Albania

The Albanian Parliament ratified the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between Albania, Italy and Greece on the construction and operation of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) project, TAP reported on Tuesday. Signed in Athens on February 13, 2013, the tri-lateral IGA

Prime Minister Sali Berisha has slapped down calls for the return of the death penalty, following outrage over a suspected paedophile accused of murdering an 11-year-old.“This case was the act of a monster who killed a child and was prepared to kill another,” Berisha told the cabinet on Wednesday. “A …

The annual report of the High State Audit office says poor management of state-owned companies cost Albania twice as much in 2012 as it did the previous year.The head of Albania’s State Audit Office, Bujar Leskaj, told parliament on Tuesday that audits in 2012 brought to light €97.3 million worth …

The OSCE head in Albania, Eugen Wolfarth, on Tuesday criticised a proposal by Prime Minister Sali Berisha to rush through an extension of voting rights to 16-year-olds ahead of the June 23 elections.“Ahead of this election there is no time [for such a change],” Wolfarth said. “Such thing cannot be …

Former Yugoslav Army commander Nebojsa Pavkovic and deputy prime minsiter Nikola Sainovic said at their Hague Tribunal appeal that they are not guilty of murder and persecution of Kosovo Albanians during the 1999 conflict. The two have been sentenced in 2009 to 22 years of jail each for deportation, murder …

Before his controversial appointment as defence minister, Talat Xhaferi received a suspended jail sentence for obstructing a policeman in his duties, Balkan Insight can reveal.Balkan Insight has discovered that Macedonia’s controversial new defence chief received a six-month suspended jail term in 2008. A court in Tetovo found him guilty of …

The 2013 US State Department Narcotics Control Report highlights startling growth in marijuana seizures in Albania over the past year, which hints at increased production.“The drastic increase in marijuana seizures, a 175 per cent increase over 2011, signifies an increase in local production after trending downward over the prior two …

The assembly of the capital is pushing an initiative to grant a mainly Albanian-inhabited area municipal status – after an Albanian party warned it might boycott the presidential election. The assembly of Podgorica on Thursday agreed to allow residents of Tuzi, a mainly ethnic Albanian area near the city, to …

Albanian minsters say Kosovo is making use of consumer worries about levels of aflatoxin in milk to damage the commercial interest of Albanian dairies.Albania has accused Kosovo of unfair trade practices after authorities in Kosovo ordered the removal from the market of milk produced by two Albanian dairies, Primalat and …

Balkan Insight has learned that the Constitutional Court will give the green light to a historic request for a referendum on trash imports, the first such grassroots initiative in Albania.The request, spearheaded by a group of activists, environmentalists and intellectuals, has collected more than 64,000 signatures, and calls for the …