Essay: Albania’s ghost towns – the crisis that caused the exodus
ANDI HOXHAJ, a lecturer in European Union law at UCL in London, explores – in article first published on The Conversation, why Albania is seeing a “constant exodus” of its citizens…
Balkans losing hope of progress on EU membership
Belgrade, Serbia/Brussels, Belgium Reuters In Kosovo, which has been waiting for visa-free travel to the European Union since 2010, a restaurant owner has erected a large replica of France’s famed Eiffel Tower for its diners. “We have built it as a form of consolation for the people who cannot go to Paris,” said Blerim Bislimi, […]
Afghan evacuees enjoy Albania but have eyes set on Canada
Golem, AlbaniaAP One Afghan teacher calls Albania a “paradise” while a former Afghan government official cannot get enough of “the freedom” that exists in the tiny Western Balkan country where they were evacuated to after the Taliban took over their homeland. Others are more pensive. An Afghan woman who mentored orphan girls deplores the end […]
Woman now thought to be Afghanistan’s last Jew flees country
Jerusalem, IsraelAP For years, Zebulon Simentov branded himself as the “last Jew of Afghanistan,” the sole remnant of a centuries-old community. He charged reporters for interviews and held court in Kabul’s only remaining synagogue. He left the country last month for Istanbul after the Taliban seized power. Now it appears he was not the last […]
Albania votes in its first female dominated government
Pristina, AlbaniaReuters Albania’s parliament on Friday voted in the first cabinet to be dominated by women since the multi-party system was introduced 30 years ago. After a parliamentary session which lasted more than 20 hours, Edi Rama was voted as prime minister for third time after a landslide election victory in April. A woman looks […]
EU to funnel COVID vaccines to Balkans after China, Russia shipments
Vienna, Austria/Brussels. Belgium Reuters The European Union will ship over half a million COVID-19 shots to the Western Balkans by August using for the first time in the region a vaccine-sharing mechanism meant to help its poorer neighbours and to challenge Chinese and Russian influence. The EU move comes after China and Russia distributed millions […]
Postcards: Pope Francis honours Albania’s persecuted and thanks ‘alive’ church
In an article first published on ASSIST News Service, author PAUL ALKAZRAJI writes about Pope Francis’ recent visit to Albania…
Snapshot: Shala River, Albania
See DRINI TETA’s image…
Albania joins global efforts to combat anti-Semitism
Tirana, AlbaniaAP The Albanian Parliament on Thursday passed a resolution joining global efforts to combat anti-Semitism. The parliament unanimously voted to approve the definition of anti-Semitism from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, becoming the second majority-Muslim country to adopt it after Kosovo. The definition describes hate speech and other acts that discriminate against the Jewish […]
Dozens of trafficking victims rescued in Interpol crackdown in the Balkans
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation At least 89 victims of human trafficking were rescued and dozens of suspected traffickers arrested in a crackdown on organised crime groups in the Balkans, Interpol said this week. Operation Theseus saw 3,000 officers from eight nations including Albania, Moldova and Turkey dispatched to crime hotspots including border checkpoints, train and […]