In Albania

Tensions escalated in Albania as anti-government protests erupted into clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in the capital city of Tirana. Thousands of supporters of the opposition Democratic Party converged outside the parliament building, demanding the immediate release of party leader Sali Berisha, who has been under house arrest since December 31 on charges of corruption.

BELGRADE - In response to opposition claims, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Thursday he would never sign an independence of the so-called Kosovo.

BELGRADE - Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Albanian PM Edi Rama in Belgrade, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Friday evening they had started changing a bad political legacy after decades of silence between Serbia and Albania and Serbs and Albanians.

Serbia has received an ultimatum from leading Western countries to normalize relations with Kosovo, said Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

In an address broadcast on national television, Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vucic, said he had been presented with a proposal to resolve tensions with Kosovo.

Political veteran Sali Berisha will bid to take back control of the opposition Democrats on Saturday, but in doing so he risks splitting the party in two.

The demonstrations took place in the presence of the Prime Minister

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has officially denied a request for entry in to the US by former Albanian president Sali Berisha.

"Today, I am announcing the public designation of Sali Berisha, former President, Prime Minister and Member of Parliament of Albania, due to his involvement in significant corruption," Blinken said in a statement. 

Edi Rama will try hard to be re-elected

Interior Minister Sander Lleshaj, Prime Minister Edi Rama and the police in general faced growing criticism on Wednesday for the force used to disperse protests in Tirana on Sunday against the demolition of the National Theatre.

Albania Prime Minister Edi Rama on March 5, 2020, defending his proposal in parliament. Photo: Malton Dibra/LSA

The law, technically called a Normative Act, implying a law undertaken under extraordinary circumstances, received 89 votes for and 17 against.