Mandeb Strait: Critical maritime choke point connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.
- Black Sea Grain & Naval Corridor: Maritime security zone spanning Romanian, Bulgarian, and Ukrainian territorial waters.

## Editorial & Compliance Standards
- Data Aggregation: Public open-source news agencies, verified regional emergency portals, and civil protection broadcasts.
- AI Disclosure: Transformative summaries and category clustering generated with multilingual AI models with editorial oversight (EU AI Act Art. 50 compliant).
- Privacy & GDPR: Fully compliant with EU Regulation 2016/679. Zero third-party ad tracking. PCI-DSS Level 1 payment processing via Stripe Inc.
- Institutional Non-Affiliation: Independent civil research platform with no official affiliation to NATO, EUFOR, KFOR, or governmental defense ministries.