Latest News from Albania

Albanian Opposition Boycott Vote on Key Judicial Law

Albanian opposition MPs refused to take part in a vote on a key law sought by the EU on Thursday, after accusing Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama of deliberately turning the country into a "narco state".

Albania Weighs Turkey's Claim to be Gulenist Hub

As Turkey maintains pressure on Balkan countries to clamp down on so-called Gulenists - followers of the US-based cleirc Fethullah Gulen accused of masterminding the failed Turkish coup attempt on July 15,  experts in Albania say the country must put its own interests ahead of those of Ankara.

Albanian PM's Acropolis post tests ties with Tirana

The Greek Foreign Ministry has described plans by Albanian authorities to demolish 19 homes belonging to ethnic Greeks on Thursday in the town of Himara as a violation of their rights as a minority and as an act that will threaten the neighboring country's bid to join the European Union.

Albanian PM Rama says Athens was “Albanian”

The remonstration by the Greek Foreign Ministry regarding the seizure of Greek properties in Albania, lead to Albanian PM Edi Rama uploading an outrageous and unhistorical post on his Facebook page concerning Athens and its inhabitants.

Montenegro Hosts NATO Exercise Amid Russian Tension

An international military exercise called "Montenegro 2016", involving servicemen and women from the 32 NATO member and partner countries, started in the capital Podgorica on Monday

The consequence management field exercise, organized jointly by the Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre, EADRCC, and the Montenegrin Interior Ministry, ends on Friday.

Albanians Rally Against Power Plants and Trash Imports

Chanting "Don't touch Valbona" and "No Waste Imports in Albania", several thousand Albanians attended a protest concert on Sunday in Tirana, invited by a group of artists from Albania and Kosovo who offered a free show dedicated to environmental issues.

The mainstream media in the country did not cover the event.

Some Albanian Sigurimi Files May Have Vanished, Expert

Some of the files of Albania's once-feared Communist secret police, the Sigurimi, may have been destroyed or falsified, 25 years on from the fall of the Communist regime, a German expert told BIRN.

Albanian Court Stalls Vital Judicial Reform Law

The Albanian Constitutional Court decided on Tuesday to stall one of the core laws on judicial reform, a move that experts believe could jeopardise the country's chances of opening EU accession talks this year.

The court accepted a request from the main opposition Democratic Party to stall progress on the Law on Reassessment of Judges and Prosecutors, known as the 'vetting' law.

Albania Experts Query PM's Promised Pay Hikes

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has raised eyebrows by vowing to raise the salaries of public sector workers by around 35 per cent, to levels equivalent than those in the region.

Thaci: Albania 'Obliged' to Speak out on Kosovo

Since taking up office as Kosovo's head of state in February, President Hashim Thaci seems to have moved away from the limelight.

In government as Prime Minister, Thaci supported the establishment of the Specialist Chambers in the Hague, a new court that will deal with war crimes committed in Kosovo during 1998-2000.

Albanian Asylum-Seeker Numbers in Germany Rise Again

The number of Albanians requesting asylum spiked once again in September, after numbers fell in the first part of 2016. 

A year exactly after Berlin acted to curb the numbers, by declaring Albania a safe country, the phenomenon of thousands people seeking asylum each month has started to emerge again. 

Edi Rama: "Greater Albania" belongs to the past

Edi Rama - Photo: AP

BELGRADE - Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said he believes that the possibility of unification Albania and Kosovo - "Greater Albania" - belongs to the past, writes Serbian daily "Kurir".

Rama said this on Monday in an interview for "Al Jazeera", when asked to comment on the possible unification of Kosovo and Albania.

Albanian Investigative TV Show Shutdown Criticised

The South East Europe Media Organisation, SEEMO said on Monday that the cancellation of the investigative programme was "disturbing" and called for a clarification of the reasons why the show was pulled off the air.

Croatian Town Launches Classes to Keep 'Arbanasi' Alive

A school in Dalmatia, in Croatia, is introducing Albanian language classes, designed in part to keep alive the language and culture of an ancient, tiny community of long-ago Albanian migrants known as the Arbanasi.

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