Victims of Albania’s communist regime and activists gathered at a former labour camp to honour the prisoners’ uprising in 1984 and call for the location to be preserved as a reminder of past suffering. Original post Here

Municipality’s payments to a restaurant owned by the wife of the former deputy mayor – now a government minister – raises fresh questions about business connections between state officials and their private business partners. Original post Here

Evidence shows that schools with a large concentration of Roma and ethnic Egyptian pupils underperform – but Albania’s Education Ministry doesn’t see a problem. Original post Here

Media rights groups have called on Albania’s police to explain the arrest of a journalist and two police officers for producing ‘false information’ for the purpose of denigrating state officials. Original post Here

Albania has approved gender equality quotas for local councils since 2015. However, undemocratic practices by party leaders make women less willing to speak out and, when they do, more prone to be told: “Shut up”, a study has found. Original post Here

Prison populations and incarceration rates in the Balkans are too high and continuing to grow, according to new research. Original post Here

An exhaustive analysis of organised crime and corruption trials in five Western Balkan countries identified a lack of efficiency, staffing, fairness and quality. Original post Here

Italy’s right-wing prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, inspected work on two asylum centres being built in Albania under a controversial deal between the two countries. Original post Here

Fredi Beleri, a mayor-elect in Albania who has been in prison since May 2023, is expected to enter the European parliament after standing as a Greek MEP, further complicating already strained relations between Albania and Greece. Original post Here

Prime Minister Edi Rama has pushed through a resolution setting up a new Special Anti-Corruption Commission – but critics claim it’s a partisan initiative, established to combat negative publicity over graft cases involving former ruling party politicians. Original post Here