Edi Rama

The municipal council of Himare in southern Albania appointed Blerina Bala as the new acting mayor of the town on Friday, following the detention of Jorgo Goro.

Goro, affiliated with the ruling Socialist Party, was arrested last week on charges of alleged abuse of office, which he denies.

I won't get into the discussion of whether putting Fredi Beleri's name on the New Democracy ticket for the upcoming European elections would serve the ruling Greek conservative party's interests; it would, in spades.

“Today, Edi Rama realized more than ever that I ask my questions without being influenced by anyone”

Things are judged by results, and in the case of Fredi Beleri, things have not gone at all well. The mayor-elect of the predominantly ethnic Greek town of Himare in southern Albania is to remain in prison until September 12, 2024. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama's goal is for the appeal trial to be finished by September too, so that Beleri can be convicted once and for all and disqualified.

Albania's council of ministers, headed by Prime Minister Edi Rama, appointed on Wednesday Vangjel Tavo as prefect of the Vlora district, in Albania's south, in a move seen as an effort by Rama to diffuse tensions with Greece, caused by the conviction of the elected mayor of Himare for vote buying.

Greece's decision to block Albania's EU accession process in the wake of mayor-elect of Himare Fredi Beleri's prosecution and sentencing will inevitably impact Greek plans to reach an agreement on the delimitation of maritime exclusive economic zones that Athens hoped would serve as a blueprint for the more important negotiations with Turkey.

This week an Albanian court sentenced Fredi Beleri, the imprisoned mayor-elect of Himare, to 2 years in prison. Beleri slammed the trial and the court's decision as a "sham". This case is about much more than one individual, however, touching on deeper issues in Greek-Albanian relations.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama's choice to cut ties with Athens was reflected by Tuesday's ruling of the Special Anti-Corruption Court in Albania sentencing the elected ethnic Greek mayor of Himare, a municipality in southern Albanis, Fredi Beleri, in the first instance, to two years in prison on charges of vote buying.

A mayor from Albania's Greek minority who was sentenced to two years in prison on Tuesday for buying votes, described the judicial proceedings as a "sham trial."

NATO member Albania on Monday inaugurated a refurbished Soviet-era air base, the alliance's first in the Western Balkan region.

The air base is named after the small town of Kucova, 85 kilometers (52 miles) south of the capital Tirana.

Officials said the new air base will serve as a modern hub of operations, for training and hosting an array of fighter jets.