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☆ Albania’s Highest Court Rules in Favour of Migrant Deal With Italy
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: 1 min

TIRANA (Reuters) - Albania's constitutional court ruled on Monday in favour of a deal with Italy that will allow the Italian government to set up reception centres to host migrants trying to come ashore. The Albanian parliament has still to ratify the deal before it enters into force. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni agreed with her Albanian counterpart Edi Rama in November to set up centres that would initially host some 3,000 people as Italy tries to bring down numbers of migrants that nearly doubled last year. (Reporting by Florion Goga, writing by Fatos Bytyci, editing by Christina Fincher)

Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Florion Goga, Fatos Bytyci, Christina Fincher Organizations: Albanian Locations: TIRANA, Italy, Italian

☆ Albanian prosecutors charge former Prime Minister Sali Berisha in corruption probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Democratic Party leader Sali Berisha gestures as he speaks during an anti-government protest in front of Prime Minister Edi Rama's office in Tirana, Albania, November 12, 2022. REUTERS/Florion Goga/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsTIRANA, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Albanian prosecutors have charged former Prime Minister Sali Berisha and his son-in-law on corruption charges over a land deal involving the grounds of a sports club, investigators said on Sunday. Berisha has accused current Prime Minister Edi Rama of orchestrating the whole case. The accusations are baseless and are Edi Rama's direct political attacks against me," Berisha told reporters late on Saturday. Berisha served as president from 1992 to 1997, immediately after the fall of communism in Albania, and as prime minister from 2005 to 2013.

Persons: Sali Berisha, Florion, Berisha, Taulant Balla, Florion Goga, Fatos Bytyci, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Democratic Party, Edi, REUTERS, Rights, FC Partizani, Thomson Locations: Tirana, Albania, Rights TIRANA, United States

☆ Albanian Prosecutors Charge Former PM Berisha in Corruption Probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-22 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

TIRANA (Reuters) - Albanian prosecutors have charged former Prime Minister Sali Berisha and his son-in-law on corruption charges over a land deal involving the grounds of a sports club, investigators said on Sunday. While his son-in-law was arrested late on Saturday, Berisha himself is a lawmaker and has immunity from prosecution. Berisha has accused current Prime Minister Edi Rama of orchestrating the whole case. The accusations are baseless and are Edi Rama's direct political attacks against me," Berisha told reporters late on Saturday. Berisha served as president from 1992 to 1997, immediately after the fall of communism in Albania, and as prime minister from 2005 to 2013.

Persons: Sali Berisha, Berisha, Taulant Balla, Florion Goga, Fatos Bytyci, Hugh Lawson Organizations: FC Partizani, Edi, Democratic Party Locations: TIRANA, Tirana, United States, Albania

☆ Former captain Bonucci starts legal battle against Juventus over club exit
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"I have decided, after great suffering, to take the path of a lawsuit towards Juventus," Bonucci told Sport Mediaset in an interview published on Thursday. Bonucci said he did not feel remorse towards his former club nor was seeking financial reward, and that if he won the legal battle he would donate all the proceeds to charity. Juventus are the fans, the team, my former team mates," Bonucci said. "I want to continue to play and trouble Spalletti for the national team," Bonucci said. Bonucci added his hopes are to be back at Juventus one day as coach.

Persons: Leonardo Bonucci, Florion, Massimiliano Allegri, Bonucci, Luciano Spalletti, Spalletti, Anita Kobylinska Organizations: Soccer Football, Air Albania, REUTERS, Juventus, United States, Serie, Juve, Bundesliga, Union Berlin, Sport Mediaset, Thomson Locations: Albania, Italy, Tirana, Turin, Gdansk

[1/5] Tourists visit the redesigned pyramid that was formerly a museum built to honour late Communist dictator Enver Hoxha, in Tirana, Albania, August 18, 2023. REUTERS/Florion Goga Acquire Licensing RightsTIRANA, Aug 25 (Reuters) - A museum built in Albania in the 1980s to honour longtime Communist dictator Enver Hoxha is being transformed into a computer training centre for young people, removing a final vestige of the country's isolated and repressive past. The original architects, which included Hoxha's daughter Pranvera, designed the building in the shape of a pyramid glorifying the leader as an Egyptian-style pharaoh. The museum was finished in 1988, three years after Hoxha died and two years before reclusive Communist rule collapsed, giving way to democracy. "It was an architectural monument like no others," said Ilda Qazimllari, director of investments in the office of the Tirana mayor.

Persons: Enver Hoxha, Florion, Hoxha, Winy Maas, Pranvera, Leon Cika, Ilda Qazimllari, Fatos Bytyci, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Tourists, REUTERS, Rights, European Union, Thomson Locations: Tirana, Albania, Rights TIRANA, Dutch, Soviet, Europe, Balkan, Kosovo

☆ Albania battles coastal forest fires, arrests four
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

QEPARO, Albania, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Albanian police said they had arrested four people in the past 24 hours for causing fires as soldiers and firefighters were deployed in coastal tourist areas to fight spreading forest blazes. Many farmers in Albania set fire to cultivated fields to clear stubble, weeds and waste before sowing a new crop. In July Albania has identified and charged 14 people with starting wildfires. [1/5]A view of a burned area near Qeparo, Albania, August 19, 2023. Albania's ministry of defense said 95 fires were reported in the first two weeks of August.

Persons: Florion, Fatos Bytyci, Toby Chopra Organizations: Police, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: QEPARO, Albania, Qeparo, Elbasan

The lawsuit filed on Monday said Kante is entitled to more than $20 million in profit from the infringing music. Representatives for Kante, Lipa and WMG did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday. Kante's website said he has played the Talk Box on songs by musicians including rappers Kanye West, Big Boi and J. Cole. The lawsuit said producer Stephen Kozmeniuk approached Kante in 2019 about creating a talk-box track to use on "Levitating." "Levitating" was released on Dua Lipa's hit 2020 album "Future Nostalgia."

Persons: Singer Dua Lipa, Florion, Bosko Kante, Kante, Lipa's, WMG, Lipa, Sandy Linzer, Russell Brown, Kanye, Big, J, Cole, Stephen Kozmeniuk, DJ, Madonna, Missy Elliott, DaBaby, Blake Brittain, David Bario, Richard Chang Organizations: Singer Dua, Skanderbeg, REUTERS, Warner Music Group, Kante, Thomson Locations: Tirana, Albania, Dua Lipa, Los Angeles, British, Lipa, Washington

TIRANA, July 3 (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Bill Clinton on Monday met 12 children and men from Kosovo who were named after him in gratitude for his role in stopping the 1998-99 Kosovo War. Clinton, who served as president from 1993 to 2001, is regarded as a hero in Kosovo and Albania for launching NATO air strikes against Serbia's forces in 1999. The strikes halted the war and allowed nearly 1 million Albanian refugees in Kosovo to return to their homes. Others who spoke at the ceremony included Klinton Gashi, Klinton Bajgora and Klinton Ferizi. Clinton also met three girls who were named after his wife, Hillary Clinton, who served as U.S. secretary of state under former President Barack Obama.

Persons: Bill Clinton, Clinton, Klinton Berisha, Klinton, Ferizi, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Hillary Alidema, Fatos Bytyci, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Former U.S, Monday, NATO, Goga, Thomson Locations: TIRANA, Former, Kosovo, Albania, Tirana, Balkans, Serbia, Washington

☆ Bill Clinton tells Kosovo: stop 'foolishness' in Serb-majority north
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Former U.S. president Bill Clinton delivers his speech during a welcoming in Tirana, Albania, July 3, 2023. REUTERS/Florion GogaTIRANA, July 3 (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, largely credited for ending the Kosovo war more than two decades ago, on Monday told Kosovo's government to stop its actions in the Serb majority north, where tension has flared over the past few months. But the real thing we need to do is to stop this foolishness," Clinton said during a ceremony in Tirana where he received a medal from Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama. The United States and the European Union, Kosovo's main allies, have mainly blamed Prime Minister Albin Kurti for igniting tension in the north by installing four mayors in their offices with police despite objections from local Serbs. In Belgrade, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said growing tensions between Belgrade and Pristina "cause great concern, as well as the increase in violence".

Persons: Bill Clinton, Kosovo's, Clinton, Albin Kurti, Mark Rutte, Aleksandar Vucic, Rutte, Fatos Bytyci, Aleksandar Vasovic, Sonali Paul Organizations: U.S, REUTERS, Former U.S, Monday, NATO, Albania's, Edi Rama, Kosovo, Serbia's, European Union, Dutch, EU, Thomson Locations: Tirana, Albania, Florion, TIRANA, Former, Kosovo, Pristina, Serbia, Serbian, Kosovo Albanian, United States, Belgrade, Europe, Ukraine, Florion Goga

U.S. District Judge Sunshine Sykes said Artikal Sound System failed to argue that the writers of "Levitating" ever had access to the group's 2017 song "Live Your Life." Sykes gave the group an opportunity to file a new complaint. Representatives for Lipa and Artikal Sound System did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Sykes on Monday agreed with Lipa that Artikal Sound System's complaint failed to show that the defendants could have encountered its song before writing "Levitating." Sykes said this was not enough to demonstrate the song was widely disseminated enough that the "Levitating" songwriters could have heard and copied it.

Persons: Florion, Lipa's, Sunshine Sykes, Sykes, Sandy Linzer, Russell Brown, Don Diablo, Blake Brittain, Richard Chang Organizations: Singer Dua, Skanderbeg, REUTERS, Dua Lipa, Warner Records, U.S, District, Thomson Locations: Tirana, Albania, British, Los Angeles, Florida, New York, Lipa, Washington

[1/5] Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visits the site of a crash, where two trains collided, near the city of Larissa, Greece, March 1, 2023. Rail workers, on strike since March 2, have extended their walkout until Friday. "We could have been there, we could have been on that same train," Aria Laska, 23, told Reuters. Three more railway workers were detained and accused of disrupting public transport leading to deaths, the semi-state Athens News Agency reported. "We are together in this trial," Mitsotakis said, adding that young people and their parents had "every right to be angry".

[1/4] A person rides on a motorcycle with Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) flag attached to it on the day of celebrations of the 15th anniversary of Kosovo independence in Pristina, Kosovo, February 17, 2023. "Our independence was achieved through struggle and sacrifice, but our independence will only grow through work," Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said ahead of the parade. Tensions with Serbia linger as Belgrade continues to support the refusal of 50,000 minority Serbs in north Kosovo to accept the country's independence, declared almost a decade after an uprising against repressive Serbian rule. Resolving their volatile stand-off is a major condition for Serbia and Kosovo to progress towards EU membership. The anniversary was ignored in the Serb-majority town of North Mitrovica in north Kosovo.

☆ Albanian opposition protests against corruption, poverty
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] People take part in the Albanian opposition anti-government protest in Tirana, Albania, February 11, 2023. Protesters, led by opposition leader Sali Berisha, hurled firecrackers at the entrance of government offices where hundreds of police officers in anti-riot gear blocked protesters from entering the building. Berisha, a former president and prime minister, is banned from entering the United States over alleged corruption. During the protest Berisha accused Prime Minister Rama of corrupting U.S. officials to lobby against him and against opposition parties. Rama, who is in his third term as prime minister, has denied all accusations of corruption.

☆ Kosovo re-opens major border crossing with Serbia, easing standoff
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Fatos Bytyci | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] A view of Merdare border crossing between Kosovo and Serbia which was closed by Kosovo after protesters blocked it on the Serbian side to support their ethnic kin in Kosovo in refusing to recognise the country's independence, near Podujevo, Kosovo, December 28, 2022. REUTERS/Florion Goga/File PhotoMITROVICA, Kosovo, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Kosovo re-opened its biggest border crossing with Serbia on Thursday, hours after protesting Serbs in its north promised to remove roadblocks, easing a surge in tensions that has alarmed world powers. Two burned-out trucks filled with gravel stood on a bridge close to the ethically divided town of Mitrovica, some 50 km from the reopened Merdare crossing. Two border other crossings with Serbia in Kosovo's north remain closed since Dec. 10. The Kremlin on Wednesday dismissed accusations from Kosovo's interior minister that Russia was influencing Serbia to destabilise Kosovo, saying that Serbia was defending the rights of ethnic Serbs.

☆ Serbia's Vucic urges Serbs in Kosovo to remove barricades - official
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but Serbia and Serbs in north Kosovo have refused to recognise that and their licence plates are still being issued by Serbia. Serbs in north Kosovo have erected barricades and blocked roads for about three weeks following the arrest of former police officer Dejan Pantic by Kosovo police. Vucic has called on Serbs in the north to remove barricades, Petkovic added. Vucic and Kosovo Serb representatives will meet Wednesday evening near the Kosovo border and announce if the barricades will be removed, Petkovic said. Earlier on Wednesday, the United States, NATO and European Union urged maximum restraint by both sides in the standoff.

☆ U.S., EU, NATO urge restraint as Serbia-Kosovo border crossings close, dispute escalates
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Fatos Bytyci | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Locals walk near a roadblock in the northern part of the ethnically-divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, December 28, 2022. Dejan Pantic was arrested on Dec. 10 for assaulting a serving police officer, since when Serbs in northern Kosovo have exchanged fire with police and erected more than 10 roadblocks, demanding his release. Serbs in northern Kosovo, which they believe to be still part of Serbia, resist any moves they see as anti-Serb. Around 50,000 Serbs living in northern Kosovo refuse to recognise the government in Pristina or the status of Kosovo as a separate country. Albanian-majority Kosovo declared independence with the backing of the West, following a 1998-99 war in which NATO intervened to protect ethnic Albanian citizens.

☆ Serbs in Kosovo block roads, clash with police as ethnic tensions worsen
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Fatos Bytyci | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

In recent weeks Serbs in northern Kosovo, a hotbed of Serb nationalism, have met attempts by Pristina which they see as anti-Serb with violent resistance. Barricades must be removed immediately by groups of Kosovo Serbs. For a second day on Sunday, trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles blocked several main roads in northern Kosovo that lead to two border crossings with Serbia. After Saturday's incidents, Goran Rakic, the head of the Serbian List party, which is supported by Belgrade, called on Serbs in northern Kosovo to show restraint and cooperate with NATO peacekeepers and EULEX. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 with the backing of the West, following a 1998-1999 war in which NATO intervened to protect Albanian-majority Kosovo.

When Mark arrived at the Sofra e Ariut (Bear's Table) restaurant he was just a cub, said Scherk Trettin, estimating him to have been born in 1998. "Today I am not feeling good because they are taking the bear away. We have been used to living with (him)," said Misir Maxhuku, whose duties have included caring for Mark for the past four years. Four Paws says inadequate legislation means bears and other wild animals remain at risk of being abused as pets or tourist attractions in Albania, where has rescued 11 other bears. Reporting by Fatos Bytyci; editing by John StonestreetOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Albanian opposition leader punched in face as he marches to protest
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Albania's opposition Democratic Party leader Sali Berisha reacts after being punched in the face by a protestor, as the EU-Western Balkans summit takes place in Tirana, Albania, December 6, 2022. We will save Albania," Berisha told the crowd, pledging to halt the crime and poverty which are driving people to leave the country. The attacker was beaten by Berisha supporters and arrested by the police. The attack was condemned by Prime Minister Edi Rama. Berisha, a former president and prime minister, is banned from entering the United States over alleged corruption.

☆ Father and son missing as floods hit northern Albania
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TIRANA, Nov 20 (Reuters) - A father and son were missing in Albania on Sunday after their car was swept into a river during floods in the north of the country as heavy rains led emergency services to evacuate those at risk. A girl who was also in the car when it was caught in the flow of a swollen stream managed to escape, police said. Some schools were closed in the affected areas and Albanian emergency services had begun to evacuate people close to the town of Shkoder as a result of the flood danger. Albania, which relies all its electricity domestic production from hydro, has seen its worst drought in years during 2022, forcing the government to import more power. Reporting by Florion Goga; writing by Fatos BytyciOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Anti-government protesters scuffle with police in Albania
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Supporters of the opposition party attend an anti-government protest in front of Prime Minister Edi Rama's office in Tirana, Albania, November 12, 2022. After demonstrating peacefully for around three hours, protesters broke through the police cordon around the government building and threw red and black paint. The protest is seen in Albania as an attempt by Berisha to flex his muscles before local elections in May 2023. Berisha, who has previously served both as president and prime minister, was barred in 2021 from entering the United States over alleged corruption. Reporting by Florion Goga, writing by Fatos Bytyci; editing by Christina FincherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"There is a proposal from the (EU) coordinator on the table and it will remain on the table. They have accused Iran of going backwards in the talks, something Tehran denies. "We hope that they will be honest and do not waste more time in order to pressure Iran." Colonna said the United States and its European partners shared an identical position on the question of resolving an investigation. A source close to Iran’s nuclear team said Tehran had lost interest in reviving a deal that can only last 2 years.

☆ Albania investigates military factory intruders from Russia and Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

TIRANA, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Albania said on Sunday it was investigating why two Russians and a Ukrainian had tried to enter a military factory and police detained four Czech nationals also close to another military plant. Tirana-based media said the three suspects were bloggers who often visited abandoned military bases and other big plants in different countries. In a similar incident police said on Sunday four Czech nationals had been detained at the Polican military plant. The Polican plant was used during communism to produce ammunition for Russian made rifle AK 47, hand grenades, anti-personnel and anti-tank mines. Albania, a member of NATO since 2009, has joined the United States and other western countries to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine and has introduced sanctions against Moscow.

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