Albania

NATO Completes Modernization Of Major Airbase In Albania

Albania officially re-opened Kuçova airbase on Monday (4 March 2024), after transforming the decades-old base into a modern hub for NATO future air operations. Located around 80 kilometres south of Tirana, Kuçova airbase will serve Albania and support Alliance logistics, air operations, training and exercises. NATO funded the base upgrade …

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Book Review – Enver Hoxha’s Long Shadow: Travels in Albania

John Watkins’ new travelogue offers an intriguing snapshot of a country still scarred by the legacy of its brutal dictator.Over the past 10 to 15 years, it would be easy for someone with only a passing knowledge of history to think that Albania is just another part of what has …

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Albanians Aren’t Indebted To Italy For Its 1990s ‘Welcome’ – OpEd

Edi Rama’s justification for the migrant deal with Rome – that Albanians owe Italy a historic ‘debt’ to Italy – is based on a misreading of history. The protocols signed by Albanian PM Edi Rama and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni last November by which the government in Tirana will allow Italy …

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Albanian PM steps up EU criticism, intensifies calls for action on Serbia

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has joined in criticism of EU Envoy for Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak and Chief Diplomat Josep Borrell, calling on the EU Commission to act regarding the murder of a Kosovo policeman and the day of mourning called by Belgrade after the death of terrorist suspects. …

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A former FBI agent concealed the $225,000 he received from an intelligence agent in Albania

Arrested former senior agent of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charles McGonigal, pleaded guilty to concealing the $225,000 he received in cash while working for the FBI from a former intelligence officer of Albania. McGonigal was the head of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division in New York from 2016 …

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Rising synthetic drug seizures in Albania suggests local demand for these substances is growing.

Albania is no stranger to drugs. It is well-known as a supplier of cannabis and Albanian criminal groups have made a reputation in cocaine trafficking. However, the production, trafficking and use of synthetic drugs has not been common in the country. But an increase in seizures of synthetic drugs in …

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Money Troubles: Albania’s Strange Currency Crisis Defies Easy Solutions

As the sustained rise in the value of the lek causes a crisis in exports, action is needed – but will a country that seemingly turns a blind eye to manifest criminality in whole sectors of the economy bite the bullet?Albania’s government acknowledged lately that the country’s exporters are facing …

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Fraternal Discord: Rama’s Cancellation of Meeting With Kurti Strains Kosovo-Albania Ties

The cancellation of a joint meeting between the two governments due to the tense situation in Kosovo’s Serb-majority north has further damaged already frayed relations between Albin Kurti and Edi Rama.The final steps to organize the ninth annual joint meeting between Kosovo’s and Albania’s governments were still being taken late …

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Local Elections In Albania: Choice Between Drug Cartels And/Or Parliamentary Republic? – Analysis

In the Republic of Albania the next local elections are scheduled to take place on 14 May 2023. The last local elections, which were held on 30 June 2019, were boycotted by the opposition, while the turnout at the elections was only 21.6%. As a result, all positions in local …

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How Fear of Albanians Went Mainstream in 1990s Italy

The anti-Albanian campaigns in the British media today are all too reminiscent of the targeting of Albanians in Italy and Greece 30 years ago – and need to be fought, not indulged.The recent anti-Albanian campaign in the UK has pushed Albanian politicians and intellectuals to take a stand in defence …

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