Albania

The main political parties in Albania officially started electoral campaigns on Saturday for the next local elections, but the first days of the campaign were marred by claims of irregularities.

On Saturday, Zef Hila, the opposition Democratic Party candidate for the municipality of Vau i Dejes, alleged that he was subjected to harassment by police officers.

The Eurovision finals are upon us this year. Vienna will host the 27 countries that made it to the finals. Greece and Cyprus will be fighting against all odds, since Sweden and Italy are favorites to win, with Russia coming in to maybe steal the spotlight.

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The Greek song, “One Last Breath”

The Cyprus song, “One Thing I Should Have Done”

Greece will join the United States and other NATO members in efforts to defeat militants of Islamic State (ISIS), an issue which is expected to be discussed in the summit of the transatlantic alliance in Brussels next month, Defense Minister Panos Kammenos said on Friday.

“Albanians of .. Cameria” was the latest irredentist “pipedream” heard in the increasingly tense western Balkans this week, uttered by none other than an Albanian lawmaker who assumed a vice-speaker’s position in that country’s Parliament.

The phrase belongs to one Shpëtim Idrizi, listed as the president of the small nationalist Party for Justice, Integration and Unity.

Macedonian opposition SDSM leader Zoran Zaev dismissed the speculation of partitioning or federalisation of the country.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed on Wednesday that there were plans for the partitioning of Macedonia between Bulgaria and Albania.

AGERPRES special correspondent Oana Ghita reports: Voltaj, the pop-rock band that represents Romania at the Eurovision contest, will be the 20th to perform in Saturday's Grand Final, following the organizers' decision on the order of the competing performances in the 2015 edition of the European Song Contest.

Recent comments by Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov about Moscow's "irresponsible" approach to the situation in Macedonia are very dangerous, Mitov's predecessor Kristian Vigenin has said.

The World Bank Group is allocating USD 1.2 B to Albania under the 2015-2019 Country Partnership Framework (CPF), the international institution has announced.

This is a substantial share of its GDP, which amounted to about USD 13.6 B in 2014 according to national statistics.

Nadezhda Neynsky, a former Bulgarian Foreign Minister (1997-2001), has said she has entered talks to take over Bulgaria's Embassy in Ankara.

Neynsky told the Bulgarian National Television on Thursday that she could not comment on the procedure, but added she was "ready to work for the Bulgarian national interest".

The second Eurovision semi-final in Vienna will be taking place tonight. Cyprus is going to fight for a place in the finals, with John Karayiannis and his song “One Thing I Should Have Done”.