Notorious Behar Bajri left in prison by Special Court
Special Court of Appeals for Corruption and Organized Crime has left this Thursday in effect the ‘prison arrest’ measure for Behar Bajri, who is accused of a series of serious criminal offences. The 43-year-old was extradited from France to Albania in November after his arrest in a bar in Paris …
Elbasan, man arrested after stealing EUR 17,000 off brother
Police of Elbasan arrested this Thursday a 38-year-old wanted for theft. Law enforcement revealed that he had stolen 17 thousand euros from his brother’s apartment in April 2023. His wife is also under investigation, who is accused of being an accomplice in this theft. On its part, the Police also …
Shkoder, 32 kg of cannabis seized, five arrested
Over 32 kg of cannabis sativa were found this Sunday in the village of Plan of Shkodra. The amount of drugs was found by police, part of the mega-operation ‘Tempulli’ and it is believed that the drugs is property of a criminal group of 11 persons, five of them arrested. …
Perpetrator of the murder of businessman Nikulaj arrives to Albania
Portuguese Ruben Saraiva, who is suspected of being the person who executed businessman Ardian Nikulaj in April of this year, has been extradited from Morocco to Albania. He arrived this Sunday morning at Rinas Airport. The Portuguese was arrested in May and has been imprisoned in Morocco. until the authorities …
Albania’s former prime minister and leader of largest opposition group, Sali Berisha, placed under house arrest, ordered not to communicate with public
TIRANA, Dec. 30, 2023 – Sali Berisha, Albania’s former prime minister and leader of the country’s largest opposition group, has been placed under police-supervised house arrest and ordered to stop communicating with anyone outside his household through a ruling of the Special Court against Corruption and Organized Crime. The ruling …
P.M highlights Albania’s economic growth in 2023
Prime Minister Edi Rama, at the year-end conference with journalists, emphasized that 2023 has been a very good year for Albania. The head of the government added that the year will close with an economic growth of nearly 4%, a figure that exceeds the forecast of the government and international …
Police Director: Officers haven’t admitted use of ‘Sky ECC’
General Director of State Police, Muhamet Rrumbullaku taled this Saturday about the work of the law enforcement in 2023, focusing at the self-cleaning of police. At the annual meeting with journalists, Rrumbullaku spoke about filling out the forms, he said that they have all been collected, but no one has …
Sali Berisha under house arrest
Judge Irena Gjoka announced the decision today, accepting SPAK’s request for tightening the security measure for the former prime minister. From today, Sali Berisha will be under house arrest. It remains to be seen if SPAK’s request has been approved in its entirety, in addition to house arrest, GJKKO has …
Rama reacts after house arrest measure on former PM Berisha
At the same time that the Prime Minister, Edi Rama holds the annual conference, GJKKO (Special Court against Corruption and Organized Crime) made the decision to toughen the measure against the former Prime Minister, Sali Berisha, into house arrest. Rama reacted by stating that it is not a party’s victory …
Next hearing on former PM Berisha’s arrest to be held
Next hearing regarding the measure of arrest against former Prime Minister Sali Berisha is expected to be held this Saturday, at 12:00. In Thursday’s session, judge Irena Gjoka argued that the postponement of the decision was made to give time to the lawyers to familiarize themselves with the evidence. On …
Anti-poverty NGO ActionAid has filed a complaint to the Court of Auditors in Italy over the 133 million euro cost of two migrant detention centres in Albania as part of a controversial asylum offshoring deal between Rome and Tirana. Original post Here
By Tirana Times Staff Tirana, 3 December 2025 — The Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Albania today organized in Tirana the central event marking the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, a broad awareness-raising activity that brought together around 250 children with disabilities from several cities across …
In the second of BIRN’s series about women’s wartime activism, Midheta Kaloper explains how she survived sexual violence during the Bosnian war and now helps other survivors to fight for their rights – and bring the perpetrators to justice. Original post Here
By Zef Preçi What kind of political system are we living in today? Even though we have a weak state, authoritarian tendencies in governance have become more pronounced, and in a synthesized way this is reflected in the increasing number of MPs of the ruling party from one mandate to …
As the year draws towards its end, our Balkan Insight Premium stories show that there is no shortage of political surprises, unexpected twists and new standoffs across the region. Original post Here
Albanian-American writer Fron Nahzi’s new book explains how the Albanian diaspora used its newfound freedom in the United States to campaign for a range of nationalist causes. Original post Here
The earthquake that hit Albania in November 2019 left many families homeless. But a rural housing estate built to accommodate some of them remains almost empty due to problems with infrastructure and insecure terrain. Original post Here
O tempora, o mores. After Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Energy Belinda Balluku faced criminal charges, and after the court suspended her from office and banned her from leaving the country, what one would normally expect is either her immediate resignation or her immediate dismissal by Prime …
The clash between Edi Rama and Shabana Mahmood over the fate of 700 Albanian families in the UK exposes a deeper truth about modern diplomacy: visibility is not the same as influence. When the Home Secretary singled out Albanian families while announcing sweeping asylum reforms, she was not improvising. She …
Elez Biberaj Thirty-five years after Albania’s emergence from one of Europe’s most repressive communist regimes, the country’s democratic trajectory remains emblematic of post-authoritarian transformation, reflecting the promise of political renewal while exposing the challenges of durable consolidation. In this context, the May 2025 parliamentary elections stand out as a test …