Catch up on the weekend’s most important developments with Balkan Insight’s digest of news from countries across the region. Original post Here

The new Primate will need to be savvy, navigating between conflicting pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian currents in the small but opinionated Albanian Orthodox Church. Original post Here

A government order to ban TikTok to protect children from violent material came into force more than a week ago, but the mobile phone app for the video-sharing platform is still partially working in Albania. Original post Here

By Tirana Times TIRANA, March 20th (Tirana Times ) The Albanian government has nearly doubled the projected cost of its “Smart City” initiative, now expected to cost $118.5 million—up from the initially planned $60 million—raising concerns over transparency, lack of competition, and the protection of personal data. The government announced …

The Trilateral Defense Agreement Between Albania, Croatia, and Kosovo The recent signing of a trilateral defense cooperation agreement between Albania, Croatia, and Kosovo marks a significant geopolitical development in the Western Balkans. This move, underscores growing security collaboration in a historically fragile region. While the agreement does not constitute a …

By Tirana Times TIRANA, Albania, March 19th— Albania, Croatia, and Kosovo have signed a joint declaration aimed at strengthening defense and security cooperation, marking a significant geopolitical development in the Western Balkans. The agreement, announced this week in Tirana, signals an increased level of military collaboration but stops short of …

A defence agreement between Croatia, Albania and Kosovo, calling for joint responses to common security challenges, has drawn a furious response from Serbia, which called it a threatening move. Original post Here

Under Prime Minister Edi Rama and his Socialist Party, Albania’s government has been bombarding the media with carefully curated PR packages that air as ‘news’. Original post Here

By Tirana Times TIRANA, Albania (Tirana Times ) The Albanian government has nearly doubled the projected cost of its “Smart City” initiative, now expected to cost $118.5 million—up from the initially planned $60 million—raising concerns over transparency, lack of competition, and the protection of personal data. The government announced the …

The Holy Synod of the Albanian Orthodox Church has elected Metropolitan Joan Pelushi of Korça as the new Archbishop of Tirana, Durrës, and All Albania. The 69-year-old cleric succeeds Archbishop Anastasios Yannoulatos, marking a historic transition for the Church after more than three decades of leadership under the Greek- born …