Albania

There has been a sharp rise in the number of ads on TikTok targeting Albanians wishing to get into the UK across the English Channel.

Thousands of Albanians took to the streets of the capital following the tragic death of a child off a beach, calling for improved security at the seaside.

For years, Albanian authorities failed to probe the wealth and connections of two Albanians convicted of drug trafficking in Spain.

Calls to improve beach security following the death of a child, killed by a passing speedboat, have drawn an angry response from the PM who insists the problem is being exaggerated.

PM lashes local media reporting on a child's death at sea in an accident, slating 'those who wish and expect nothing but disaster'.

EU expert Andi Hoxhaj tells BIRN that besides the usual governance-related issues, the ‘crony capitalism’ of its economy might delay Albania’s EU integration.

Sex work in most Balkan countries remains illegal and liable to prosecution – depriving many sex workers of access to health and social insurance and leaving them vulnerable to exploitation.

The ruling Socialist Party has proposed legal changes after media claims that ex-president and opposition leader Ilir Meta was a Communist-era secret police collaborator – but the opposition says false allegations are being used for political gain.

Andrzej Izdebski, a notorious arms dealer involved in a scandal-tainted procurement of medical ventilators in Poland, died unexpectedly in Tirana, aged 71. Oddities surrounding the death sparked speculation it had been staged.

A claim that a senior official informed for the Communist-era Sigurimi secret police caused pro-government media to speculate that it was former president Ilir Meta, who has just returned to frontline politics as an opposition leader.

While Montenegro and Albania blame a fall in tourist numbers on price rises, Greece is stimulating its industry by giving lower-income families vouchers to spend in resorts

Albania’s former President Ilir Meta’s return to frontline politics did not come as a surprise to anyone, but some doubt that his newly rebranded party will be able to compete successfully with well-entrenched Prime Minister Edi Rama.

Geneva-based NGO's report says combination of location and lax security has made some ports in Southeast Europe 'ideal' locations for drug and tobacco traffickers to conduct their illegal work.

Huge delays at European airports this summer – due to revived demand for flights and staff shortages – have had significant consequences also for travel in the Western Balkans.

Less than 24 hours after leaving the presidential office, Ilir Meta rejoined his Socialist Movement for Integration, SMI – and offered to collaborate with anyone who believes in democracy in Albania.

War in Ukraine and the EU’s prompt response to the crisis have shown that the ‘icy stalemate’ over European enlargement has finally cracked.

Albania’s former prime minister and president Sali Berisha said he is on a list of people banned from entering Britain because of alleged involvement in corruption, and blamed current premier Edi Rama and financier George Soros.

US Embassy in Tirana warns of unnamed security threat to weekend summit of opposition Iranians in Albania, which hosts thousands of members of the exiled People's Mujahedeen of Iran, MEK.

Albanian lawmakers backed a resolution condemning a 2011 Council of Europe report that accused senior Kosovo Liberation Army guerrillas of war crimes, after a debate marred by bitter wrangling between governing and opposition MPs.

Thirty young classical musicians from all over the Western Balkans are readying for a five-day tour of the region, all members of an orchestra set up to overcome the prejudices that bedevil the region.

Documents seen by BIRN and testimonials shows a black market in loans is flourishing in Albania with the help of organized crime and corrupt politicians.

Government approves new judiciary map reducing the total number of courts in the country – despite opposition from lawyers who claim it will make justice more expensive and less accessible to ordinary people.

Latest US State Department Trafficking in Persons report says Balkan countries are making 'significant efforts' to stop human trafficking gangs but have yet to get on top of the problem.

EU officials have welcomed the 'historic' vote in North Macedonia's parliament at the weekend, which has opened the way to the long-delayed start to accession talks for both North Macedonia and Albania.

Albanians were unable to use scores of government services on Monday as the main servers went down, following what the authorities called 'a synchronised criminal attack from abroad'.

Vilson Blloshmi and Genc Leka were executed on July 17, 1977 on the basis of claims that their poems constituted a threat to Albania’s Communist regime – even though they hadn’t been published.

Home Office accused of prioritising exceptional cases in immigration decisionsAn 18th birthday is normally a milestone to be celebrated but for a teenager called Samet it marked the unravelling of the life he had built in Britain.After his father forced him to beg on the streets in Albania at 11, Samet was trafficked to Belgium and then smuggled to Britain […]

Hundreds of women and children who escaped war in Ukraine have found a welcoming place to stay on the coast of a country they knew little about before the war.

Visits by Serbian citizens have increased significantly in recent years, with Albania’s minister of tourism attributing the rise in tourism to the Open Balkan cross-border political initiative.

Albania will now hold 'consultations' about its controversial plan to grant a fiscal amnesty to holders of illegal wealth – which the European Commission has sharply queried, BIRN has learned from a source.