Albania

Albania has never held an election deemed free and fair by international observers. Albania’s opposition urged the government on Wednesday to give identity cards to voters for free to avoid charges of fraud at the June 28 elections. Albania has never held an election deemed free and fair by international …

The US State Department cleared on Wednesday the US ambassador in Tirana, John L Withers and his staff of allegations that they helped cover up a murky arms deal between a pentagon contractor and the Albanian Ministry of Defence to supply the Afghan army. “The Inspector General has reviewed all …

The Albanian Supreme Court Judge, Ardian Nuni, who was shot and wounded a month ago in Tirana has sought asylum in the United States with his family due to fears for his safety, local media reported. Nuni was operated in Tirana’s Military Hospital, and left the hospital a few says …

Kosovo’s International Civilian Representative has called on the country’s Serb population to begin to take part in the administrative structures at a municipal level, and seize opportunities that decentralisation offer them. “It is the time for the Serbs to make use of the possibilities decentralisation offers to them,” said Pieter …

Three citizens, who said they were Afghans, caught by Kosovo’s police on the Macedonian border near Kacanik, have asked for political asylum. Kosovo’s police did not want to comment or speculate on the reasons that prompted the citizens to seek asylum, saying that “their confidentiality is guaranteed by Geneva’s Convention”, …

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA: Serbs in the flashpoint Kosovo town of Mitrovica on Tuesday marked the fifth anniversary of riots that left 19 dead and 900 injured. Kosovo Serb leaders laid flowers on the bridge over the Ibar river, which splits the northern town, in honour of the victims of the worst …

Albania faces an uphill battle to join the EU, with the PM acknowledging that hard economic times could create a ‘sentiment of reluctance’ among Europeans to welcome new member states. Tirana — Albania is determined to submit its candidacy for European Union membership in June despite the global economic crisis …

A parliamentary body in the Maldives, consisted of top officials, will investigate allegations that the government received a $2 million bribe to recognise Kosovo’s independence. The National Security Committee of the parliament will look to see if there is any truth these allegations, which were first raised by the opposition …

Five years after ethnic Albanians attacked Serb enclaves in Kosovo in what became the worst single attack against Kosovo’s Serbs since just after the 1999 war, Pristina’s government said the events would go down as ”one of the darkest episodes” of the country’s recent history. “The tragic events of March …

Politicians representing ethnic Albanians in south Serbia will join the work of the government’s Coordination Body for South Serbia in the next few days, Sima Gazikalovic, one of the vice-presidents of the institution, told Balkan Insight. Gazikalovic said that according to the negotiations, Albanians would get the position of deputy …