Albania

Albanian Reds See Nothing Green in Tirana Plan

Opposition Socialists says the city’s first urban plan in more than two decades will destroy its few remaining green spaces.Tirana city council on Sunday, after a heated debate, approved the city’s first urban plan since 1989. The plan was adopted with the votes of centre-right Democratic Party, to which Mayor, …

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Albania’s Greeks Plead For Athenian Pensions

Ethnic Greek minority leaders in Albania have urged Greece not to scrap their pensions as part of the austerity drive imposed by the IMF and the EU.“We understand the difficulties that our fatherland is passing through and support the efforts of the Greek government and its people to strengthen the …

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Albania Recognises Syrian Opposition

Albania on Friday said it had recognized the anti-Assad opposition as the only legitimate representative of the Syrian people.“Albania calls on the United Nations and NATO to take all the necessary measures to stop the barbarian massacre being carried out by Bashar Al-Assad and his regime against the Syrian people,” …

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Albania’s Minorities Shrink Below 2 Per Cent

Data published on Thursday by Albania’s National Institute of Statistics, INSTAT, show that in the 2011 census ethnic minorities make less than 1.5 per cent of the population.According to INSTAT the ethnic Greek minority now accounts for only 0.87 per cent of the population, ethnic Macedonians make up 0.2 per …

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Albania Parties Trade Blame For Failed EU Bid

Government and the opposition exchanged accusations on Wednesday after the EU Council of Ministers rejected Tirana’s bid for candidate status for the third year.Prime Minister Sali Berisha told the cabinet he blamed the opposition leader Edi Rama for the failed bid, accusing the Socialists of blocking the reform process. “Rama …

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Albania’s New Prosecutor Vows to Tackle Crime

Adriatik Llalla started work as Albania’s new general prosecutor on Monday after MPs from the ruling Democratic Party voted him into office on Friday.“I was trusted to lead this institution … and will fulfill the duties subscribed in law,” Llalla said at the ceremonial handover from his predecessor, Ina Rama. …

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Albanian Passport Offer Makes Waves in Balkans

Albania’s announcement that it plans to offer speedy citizenship to ethnic Albanians across the world has stirred huge interest in Kosovo while ruffling feathers elsewhere in the region.Kosovars have been crowding outside the Albanian embassy in Pristina in larger numbers than usual lately, in the hope of obtaining an Albanian …

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Macedonia, Albania Presidents Smoothe Over Incidents

Burning Macedonian flags in Albania, and pelting the Macedonian Prime Minister’s car, were unacceptable incidents, the Presidents of Macedonia and Albania agreed in Montenegro.Macedonia’s President, Gjorge Ivanov, and his Albanian counterpart, Bujar Nishani, met on Wednesday at the sidelines of the fourth regional presidential summit under the working title, “Cooperation …

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Kosovo and Albania Demand Inquiry Into Del Ponte

Tirana and Pristina say role and acts of former chief prosecutor at the Hague Tribunal need probing following the acquittal of Ramush Haradinaj last week.The Kosovo and Albania governments have urged international authorities to start an independent inquiry into the former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for former …

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Albania Nominates New General Prosecutor

Albania’s President, Bujar Nishani, has appointed on Monday the head of the High Inspectorate for the Declaration and Audit of Assets, HIDAA, Adriatik Llalla, as Albania’s new general prosecutor.Nishani said in a memo attached to the decree that the decisive factor was Llalla’s experience and his bipartisan election as the …

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