Latest Albania News

Albania opposition activists rally on streets of Tirana to demand government steps aside

Dec. 23, 2024 13:22 PM EST

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Members of Albania’s main opposition party on Monday blocked the capital Tirana’s main intersections in an anti-government protest calling for a technocratic caretaker cabinet ahead of next year's parliamentary elections. In the first rally after their...

Albanian prime minister says TikTok ban was not a 'rushed reaction to a single incident'

Dec. 23, 2024 02:22 AM EST

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albania’s prime minister said Sunday the ban on TikTok his government announced a day earlier was “not a rushed reaction to a single incident.” Prime Minister Edi Rama said Saturday the government will shut down TikTok for one year, accusing the popular...

Albania to close TikTok for a year blaming it for promoting violence among children

Dec. 21, 2024 14:16 PM EST

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albania's prime minister said Saturday the government will shut down the video service TikTok for one year, blaming it for inciting violence and bullying, especially among children. Albanian authorities held 1,300 meetings with teachers and parents following...

Europe's anti-torture watchdog slams Italy over migrant detention abuses

Dec. 13, 2024 12:28 PM EST

ROME (AP) — The Council of Europe's anti-torture committee on Friday released a report criticizing Italy’s treatment of migrants in local detention centers, citing cases of physical ill-treatment, excessive force and the use of psychotropic drugs on detainees. The report by the...

UEFA punishes Serbia for fan misconduct including trying to burn Albania flag

Dec. 13, 2024 09:07 AM EST

NYON, Switzerland (AP) — UEFA punished Serbia’s soccer federation for racist acts by fans at two Nations League games, including trying to burn an Albania flag in Switzerland. The decision was announced Friday, hours before Serbia and Albania were drawn by FIFA into the same...

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...