Latest Albania News

Albanians abroad will vote for the first time in parliamentary elections set for May

Dec. 05, 2024 12:06 PM EST

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albania’s president on Thursday set May 11 as the date for the country’s next parliamentary election, and Albanians living in other countries will for the first time be able to cast ballots from overseas. Albania's number of potential voters is 3.6...

Albanian opposition leader facing corruption charges is released from house arrest

Nov. 27, 2024 08:40 AM EST

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — An Albanian court on Wednesday released from house arrest former Prime Minister Sali Berisha, who leads the opposition Democratic Party and is charged with corruption. The Special Court for Corruption and Organized Crime, which covers cases involving senior...

Albanian opposition supporters block the capital’s streets in an anti-government rally

Nov. 26, 2024 14:07 PM EST

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albanian opposition lawmakers and their supporters blocked the capital's main streets for hours Tuesday accusing the government of corruption and demanding it be replaced by a technocratic caretaker Cabinet until 2025 parliamentary elections. Hundreds of...

Aid groups say Italy-Albania migration deal violates medical ethics

Nov. 15, 2024 12:24 PM EST

ROME (AP) — More than a dozen humanitarian organizations that provide health care to migrants criticized Italy’s migration deal with Albania on Friday as violating the code of medical ethics, and urged health workers not to cooperate with it. The deal, the centerpiece of Premier...

Italy's plan to screen migrants in Albania hits another snag with 2nd group returning to Italy

Nov. 12, 2024 02:09 AM EST

MILAN (AP) — Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni’s program to screen asylum seekers outside of European Union borders in Albania hit another snag when a court in Rome refused to rule on a formal request to detain seven migrants transferred to the Balkan nation last week. The decision...

One of 8 migrants sent to Albania returned to Italy

Nov. 09, 2024 07:51 AM EST

ROME (AP) — One of the eight migrants brought for processing in an Albanian center after being intercepted in international waters has returned to Italy after being deemed “vulnerable,” a delegation of Italian activists and lawmakers visiting the center said on Saturday. The...

A ship suspected of carrying toxic waste docks at a port in Albania to have its cargo inspected

Nov. 08, 2024 08:22 AM EST

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — A ship suspected of carrying a large amount of hazardous waste was allowed to dock on Friday at Albania’s main port, where its cargo was being unloaded for inspection on the orders of the prosecutor, officials said. Albania had prevented the...

Italy sends another 8 migrants to Albania under processing centers deal

Nov. 08, 2024 07:38 AM EST

SHENGJIN, Albania (AP) — An Italian navy ship docked Friday at the Albanian port of Shengjin with eight migrants who will be processed there after they were intercepted in international waters, a month after another group was turned away for failing the vetting process. It is only...

Albania aims to join the European Union by 2030, prime minister tells expatriates in Greek city

Nov. 03, 2024 15:35 PM EST

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Albania hopes to join the European Union by 2030, Prime Minister Edi Rama told a crowd of some 2,000 supporters at a hotel in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki on Sunday. Rama also promised that the numerous Albanian expatriates will be able for...

Albania's opposition blocks roads in a protest to demand a caretaker Cabinet

Oct. 29, 2024 23:16 PM EDT

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albanian opposition activists blocked major roads for several hours Tuesday in a nationwide rally demanding that the government be replaced by a technocratic caretaker Cabinet before the 2025 parliamentary election. Lawmakers led hundreds of opposition...