BALFIN Group

Powerful, politically-connected businessman Shefqet Kastrati has entered Albania's crowded media market with the purchase on Monday of Euronews Albania, following in the footsteps of Samir Mane who bought TV SCAN last month.

Veliu's story and countless like it are the reason why Albania's miners have been calling for 30 years for a special status that would recognise the unique nature of their work, providing for better working conditions, pensions and health cover. Retired miners currently receive pensions of between 194 and 242 euros per month.

Greece's largest lender Piraeus Bank said on Tuesday it had agreed to sell its unit in Albania to Balfin Group and Komercijalna Banka.

The divestment is part of Piraeus Bank's EU-approved restructuring plan to boost its core capital and reduce its foreign exposure.

The owner of BALFIN Group, Albanian businessman Samir Mane, has said construction of a brand new "town" at the site of the neglected trade fair in the Macedonian capital is poised to start by the end of May, with a 300-million-euro investment.