Albania News

'Children are innocent': Albanians beg for return of IS youngsters

By AFP

Tirana - After media interest helped mobilise the evacuation of an Albanian boy from northern Syria last month, families of other children of Islamic State fighters are pleading with Tirana to redouble its efforts and bring the rest home.

Victims buried as search for Albania quake survivors ends

By AFP

Durr - The search for survivors of a deadly Albanian earthquake was called off on Saturday as eight family members, including four children, killed in the port of Durres were laid to rest.The 6.

Albanians hold mass funeral for earthquake victims

By AFP

Mamurras - Albanian families buried their loved ones on Friday and the country mourned the 49 people known to have died in this week's earthquake, as officials grapple with the destruction left in its wake. Entire families were crushed by their homes when the 6.

Albania races against time to find earthquake survivors

By AFP

Mamurras - Emergency workers on Wednesday pulled dust-covered corpses from the ruins of an earthquake that has claimed 30 lives in Albania, as aftershocks hampered the second day of search efforts for survivors.The 6.

Albania mourns as earthquake search for survivors continues

By AFP

Mamurras - Albania was in national mourning Wednesday as emergency workers continued to pull bodies from the ruins of buildings gutted by a violent earthquake, with nearly 30 found dead and hundreds injured.

Hope and fear in Albania as rescuers scour post-quake wreckage

By AFP

Durr - Cries of anguish and joy wrench the Albanian city of Durres as relatives watch rescuers pull bodies out from the wreckage of a powerful earthquake. Some are dead, but others are alive."We saved a life...

More than 20 dead as Albania hunts for earthquake survivors

By AFP

Durr - Albanian rescuers searched rubble through the night looking for survivors trapped in buildings that toppled Tuesday in the strongest earthquake to hit the country in decades, with more than 20 dead and hundreds injured.

6.4-magnitude quake strikes Albania: authorities

By AFP

Tirana - A powerful 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck Albania on Tuesday, sparking panic in Tirana and the coastal city of Durres where a building collapsed, according to the ministry of defence.

Balkans leaders discuss common market after EU snub

By AFP

Ohrid - Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia discussed setting up a common market at a summit Sunday, weeks after the European Union snubbed bids by Skopje and Tirana to open membership talks.

Anger over EU's 'historic mistake' on Skopje, Tirana

By AFP

Apo - The EU has made a "historic mistake" that risks destabilising the Balkans, senior officials warned Friday, after a handful of countries led by French President Emmanuel Macron again blocked membership talks for North Macedonia and Albania.

Anger and regret over EU block on Skopje, Tirana

By AFP

Apo - The EU risks trashing its credibility and destabilising the Balkans, senior officials warned Friday, after a handful of countries led by French President Emmanuel Macron again blocked membership talks for North Macedonia and Albania.

EU deadlocked over Albania, N.Macedonia membership talks

By AFP

Apo - Bitterly divided EU leaders failed Friday to reach agreement on allowing Albania and North Macedonia to start talks to join the bloc, dealing a fresh blow to their membership hopes.

EU chiefs urge membership talks with N.Macedonia, Albania

By AFP

Apo - The EU's top leaders said in a joint statement Thursday it is "time to start accession talks" with North Macedonia and Albania for them to join the European Union.

Albania's endangered Jewish museum reopens

By AFP

Berat - Albania's sole Jewish history museum reopened in southern Berat on Sunday thanks to a businessman who rescued it from the brink of closure.

Strong earthquake in Albania damages buildings and sends residents fleeing

By AFP

Tirana - Albania was rattled by its strongest earthquake in decades Saturday, officials said, sending people fleeing into the streets in several cities, damaging buildings and triggering power cuts in the capital.The epicentre of the shallow 5.

Ex-Albanian interior minister acquitted of drug charges

By AFP

Tirana - An Albanian court has acquitted former interior minister Saimir Tahiri on drug trafficking charges but sentenced him to three years of probation for abuse of power.

'We'll try again': EU-bound migrants reroute via Albanian hills

By AFP

Tirana - After slipping across the Greek border into the arid mountains of southeastern Albania in the dead of night, Hidaja Salah and his fellow travellers are blinded by the headlights of a police car.

Albanian justice on pause as judges fall victim to graft probe

By AFP

Tirana - Inside the halls of Albania's quiet Supreme Court building, a clock on the wall has stopped.

Tensions high as Albania votes in disputed local poll

By AFP

Tirana - Albanians cast ballots on Sunday in tense municipal elections that have become the flashpoint of a democratic crisis, with the opposition boycotting the vote and refusing to recognise its results.

Albanian president denounces ruling backing local polls

By AFP

Tirana - Albania's president on Tuesday denounced as politicised a decision by the country's top election body to back holding local polls this weekend, over-ruling his decree scrapping the vote.

Albania's electoral authority greenlights local polls

By AFP

Tirana - Albania's top election authority on Monday backed holding local polls this weekend, rejecting an effort by the president to cancel the vote amid a whirlwind of political turmoil.

EU delays decision on North Macedonia, Albania membership bids

By AFP

Luxembourg - The European Union on Tuesday delayed a decision on whether to open accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia until October, dealing a fresh blow to the Balkan states' hopes.

Courts, cannabis, corruption: Albania struggles against old demons

By AFP

Tirana - With an ex-minister on trial for drug trafficking, an opposition leader suspected of money laundering and hundreds of judges probed over graft, Albania is wrestling against a corruption plague threatening its EU membership hopes.

Albania parliament rejects president's bid to cancel local polls

By AFP

Tirana - Albania's ruling Socialist Party on Thursday voted down a move by President Ilir Meta to scrap local elections he viewed as undemocratic because of an opposition boycott.

EU tells Tirana, Skopje membership will have to wait

By AFP

Apo - EU Council President Donald Tusk said Wednesday the bloc should start accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania, but warned there would be no quick decision, with several member states opposed.

Albania PM urges EU to deliver on membership promise

By AFP

Apo - Albania's prime minister Tuesday urged the EU to deliver on its promise to start membership talks with Tirana, as the head of the European Commission said a June deadline would likely be missed.

Albanian president, PM clash over June elections

By AFP

Tirana - Albanian President Ilir Meta on Saturday cancelled local elections scheduled for June 30, a decision promptly rejected by Prime Minister Edi Rama who said the polls would go ahead.

'I worked here': home of Albanian author Kadare becomes a museum

By AFP

Tirana - Ismail Kadare draws the curtain to bring a shaft of light into the Tirana apartment where he wrote furiously during the dark days of communism -- a space visitors can now explore first-hand after his former home was turned into a museum.

Police, protesters clash in demo against Albania PM

By AFP

Tirana - Police in the Albanian capital Tirana on Sunday fired tear gas and water canon at demonstrators demanding the resignation of socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama.

Albania's riotous politics rattle EU dreams

By AFP

Tirana - Molotov cocktails in the streets and a mass resignation in parliament -- Albania's volatile political scene is exploding just as its European future is on the table, threatening Tirana's dreams of joining the bloc.