Albania

Moscow has added five European countries to its food imports ban list introduced in response to Western sanctions against Russia over the crisis in Ukraine.

"Those countries are Albania, Montenegro, Iceland, and Liechtenstein, as well as Ukraine under certain conditions," Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said during a cabinet  meeting on Thursday, according to RIA Novosti.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has signed a decree that extends the list of countries that fall under Russian counter-sanctions, TASS is reporting.

The list now includes Albania, Montenegro, Iceland and Liechtenstein, "as well as Ukraine, under special conditions," the agency said.

The head of Albania's main opposition party faces a probe concerning 17 building permits issued by the municipality of Tirana when Basha was mayor from 2011 until 2015.

A source in the general prosecutor's office told BIRN that the probe into Basha follows charges filed by the National Agency for Planning, AKPT, over a number of building permits.

The Prime Ministers of Serbia and Albania are to clash in a TV debate on August 31 in Vienna, following months of resurged tensions between the two leaders.

TV audiences stretching across the Balkans will have a chance to see the sparring leaders of Serbia and Albania resolve their differences on air in August.

The TV duel in Vienna between Edi Rama and Aleksandar Vucic follows a series of public rows between the two Prime Ministers.

Islamists plan to conquer territory "from Spain to China"

The extremist organization Islamic State plans to conquer the Middle East, North Africa, parts of Europe, all in the next five years, claims BBC journalist Andrew Hosken.

Former communist Albania's most secretive military base, the strategic Sazan island on the Adriatic Sea, has opened its derelict bunkers and tunnels, hoping to turn it into a top tourist draw.
 

The new survey Eurobarometer by the European Commission, released on Wednesday, suggests that people in Serbia are the most sceptical about EU membership in the Balkans.

About 42 per cent of the people surveyed in Serbia believe that the country's membership of the EU would a good thing while 22 per cent consider it would be negative for the country.

A US military delegation led by retired Gen William Fraser III is in Macedonia's capital Skopje to discuss bilateral defense issues, state-run news agency MIA has said.

The idea is to explore opportunities for an increased bilateral cooperation in meetings with Macedonian Defense Minister Zoran Yolevski and high-ranking military officials.

"During this year the [tax] revenues are substantially below expectations. So in order to complete and sign the agreement, we have discussed taxation [increase] measures with the government to close the gap. But the government has decided to work first on tax administration," Reinke said in an interview with Top Channel on Sunday.