Latest News from Albania
Dream Vacation? Albania’s Tourism Hopes Risk Being Blighted by Shortages
Albania is jumping up the international tourism rankings - but a chronic lack of infrastructure and workers suggests that the sector's true potential may not be realised.
Türkiye offers second cheapest holiday to Germans
Türkiye is the second cheapest holiday destination for German tourists after Albania, Recep Yavuz, from the Antalya City Council's Tourism Working Group, has said, citing a recent study by Germany's Federal Statistics Office (Destatis).
The study compares holiday destinations based on accommodation costs and daily expenditure.
Albania to Start Searching for Remains of Communist Camp Victims
Albania's Authority on Access to Information of the Sigurimi Files, the Communist-era political police, on Friday said it is preparing the way for an "administrative" investigation to find out what happened to some 44 people who were executed or died while imprisoned in the infamous labour camp at Spac.
Week in Review: Lifting the Lid
Controversial Venture
Hungarian PM Viktor Orban (L) and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. EPA-EFE/Szilard Koszticsak
Athens decries continued detention of Himare mayor-elect
The continued pretrial detention of ethnic Greek mayor-elect Fredi Beleri by the Albanian authorities is not consistent with the rule of law, the Greek Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
Albanian court upholds detention of ethnic Greek mayor-elect
A Court of Appeal in Tirana extended the pretrial detention of the ethnic Greek mayor-elect of Himare who was arrested over an alleged election crime, state-run broadcaster ERT reported on Thursday.
Fredi Beleri was detained just two days before local elections that were held in southern Albania on May 14 over alleged voter bribery but still won the mayoral race.
Kaskarelis requests the release of ethnic Greek mayor-elect, aide
Foreign Minister Vassilis Kaskarelis asked for the release of two ethnic Greek men who were imprisoned during a mayoral election campaign in Albania at a meeting with the country's counterpart Olta Xhacka, diplomatic sources said on Thursday.
The request was made on the sidelines of the informal Summit of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs taking place in Oslo.
FM to discuss release of Himare mayor with Albanian counterpart
Foreign Minister Vassilis Kaskarelis is on Wednesday expected to meet Albanian counterpart Olta Xhacka, on the sidelines of the informal meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers in Oslo to discuss the release of a jailed ethnic Greek official.
Lone Family Keeps Fading Silk Cultivation Tradition in Albania Alive
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For 13 years, Pjetraj and her family have run a small silk farm in the village of Dajc, part of a wide low-lying and fertile plain in the region of Zadrima in north Albania.
Zadrima is known among Albanians for their motif-rich, labour-intensive handwork in tablecloths or silver ornaments, whose motifs usually combine red and white and bear the name Zadrimore.
Passion for Sea Lives on Among Descendants of Emigrants from Montenegro
At the start of the 20th century, dozens of families from Ulcinj in Montenegro emigrated to Durres, where their seafaring traditions helped develop Albania's commercial fleets.
Ethnic Greek mayor-elect transferred to Tirana prison hospital
Fredi Beleri, the ethnic Greek mayor-elect of Himare, was transferred to the Tirana prison hospital on Monday, after he felt unwell due to heart-related health problems.
It is the second time that Beleri has shown these symptoms in the last two days and he will undergo specific tests, according to press reports.
Shady business deal behind mayor’s arrest?
After Albanian Foreign Minister Olta Xhacka met with her Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias last Monday to discuss elected ethnic Greek mayor of Himare Fredi Beleri's jailing on charges of buying votes, she tweeted: "The meeting w/my colleague & good friend FM @NikosDendias in Brussels was a good opportunity to discuss in a frank manner Mr Beleri's case.
Police ban traveling fans ahead of Greek Cup final over fears of violence
Police have issued a ban on traveling fans ahead of the Greek Cup final later on Wednesday because of fears of violence, despite an order for the match to be played without supporters in the stadium.
League champion AEK Athens faces PAOK in the central city of Volos after the authorities took several months to find a venue.
Athens decries extension of Himare mayor’s detention
The extension of the detention of Fredi Beleri, the recently elected ethnic Greece mayor of Himare in Albania, "is contrary to the common sense of justice and the European concept of the rule of law," the Greek Foreign Ministry underlined in a statement on Monday.
Dendias, Albanian counterpart discuss the jailing of ethnic Greek mayor
Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias discussed on Monday the jailing of an elected ethnic Greek mayor with his Albanian counterpart Olta Xhacka, during a meeting in Brussels, the foreign ministry said.