CDE News - The Dispatch

Albania, North Macedonia finally start EU membership talks

Albania and North Macedonia began membership talks with the European Union on Tuesday, overcoming a series of obstacles thrown up by EU governments despite an original promise to begin negotiations in mid-2018.…

Read More Here

NATO in talks to build naval base in Albania

Albania is in talks with NATO to build a naval base at Porto Romano, a port under construction on its Adriatic coast, Prime Minister Edi Rama revealed. Rama told a…

Read More Here

Albania’s PM slams Bulgaria on Western Balkan EU membership

Bulgaria's block on North Macedonia's progress to join the European Union is a "disgrace", Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said as he arrived for a special Balkans summit with EU…

Read More Here

Albanian PM: No EU membership talks soon

TIRANA — Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said he doesn’t expect an EU summit next week to clear the way for his country to begin membership talks and placed the…

Read More Here

Albania to choose chief of defense as president

TIRANA, (Reuters) - Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said that his party has picked the country's chief of defense to be the new president after failing to choose a consensus…

Read More Here

Albania’s highest court revokes lawmakers’ decision to sack president

Albania’s constitutional court has revoked parliament's vote to sack President Ilir Meta for allegedly advocating violence and violating the constitution. In June, some 104 lawmakers in the 140-seat parliament, mainly…

Read More Here

Albanian police fire tear gas as protesters storm party offices

TIRANA, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Police fired tear gas and water cannon in Tirana on Saturday as stone-throwing protesters stormed into the headquarters of Albania's opposition Democratic Party in a…

Read More Here

U.S. to open Special Operations Forces base in Albania

The United States Special Operations Command Europe (SOCEUR) will open a forward-based headquarters in Albania on a rotational basis, Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama announced. SOCEUR, based in Stuttgart, Germany,…

Read More Here

Albania votes in its first female dominated government

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…

Read More Here

Plane carrying evacuated Afghans in transit to U.S. arrives in Albania

A plane carrying 121 people evacuated from Afghanistan and in transit to the United States arrived in Albania’s Tirana airport early of Friday. Passengers included babies, children and people in…

Read More Here

Airlifted Afghans to receive temporary shelter in Albania

Yuri Kim, ambassador of the United States to Albania, has revealed that a contingent of Afghans will be arriving in the Balkan country, without giving a precise figure. "We do…

Read More Here

Slovenia pushes for Albania and N. Macedonia EU membership

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union should let Albania and North Macedonia move ahead with membership talks by October before a special Balkans summit organised by Slovenia, which holds the EU presidency, its…

Read More Here

Albania’s parliament votes to sack president

Albania's parliament voted on Wednesday to sack President Ilir Meta over statements which the ruling party said advocated violence and violated the constitution. Some 104 of parliament's 140 deputies voted…

Read More Here

Albania’s ruling Socialists set to win election – exit poll

TIRANA (Reuters) -Albania's ruling Socialist Party looked set to win Sunday's national election and secure a third term for Prime Minister Edi Rama, an exit poll showed. According to Top…

Read More Here

Albanians vote for new government with graft on their mind

Albanians go to the polls on Sunday in a parliamentary election likely to be neck-and-neck between the ruling Socialists and the opposition as corruption weighs heavily on voters in one…

Read More Here

Albania donates COVID-19 vaccines to Kosovo health workers

Hundreds of health workers from Kosovo travelled to Albania over the weekend to be inoculated against COVID-19 after the neighbouring country offered to donate some of its supplies. Kosovo, where…

Read More Here

Russian diplomat expelled from Albania for breaking Covid rules

Russia’s foreign ministry vowed on Friday to retaliate in kind against Albania for expelling a Russian diplomat, a move it said was aimed at harming bilateral relations, the RIA news…

Read More Here

Albanians protest after police shot dead a man for violating coronavirus curfew

TIRANA (Reuters) - Police used tear gas late on Wednesday to disperse hundreds of Albanians protesting the killing by police of a young man who authorities said had violated an…

Read More Here

Albania to open land borders, hotel beaches on Monday

Albania will re-open crèches and kindergartens and kick off its tourism season on June 1, the health minister announced, despite reporting a sharp daily rise in coronavirus infections. After three weeks…

Read More Here

Angry protests after demolition of Albanian national theatre

Albanian authorities began demolishing the national theatre building early on Sunday after dragging away two dozen actors and activists protecting the site, drawing a large crowd chanting “shame” and “dictatorship”.…

Read More Here

Albania set to legalise cannabis for medical use

Albania plans to legalise the cultivation of cannabis for medical purposes, six years after beginning a crackdown on an illegal trade that turned it, by some accounts, into Europe's…

Read More Here

Albania to partially reopen economy

Albania’s government plans to allow its mining and oil industries to reopen on Monday, along with hundreds of businesses including small retailers, food and fish processing, farming and fishing. In…

Read More Here

2-8 year jail terms for coronavirus quarantine rule-breakers in Albania

Albania amended its penal code on Thursday to punish anyone breaking coronavirus quarantine and self-isolation rules and infecting others with up to eight years in jail as it slowly prepares…

Read More Here

Albania extends lockdown

Albanian schools, cafes, restaurants and other public venues will remain shut and restrictions on social and economic activity will stay in place till the end of the coronavirus outbreak, Health…

Read More Here

Albania sends 30 doctors and nurses to Italy

Albania has sent 30 doctors and nurses to Italy, the worst-hit country in Europe amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Albanian Prime minister announced on Saturday. The Albanian medical team was…

Read More Here

Albanians will need a permit to leave the house

Albanians will need a permit to leave the house to get necessities as part of stricter measures to contain the outbreak there. Permission can be obtained by app or text…

Read More Here

Albanian Army prepared to use force to enforce curfew

Albania's Government has deployed its Army to enforce a strict 40-hour curfew. The curfew is hoped to slow the spread of coronavirus and follows people flouting previous measures. go out…

Read More Here

Albania cancels flights and ferries to Italy until April 3

Albania's government has shut down schools for two weeks and cancel flights and ferries to Italy until April 3. Just before midnight, the health ministry said a 28-year-old man and…

Read More Here

Albania President warns his country could become the ‘North Korea of Europe’ again

Albania risks becoming once again “the North Korea of Europe,” its own president Ilir Meta warned on Thursday as he defended his role in a constitutional clash that threatens to…

Read More Here

Albania and Kosovo considering shared embassies

The Albanian Minister-in-office for Europe and Foreign Affairs Gent Çakaj and the Foreign Minister of Kosovo Glauk Konjufca met to discuss the establishment of common economic space for free movement…

Read More Here

EU to host international donors’ conference for Albania to help with reconstruction after earthquake

The European Union will organise an international donors' conference on 17 February in Brussels to support the reconstruction efforts in Albania after the earthquake that struck the country at the…

Read More Here

The Year in Pictures – November: Earthquake in Albania

Locals look at a destroyed house after an earthquake in Durres, Albania, 27 November 2019. A magnitude 6.4 earthquake hit the country on 26 November 2019, leaving at least 50…

Read More Here

Another earthquake rocks Albania

A new earthquake of magnitude 4.3 struck Albania on Thursday evening. The Albanian seismological institute said the epicentre was nine kilometres north of Durres. The American USGS gave the intensity…

Read More Here

Search ends for survivors of Albanian earthquake as death toll reaches 51

Albania ended its search on Saturday for survivors of a powerful earthquake that killed 51 people, and buried more victims of the disaster including toddler twins and their mother. The…

Read More Here

Death Toll Rises in Albania, Prime Minister’s future daughter-in-law among victims

The death toll in earthquake-ravaged Albania is set to surpass 50, after more bodies were pulled from the rubble and hope faded for finding additional survivors from Tuesday's earthquake as…

Read More Here

Rescuers keep working in Albanian town as death toll hits 40

Rescue teams desperately sought survivors under rubble in Albania’s western town of Durres on Thursday hoping to pull out toddler twins alive, two days after a 6.4 magnitude quake killed…

Read More Here

Albania rocked by another earthquake as rescue efforts continue

Albania was rocked by a 5.5-magnitude tremor on Wednesday, a day after its strongest earthquake in decades killed at least 26 people and injured over 650 more. The latest quake…

Read More Here

Rescuers search into the night after deadly Albanian earthquake, at least 20 dead

Rescuers are searching the rubble of buildings into the night in Albania, where a strong earthquake killed over 20 people and injured 600 on Tuesday. Hours later, another quake rattled…

Read More Here

Strong earthquake rattles Albania

Early Friday morning an earthquake with the intensity of 4.7 rocked the southern part of Albania. The tremors were felt mostly in the city of Korca where initial reports indicate…

Read More Here

Albanian police say they foiled Iranian ‘terrorist’ plot

Albanian police said they had thwarted a planned attack by a Tehran-backed “terrorist cell” against opponents of the Tehran regime in the Balkan country last year involving three Iranians…

Read More Here

Albania rocked by 340 aftershocks, schools kept closed in Tirana, Durres and Elbasan

Albania’s Institute of Geosciences, Energy, Water and Environment said more than 340 aftershocks have followed the 5.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Saturday afternoon near Durres. Education Minister Besa Shahini said…

Read More Here

Albania in shock after massive earthquake

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.6 and an aftershock only slightly weaker shook the Albanian port town of Durres on Saturday, rocking buildings there and in the capital…

Read More Here

Albanian ex-minister guilty of abuse of office

An Albanian court found former interior minister Saimir Tahiri guilty on Thursday of abuse of office but innocent of trafficking drugs and sentenced him to three years’ probation. Prosecutors wanted…

Read More Here

Joint foreign policy for Kosovo and Albania

Kosovo and Albania signed a landmark agreement to coordinate their foreign policies and which will include joint embassies. The agreement was signed after Kosovo Foreign Minister Behgjet Pacolli visited his…

Read More Here

Win for Albanian Socialists in municipal elections

Preliminary results show that Albania’s ruling Socialist Party won all but two districts in last weekend’s municipal elections that were boycotted by the opposition. Counting on the website of…

Read More Here

Tension as Albania goes to the polls

Albania is set for an election like no other since emerging from half a century of communism in 1990. Prime Minister Edi Rama has campaigned hard for Sunday's local…

Read More Here

Photo Story: Protests in Albania

Riot police throws pepper spray on supporters of the Albanian opposition during a protest in Shkoder, Albania. Opposition has called to boycott the local election process on 30 June. Photo:…

Read More Here

EU delays accession talks with N. Macedonia and Albania

EU ministers have decided to delay opening accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia. The European Commission last month recommended that accession talks should begin with the Balkan countries after…

Read More Here

Pressure continues on the government of Albanian Prime Minister Rama to quit, local elections cancelled

The streets of Tirana were once more paralyzed Sunday as Albanian opposition leader Lulzim Basha again brought thousands of his supporters onto the streets of the Albanian capital in his…

Read More Here

Frontex border agency deployed for the first time outside the EU

Frontex officers for the first time were deployed out the borders of the European Union. The European Union's border agency on Tuesday, for the first time stationed officers along…

Read More Here

Illegally sold public land in Albania confiscated

Prosecutors have confiscated public land on the western Albanian coast that was illegally sold or owned by a former lawmaker and other officials. The land is estimated to be worth…

Read More Here

Deadly shootout at Albania’s airport

A gang of thieves broke into Tirana International Airport and grabbed bags of cash as they were about to be loaded onto an Austrian Airlines plane flying to Vienna. As…

Read More Here

Joint European police action against Albanian drugs traffickers

Police in five European countries carried out a huge strike against a gang of Albanian drugs traffickers, making 67 arrests. A total of about 650 police officers in Belgium, the…

Read More Here