Blog
News

Declared internationally wanted, a 65 year old arrested in Durres

The citizen with the two names Asjan Buçeza/Hasan Buçeza, announced as an international wanted, has been arrested by Durres police, with the aim of extradition to Italy. The 65-year-old was sentenced by the Court of Milan to 23 years of imprisonment, for the criminal activities of possession, sale and trafficking …

Read More
News

Police officer fall down elevator shaft

A serious incident happen this Saturday morning in district no. 4 of Saranda. The police officer of the Saranda Police Station, Klement Bello, 63 years old, had a serious accident after falling into the elevator shaft of the building where he lived. Apparently, there was a defect in the elevator. …

Read More
News

CEDC and the Western Balkan, Peleshi: Albania, promoter regional cooperation and good neighborliness

Defense Minister Niko Peleshi participated in the Central European and Western Balkans Defense Cooperation Ministerial, which was chaired by the Hungarian presidency, in Budapest. In his welcome speech, the Minister of Defense of Hungary, Mr. Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky, praised the contribution of the CEDC initiative to strengthening regional cooperation in the …

Read More
News

The Municipality of Tirana and the French Embassy sign an agreement in the field of creative industries.

The head of the Municipality of Tirana, Erion Veliaj, received in a meeting the ambassador of France in Albania, Catherine Suard. The focus of the meeting was the signing of a cooperation agreement in the digital and innovation field, which according to Mayor Veliaj will bring a new spirit and …

Read More
News

Water resources management/ Balluku: Challenge that must be met according to EU requirements

The Deputy Prime Minister and at the same time the Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, Belinda Balluku, spoke at the Forum of Integrated Management of Water Resources, which was held in Albania. She said that water management is one of the conditions of the European Union that it has imposed …

Read More
News

10 kg of drugs were caught in a vehicle in Korça, two arrested

10 kilograms of narcotics are seized in Korça. Two people have been put in handcuffs. The narcotic substance of the cannabis sativa type was found in a vehicle during a check on the Korçë-Voskopojë road axis. The police have detained the driver of the vehicle and another person traveling with …

Read More
News

Convicted for murder and drugs, two Albanians are extradited from the United Kingdom and Greece

Two Albanians convicted in the United Kingdom and Greece have been extradited to Albania. From the United Kingdom, 34-year-old Donald Hoxha was extradited, for whom the Court of Elbasan, with the decision dated 21.01.2024, assigned the security measure “Arrest in prison”, for the criminal offenses “Premeditated murder” and “Illegal Possession …

Read More
News

Buying votes, SPAK closes investigations for Agim Loci

The Special Prosecutor’s Office (SPAK) has closed the investigation into Agim Loci, who is accused of election corruption. According to SPAK, Loci has given a monetary sum of up to 10,000 ALL to vote in favor of his daughter, who competed in the May 14 elections, on the list of …

Read More
News

Analysis: Albania’s parliament undermines Constitutional Court in Xhaçka ruling

Albania’s parliament, under the control of the Socialist Party, has overturned a decision made by the Constitutional Court that would see to the expulsion of MP Olta Xhaçka from parliament. Xhaçka is a former Minister of Foreign Affairs as well as the Minister of Defence, and is seen as a …

Read More
News

The Empty Seat in Strasbourg

When the newly elected European Parliament convenes this year on July 16 there will be an empty seat in the plenary hall within the Louise Weiss building in Strasbourg. Fredi Beleri, a dual Albanian and Greek national, who will surely be elected on the ticket of Greece’s ruling party, cannot …

Read More
News
Albanian Parliament Under Cyberattack Linked to Iran

Tirana Times, March 10, 2026 – A cyberattack targeting Albania’s Parliament has revived one of the country’s most serious national security concerns, underscoring the return of a threat that Albanian institutions have come to associate with Iran linked retaliation. The breach, confirmed by Parliament on Tuesday, involved unauthorized access to …

News
Belinda Balluku: Albanian PM’s Loyal Ally at Centre of Political Firestorm

The criminal charges facing former Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku have dominated headlines in Albania for months – prompting her boss, Edi Rama, to pick a fight with the judiciary. Original post Here

News
Parliament Blocks Arrest Bid for Former Deputy Prime Minister Balluku

Shielding Balluku Could Cost Albania More Than a Court Case. Tirana Times, March 09, 2026 – Albania’s ruling Socialist majority moved Monday to block the arrest of former Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku, in a decision expected to be ratified by parliament this week and one that is rapidly becoming …

News
Albanian Ruling Party Refuses to Support Lifting of Former Deputy PM’s Immunity

Ahead of a vote in parliament on Thursday, the ruling Socialists reject a prosecution request to support lifting the immunity of dismissed former Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku, allowing for her arrest. Original post Here

News
Monday Briefing from the Balkans: March 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

News
Do the Balkans really want EU membership?

By Daniel Serwer Tirana Times, March 06, 2026 – While all eyes are on the Iran war, subtle but important changes are taking place with respect to the Balkans. I think the two most important are these: The Trump Administration is abandoning state-building and instead wants local people to make the basic …

News
Marx on the Beach

By Zef Preci Tirana Times, March 06, 2026 – Two centuries ago, Karl Marx offered a blunt description of how capitalism is sometimes born and consolidated: through what he called “primitive accumulation,” a historical process—often violent—by which people are separated from their land and productive assets, while wealth is concentrated …

News
Week in Review: Friends, Foes and Chocolate Thieves

From European Union accession hopes to ongoing corruption investigations, our selection of Premium stories this week takes a look at the political wheeling and dealing going on behind the scenes in the region. Original post Here

News
The Biblical Dog and our chances for full EU membership 

by Genc Pollo Let’s start with the dog. “As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly,” says the Old Testament (Proverbs 26:11), offering a blunt metaphor for stupidity and the stubborn repetition of mistakes. That proverbial dog may be the right analogy for Prime Minister Edi …

News
Albania Must Not Mirror Serbia’s EU Rejection

By Augustin Palokaj Tirana Times, March 03 2026 – EU enlargement does not lack ideas; it lacks political will. That is why the recent joint opinion piece by Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama and Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić, published in the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, is troubling not so …

News

Albanian Parliament Under Cyberattack Linked to Iran

Tirana Times, March 10, 2026 – A cyberattack targeting Albania’s Parliament has revived one of the country’s most serious national security concerns, underscoring the return of a threat that Albanian institutions have come to associate with Iran linked retaliation. The breach, confirmed by Parliament on Tuesday, involved unauthorized access to …

News

Belinda Balluku: Albanian PM’s Loyal Ally at Centre of Political Firestorm

The criminal charges facing former Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku have dominated headlines in Albania for months – prompting her boss, Edi Rama, to pick a fight with the judiciary. Original post Here

News

Parliament Blocks Arrest Bid for Former Deputy Prime Minister Balluku

Shielding Balluku Could Cost Albania More Than a Court Case. Tirana Times, March 09, 2026 – Albania’s ruling Socialist majority moved Monday to block the arrest of former Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku, in a decision expected to be ratified by parliament this week and one that is rapidly becoming …

News

Albanian Ruling Party Refuses to Support Lifting of Former Deputy PM’s Immunity

Ahead of a vote in parliament on Thursday, the ruling Socialists reject a prosecution request to support lifting the immunity of dismissed former Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku, allowing for her arrest. Original post Here

News

Monday Briefing from the Balkans: March 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

News

Do the Balkans really want EU membership?

By Daniel Serwer Tirana Times, March 06, 2026 – While all eyes are on the Iran war, subtle but important changes are taking place with respect to the Balkans. I think the two most important are these: The Trump Administration is abandoning state-building and instead wants local people to make the basic …

News

Marx on the Beach

By Zef Preci Tirana Times, March 06, 2026 – Two centuries ago, Karl Marx offered a blunt description of how capitalism is sometimes born and consolidated: through what he called “primitive accumulation,” a historical process—often violent—by which people are separated from their land and productive assets, while wealth is concentrated …

News

Week in Review: Friends, Foes and Chocolate Thieves

From European Union accession hopes to ongoing corruption investigations, our selection of Premium stories this week takes a look at the political wheeling and dealing going on behind the scenes in the region. Original post Here

News

The Biblical Dog and our chances for full EU membership 

by Genc Pollo Let’s start with the dog. “As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly,” says the Old Testament (Proverbs 26:11), offering a blunt metaphor for stupidity and the stubborn repetition of mistakes. That proverbial dog may be the right analogy for Prime Minister Edi …

News

Albania Must Not Mirror Serbia’s EU Rejection

By Augustin Palokaj Tirana Times, March 03 2026 – EU enlargement does not lack ideas; it lacks political will. That is why the recent joint opinion piece by Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama and Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić, published in the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, is troubling not so …