On August 20, two Russians and a Ukrainian were arrested in Albania as they tried to enter a defunct military factory in the city of Gramsci. According to Albanian authorities, the detainees were trying to film the factory, and one of them, Mikhail Zorin, sprayed a “nerve-paralytic” substance in a …
Read More »Fugitive Turkish cryptocurrency chief arrested in Albania
Faruk Fatih Ozer, who reportedly fled with $2 billion in investors’ assets, had an Interpol red notice. Faruk Fatih Ozer, a Turkish businessman wanted by the Turkish authorities over charges of staging a cryptocurrency scam, was arrested in Albania and is awaiting extradition to Turkey, the Turkish Interior Ministry announced …
Read More »Memories of Sealed Borders Left their Mark on Modern Albania
The defining characteristic of Albania’s brutal communist regime was its morbid fixation with borders – and the memory of that claustrophobic world helps explains why, today, so many Albanians want to escape. Icrossed Albania’s borders on a cold day of January 1991, for the first time of my life. It …
Read More »Albania Thanks Syria for Repatriation of Albanian Nationals
The Albanian Ambassador to Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan Mark Gharib expressed appreciation for the efforts conducted by Syria to help in the repatriation of Albanian nationals, including 5 women and 14 children, from the al-Hol Camp in the province of al-Hassakeh. Gharib, in a statement to journalists at the Damascus …
Read More »Albanian Leader in Montenegro Wants Minorities in Government
Nik Gjeloshaj tells BIRN that Montenegro’s national minorities can fight for their goals better inside the government, signaling an end to years of cooperation with the once-ruling Democratic Party of Socialists
Read More »Albania Parties Trade Blame Over EU Deadlock
Opposition and government point fingers after the EU Council of Ministers on Tuesday said Albania had made little progress towards membership.
Read More »EU Conditions Albanian Membership on Reform
Albania will only be able to move forward towards EU membership when it starts showing more progress on its reform agenda, the Council of Ministers underlined on Tuesday.
Read More »Albanian Muslims Grapple with Religious Identity
A Turkish brand of Islam now dominates the country’s religious institutions, as local Muslims struggle to find their own spiritual path.
Read More »Balkan ‘Mini-Schengen’ Deal Signed
New agreement on border control-free travel between Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro brings Balkans closer to establishing EU-style Schengen zone.
Read More »Key Evidence of Albania Riots ‘Destroyed’
Balkan Insight has learned that key evidence shot by security cameras in the Prime Minister’s office during the January 21 riots was destroyed in the aftermath of the protest.
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