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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Albanians face the dual challenge of safeguarding themselves from foreign cyber-attacks – while worrying about the potential misuse of their personal data by their own government and political parties.As local elections approach in Albania, the debate surrounding the use of IT tools by political parties for collecting and utilizing citizens’ …

I expect that both sides in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina next Monday will accept the “European proposal” as a good basis for reaching an agreement. I don’t know if anything will be signed that day, but I expect that these talks will give new impetus and progress towards …

The Justice Ministry has given the green light for the extradition of Russian citizen and notorious photographer Svetlana Timofeeva who was arrested in Albania on charges of espionage in August 2022, though her lawyer fears she would face human rights violations if she returns to Russia. Timofeeva was caught along …

The governments of Greece, Albania, and Kosovo have reacted with shock to the series of powerful earthquakes that shook Turkey on Sunday and Monday, pledging on-the-ground assistance and aid. A 7.8 and 7.5 earthquake struck southern Turkey and northern Syria on Sunday night. At the time of writing, more than …