Albanians gain visa-free access to China as Tirana and Beijing sign bilateral deal
TIRANA, Jan. 18, 2022 – Albanians will soon have a new — and rather large — global destination they can access without a visa: mainland China. While Chinese citizens have already had the right to visit Albania without a visa, first as part of a tourist season program which Albania …
Albania had Europe’s fastest post-pandemic recovery in tourism sector, official data show
TIRANA, Jan. 19, 2023 – The visible increase in foreign tourists in Albania in the past two years now has statistical backing: Albania has had the fastest post-pandemic recovery in tourism in the entire continent, according to official numbers by Albanian and European statistical bodies. Experts say pent up demand …
Obituary: Isuf Kalo, 80, one of Albania’s top physicians and a key witness to communist history
TIRANA, Jan. 19, 2023 – Isuf Kalo, one of Albania’s most renowned medical doctors and a key witness to the country’s communist history as the personal doctor of the former dictator, has passed away at the age of 80, his family has announced. Professor Kalo was born in Albania’s southern …
U.S. arrest of former senior FBI official with ties to PM leads to opposition calls for investigation in Albania
TIRANA, Jan. 23, 2023 – The ties of the Albanian prime minister to a former senior FBI official recently arrested in the United States have led to calls by the political opposition for a full investigation of any possible Albania-related wrongdoings. The retired FBI senior official has been arrested on …
Op/Ed: Italy and the Western Balkans talk cooperation
By Antonio Tajani* The fate of Europe in these last months is being played, dramatically, around Ukraine. But the future of our continent is also connected with what will happen in the Western Balkans. History teaches us the strategic importance that this region has for our security. Therefore, the international …
Collaku contributes to international conference on women’s contribution to interfaith relations hosted by Pope Francis
TIRANA, Jan. 26, 2023 – An Albanian civil society representative, Rudina Collaku, founder and executive director of Women’s Center for Development and Culture, has addressed a conference on women and interfaith relations organized by Pope Francis. Pope Francis upheld the importance of protecting dignity of and caring for women and …
In Albania’s olive oil boom, lack of proper export system means producers go bust
TIRANA, Jan. 26, 2023 – One the largest olive harvests ever has led to a record production of olive oil in Albania this year. But the boom in production has exposed another problem: Albania’s inability to export. Most oil producers have not been able to secure the needed certification to …
Op/Ed: Serbia, Kosovo, and Russia’s interest in another conflict in continental Europe
By Arash Toupchinejad* Serbia recently found itself in a perilous standoff with Kosovo this past December when ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo established roadblocks to protest the arrest of a former Kosovo Serb police officer who had assaulted serving police officers. In response to this provocation, Kosovo called upon NATO-led …
Germany asks suspension of tax, Kosovo’s PM says
Kosovo’s Prime Minister admitted Monday that the two advisors to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who last Saturday visited Kosovo, asked Pristina authorities to suspend tax on Serbian goods. Original post Here
Rasic: Belgrade manipulating Kosovo Serbs
Nenad Rasic, the president of the Serb Progressive Democratic Party, said Belgrade is manipulating Serbs in Kosovo and political entity of Srpska List has been created by Belgrade to manipulate Kosovo Serbs. 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 …
Do you live in the Balkans or France, and have you been awarded child support payments after divorce? Was the process easy – and did you receive the money as the court ordered? Original post Here
by Dr. Arben Ramkaj Tirana Times, February 28 2026 – At the very moment when diplomacy appeared to be moving toward a fragile agreement, the United States and Israel launched a unilateral strike against Iran, shifting the region from tense negotiations to open confrontation. The targets included strategic infrastructure and …
Catch up on the weekend’s most important developments with Balkan Insight’s digest of news from countries across the region. Original post Here
Some Balkan countries are planning to evacuate stranded citizens from the conflict zone around Iran, others have already managed to fly people out – although some have only issued security warnings. Original post Here
For decades, sewage from the Albanian capital has been discharged untreated into the waters of the Lana River in Tirana. Original post Here