Gjirokastra

Work is continuing on a bypass road in the UNESCO-protected city of Gjirokastra in southern Albania despite a call in July from the UN body for its urgent suspension to assess the risk to the renowned "stone city".

Bajram Curri. Photo: Wikimedia/Albinfo

Opposition supporters attacked and destroyed election material in the town of Bajram Curri, in north Albania on Tuesday, ahead of a hotly disputed local election due on June 30, which the opposition is boycotting and the President has tried to call off.

The first landmarks of Antigonea are the villages of “Arshi Lengo” and “Asim Zeneli”, the latter one the most populous settlement of the Antigonea Commune.

But, the ancient Antigonea was founded in 295 BC by Pyrrhus of Epirus.

The city was built as an expression of love and ruined by hatred.

An Albanian court on Sunday remanded Ksera in custody after he was charged with misusing his authority to embezzling around 216,000 euro from a fund intended for social programmes, along with his subordinates.

Ksera was a member of the centre-right administration headed by former Prime Minister Sali Berisha until 2013.

Ibrahim Basha, 31, was killed on Wednesday and two other officers were wounded after coming under fire inside a lawless village in southern Albania.

The two wounded officers were airlifted to the National Trauma Center in Tirana and doctors say their lives are not at risk.

Luiza Xhuvani resigned from Albania's parliament on Tuesday evening following the arrest of her son in connection with the killing of four people in a Tirana nightclub shoot-out.

"He is my son. Those who are parents will understand me. I feel the pain of the families of these four lost lives. I give my resignation as MP," Xhuvani, a well known actress, said.

Albanian special forces units using armoured vehicles combed through the village of Lazarat on Tuesday, while drug traffickers shot back, attempting to halt the crackdown on their cannabis-growing operations.

One police officer and two shepherds were wounded as authorities tightened their grip on a village that has become synonymous with uncontrolled crime.

Police found the drugs stashed in a van parked on secluded beach. It is believed that speed boats were to be used to traffic the drugs to Italy.

Media reports said police have arrested one suspect and issued warrants for five others.   

The drugs are believed to have originated in the notoriously lawless village of Lazarat, a no-go zone for police.