Elections/ Media: Let’s return the pre-election coalitions
The chairman of the Republican Party, Fatmir Mediu, participated in this Thursday’s plenary session in the Assembly. During his speech, he spoke about the discussion on Electoral Reform and Open Lists, where he said that constitutionality should be restored. So he emphasized that the agreement with the OSCE should be …
Basha excluded by Parliament
It is not meant to be at least one normal parliamentary session. After the consensus reached between the democrats and majority for a normal parliamentary life, now the small group of democrat MPs gathered around Lulzim Basha protested. Basha himself urged since the beginning of today’s session, that the Parliament …
Collaborator of Laert Haxhiu, Klea Gjata released from prison
The Special Court against Corruption released from prison, Klea Gjata, friend of Laert Haxhiu. She was arrested last September after the testimony of Arben Tafani, with the accuse for supporting the crime perpetrator and for not denouncing a crime. Her lawyer pretends that the family of Gjata was threatened by …
The Constitutional Court rejected Fredi Beleri’s request to be released from prison
The elected mayor of Himara, Fredi Beleri, was sentenced to two years in prison by the Special Court. A decision for which his lawyer emphasized that they will appeal. Beleri claimed that the court had conducted an irregular process and that his right to be elected had been violated due …
After 6 months, the Assembly returns to normality
The Parliament of Albania returns to normality, after several months of noise and chaos. The Speaker of the Assembly, Lindita Nikolla, at the beginning of the plenary session, presented the agenda to the legislators, while the deputies of Re-establishment are expected to join the votes with the socialists for the …
The murder of Gentian Bejtja, two arrested, one of them the suspected perpetrator
The State Police announces that it has arrested one of the persons suspected of having participated in the murder of Gentian Bejtja in Fushë Krujë. He also accompanied another, who is suspected to be involved in the crime. According to the police, the arrested person is Ilir Beqaraj alias Brahimi, …
Accused of murdering the businessman in Shengjin, Portuguese Ruben Saraiva sentenced to prison
The court of Lezha has left the Portuguese Ruben Saraiva in prison. The Portuguese is accused of murdering businessman Ardian Nikulaj, an event that happened in Shengjin. Saraiva appeared today in front of the Lezha court, under strict security measures, as she requested a change in the security measure. He …
Photos of two arrested for the murder of Bejtja made public
Police made public the two persons arrested so far after the murder of Gentjan Bejtja, former prison police officer. The two men in the photo are Ilir Beqaraj alias Brahimi alias Mancellari and Edison Haxhiu. Beqiraj is the cousin of Ylli Brahimi, known for police as the right hand of …
Drug trafficking from the USA to Albania by mail, one arrested
A case of trafficking of the narcotic substance cannabis sativa, from the USA, to our country, using the postal service, has been reported. As a result, a 27-year-old man was arrested, while another was declared wanted. “Narcotics Investigation Specialists, in cooperation with the Directorate of Customs Investigation in the General …
Op/Ed: If we want peace, we must prepare for war
By Charles Michel President of the European Council. It was 3:30 in the morning on 24 February 2022, when I was woken by the sound of my phone ringing. Countless intelligence briefings warning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine can never prepare you for the moment. Hearing Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s …
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 …
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
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 …
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
Catch up on the weekend’s most important developments with Balkan Insight’s digest of news from countries across the region. Original post Here
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 …
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 …
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
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 …
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 …