Latest News from Albania

WW2 - Time when Kosovo Albanians wanted to create ethnically pure "Greater Islamic State"

Historical evidence demonstrates that genocide and ethnic cleansing were perpetrated upon the Serbian population of Kosovo and Metohija, first by Ottoman Turks, then by Albanian leaders and the populace and continued throughout the Communist period, during which the ethnic Serbian population was forced to emigrate.

Albanian Court Urged not to Impede Judicial Reform

Sokol Hazizaj, Albania's former vice-minister of justice, says that despite opposition to parts of Albania's judicial reform process, it cannot fail and must move forward.

Germany to Back EU-Albania Talks, After Reform

A German Foreign Office source told BIRN that at the upcoming EU Council meeting on December 13, Berlin is expected to back the European Commission views that the EU should open accession talks with Albania once key judicial reforms and a judicial vetting law are in place.

Serbian Minister Admits 'Mistake' Quitting Warsaw Summit

Serbian Foreign Minister Dacic told at a press conference on Thursday that he might have been wrong to walk out of a meeting in Warsaw over comments he said were made by his Kosovo counterpart, Enver Hoxhaj.

"I might have made a mistake, but at that moment that was how I felt," he said.

Montenegro Journalist Rejects Drugs Smuggling Charge

Presenting his defence before the court in Podgorica on Thursday, investigative journalist Jovo Martinovic pleaded not guilty to drugs smuggling, saying his contacts with the other suspects in the case were purely linked to his work as a journalist.

Albanian PM warns EU against leaving 'vacuum' in the Balkans

Russia and Islamist militants could try to boost their influence in the Balkan nations if the European Union doesn't take them in as members, Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama said in an interview published on Wednesday.

Rama told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung it was in the EU's interests to try and bring Balkan states into its fold.

"Greater Albania ushered in through the back door"

The Union of Albanian Municipalities in the Region has been formed in Tirana, Albania, on the occasion of the Albanian national holiday, November 28.

This union is made up of Tirana, Pristina, Tetovo, Ulcinj, and Presevo, with an agreement of cooperation signed by the mayors of the five towns.

PKS to take Serbian companies to Tirana fair

BELGRADE - The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia (PKS) has announced that it is organizing a presentation of 25 Serbian companies at the Tirana International Fair, to be held on November 24-28.

B92 and Albanian Daily News sign MoU

Serbia's B92 media outlet and the Albanian Daily News (ADN) newspaper from Albania have inked a memorandum of understanding.

The document was signed on Friday in Tirana by ADN Director General Anisa Skendaj and B92 President of the Board of Directors Veran Matic.

Kosovo Expert Downplays US Terrorist Attack Warning

Shpend Kursani, from the Kosovar Center for Security Studies, says large-scale terrorist attacks organized by groups like ISIS are unlikely to affect the Balkans over the coming holiday.

BIRN Albania Wins Landmark Verdict on Secret Files

An Administrative Court in Tirana has ordered Albania's main intelligence agency, SHISH, to de-classify reports of the former Communist-era Sigurimi secret police and its data on the number of people kept under surveillance during the last decade of the Communist regime.  

Albanian Greens Press Parliament on Waste Imports

Environmentalist protesters rallied at dawn on Thursday in front of Albania's parliament to urge ruling party MPs not to push for another vote on a controversial law on waste imports.

Greens fear the MPs intend to adopt the law once again after President Bujar Nishani in mid-October refused to authorize it.

Albania Town Declares Trump Honorary Citizen

In a surprise move, the Mayor of Kamza, Xhelal Mziu, a town of more than 100,000 inhabitants near the Albanian capital, has declared US President-elect Donald Trump an Honorary Citizen.

Mziu, who comes from the opposition centre-right Democratic Party, announced the decision on a Facebook post and on the council website.

Albanian PM raises Cham community claim, calls for all-encompassing talks

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has denied his country is following an irredentist foreign policy with its insistence on discussing the issue of claims made by the Cham community to the property they left behind when they were expelled from Greece during World War II.

Albania PM Highlights Cham Plight on Greek TV

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has again returned to the vexed issue of the exiled Cham community in a Greek TV interview broadcast on Tuesday.

Rama said it was a perfect Balkanic paradox that Albania and Greece remained "de jure" in a state of war despite signing a treaty of friendship in 1987.

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