Gëzim Cela, the ‘Drug Baron’ extradited under high security measures in Albania

Gezim Cela, known in Albania as the ‘drug baron’ was extradited this Thursday to Albania from Kosovo. Çela was arrested on December last year in Kosovo, where he was hiding after being declared wanted. He was declared wanted last August, after police couldn’t arrest him during the operation ‘Flames on the sea’. On February 27, […]

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Monday Briefing from the Balkans: February 9, 2026

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

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Deputy Prime Minister Resuspended By Court Ruling

Parliament now expected to lift immunity. Tirana Times, 08 February 2026 – The Constitutional Court’s decision to leave in force the suspension of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy Belinda Balluku has reopened a deep institutional conflict in Albania, sharpening tensions between the executive, the judiciary, and Parliament, while placing …

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Russian Propaganda in North Macedonia

by Agron Vrangalla Tirana Times, 08 February 2026 – Moscow systematically uses information manipulation as an instrument of foreign policy. In North Macedonia, Russian propaganda relies on several recurring narratives that exploit domestic political tensions and social vulnerabilities. The impact of Russian propaganda in the Western Balkans is neither new …