Albania

In a letter to the Guardian, Uran Ferizi criticises ‘obsession’ with demonising AlbaniansAlbanians in Britain are paying the price in schools and workplaces of being scapegoated by rightwing media and politicians, the Albanian ambassador has said.Uran Ferizi also criticised Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, for comments in parliament where she […]

Albania’s ambassador to the UK, Uran Ferizi, takes exception to media reports that he says selectively focus on the criminality of Albanians• Report: Albanians in UK scapegoated by rightwing media and politicians, says ambassadorThese are challenging times in Britain. Economic pressure has a long history of finding a foreign face to blame. For several […]

A young Albanian woman’s escape from al-Hawl offers rare hope – but as the camp empties many are left stranded, prompting urgent calls for repatriationFor weeks he hovered near Turkey’s border with Syria hoping for good news. In early February, Xhetan Ndregjoni got word of what he was waiting for – his niece Eva was on her way after escaping the […]

Adams was granted citizenship and a passport from Balkan country by a special decree from the republic’s presidentEric Adams has obtained citizenship and a passport from Albania, the Balkan country which received effusive compliments from the former New York City mayor during a visit there relatively recently.The Albania Daily News first reported on […]

Representatives of repressive regimes from around the world are flying to Washington for the inaugural meeting of the bodyA grouping of largely oppressive and authoritarian world leaders and their envoys are flying to Washington for the inaugural meeting of Donald Trump’s newly established Board of Peace.The body was created to implement his vision for […]

Funding to tackle misinformation and cyber-attacks, and boost democracy, cut from £40m to £24mKeir Starmer’s raid on overseas aid has led to a 40% cut in funds for countering Russian aggression and misinformation in a region of Europe described by the prime minister as vital to the UK’s national security.British funding committed to bolstering the […]

Politician who helped steer Albania’s chaotic transition in the early 1990s from communist rule to fledgling market economyWhether he was in government or in jail, Fatos Nano was one of the two figures, along with his arch-rival, Sali Berisha, who dominated Albania’s political scene in the turbulent 15 years that began with the disintegration of […]

Health secretary says he is not comfortable with some elements of policy but that it is the right thing to do for the countryWes Streeting has admitted he is not comfortable with forcibly deporting families under the home secretary’s migration plans, while maintaining it is still the right thing to do.The health secretary said he thought the number of […]

Kaja Kallas tells reporters more countries could join 27-country bloc, including Montenegro, Albania and UkraineThe European Union could admit new members by 2030, its foreign policy chief has said, as officials praised reform efforts by frontrunners Montenegro and Albania, while criticising backsliding in Serbia and an even steeper democratic decline in […]

Kosovo is an outlier in the region, whose other leaders say ‘looking for places to dump immigrants’ is evidence the UK is in ‘a very dark place’Kosovo has become the first country to indicate it will accept Britain’s refused asylum seekers as part of government plans to set up “return hubs” in third countries.Albin Kurti, the prime minister of […]

British team sent to develop new ways of working with Frontex, the EU’s border agencyBritish border security officers have been deployed to the Balkans for the first time in an effort to disrupt the networks smuggling migrants into the UK.Officers have been sent to develop new ways of working with Frontex, the EU’s border agency, to track down and […]

Home secretary to tell meeting of interior ministers that international cooperation is way to curb irregular migrationThe failure to bring order to European borders is eroding trust in politicians and the concept of nation states, Shabana Mahmood will warn.As she hosts a meeting of fellow interior ministers to discuss migration routes through the western […]

Man opens fire in Tirana court, killing judge and injuring two other people, and is arrested after fleeing sceneA man on trial opened fire in a courtroom in the Albanian capital, Tirana, killing the judge and injuring two other people, police have said.The judge, Astrit Kalaja, was presiding during a hearing at the court of appeal on Monday when the man […]

Vietnam and Albania have their fans. Some Americans might even enjoy the UK. But there’s a lot to be said for a country with universally accessible healthcare and freedom of movement within the EUName: Portugal.Age: Founded 882 years ago. Continue reading...

Edi Rama, PM, says digital assistant Diella will make Albania ‘a country where public tenders are 100% free of corruption’A digital assistant that helps people navigate government services online has become the first “virtually created” AI cabinet minister and put in charge of public procurement in an attempt to cut down on corruption, the Albanian […]

Troubled by a photo of her grandmother living it up in Mussolini’s Italy, the author of Free delves into archive and memory to uncover the truthIt starts with a photo. A black-and-white image of a couple relaxing on a pair of sun loungers in front of a luxury ski hotel: him, squinting against the sun; her, smiling at the camera, wrapped in a white fur […]

Satellite imagery shows the impact on Europe after wildfires raged across the south of the continentWildfires claim third life in Spain as intense heat continues across Europe Continue reading...

US president indicates in interview that any deal would not be made without Zelenskyy ahead of Friday’s meeting in Alaskain BerlinGerman chancellor Friedrich Merz’s stab at heading up Ukraine diplomacy has received measured praise at home, with a perception that Donald Trump’s declarations after Wednesday’s video conference sounded slightly less […]

Environment minister says blazes, in which two people have died, are proof of country’s vulnerability to global heatingThe heatwave-fuelled wildfires that have killed two people in Spain over recent days, devouring thousands of hectares of land and forcing thousands of people from their homes, are a “clear warning” of the impact of the climate […]

Boy, four, dies of heatstroke in Rome as scientists say high temperatures and fires are reminder of climate emergencyThe deadly heatwave fanning wildfires across the Mediterranean region has claimed at least three lives and forced thousands of people from their homes.Firefighters continued to battle blazes on Tuesday and authorities braced for further […]