Wiretaps published by the German newspaper Bild give a dramatic picture of the close collaboration between the Mayor of Durres and local head of the Socialist Party (PS) Vangjush Dako, and one of the most dangerous criminal gangs that are notorious for their involvement in international heroin and cocaine trafficking. The wiretaps are believed to
Up to 1.4 million Albanians could end up voting with expired ID cards in the June local elections. This is the number of ID cards issued in 2009, the first year of their introduction in Albania. Their 10-year term is over or will end this year, and a large percentage of them will expire before
Today is IDAHOT (International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia) and tomorrow the activists from Aleanca LGBT, Pro LGBT, and Streha organize, already for the 7th year, a Tirana Pride. In 2012, we organized the first Tirana (P)ride on bikes, with the idea that the event would be safer on bikes than walking (this was the
The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) has concluded the arbitrage case opened by Italian entrepreneur Francesco Becchetti against the Albanian state. While the award rendered by the ICSID on April 24, 2019, has not been disclosed, Albanian media have circulated unconfirmed reports of €110 million. Prime Minister Edi Rama, when asked on
Faith No More In 2015, Atelier Albania held a competition for the so-called “Faith Park,” a brain child of Prime Minister Edi Rama who envisioned the surroundings of the Pyramid in the center of Tirana as follows: “It seemed appropriate today to convey to you the idea of building in Tirana, soon The Park of
Albanian police used tear gas on citizens protesting against their forced eviction and the impending demolition of their homes in Tirana. The government attempted to start the demolition of 38 houses yesterday but residents blocked the bulldozers in an attempt to protect their homes. Then, in the early hours of this morning (around 6am), a
Journalist Basir Çollaku received a death threat on a live TV show about two weeks ago. A phone caller on a Report TV morning show said that Çollaku must stop appearing on TV shows to talk about “drugs” otherwise he will “get a bullet behind his ear”. “Edi Rama will win [local elections] in all
After Speaker of Parliament Gramoz Ruçi notified the Central Election Commission (KQZ) of the 57 seats vacated by the opposition so far, it has started the procedure to replace the opposition MPs with candidates ranked below them on the electoral lists from 2017. Some of those contacted by the KQZ to hand in their decriminalization form
Prime Minister Edi Rama’s first reaction to the political crisis, following the Democratic Party (PD) MPs’ decision to resign from their mandates, was his attempt to influence and manipulate the international public and foreign diplomats in Albania. The goal was twofold: first, getting the foreign diplomats to support him while the information and their understanding
Having watched the events of Saturday’s protest unfold, I must say that I am more shocked and disappointed by what has happened afterwards. Whilst the EU, OSCE, and various embassies preached about democracy and abiding by the rule of law before, during, and immediately after the protests, they were strangely quiet on the matter of