Foreign ministers of Albania

Writer and politician Mit’hat Frasheri, praised for his contribution to Albanian culture but criticised for collaborating with the Nazis, was reburied at a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Edi Rama.

In a response to a query from BIRN, it answered: "No. The regions are not yet identified as we are only talking about possibly exploring this concept," asked whether plans exist to create the so-called "Regional Disembarkation Platforms" in Albania.

Albania's opposition Democratic Party and the Socialist Movement for Integration, LSI, have finalised their preparations for a major protest on Saturday in Tirana, demanding the resignation of the Interior Minister Fatmir Xhafaj, who they accuse of engaging in drug smuggling.

The State Department announced on Monday that businessman and politician Tom Doshi, one of the wealthiest MPs in the Albanian parliament, has been barred from entering the US, along with his immediate family.

The State Department alleged in a statement that Doshi's ban was "due to his involvement in significant corruption".

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras's official visit to Albania, where he was scheduled to meet his counterpart Edi Rama, has been postponed until after Greek Orthodox Easter, with no precise dates released as yet.

Albania President Ilir Meta on Friday met parliament's foreign affairs committee, seeking more talks on the government's request for authorization to negotiate a new maritime border deal with Greece.

President Ilir Meta on Tuesday refused to provide the authorisation for further talks with Greece to resolve the sea border disagreement, demanding further information on what and how the government will negotiate.

"The request doesn't clearly define the object of negotiations for which the authorisation is requested," Meta said in a statement.

The US State Department on Wednesday announced that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had "designated" Adriatik Llalla, 49, and his family as corrupt foreign officials, thereby banning Llalla from entering the country.

Two former directors of the Albanian Road Authority are among 11 people arrested by an Elbasan court order over the procurement of a road that was never properly built.

Dashamir Xhika, former director of the Authority between 2013 and 2017, was arrested and accused of abuse of office.

He arrived there on Thursday on an unannounced visit, Tanjug is reporting.

The agency cites Macedonia's MIA, which recalled that the United States recently rejected Haradinaj's visa application.