Albania

Serbia Albanians Protest Monument’s Removal

Protesters rallied in the town of Presevo on Monday after Serbian police moved in to remove a monument to ethnic Albanian fighters.Several thousand ethnic Albanians rallied on Monday in Presevo in southern Serbia following Belgrade’s removal of a controversial monument dedicated to Albanian guerrillas. Demonstrators at the peaceful hour-long rally …

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Albania Opposition Remember Riot Deaths

The opposition Socialists are expected to hold a memorial rally on Monday for four supporters, killed when police opened fire on protesters on January 21, 2011.The protest held two years ago in Tirana turned into a riot when several hundred opposition marchers attacked a police barricade set up to protect …

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Albanian Judge Injured in Acid Attack

Mirela Mishgjoni, a criminal judge in the city of Vlora, suffered injuries to her face after an unknown suspect sprinkled her with a medical acid compound on Tuesday.Mishgjoni was attacked as she left her apartment for work and has been recovering in Vlora’s regional hospital. Judges in the city of …

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Serbia, Albanians in Showdown over Guerrilla Monument

Belgrade warned it could deploy police to help remove the memorial to ethnic Albanian fighters in south Serbia but local authorities vowed to legally resist.Serbia’s justice ministry said on Wednesday that the deadline to take down the controversial monument in the town of Presevo had already passed at midnight the …

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Fugitive Peruvian Minister Sparks Row in Albania

Albania’s opposition has accused the government of harbouring Peru’s fugitive ex-Foreign Minister Augusto Blacker Millier after he was revealed to be in Albania.Opposition Socialist MP Erion Brace accused the government of Prime Minister Sali Berisha of protecting Millier, who is wanted in Peru for his involvement in a coup. “[Berisha] …

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Controversial Albanian Monument Dispute Hits Deadlock

Serbian and ethnic Albanian representatives have failed to cut a deal to remove a memorial to ethnic Albanian fighters in south Serbia.Internationally-mediated talks on Thursday ended without a deal on the future of the monument in the town of Presevo which Belgrade wants to be demolished, seeing it as a …

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Problems with Albania’s Electoral Lists Alarm Watchdog

A watchdog group of NGOs on Wednesday warned that Albania’s institution have already missed the legal deadline to publish voting lists ahead of the June parliamentary elections.“The process of preparing and announcing preliminary electoral rolls, based residence and voting centres, has not respected the legal deadline,” the Coalition of Local …

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Serbia Albanians Scorn Threat to War Memorial

Leaders of the Albanian community in southern Serbia say they doubt Serbia will act on threats to remove a memorial in Presevo to local guerrilla fighters.Skender Destani, leader of an ethnic Albanian party in southern Serbia, says he doubts the authorities will act on threats to forcibly remove a memorial …

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Albania Minister Apologizes for Not Paying Tax

After Balkan Insight lifted the lid on top Albanian officials who had not paid their car registration taxes, the Minister of Transport, Sokol Olldashi, has apologized.“Minister Olldashi publicly apologizes for not paying the taxes for his vehicle, which his wife uses,” his office said in a statement. “This fact is …

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