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How Albania Became a Hub of the Global Fraud Industry

Organised crime networks are using call centres in Albania to defraud people across Europe, conning them with promises of big profits from scam investments and employing sophisticated social-engineering techniques. Original post Here

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Why Britain Needs the Western Balkans Summit to Deliver on Migration

The UK’s ambitious agenda for the London summit of the Berlin Process reflects its commitment to the Western Balkans region but also its own domestic priorities, starting with illegal migration. Original post Here

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Türkiye and Albania: From Shared Past to Strategic Future

By Marjana Doda, This feature draws on exclusive insights from an interview with Ambassador Tayyar Kagan Atay, the Ambassador of the Republic of Türkiye to Tirana. On the occasion of the 102nd anniversary of diplomatic relations, Ambassador Atay reflects on the unique depth of Albanian–Turkish ties—links shaped by shared history …

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Monday Briefing from the Balkans: October 20, 2025

Catch up on the weekend’s most important developments with Balkan Insight’s digest of news from countries across the region. Original post Here

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Albanian Judges Decry ‘Non-Existent Security’ After Courtroom Killing

The courtroom killing of a judge in Tirana has prompted calls from Albanian judges and prosecutors for authorities to get serious about their ‘almost non-existent’ security. Original post Here

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Albania–Kosovo Rift Weakens the Albanian Voice 

The Rama–Kurti clash over the war crimes tribunal highlights deeper structural tensions, from unimplemented agreements to competing regional agendas.  The latest clash between Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and Kosovo’s Albin Kurti is more than another exchange of political insults. It reflects the fragile state of relations between Albania and …

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Tirana Protesters Demand Justice for Kosovo War Leaders 

Hundreds of protesters rallied in the Albanian capital on Friday demanding justice for former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) on trial in The Hague, denouncing the proceedings as an attack on the wartime struggle against Serbian forces.  The demonstrators, many waving KLA flags and chanting slogans such as …

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Protesters in Albania Demand ‘Justice’ in Kosovo Wartime Leaders’ Trial

Protesters in the Albanian capital expressed anger at the ongoing trial of wartime Kosovo Liberation Army officers at the Specialist Chambers in The Hague, saying the defendants were freedom fighters, not criminals. Original post Here

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Albania in the Second War World : A Forgotten Theater of World War II

By Bernd Fischer It is becoming increasingly difficult to justify yet another book dealing with some aspect of World War II. Of all the armed conflicts of past centuries, World War II has engendered the most interest as well as an exhausting amount of written material. The opening of the …

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Vlora Airport Stirs Security Fears Over Russian Links

Albania’s Second National Airport Sparks Concerns for National Security and NATO The opening of Albania’s second international airport in Vlora, celebrated as a milestone in the country’s infrastructure modernization, has quickly become embroiled in controversy. Reports in Albanian media suggest that the concession holder, businessman and former Kosovo president Behgjet …

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A Structured Criminal Group Inside a National Security Institution: The AKSHI Case

Tirana, Tirana Times, 20 December 2025 – The investigation launched by Albania’s Special Anti-Corruption Prosecution has revealed the existence of a structured criminal group operating within the leadership of the National Agency for Information Society, AKSHI. At the center of the case stand the agency’s director and deputy director, accused …

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Tirana Marks International Arabic Language Day with a Festive Ceremony

Tirana, Tirana Times, 19 December 2025 – International Arabic Language Day was commemorated in Tirana through a festive ceremony organized by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the Republic of Albania, bringing together a broad representation of Albanian state institutions, the diplomatic corps, universities, the academic community, cultural …

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Albanian MPs Clash in Parliament Amid Tensions Over Corruption Cases

Opposition MPs hurled bottles and clashed with guards as the new ruling party-backed Ombudsman took his oath amid heightened tensions sparked by high-level graft cases. Original post Here

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Visiting Thaci in Hague Jail, Albania PM Slates ’Shameful’ War Court

Albania’s Edi Rama lashed out at the Hague-based Specialist Chambers war crimes court following a visit to Kosovo’s ex-President Hashim Thaci in detention, calling it a ‘theatre of shame’. Original post Here

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Stability Has a Schedule: What NATO’s Hague Pledge Means for the Western Balkans

In late August 2022, Montenegro’s government digital infrastructure was hit by what officials called an “unprecedented” cyberattack. The disruption was serious enough that parts of the public sector had to fall back on manual workarounds while authorities tried to isolate affected systems. In a region where state capacity is often …

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Albania in 2025: Socialists Win Big, Graft Probes Continue

Prime Minister Edi Rama secured a historic fourth term in office and consolidated his rule against a background of ongoing corruption investigations into several politicians from the governing Socialist Party. Original post Here

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Kremlin Echoes in Balkan Clickbait: How Fake Baba Vanga Prophecies Spread Across Albanian Media

TIRANA, Tirana Times, December 16, 2025. Each December, apocalyptic headlines resurface across Albanian media warning of global collapse, Europe’s disappearance or the rise of Russian President Vladimir Putin as a world ruler, all attributed to the supposed prophecies of Baba Vanga, a blind Bulgarian mystic who died nearly three decades ago. …

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Serbia Loses Kushner Investment, Vučić Points to Albania

Albania’s Sazan Island project backed by Trump’s son-in-law draws scrutiny over transparency and political motives BELGRADE, Serbia, Tirana Times –  Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said Serbia has suffered a major economic setback after a company owned by Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump, withdrew from a planned Trump-branded …

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Bringing Albania into History: Bernd J. Fischer and World War II

By Ilir Ikonomi One of the most important modern works ever written about Albania’s experience in the Second World War—Bernd Jürgen Fischer’s Albania at War, 1939–1945. This is not just a history book. It is an act of historical rescue. Fischer lifts Albania from the shadows of European historiography and places …

News
AKSHI Director Arrested in Major Corruption Probe

Case Involving Critical State Infrastructure Adds to Albania’s Growing High Level Corruption Crisis Tirana Times – December 16, 2025 Albania’s Special Anti-Corruption Structure, SPAK, in cooperation with the National Bureau of Investigation, BKH, has carried out a large-scale operation targeting an alleged criminal network operating at the highest levels of the …

News

A Structured Criminal Group Inside a National Security Institution: The AKSHI Case

Tirana, Tirana Times, 20 December 2025 – The investigation launched by Albania’s Special Anti-Corruption Prosecution has revealed the existence of a structured criminal group operating within the leadership of the National Agency for Information Society, AKSHI. At the center of the case stand the agency’s director and deputy director, accused …

News

Tirana Marks International Arabic Language Day with a Festive Ceremony

Tirana, Tirana Times, 19 December 2025 – International Arabic Language Day was commemorated in Tirana through a festive ceremony organized by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the Republic of Albania, bringing together a broad representation of Albanian state institutions, the diplomatic corps, universities, the academic community, cultural …

News

Albanian MPs Clash in Parliament Amid Tensions Over Corruption Cases

Opposition MPs hurled bottles and clashed with guards as the new ruling party-backed Ombudsman took his oath amid heightened tensions sparked by high-level graft cases. Original post Here

News

Visiting Thaci in Hague Jail, Albania PM Slates ’Shameful’ War Court

Albania’s Edi Rama lashed out at the Hague-based Specialist Chambers war crimes court following a visit to Kosovo’s ex-President Hashim Thaci in detention, calling it a ‘theatre of shame’. Original post Here

News

Stability Has a Schedule: What NATO’s Hague Pledge Means for the Western Balkans

In late August 2022, Montenegro’s government digital infrastructure was hit by what officials called an “unprecedented” cyberattack. The disruption was serious enough that parts of the public sector had to fall back on manual workarounds while authorities tried to isolate affected systems. In a region where state capacity is often …

News

Albania in 2025: Socialists Win Big, Graft Probes Continue

Prime Minister Edi Rama secured a historic fourth term in office and consolidated his rule against a background of ongoing corruption investigations into several politicians from the governing Socialist Party. Original post Here

News

Kremlin Echoes in Balkan Clickbait: How Fake Baba Vanga Prophecies Spread Across Albanian Media

TIRANA, Tirana Times, December 16, 2025. Each December, apocalyptic headlines resurface across Albanian media warning of global collapse, Europe’s disappearance or the rise of Russian President Vladimir Putin as a world ruler, all attributed to the supposed prophecies of Baba Vanga, a blind Bulgarian mystic who died nearly three decades ago. …

News

Serbia Loses Kushner Investment, Vučić Points to Albania

Albania’s Sazan Island project backed by Trump’s son-in-law draws scrutiny over transparency and political motives BELGRADE, Serbia, Tirana Times –  Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said Serbia has suffered a major economic setback after a company owned by Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump, withdrew from a planned Trump-branded …

News

Bringing Albania into History: Bernd J. Fischer and World War II

By Ilir Ikonomi One of the most important modern works ever written about Albania’s experience in the Second World War—Bernd Jürgen Fischer’s Albania at War, 1939–1945. This is not just a history book. It is an act of historical rescue. Fischer lifts Albania from the shadows of European historiography and places …

News

AKSHI Director Arrested in Major Corruption Probe

Case Involving Critical State Infrastructure Adds to Albania’s Growing High Level Corruption Crisis Tirana Times – December 16, 2025 Albania’s Special Anti-Corruption Structure, SPAK, in cooperation with the National Bureau of Investigation, BKH, has carried out a large-scale operation targeting an alleged criminal network operating at the highest levels of the …