Wanted heroine trafficker extradited from France
A 52-year-old man accused of being part of a structured criminal drug trafficking group has been extradited from France. Fraklin Xhelaj, known by the nickname “Bebi”, is suspected of being involved in the trafficking of heroin, transporting it between Greece, Albania, partly also in North Macedonia. Therefore, on July 19, …
Man caught with 3 kg cannabis by Saranda police
A 33-year-old man was captured by the Saranda police as part of the mega anti-drug operation codenamed “Temple”. The young man was caught while transporting an amount of about 3 kilograms of cannabis with the intention of selling it. The narcotic substance was seized as material evidence, together with the …
Husband of wife who killed herself accompanied to police
The husband of 41-year-old Bedrie Loka, who poisoned herself with photoxine after the New Year, has been escorted to the Durrës police. There are doubts that Xhemal Loka pushed his wife to commit suicide. The latter lived in exile in Greece and had returned home on December 27, together with …
Minister: Tourism, our best ambassador for 2023
The Minister of Tourism, Mirela Kumbaro, developed this Saturday the balance sheet for 2023, while she stated that tourism adjusted the country’s image. Kumbaro said that throughout 2023, Albania has been visited by tourists from all continents, while he added that the average number of nights of stay also increased. …
Op/Ed: Is Albania slipping into a one-party system?
The head of Albania’s opposition, Sali Berisha(1), Albania’s former President and a former two-term Prime Minister, was arrested on Saturday, Dec. 30, 2023. Mr. Berisha’s arrest follows a two-year period of dramatic developments for the Democratic Party, which has been in opposition since 2013. Led by Lulzim Basha, DP lost …
Four inmates to be put in ’41 Bis’ regime after trying to escape prison
General Directorate of Prisons has made a request to place Dan Hutra and the other three, Martin Kapllani, Geraldo Veizaj and Feti Kovaçi in the special 41 Biss regime after they tried to escape from Fier prison. According to the information, Hutra and the other three had started the plan …
Kidnapping prevented in Saranda, four arrested
A criminal event has been prevented in Saranda, as announced this Friday. Four people had planned the kidnapping of a 49-year-old man at gunpoint, for weak motives. On Thursday, on “Skënderbeu” street, in district no. 1, the services of the Sarandë Police Station have stopped the “BMW” type vehicle, in …
Police officers check former PM Berisha’s house
Police officers went this Friday to the apartment of former Prime Minister Sali Berisha. Based on the procedure, the police will verify the implementation of the security measure by Berisha. Special Court toughened the measure against the former prime minister by accepting the request of SPAK, which is investigating him …
Cyprus, Albanian caught with over 40 kg of drugs
Cypriot police arrested a young Albanian man and seized about 42 kg of marijuana, as announced Friday. This operation took place in a village of Larnaca in Cyprus, where the vehicle driven by a 21-year-old Albanian resident of Larnaca was stopped for inspection. Inside his vehicle, the police found and …
Young driver arrested after crashing truck on Librazhd-Elbasan road
The 20-year-old man who hit the truck on Thursday with his car on “Librazhd-Elbasan” road segment has been remanded into custody, as announced Friday. As a result, the young man himself and the passenger traveling with him were injured. In the meantime, the procedural materials were passed to the Prosecution …
Catch up on the weekend’s most important developments with Balkan Insight’s digest of news from countries across the region. Original post Here
Tirana Times, January 26, 2026 – Albania’s attempted entry into the Peace Board has become a revealing episode, not because of the significance of the initiative itself, but because of the way Albania’s leadership chose to stage and communicate it domestically. The Peace Board represents a new and ambitious international …
Tirana Times, January 25, 2026 – Albania has joined the Peace Board, a newly established international mechanism initiated by U.S. President Donald Trump, aimed at overseeing peace agreements and post-conflict stabilization efforts, with an initial focus on the Gaza Strip. The Peace Board was formally launched during the World Economic …
The crisis deepens as the government shields Deputy PM Balluku and a criminal network emerges in AKSHI Tirana Times, January 25, 2026 – Albania’s main opposition party returned to the streets on Saturday with a second national protest against Prime Minister Edi Rama, challenging the legitimacy of his fourth term …
Forty-one environmental organisations from 28 countries have called for a halt to the planned development by Jared Kushner of Albania’s Sazan island as a luxury resort, saying it threatens the valuable biodiversity of the area. Original post Here
Kosovo, Bulgaria and Turkey have signed the Board of Peace Charter, under Donald Trump’s auspices, but several other Balkan countries are still pondering whether to join the initiative. Original post Here
Balkan countries are continuing to sacrifice their remaining clean river stretches to development and pollution, a new assessment warns. Original post Here
The Bulgarian mystic’s doomy predictions continue to grab headlines in Albania and elsewhere – even though many seem fabricated and sometimes appear to serve Russian geopolitical narratives. Original post Here
Tirana, 21.01.2026 – Research on disability has increasingly moved into the centre of international scientific and policy discussions, reflecting broader debates about inclusion, quality of life and access to public space. Against this wider backdrop, the King Salman Center for Disability Research (KSCDR) has opened nominations for the 4th cycle of …
While Albania’s Edi Rama welcomed an invitation to join Donald Trump’s proposed Board of Peace, Croatia, Slovenia, Romania and Greece merely confirmed that they had received invitations. Original post Here