Edi Rama

It is one of Europe?s oldest people, yet has a Muslim majority. The whole nation is ethnically homogenous, yet split among three religions. The language is as old as ancient Greek, yet includes many American words. And on top of it, the prime minister is a famous painter. 

This unique country is none other than Albania.

Albanian police have continued combing the village of Lazarat, conducting house-to-house searches to find members of the armed group that on Wednesday killed 31-year-old special forces officer Ibrahim Basha in an ambush.

Since the operation started on Wednesday, police have detained dozens of suspects, mostly young man, for questioning by prosecutors.

Albania's left-wing governing coalition scored a massive victory in last Sunday's local elections, winning about 62 per cent of the vote, while international observers raised concerns about allegations of vote-buying and intimidation.

Ibrahim Basha, 31, was killed on Wednesday and two other officers were wounded after coming under fire inside a lawless village in southern Albania.

The two wounded officers were airlifted to the National Trauma Center in Tirana and doctors say their lives are not at risk.

The left-wing coalition headed by Prime Minister Edi Rama won or is leading in key races in the local elections held on Sunday in Albania, but its victory is expected to be much less convincing than in 2013.

Four officials and five owners and employees of pharmacies accused of stealing 56 million leks (400,000 euro) have been arrested in recent days as the Albanian government faces its biggest corruption scandal since it came to power 18 months ago.

Two similar cases involving suspected fraud of several million euros are also currently under investigation.

Serbia and Albania will sign a protocol for the construction of a EUR 1 B motorway that will link Nis with the Adriatic port of Durres, Serbia's Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Zorana Mihajlovic said on Saturday.

The US government has praised Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and his Albanian counterpart Edi Rama for trying to move on from the conflicts of the past toward a new era of friendship and cooperation in the Balkans.

The Prime Ministers from the Western Balkans visited Tirana to take part in the "Tirana Talk" of the Vienna Economic Forum, a forum organized on the initiative of the Albanian Prime Minister, Edi Rama.

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and his Albanian counterpart Edi Rama agreed to disagree on Kosovo and sought closer cooperation between their countries.

This happened at the meeting of the two leaders on Wednesday, which is part of the two-day visit of Vucic to Tirana, Tanjug news agency reports.