Albania

During his visit to Montenegro, Clint Williamson, head of the EULEX task force in charge of the Kosovo organ trafficking case, has called for regional cooperation in the investigation.Williamson met the Montenegrin interior minister, Ivan Brajovic, on Thursday. He presented the efforts of his team, which was formed in October …

The OSCE head in Albania, Eugen Wollfarth, has praised recent reforms in Albania, while expressing concerns that they might grind to a halt in 2013 during a ‘competitive’ election campaign.“In the last 12 months the political climate has improved as institutions made progress to regain their functionality,” Walfarth said in …

The Catholic Archdiocese of Shkodra on Tuesday said it will excommunicate anyone involved in traditional blood feuds, as concern grows about the revival of so-called honour killings.In a statement reflecting growing concern over the level of so-called blood feuds in Albania, the Catholic Church in Shkodra, said that, “Prompted by …

The Tirana prosecutor’s office is investigating a judge in Durres who is accused of abuse of power by freeing a murder suspect.According to the prosecutor, Judge Neritan Tabaku stalled the publication of the arguments on a previous murder case against a local gangster, Ilir Xhakja, for nearly 17 months, blocking …

Albania’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday played down the risks of trying to renegotiate a maritime border deal with Greece, which Albania’s Constitutional Court has deemed unlawful.“There are no reports or secret scripts regarding the issue of the maritime border between Greece and Albania,” the Secretary General of the Foreign Ministry, …

The Supreme Court on Monday disqualified as evidence a key video, which appeared to show former economy minister Dritan Prifti sharing a hefty bribe with his former deputy.Fatmir Braka, Prifit’s lawyer, said the judges had ruled the video inadmissible as proof on the defence’s request. “Because the video is inadmissible, …

Reversing his previous position, Socialist leader Edi Rama said his party will vote in favour of government plas to reform immunity laws – even though the government has refused to consider other reforms proposed by the opposition.Socialist leader Edi Rama said he will not stand in the way of reforms …

Environmental activists are up in arms over the Electoral College’s decision to reject an appeal against a decision by the Central Electoral Commission, CEC, on a referendum on waste imports.The specialized court on electoral issues on Friday rejected an appeal from the Alliance Against Waste Imports, AKIP, which would have …

More than half of the Twitter followers of Albanian opposition Socialist leader Edi Rama are fake accounts, analysis has revealed.According to the Fake Follower Check application, 55 per cent of Rama’s 32,874 followers on Twitter are spam accounts, 34 per cent are inactive and only 11 per cent are considered …

Albania’s new President, Bujar Nishani, is to start his first state visit on Wednesday in neighouring Kosovo.In his three-day visit to Kosovo, President Nishani is expected to hold meetings with Pristina’s political leaders, including President Atifete Jahjaga, the speaker of parliament Jakup Krasniqi and Prime Minister Hashim Thaci.