Albania

Albania could push for solo EU membership bid, says PM Edi Rama<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The protest concluded after three hours, with opposition leaders vowing to continue nationwide demonstrations.<\/p>\n<p>While Albania\u2019s next parliamentary elections are slated for spring 2025, polls indicate that Rama\u2019s Socialists are likely to maintain power, partly due to a divided opposition.<\/p>\n<p>Both the US and the EU have urged the opposition to engage in dialogue, stressing that violence would hinder Albania\u2019s EU integration efforts. <\/p>\n<p>Discussions with Brussels on aligning with its legal and democratic standards began in October, with Albania aiming for membership by 2030.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1732709221,"updatedAt":1732724149,"publishedAt":1732721380,"firstPublishedAt":1732721380,"lastPublishedAt":1732722354,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/87\/66\/58\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_65bf9c5a-5e39-592c-bf51-ec29ab696d87-8876658.jpg","altText":"Clashes break out between anti-riot police and opposition lawmakers during protest in Tirana, Albania, 26\/11\/2024.","caption":"Clashes break out between anti-riot police and opposition lawmakers during protest in Tirana, Albania, 26\/11\/2024.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Vlasov Sulaj\/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":683}],"authors":{"journalists":[],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":5,"slug":"albania","urlSafeValue":"albania","title":"Albania","titleRaw":"Albania"},{"id":12028,"slug":"demonstration","urlSafeValue":"demonstration","title":"Demonstration","titleRaw":"Demonstration"},{"id":19316,"slug":"edi-rama","urlSafeValue":"edi-rama","title":"Edi Rama","titleRaw":"Edi Rama"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"related","count":1}],"related":[{"id":2664520},{"id":2658924},{"id":2653796}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":{"youtubeId":"0_we5XmwV0I","dailymotionId":"x99v0ei"},"hasExternalVideo":1,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":1,"video":1,"videos":[{"format":"mp4","quality":"md","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/med\/EN\/E3\/SU\/24\/11\/27\/en\/241127_E3SU_57131125_57133621_60000_161126_en.mp4","editor":"","duration":60000,"filesizeBytes":7951667,"expiresAt":0},{"format":"mp4","quality":"hd","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/EN\/E3\/SU\/24\/11\/27\/en\/241127_E3SU_57131125_57133621_60000_161126_en.mp4","editor":"","duration":60000,"filesizeBytes":12158771,"expiresAt":0}],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":"AP","additionalSources":"","additionalReporting":"Euronews","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"europe-news","urlSafeValue":"europe-news","title":"Europe 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ITALY MIGRANTS","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Italy sends another 8 migrants to Albania despite failing to process first group","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Italy sends 8 more migrants to Albania despite processing issues","titleListing2":"Italy sends another 8 migrants to Albania despite failing to process first group","leadin":"The first group of 12 migrants were returned to Italy after a Rome court said their countries of origin, Bangladesh and Egypt, were not safe enough for repatriation.","summary":"The first group of 12 migrants were returned to Italy after a Rome court said their countries of origin, Bangladesh and Egypt, were not safe enough for repatriation.","keySentence":"","url":"italy-sends-another-8-migrants-to-albania-despite-failing-to-process-first-group","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/my-europe\/2024\/11\/08\/italy-sends-another-8-migrants-to-albania-despite-failing-to-process-first-group","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"An Italian navy ship docked at the Albanian port of Shengjin on Friday, carrying eight migrants, a month after a previous group was denied entry following a failed vetting process.\n\nThe group will undergo asylum processing before being transferred to the repatriation center in Gjader.\n\nIt is only the second transfer of migrants since two migrant processing centres started operating in October.\n\nThe same Italian navy ship previously transferred the first 16 migrants from Bangladesh and Egypt to Albania. Four of them, identified as minors or individuals with health issues, were taken back to Italy on the same day.\n\nTwelve others were brought back three days later, following a ruling by Rome judges who rejected their detention because their countries of origin \u2014 Bangladesh and Egypt \u2014 were not safe enough for them to be sent back.\n\nThe court ruling had shortened the list of countries considered \u201csafe\u201d by law, meaning that Rome can repatriate migrants from those countries who didn\u2019t win asylum using a fast-track procedure. \n\nItalian Premier Giorgia Meloni slammed the decision and said that deeming countries such as Bangladesh and Egypt unsafe means that virtually all migrants would be barred from the Albania program, making it unworkable.\n\nThe number of people reaching Italy along the central Mediterranean migration route \u2014 mainly from Bangladesh, Syria, Tunisia and Egypt \u2014 has fallen by 60% in 2024 compared to 2023. As of 7 November, according to the Italian Interior Ministry, 57,767 migrants have arrived by sea in 2024.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>An Italian navy ship docked at the Albanian port of Shengjin on Friday, carrying eight migrants, a month after a previous group was denied entry following a failed vetting process.<\/p>\n<p>The group will undergo asylum processing before being transferred to the repatriation center in Gjader.<\/p>\n<p>It is only the second transfer of migrants since two migrant processing centres started operating in October.<\/p>\n<p>The same Italian navy ship previously transferred the first 16 migrants from Bangladesh and Egypt to Albania. Four of them, identified as minors or individuals with health issues, were taken back to Italy on the same day.<\/p>\n<p>Twelve others were brought back three days later, following a ruling by Rome judges who rejected their detention because their countries of origin \u2014 Bangladesh and Egypt \u2014 were not safe enough for them to be sent back.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"8800338\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2024//10//19//first-batch-of-migrants-sent-to-albania-must-be-returned-italian-court-rules/">First batch of migrants sent to Albania returned to Italy after court ruling<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The court ruling had shortened the list of countries considered \u201csafe\u201d by law, meaning that Rome can repatriate migrants from those countries who didn\u2019t win asylum using a fast-track procedure. <\/p>\n<p>Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni slammed the decision and said that deeming countries such as Bangladesh and Egypt unsafe means that virtually all migrants would be barred from the Albania program, making it unworkable.<\/p>\n<p>The number of people reaching Italy along the central Mediterranean migration route \u2014 mainly from Bangladesh, Syria, Tunisia and Egypt \u2014 has fallen by 60% in 2024 compared to 2023. As of 7 November, according to the Italian Interior Ministry, 57,767 migrants have arrived by sea in 2024.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1731054902,"updatedAt":1731067207,"publishedAt":1731061938,"firstPublishedAt":1731061938,"lastPublishedAt":1731061938,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/83\/94\/22\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_a5057165-00ec-50a5-833a-22da1e83bf4c-8839422.jpg","altText":"The Italian navy ship Libra arrives at the port of Shengjin, northwestern Albania, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024.","caption":"The Italian navy ship Libra arrives at the port of Shengjin, northwestern Albania, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP Photo\/Vlasov Sulaj","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":3579,"height":2014}],"authors":{"journalists":[],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":5,"slug":"albania","urlSafeValue":"albania","title":"Albania","titleRaw":"Albania"},{"id":13190,"slug":"migrants","urlSafeValue":"migrants","title":"Migrants","titleRaw":"Migrants"},{"id":26564,"slug":"demandeurs-d-asile","urlSafeValue":"demandeurs-d-asile","title":"asylum seekers","titleRaw":"asylum seekers"},{"id":158,"slug":"italy","urlSafeValue":"italy","title":"Italy","titleRaw":"Italy"},{"id":12102,"slug":"migrant-crisis","urlSafeValue":"migrant-crisis","title":"Migrant Crisis","titleRaw":"Migrant Crisis"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"related","count":1}],"related":[{"id":2673438}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":{"youtubeId":"aqOAHps2Ykg","dailymotionId":"x98tkgq"},"hasExternalVideo":1,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":1,"video":1,"videos":[{"format":"mp4","quality":"md","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/med\/EN\/E3\/SU\/24\/11\/08\/en\/241108_E3SU_56965105_56965133_60000_125445_en.mp4","editor":"","duration":60000,"filesizeBytes":7958280,"expiresAt":0},{"format":"mp4","quality":"hd","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/EN\/E3\/SU\/24\/11\/08\/en\/241108_E3SU_56965105_56965133_60000_125445_en.mp4","editor":"","duration":60000,"filesizeBytes":11837192,"expiresAt":0}],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":"AP","additionalSources":"","additionalReporting":"Euronews","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"europe-news","urlSafeValue":"europe-news","title":"Europe 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News"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":5,"urlSafeValue":"albania","title":"Albania","url":"\/news\/europe\/albania"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":["80023001","84061001","84062004","84081001","84082001","84111001","84112003","84112005","84211001","84212004"],"slugs":["aggregated_all_moderate_content","family_and_parenting","family_and_parenting_daycare_preschool","health_and_fitness","health_and_fitness_general","law_gov_t_and_politics_immigration","law_gov_t_and_politics_legal_politics","law_government_and_politics","society","society_ethnic_specific"]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/my-europe\/2024\/11\/08\/italy-sends-another-8-migrants-to-albania-despite-failing-to-process-first-group","lastModified":1731061938},{"id":2664520,"cid":8818420,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":"241028_NWSU_56869682","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"ALBANIA ALLEGED TOXIC SHIP","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Albanian authorities prevent docking of Turkish ship with hazardous waste","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Turkish ship carrying hazardous waste blocked by Albanian authorities","titleListing2":"Albania prevents ship carrying 2,100 tons of toxic waste from docking after a three-month journey","leadin":"A Turkish-flagged ship with 102 containers of suspected hazardous waste was blocked from docking in Albania by authorities following a watchdog's warning.","summary":"A Turkish-flagged ship with 102 containers of suspected hazardous waste was blocked from docking in Albania by authorities following a watchdog's warning.","keySentence":"","url":"albanian-authorities-prevent-docking-of-turkish-ship-with-hazardous-waste","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2024\/10\/28\/albanian-authorities-prevent-docking-of-turkish-ship-with-hazardous-waste","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Albanian authorities have prevented a ship suspected of transferring a huge amount of hazardous waste from docking at Tirana\u2019s main port, officials said, after a watchdog group alerted authorities.\n\nProsecutors ordered the containers seized and stored \u201cat an environmentally and physically safe place\u201d for monitoring.\n\nThe Turkish-flagged Moliva XA443A ship was then kept about a mile away from the port of Durres, 33 kilometres west of the capital, Tirana. \n\nAccording to the Seattle-based Basel Action Network nongovernmental organisation, or BAN, which focuses on environmental issues, the ship has been flagged by authorities since August.\n\nThe group said it had received a whistleblower's note that its \u201c102 containers\u201d are suspected of carrying \u201can estimated 2,100 total metric tonnes of ... waste pollution control filter dust from the steel industry\u201d and alerted several transit countries.\n\nThe \u201cmassive shipment\u201d first left Durres on 4 July on two Maersk-chartered ships with the \u201cintended destination of Thailand,\u201d BAN said.\n\nUltimately, Thailand refused to accept the shipment, asking authorities in Singapore to stop it. The Turkish-flagged ship would later have stopovers in Portugal, Spain and the Italian port of Gioia Tauro before returning to Albania after a three-month journey across continents. \n\nAccording to local reports, the customs documentation stated that the containers harboured iron oxide.\n\nIn August, the Albanian opposition accused the government of taking part in illegally trafficking hazardous material, prompting Prime Minister Edi Rama to say in Parliament in September that the shipment's documents were verified.\n\nRama argued that iron oxide is \"not considered toxic waste in the European catalogs\" on which the environmental and customs procedures of Albania are based.\n\nA UN report shows that over 2 billion tonnes of industrial waste are generated annually. \n\nEnvironmental NGOs estimate that the global industry of shipping such waste from Western nations to developing countries is worth between \u20ac44 billion and \u20ac70 billion a year.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>Albanian authorities have prevented a ship suspected of transferring a huge amount of hazardous waste from docking at Tirana\u2019s main port, officials said, after a watchdog group alerted authorities.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors ordered the containers seized and stored \u201cat an environmentally and physically safe place\u201d for monitoring.<\/p>\n<p>The Turkish-flagged Moliva XA443A ship was then kept about a mile away from the port of Durres, 33 kilometres west of the capital, Tirana. <\/p>\n<p>According to the Seattle-based Basel Action Network nongovernmental organisation, or BAN, which focuses on environmental issues, the ship has been flagged by authorities since August.<\/p>\n<p>The group said it had received a whistleblower's note that its \u201c102 containers\u201d are suspected of carrying \u201can estimated 2,100 total metric tonnes of ... waste pollution control filter dust from the steel industry\u201d and alerted several transit countries.<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cmassive shipment\u201d first left Durres on 4 July on two Maersk-chartered ships with the \u201cintended destination of Thailand,\u201d BAN said.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, Thailand refused to accept the shipment, asking authorities in Singapore to stop it. The Turkish-flagged ship would later have stopovers in Portugal, Spain and the Italian port of Gioia Tauro before returning to Albania after a three-month journey across continents. <\/p>\n<p>According to local reports, the customs documentation stated that the containers harboured iron oxide.<\/p>\n<p>In August, the Albanian opposition accused the government of taking part in illegally trafficking hazardous material, prompting Prime Minister Edi Rama to say in Parliament in September that the shipment's documents were verified.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"8736168\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//business//2024//09//16//eu-bungled-plastic-waste-tax-auditors-say/">EU bungled plastic waste tax, auditors say <\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Rama argued that iron oxide is \"not considered toxic waste in the European catalogs\" on which the environmental and customs procedures of Albania are based.<\/p>\n<p>A UN report shows that over 2 billion tonnes of industrial waste are generated annually. <\/p>\n<p>Environmental NGOs estimate that the global industry of shipping such waste from Western nations to developing countries is worth between \u20ac44 billion and \u20ac70 billion a year.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1730122197,"updatedAt":1730138804,"publishedAt":1730136686,"firstPublishedAt":1730136686,"lastPublishedAt":1730136686,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/81\/84\/20\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_6e728b9e-eb1b-5f97-94f9-d7ed5b44abe7-8818420.jpg","altText":"The Italian navy ship Libra as it arrives at the port of Shengjin, northwestern Albania Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024.","caption":"The Italian navy ship Libra as it arrives at the port of Shengjin, northwestern Albania Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Vlasov Sulaj\/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":683}],"authors":{"journalists":[],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":13160,"slug":"ships","urlSafeValue":"ships","title":"Ships","titleRaw":"Ships"},{"id":8857,"slug":"toxic-waste","urlSafeValue":"toxic-waste","title":"Toxic waste","titleRaw":"Toxic waste"},{"id":5,"slug":"albania","urlSafeValue":"albania","title":"Albania","titleRaw":"Albania"},{"id":20740,"slug":"sea-travel","urlSafeValue":"sea-travel","title":"sea travel","titleRaw":"sea travel"},{"id":14398,"slug":"environment","urlSafeValue":"environment","title":"Environment ","titleRaw":"Environment "}],"widgets":[{"slug":"related","count":1}],"related":[{"id":2598494},{"id":2599082},{"id":2688846}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":[],"hasExternalVideo":0,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":1,"video":1,"videos":[{"format":"mp4","quality":"md","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/med\/EN\/NW\/SU\/24\/10\/28\/en\/241028_NWSU_56869682_56869735_60040_182850_en.mp4","editor":"","duration":60040,"filesizeBytes":7833188,"expiresAt":0},{"format":"mp4","quality":"hd","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/EN\/NW\/SU\/24\/10\/28\/en\/241028_NWSU_56869682_56869735_60040_182850_en.mp4","editor":"","duration":60040,"filesizeBytes":11695716,"expiresAt":0}],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":"","additionalReporting":"Euronews, AP","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"world","urlSafeValue":"world","title":"World News","online":1,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/programs\/world"},"vertical":"news","verticals":[{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"themes":[{"id":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World","url":"\/news\/international"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":1,"urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":5,"urlSafeValue":"albania","title":"Albania","url":"\/news\/europe\/albania"},"town":{"id":4304,"urlSafeValue":"durres","title":"Durr\u00ebs"},"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":["80023001","80122022","80222022","84111001","84112001","84191001","84192001","84211001","84212001"],"slugs":["aggregated_all_moderate_content","death_and_injury_low_risk","death_and_injury_medium_risk","law_government_and_politics","law_government_and_politics_general","science","science_general","society","society_general"]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/2024\/10\/28\/albanian-authorities-prevent-docking-of-turkish-ship-with-hazardous-waste","lastModified":1730136686},{"id":2659618,"cid":8804134,"versionId":3,"archive":0,"housenumber":"241022_E3SU_56817435","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"ALBANIA ILIR META ARRESTED","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Former Albanian President Ilir Meta arrested on corruption charges","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Former Albanian President Ilir Meta arrested on corruption charges","titleListing2":"Albanian ex-president Ilir Meta arrested for alleged corruption","leadin":"Meta says he has full faith in his complete innocence following his arrest by the Special Prosecutors for Corruption (SPAK).","summary":"Meta says he has full faith in his complete innocence following his arrest by the Special Prosecutors for Corruption (SPAK).","keySentence":"","url":"albanian-ex-president-ilir-meta-arrested-for-alleged-corruption","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/my-europe\/2024\/10\/22\/albanian-ex-president-ilir-meta-arrested-for-alleged-corruption","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Former Albanian President Ilir Meta was forcefully arrested in Tirana on Monday by the Special Prosecutors for Corruption (SPAK) on alleged corruption charges.\n\nMeta is under investigation for alleged corruption, money laundering and hiding personal income and property, according to his laywer Genc Gjokutaj. \n\nLocal media released footage from Meta's arrest, who was on his way back to Tirana from neighbouring Kosovo ahead of holding a news conference. The video shows masked police officers forcefully dragging the ex-president from his vehicle. \n\nMeta is the leader of Albania's left-wing Freedom Party and served as the country's president from 2017 until 2022.\n\nMeta has been a vocal opponent of Prime Minister Edi Rama and his government, accusing him of running a \u201ckleptocratic regime\u201d and concentrating all legislative, administrative, and judiciary powers in Rama's hands.\n\nOn social media platform X, Meta says his \"abduction today in the most bandit-like manner reveals the panic of the dictatorial regime when faced with the truth,,\" adding, \"I have full faith in my complete innocence.\" \n\nMeta's party's secretary-general, Tedi Blushi, called it \u201ca criminal kidnapping\". Meta's lawyer also condemned the way the politician was arrested. \n\n\"He was abducted on the road just as gangs do,\" Gjokutaj said. \"The behaviour shown towards him was extremely against the law,\" he added. \n\nIt is not the first time the ex-president has been under investigation by SPAK. He was previously investigated for alleged illegal lobbying in the US, and he and his former wife were also investigated on allegations of hiding their personal wealth. \n\nGjokutaj said the arrest was politically motivated, and believes Rama and the head of SPAK Altin Dumani are involved in formulating the decision of his arrest. \n\nThe president of the Democratic Party Sali Berisha mirrors this sentiment and said Meta's arrest was orchestrated by Rama, who \"seeks to hit his political opponents\".\n\nCorruption has marred Albanian politics since the fall of communism in the 1990s, hindering the country's democratic, economic and social development. \n\n","htmlText":"<p>Former Albanian President Ilir Meta was forcefully arrested in Tirana on Monday by the Special Prosecutors for Corruption (SPAK) on alleged corruption charges.<\/p>\n<p>Meta is under investigation for alleged corruption, money laundering and hiding personal income and property, according to his laywer Genc Gjokutaj. <\/p>\n<p>Local media released footage from Meta's arrest, who was on his way back to Tirana from neighbouring Kosovo ahead of holding a news conference. The video shows masked police officers forcefully dragging the ex-president from his vehicle. <\/p>\n<p>Meta is the leader of Albania's left-wing Freedom Party and served as the country's president from 2017 until 2022.<\/p>\n<p>Meta has been a vocal opponent of Prime Minister Edi Rama and his government, accusing him of running a \u201ckleptocratic regime\u201d and concentrating all legislative, administrative, and judiciary powers in Rama's hands.<\/p>\n<p>On social media platform X, Meta says his \"abduction today in the most bandit-like manner reveals the panic of the dictatorial regime when faced with the truth,,\" adding, \"I have full faith in my complete innocence.\" <\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-tweet widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio\u2014auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <div class=\"widget__tweet\" data-tweet-id=\"1848453890611494955\"><\/div>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Meta's party's secretary-general, Tedi Blushi, called it \u201ca criminal kidnapping\". Meta's lawyer also condemned the way the politician was arrested. <\/p>\n<p>\"He was abducted on the road just as gangs do,\" Gjokutaj said. \"The behaviour shown towards him was extremely against the law,\" he added. <\/p>\n<p>It is not the first time the ex-president has been under investigation by SPAK. He was previously investigated for alleged illegal lobbying in the US, and he and his former wife were also investigated on allegations of hiding their personal wealth. <\/p>\n<p>Gjokutaj said the arrest was politically motivated, and believes Rama and the head of SPAK Altin Dumani are involved in formulating the decision of his arrest. <\/p>\n<p>The president of the Democratic Party Sali Berisha mirrors this sentiment and said Meta's arrest was orchestrated by Rama, who \"seeks to hit his political opponents\".<\/p>\n<p>Corruption has marred Albanian politics since the fall of communism in the 1990s, hindering the country's democratic, economic and social development. <\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1729546100,"updatedAt":1729579780,"publishedAt":1729555430,"firstPublishedAt":1729555430,"lastPublishedAt":1729579780,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/80\/41\/34\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_abdbbf92-baf2-5d11-9400-0edc4af95bc8-8804134.jpg","altText":"Albanian President Ilir Meta speaks during an interview with the Associated Press in Tirana, Albania, on April 21, 2021.","caption":"Albanian President Ilir Meta speaks during an interview with the Associated Press in Tirana, Albania, on April 21, 2021.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP Photo\/Hektor Pustina","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":575}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"id":3110,"urlSafeValue":"dom","title":"Evelyn Ann-Marie Dom","twitter":null}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":5,"slug":"albania","urlSafeValue":"albania","title":"Albania","titleRaw":"Albania"},{"id":4988,"slug":"corruption","urlSafeValue":"corruption","title":"Corruption","titleRaw":"Corruption"},{"id":8199,"slug":"arrest","urlSafeValue":"arrest","title":"Arrest","titleRaw":"Arrest"},{"id":22806,"slug":"ilir-meta","urlSafeValue":"ilir-meta","title":"Ilir Meta","titleRaw":"Ilir Meta"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"twitter","count":1}],"related":[{"id":2653796},{"id":2634666},{"id":1843898}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":{"youtubeId":"SKctwi0LbtA","dailymotionId":"x97t0y4"},"hasExternalVideo":1,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":1,"video":1,"videos":[{"format":"mp4","quality":"md","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/med\/EN\/E3\/SU\/24\/10\/22\/en\/241022_E3SU_56817435_56817750_70000_011909_en.mp4","editor":"","duration":70000,"filesizeBytes":8980186,"expiresAt":0},{"format":"mp4","quality":"hd","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/EN\/E3\/SU\/24\/10\/22\/en\/241022_E3SU_56817435_56817750_70000_011909_en.mp4","editor":"","duration":70000,"filesizeBytes":13950682,"expiresAt":0}],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":"","additionalReporting":"","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"europe-news","urlSafeValue":"europe-news","title":"Europe 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MIGRANTS AND DEMO","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Activists protest as first group of 16 migrants on Italian ship arrive in Albania","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Albanian activists protest as migrants arrive on Italian ship","titleListing2":"Activists protest as first group of 16 migrants on Italian ship arrive in Albania","leadin":"Opponents of the Italy-Albania migrant deal argue it is undemocratic because the people of both countries have not been consulted.","summary":"Opponents of the Italy-Albania migrant deal argue it is undemocratic because the people of both countries have not been consulted.","keySentence":"","url":"activists-protest-as-first-group-of-16-migrants-on-italian-ship-arrive-in-albania","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2024\/10\/16\/activists-protest-as-first-group-of-16-migrants-on-italian-ship-arrive-in-albania","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"A group of activists protested on Wednesday as the first Italian ship carrying migrants intercepted in international waters arrived in the Balkan country. \n\nThe demonstrators gathered at the entrance of the port of Shengjin, one of the two centres Italy opened in Albania last week, and displayed a banner that read, \u201cThe European dream ends here.\" \n\n\"It is not the first time we have protested against such a deal. We have opposed it the moment we knew about it,\" said one of the protesters, Edison Lika.\n\n\"This deal is against human rights; more concretely, it's about the migrants\u2019 rights. Such a deal has not been democratic because the peoples of both countries have not been asked,\" he added.\n\nEarlier on Wednesday, an Italian navy ship docked at the Albanian port of Shengjin to bring the first group of 16 male migrants \u2014 10 from Bangladesh and six from Egypt \u2014 who were rescued at sea after departing from Libya, a ministry spokesman said.\n\nLast week, Italy formally opened two return hub centres in Albania under Rome's jurisdiction, where it plans to process thousands of asylum-seekers outside its borders. \n\nOnly adult men would be housed in the centres, while vulnerable people such as women, children, the elderly, and those who are ill or victims of torture will be accommodated in Italy, according to Rome. Families will not be separated.\n\nThe first centre, an area in Shengjin, 66 kilometres northwest of the capital, Tirana, is used for screening newcomers, while the other centre, about 22 kilometres to its east near the former military airport in Gjader, accommodates migrants during the processing of their asylum requests.\n\nUp to 3,000 migrants picked up by the Italian coast guard in international waters each month will be sheltered in Albania under a five-year deal signed last November by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her Albanian counterpart, Edi Rama.\n\nItaly has agreed to welcome those who are granted asylum. Those whose applications are rejected face deportation directly from Albania.\n\nThe controversial agreement to outsource the housing of asylum seekers to a non-EU member country has been hailed by some countries that, like Italy, are suffering a heavy burden of refugees, but it has also been slammed by human rights groups as setting a dangerous precedent.\n\nMeloni and her right-wing allies have long demanded that European countries share more of the migration burden. \n\nThe Italian PM has held up the Albania agreement as an innovative solution to a problem that has vexed the EU for years, despite the decline in the number of people reaching Europe along the central Mediterranean migration route from North Africa.\n\nThis year, the number of migrant arrivals to Italy has fallen by 61% in 2024 from 2023.\n\nAs of 15 October, about 54,129 migrants have arrived in Italy by sea this year, compared to 138,947 by the same date last year, according to the Italian Interior Ministry.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>A group of activists protested on Wednesday as the first Italian ship carrying migrants intercepted in international waters arrived in the Balkan country. <\/p>\n<p>The demonstrators gathered at the entrance of the port of Shengjin, one of the two centres Italy opened in Albania last week, and displayed a banner that read, \u201cThe European dream ends here.\" <\/p>\n<p>\"It is not the first time we have protested against such a deal. We have opposed it the moment we knew about it,\" said one of the protesters, Edison Lika.<\/p>\n<p>\"This deal is against human rights; more concretely, it's about the migrants\u2019 rights. Such a deal has not been democratic because the peoples of both countries have not been asked,\" he added.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier on Wednesday, an Italian navy ship docked at the Albanian port of Shengjin to bring the first group of 16 male migrants \u2014 10 from Bangladesh and six from Egypt \u2014 who were rescued at sea after departing from Libya, a ministry spokesman said.<\/p>\n<p>Last week, Italy formally opened two return hub centres in Albania under Rome's jurisdiction, where it plans to process thousands of asylum-seekers outside its borders. <\/p>\n<p>Only adult men would be housed in the centres, while vulnerable people such as women, children, the elderly, and those who are ill or victims of torture will be accommodated in Italy, according to Rome. Families will not be separated.<\/p>\n<p>The first centre, an area in Shengjin, 66 kilometres northwest of the capital, Tirana, is used for screening newcomers, while the other centre, about 22 kilometres to its east near the former military airport in Gjader, accommodates migrants during the processing of their asylum requests.<\/p>\n<p>Up to 3,000 migrants picked up by the Italian coast guard in international waters each month will be sheltered in Albania under a five-year deal signed last November by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her Albanian counterpart, Edi Rama.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"8793420,8791104\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2024//10//16//first-asylum-seekers-arrive-at-albanian-port-from-italy/">First asylum seekers arrive at Albanian port from Italy <\/a><\/li><li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2024//10//15//italy-sends-first-group-of-16-migrants-to-asylum-processing-centres-in-albania/">Italy sends first group of 16 migrants to asylum processing centres in Albania<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Italy has agreed to welcome those who are granted asylum. Those whose applications are rejected face deportation directly from Albania.<\/p>\n<p>The controversial agreement to outsource the housing of asylum seekers to a non-EU member country has been hailed by some countries that, like Italy, are suffering a heavy burden of refugees, but it has also been slammed by human rights groups as setting a dangerous precedent.<\/p>\n<p>Meloni and her right-wing allies have long demanded that European countries share more of the migration burden. <\/p>\n<p>The Italian PM has held up the Albania agreement as an innovative solution to a problem that has vexed the EU for years, despite the decline in the number of people reaching Europe along the central Mediterranean migration route from North Africa.<\/p>\n<p>This year, the number of migrant arrivals to Italy has fallen by 61% in 2024 from 2023.<\/p>\n<p>As of 15 October, about 54,129 migrants have arrived in Italy by sea this year, compared to 138,947 by the same date last year, according to the Italian Interior Ministry.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1729085817,"updatedAt":1729145019,"publishedAt":1729111063,"firstPublishedAt":1729111063,"lastPublishedAt":1729111494,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/79\/50\/32\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_0dcd251d-2618-5e0b-a2c1-070f0ebb7a1d-8795032.jpg","altText":"Activists, holding pictures of the Italian and Albanian premiers dressed as police officers, protest at the entrance of the port of Shengjin, northwestern Albania, Wednesday, ","caption":"Activists, holding pictures of the Italian and Albanian premiers dressed as police officers, protest at the entrance of the port of Shengjin, northwestern Albania, Wednesday, ","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP Photo\/Vlasov Sulaj","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":3887,"height":2186},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/79\/34\/26\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_24c8f388-878d-50c3-8a78-942b3ef090da-8793426.jpg","altText":"Activists, holding pictures of the Italian and Albanian premiers dressed as police officers, protest at the entrance of the port of Shengjin, northwestern Albania, Wednesday, ","caption":"Activists, holding pictures of the Italian and Albanian premiers dressed as police officers, protest at the entrance of the port of Shengjin, northwestern Albania, Wednesday, ","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Vlasov Sulaj\/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":683}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"id":957,"urlSafeValue":"fisayo","title":"Jerry Fisayo-Bambi","twitter":"@jerrybambi1"}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":147,"slug":"immigration","urlSafeValue":"immigration","title":"Immigration","titleRaw":"Immigration"},{"id":158,"slug":"italy","urlSafeValue":"italy","title":"Italy","titleRaw":"Italy"},{"id":5,"slug":"albania","urlSafeValue":"albania","title":"Albania","titleRaw":"Albania"},{"id":9239,"slug":"europe","urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe","titleRaw":"Europe"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"related","count":1}],"related":[{"id":2653752},{"id":2649102}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":{"youtubeId":"9KnqOBbfs7k","dailymotionId":"x97hsva"},"hasExternalVideo":1,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":1,"video":1,"videos":[{"format":"mp4","quality":"md","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/med\/EN\/NW\/SU\/24\/10\/16\/en\/241016_NWSU_56775713_56777774_60400_191720_en.mp4","editor":"","duration":60400,"filesizeBytes":7809942,"expiresAt":0},{"format":"mp4","quality":"hd","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/EN\/NW\/SU\/24\/10\/16\/en\/241016_NWSU_56775713_56777774_60400_191720_en.mp4","editor":"","duration":60400,"filesizeBytes":11941270,"expiresAt":0}],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":"","additionalReporting":"","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"world","urlSafeValue":"world","title":"World News","online":1,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/programs\/world"},"vertical":"news","verticals":[{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"themes":[{"id":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World","url":"\/news\/international"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":1,"urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":5,"urlSafeValue":"albania","title":"Albania","url":"\/news\/europe\/albania"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":["80023001","84211001","84212001"],"slugs":["aggregated_all_moderate_content","society","society_general"]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/2024\/10\/16\/activists-protest-as-first-group-of-16-migrants-on-italian-ship-arrive-in-albania","lastModified":1729111494},{"id":2655286,"cid":8793420,"versionId":6,"archive":0,"housenumber":"241016_NWSU_56771051","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"MIGRANTS ARRIVE TO ALBANIA","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"First asylum seekers arrive at Albanian port from Italy ","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"First asylum seekers arrive at Albanian port from Italy ","titleListing2":"First asylum seekers arrive at Albanian port from Italy ","leadin":"After two days at sea, the Italian Navy ship Libra docked at the port of Shengjin.","summary":"After two days at sea, the Italian Navy ship Libra docked at the port of Shengjin.","keySentence":"","url":"first-asylum-seekers-arrive-at-albanian-port-from-italy","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2024\/10\/16\/first-asylum-seekers-arrive-at-albanian-port-from-italy","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"The first asylum seekers from Italy to have their applications processed in Albania arrived via ship to the Albanian port of Shengjin on Wednesday morning. \n\nThe 16 men will undergo health screening and identification procedures before being transferred, later in the day, to a reception camp in Gjader \u2014 located a few dozen kilometres from the port.\n\nThe boat carried 10 Bangladeshi and six Egyptian nationals who were rescued at sea by the navy ship Libra heading to the Sicilian island of Lampedusa on Monday.\n\nAfter a five-year deal signed last November by Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni and her Albanian counterpart, Edi Rama, Italy formally opened two centres in Albania last week after months of delays, where it plans to process thousands of asylum-seekers who seek asylum outside its borders.\n\nThe centres will only house adult men, while vulnerable people such as women, children, the elderly and those who are ill or victims of torture will be accommodated in Italy. Families will not be separated.\n\nItalian Ambassador to Albania Fabrizio Bucci said Friday the two centres were ready to process migrants after the opening had to be pushed further down the calendar to consolidate the crumbling soil at one centre in Gjader, where they will be accommodated.\n\nThough the centre in Gjader has the capacity for 3,000 migrants, it will start with 400 and increase to 880 in a few weeks.\n\n'Out-of-the-box thinking' or dangerous precedent?\n\nThe two centres will cost Italy \u20ac670 million over five years. The facilities are run by Italy and are under Italian jurisdiction, while Albanian guards provide external security.\n\nIn Albania, the migrants retain their right under international and European Union law to apply for asylum in Italy and have their claims processed there. This process is expected to take a maximum of 28 days, including any appeal case.\n\nItaly has agreed to welcome those who are granted asylum. Those whose applications are rejected face deportation directly from Albania.\n\nEuropean Commission President Ursula von der Leyen endorsed the agreement as an example of \u201cout-of-the-box thinking\u201d in tackling the issue of migration into the EU, but it has been slammed by human rights groups as setting a dangerous precedent.\n\nAlbania aims to become a full-fledged member of the EU by the end of the decade, its Prime Minister Edi Rama said on Tuesday, following the opening of accession negotiations he called \"historic\".\n\n\"It is our aim to complete that process within this decade and be ready to knock at the door of the European Council as a member state,\" Rama told reporters\u00a0in\u00a0Luxembourg, where an intergovernmental conference (IGC) was held with the Balkan nation.\n\nThe number of people reaching Italy along the central Mediterranean migration route from North Africa has fallen by 61% in 2024 from 2023. \n\nAccording to the Italian Interior Ministry, as of 15 October, 54,129 migrants have arrived in Italy by sea this year, compared to 138,947 by the same date last year.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>The first asylum seekers from Italy to have their applications processed in Albania arrived via ship to the Albanian port of Shengjin on Wednesday morning. <\/p>\n<p>The 16 men will undergo health screening and identification procedures before being transferred, later in the day, to a reception camp in Gjader \u2014 located a few dozen kilometres from the port.<\/p>\n<p>The boat carried 10 Bangladeshi and six Egyptian nationals who were rescued at sea by the navy ship Libra heading to the Sicilian island of Lampedusa on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>After a five-year deal signed last November by Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni and her Albanian counterpart, Edi Rama, Italy formally opened two centres in Albania last week after months of delays, where it plans to process thousands of asylum-seekers who seek asylum outside its borders.<\/p>\n<p>The centres will only house adult men, while vulnerable people such as women, children, the elderly and those who are ill or victims of torture will be accommodated in Italy. Families will not be separated.<\/p>\n<p>Italian Ambassador to Albania Fabrizio Bucci said Friday the two centres were ready to process migrants after the opening had to be pushed further down the calendar to consolidate the crumbling soil at one centre in Gjader, where they will be accommodated.<\/p>\n<p>Though the centre in Gjader has the capacity for 3,000 migrants, it will start with 400 and increase to 880 in a few weeks.<\/p>\n<h2>'Out-of-the-box thinking' or dangerous precedent?<\/h2><p>The two centres will cost Italy \u20ac670 million over five years. The facilities are run by Italy and are under Italian jurisdiction, while Albanian guards provide external security.<\/p>\n<p>In Albania, the migrants retain their right under international and European Union law to apply for asylum in Italy and have their claims processed there. This process is expected to take a maximum of 28 days, including any appeal case.<\/p>\n<p>Italy has agreed to welcome those who are granted asylum. Those whose applications are rejected face deportation directly from Albania.<\/p>\n<p>European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen endorsed the agreement as an example of \u201cout-of-the-box thinking\u201d in tackling the issue of migration into the EU, but it has been slammed by human rights groups as setting a dangerous precedent.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"8791074,8788496\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//my-europe//2024//10//14//no-migrants-from-germany-in-albanian-centres-pm-edi-rama-insists/">No migrants from Germany in Albanian centres, PM Edi Rama insists<\/a><\/li><li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//my-europe//2024//10//15//in-shift-to-the-right-von-der-leyen-endorses-return-hubs-for-rejected-asylum-seekers/">In shift to the right, von der Leyen endorses 'return hubs' for rejected asylum seekers<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Albania aims to become a full-fledged member of the EU by the end of the decade, its Prime Minister Edi Rama said on Tuesday, following the opening of accession negotiations <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//my-europe//2024//10//15//albania-aims-to-be-eu-member-by-2030-pm-rama-says-after-historic-talks/">he called \"historic\"<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\"It is our aim to complete that process within this decade and be ready to knock at the door of the European Council as a member state,\" Rama told reporters\u00a0in\u00a0Luxembourg, where an <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//my-europe//2024//10//15//albania-kicks-off-eu-membership-talks-despite-political-turmoil-at-home/">intergovernmental conference (IGC) was held<\/a> with the Balkan nation.<\/p>\n<p>The number of people reaching Italy along the central Mediterranean migration route from North Africa has fallen by 61% in 2024 from 2023. <\/p>\n<p>According to the Italian Interior Ministry, as of 15 October, 54,129 migrants have arrived in Italy by sea this year, compared to 138,947 by the same date last year.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1729058429,"updatedAt":1729070839,"publishedAt":1729061195,"firstPublishedAt":1729061195,"lastPublishedAt":1729070839,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/79\/34\/26\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_e073e315-f387-56e4-a0e3-216ad96bef51-8793426.jpg","altText":"Italian Navy ship with 16 migrants on board arriving at the port of Shengjin, Albania","caption":"Italian Navy ship with 16 migrants on board arriving at the port of Shengjin, Albania","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Vlasov Sulaj\/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":683}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"id":2764,"urlSafeValue":"menci","title":"Filippo Menci","twitter":null}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":5,"slug":"albania","urlSafeValue":"albania","title":"Albania","titleRaw":"Albania"},{"id":158,"slug":"italy","urlSafeValue":"italy","title":"Italy","titleRaw":"Italy"},{"id":12102,"slug":"migrant-crisis","urlSafeValue":"migrant-crisis","title":"Migrant Crisis","titleRaw":"Migrant Crisis"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"related","count":1}],"related":[{"id":2659554},{"id":2675496}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":{"youtubeId":"CVT4Nd8XXhM"},"hasExternalVideo":1,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":1,"video":0,"videos":[],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":"AP","additionalReporting":"Tamsin Paternoster","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"world","urlSafeValue":"world","title":"World News","online":1,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/programs\/world"},"vertical":"news","verticals":[{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"themes":[{"id":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World","url":"\/news\/international"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":1,"urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":5,"urlSafeValue":"albania","title":"Albania","url":"\/news\/europe\/albania"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":["80023001","84051001","84052001","84061001","84062004","84111001","84112003","84211001","84212004"],"slugs":["aggregated_all_moderate_content","education","education_general","family_and_parenting","family_and_parenting_daycare_preschool","law_gov_t_and_politics_immigration","law_government_and_politics","society","society_ethnic_specific"]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":{"id":1,"slug":"deepl","isAutomatic":1,"isActive":1},"localisation":{"producerLanguage":"it","storyId":8793426,"online":1},"path":"\/2024\/10\/16\/first-asylum-seekers-arrive-at-albanian-port-from-italy","lastModified":1729070839},{"id":2654550,"cid":8791104,"versionId":4,"archive":0,"housenumber":"241015_NWSU_56762179","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"ALBANIA FIRST MIGRANT SHIP","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Italy sends first group of 16 migrants to asylum processing centres in Albania","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Italy transfers first migrants to Albania in contentious asylum scheme","titleListing2":"Italy sends first ship with 16 migrants to asylum processing centres in Albania","leadin":"The 16 men are expected to arrive in the Albanian port of Sh\u00ebngjin on Wednesday.","summary":"The 16 men are expected to arrive in the Albanian port of Sh\u00ebngjin on Wednesday.","keySentence":"","url":"italy-sends-first-group-of-16-migrants-to-asylum-processing-centres-in-albania","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2024\/10\/15\/italy-sends-first-group-of-16-migrants-to-asylum-processing-centres-in-albania","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"A group of migrants have been transferred from Italy to newly set up asylum processing centres in Albania, the country's Interior Ministry said Monday.\n\nThe transfer is part of a contentious plan to process thousands of asylum-seekers outside Italy's borders. Despite criticism of the scheme both at home and abroad, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has called the move \"a good example\".\n\n\"It is a new, courageous, unprecedented path, but one that perfectly reflects the European spirit and has everything it takes to be followed also with other non-EU nations,\" she said on Tuesday.\n\nThe agreement was signed last November by Meloni and her Albanian counterpart, Edi Rama.\n\nMeloni\u2019s far-right government formally opened the two centres in Albania on Friday. Rome plans to process thousands of male migrants requesting asylum there after intercepting them in international waters as they attempt to cross to Europe from the coast of North Africa.\n\nThe 16 men \u2014 10 from Bangladesh and six from Egypt \u2014 were removed from the Sicilian island of Lampedusa by a naval ship after being rescued at sea.\n\nThey are expected to arrive in the Albanian port of Sh\u00ebngjin on Wednesday, where identification and health screening will take place, a ministry spokesman said.\n\nThose found to be in order and permitted to formally submit an asylum application to Italy will be transferred to Gjader, 20 kilometres from the Sh\u00ebngjin port, where several processing facilities have been set up \u2014 among them a reception centre, a repatriation centre for those destined for deportation to their countries of origin, and a facility for those with criminal records.\n\nThe migrants were among roughly 1,000 who departed from the coast of Libya and were heading to or already landed on Lampedusa on Monday.\n\nThe plan begins\n\nThe agreement, signed last year, calls for Albania to house up to 3,000 male migrants while Italy fast-tracks their asylum claims. The migrants will retain their right under international and EU law to apply for asylum in Italy and have their claims processed there.\n\nAccording to Italian officials, the Albanian centres will be able to accommodate up to 400 people at first, with capacity expected to increase to 880 in a few weeks.\n\nRome projects that running the two centres under Italian jurisdiction will cost about \u20ac670 million over five years.\n\nA spokesman for the UN refugee agency, which has expressed serious concerns about the plan, said on Monday that one of its teams was conducting an \u201cindependent mission\u201d on board the ship transporting the first dispatchees to monitor the screening process.\n\nThe agency has agreed to supervise the first three months of the scheme's operation to help \u201csafeguard the rights and dignity of those subject to it\u201d.\n\nItalian authorities say they do not intend to separate families, but women, children, and older people, and those who are ill or victims of torture will be accommodated in Italy. \n\nEuropean support\n\nWith small boat crossings across the Mediterranean still affecting countries on the EU's southern edge, Meloni and her right-wing allies have long demanded that European countries share more of the burden of migration.\n\nMeloni has found an ally on the issue in European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who called on the continent's leaders on Monday to learn a lesson from Italy's experience in Albania.\n\n\"We should continue to explore possible ways forward regarding the idea of developing return hubs outside the union, especially given a new legislative proposal on return,\" the Commission chief wrote in a letter.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>A group of migrants have been transferred from Italy to newly set up asylum processing centres in Albania, the country's Interior Ministry said Monday.<\/p>\n<p>The transfer is part of a contentious plan to process thousands of asylum-seekers outside Italy's borders. Despite criticism of the scheme both at home and abroad, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has called the move \"a good example\".<\/p>\n<p>\"It is a new, courageous, unprecedented path, but one that perfectly reflects the European spirit and has everything it takes to be followed also with other non-EU nations,\" she said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>The agreement was signed last November by Meloni and her Albanian counterpart, Edi Rama.<\/p>\n<p>Meloni\u2019s far-right government formally opened the two centres in Albania on Friday. Rome plans to process thousands of male migrants requesting asylum there after intercepting them in international waters as they attempt to cross to Europe from the coast of North Africa.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.6669921875\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//08//79//11//04//808x539_cmsv2_19af38fb-d74c-59e1-971a-b7605f8f4262-8791104.jpg/" alt=\"Italy&#39;s Premier Giorgia Meloni, right, and Albania&#39;s Prime Minister Edi Rama shake hands after the signing of a memorandum of understanding on migrant management centres.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/79\/11\/04\/384x256_cmsv2_19af38fb-d74c-59e1-971a-b7605f8f4262-8791104.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/79\/11\/04\/640x427_cmsv2_19af38fb-d74c-59e1-971a-b7605f8f4262-8791104.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/79\/11\/04\/750x500_cmsv2_19af38fb-d74c-59e1-971a-b7605f8f4262-8791104.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/79\/11\/04\/828x552_cmsv2_19af38fb-d74c-59e1-971a-b7605f8f4262-8791104.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/79\/11\/04\/1080x720_cmsv2_19af38fb-d74c-59e1-971a-b7605f8f4262-8791104.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/79\/11\/04\/1200x800_cmsv2_19af38fb-d74c-59e1-971a-b7605f8f4262-8791104.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/79\/11\/04\/1920x1281_cmsv2_19af38fb-d74c-59e1-971a-b7605f8f4262-8791104.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Italy&#39;s Premier Giorgia Meloni, right, and Albania&#39;s Prime Minister Edi Rama shake hands after the signing of a memorandum of understanding on migrant management centres.<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Roberto Monaldo\/LaPresse<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The 16 men \u2014 10 from Bangladesh and six from Egypt \u2014 were removed from the Sicilian island of Lampedusa by a naval ship after being rescued at sea.<\/p>\n<p>They are expected to arrive in the Albanian port of Sh\u00ebngjin on Wednesday, where identification and health screening will take place, a ministry spokesman said.<\/p>\n<p>Those found to be in order and permitted to formally submit an asylum application to Italy will be transferred to Gjader, 20 kilometres from the Sh\u00ebngjin port, where several processing facilities have been set up \u2014 among them a reception centre, a repatriation centre for those destined for deportation to their countries of origin, and a facility for those with criminal records.<\/p>\n<p>The migrants were among roughly 1,000 who departed from the coast of Libya and were heading to or already landed on Lampedusa on Monday.<\/p>\n<h2>The plan begins<\/h2><p>The agreement, signed last year, calls for Albania to house up to 3,000 male migrants while Italy fast-tracks their asylum claims. The migrants will retain their right under international and EU law to apply for asylum in Italy and have their claims processed there.<\/p>\n<p>According to Italian officials, the Albanian centres will be able to accommodate up to 400 people at first, with capacity expected to increase to 880 in a few weeks.<\/p>\n<p>Rome projects that running the two centres under Italian jurisdiction will cost about \u20ac670 million over five years.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"8791074,8786758\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//my-europe//2024//10//12//polish-pm-says-he-wont-respect-eu-right-to-asylum-if-it-threatens-his-countrys-security/">Polish PM says he won't respect EU right to asylum if it threatens his country's security<\/a><\/li><li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//my-europe//2024//10//15//in-shift-to-the-right-von-der-leyen-endorses-return-hubs-for-rejected-asylum-seekers/">In shift to the right, von der Leyen endorses 'return hubs' for rejected asylum seekers<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>A spokesman for the UN refugee agency, which has expressed serious concerns about the plan, said on Monday that one of its teams was conducting an \u201cindependent mission\u201d on board the ship transporting the first dispatchees to monitor the screening process.<\/p>\n<p>The agency has agreed to supervise the first three months of the scheme's operation to help \u201csafeguard the rights and dignity of those subject to it\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Italian authorities say they do not intend to separate families, but women, children, and older people, and those who are ill or victims of torture will be accommodated in Italy. <\/p>\n<h2>European support<\/h2><p>With small boat crossings across the Mediterranean still affecting countries on the EU's southern edge, Meloni and her right-wing allies have long demanded that European countries share more of the burden of migration.<\/p>\n<p>Meloni has found an ally on the issue in European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who called on the continent's leaders on Monday to learn a lesson from Italy's experience in Albania.<\/p>\n<p>\"We should continue to explore possible ways forward regarding the idea of developing return hubs outside the union, especially given a new legislative proposal on return,\" the Commission chief wrote in a letter.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1728979469,"updatedAt":1729000326,"publishedAt":1728991998,"firstPublishedAt":1728991998,"lastPublishedAt":1729000326,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/79\/11\/10\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_53562192-8a08-5b16-b3f4-5a71f2d9e620-8791110.jpg","altText":"The migrant reception centre set up in the port of Shengjin, north-west Albania, during a phase of its construction (25 July 2024)","caption":"The migrant reception centre set up in the port of Shengjin, north-west Albania, during a phase of its construction (25 July 2024)","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Vlasov Sulaj\/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":6048,"height":3402},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/79\/11\/04\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_19af38fb-d74c-59e1-971a-b7605f8f4262-8791104.jpg","altText":null,"caption":null,"captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":null,"sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":683}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"id":2848,"urlSafeValue":"barbati","title":"Gabriele Barbati","twitter":null}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":5,"slug":"albania","urlSafeValue":"albania","title":"Albania","titleRaw":"Albania"},{"id":105,"slug":"european-union","urlSafeValue":"european-union","title":"European Union","titleRaw":"European Union"},{"id":158,"slug":"italy","urlSafeValue":"italy","title":"Italy","titleRaw":"Italy"},{"id":12102,"slug":"migrant-crisis","urlSafeValue":"migrant-crisis","title":"Migrant Crisis","titleRaw":"Migrant Crisis"},{"id":20432,"slug":"lampedusa","urlSafeValue":"lampedusa","title":"Lampedusa","titleRaw":"Lampedusa"},{"id":27076,"slug":"giorgia-meloni","urlSafeValue":"giorgia-meloni","title":"Giorgia Meloni","titleRaw":"Giorgia Meloni"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"image","count":1},{"slug":"related","count":1}],"related":[{"id":2654838}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":[],"hasExternalVideo":0,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":0,"video":0,"videos":[],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":null,"additionalReporting":null,"freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"world","urlSafeValue":"world","title":"World News","online":1,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/programs\/world"},"vertical":"news","verticals":[{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"themes":[{"id":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World","url":"\/news\/international"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":1,"urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":5,"urlSafeValue":"albania","title":"Albania","url":"\/news\/europe\/albania"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":["80023001","84051001","84052001","84061001","84062004","84111001","84112003","84112005","84211001","84212004","84231001","84232006","84251001","84252003","84252015","84252020"],"slugs":["aggregated_all_moderate_content","education","education_general","family_and_parenting","family_and_parenting_daycare_preschool","law_gov_t_and_politics_immigration","law_gov_t_and_politics_legal_politics","law_government_and_politics","society","society_ethnic_specific","style_and_fashion","style_and_fashion_fashion","travel","travel_africa","travel_europe","travel_italy"]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":{"id":1,"slug":"deepl","isAutomatic":1,"isActive":1},"localisation":{"producerLanguage":"it","storyId":8791110,"online":1},"path":"\/2024\/10\/15\/italy-sends-first-group-of-16-migrants-to-asylum-processing-centres-in-albania","lastModified":1729000326},{"id":2651856,"cid":8784624,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":"241011_E3SU_56734353","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"ALBANIA MIGRANT CENTERS by Vincenzo","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Albania: Italian government's migrant centres ready to host first consignment","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Albania: Italian government's migrant centres ready to host","titleListing2":"The Italian government's new migrant centres in Albania are ready to host.","leadin":"The centres built by the Italian government in Albania are ready to host migrants rescued in the Mediterranean, eleven months after the agreement between the two countries was signed.","summary":"The centres built by the Italian government in Albania are ready to host migrants rescued in the Mediterranean, eleven months after the agreement between the two countries was signed.","keySentence":"","url":"albania-italian-governments-migrant-centres-ready-to-host-first-consignment","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/my-europe\/2024\/10\/11\/albania-italian-governments-migrant-centres-ready-to-host-first-consignment","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Up to 400 people will initially be sent there. Exclusively male, these migrants will have been rescued by Italian ships in the Mediterranean Sea before being transported to the coastal Albanian town of Shengjin.\n\nHere, a centre ran by Italian staff has been set up. Interpreters, medicals visits and the possibility of applying for asylum are guaranteed.\n\nThe main section is meant to house asylum seekers while their requests are being processed. \n\nApplications must be completed within 28 days, according to the accelerated procedure foreseen in Italian law. During this time, applicants will be able to meet lawyers and staff from international organizations.\n\nAll costs to be met by Italy\n\nThose who are not entitled to asylum will end up in another part of the camp. There are dozens of places in this centre, but if the capacity is exceeded the migrants will be transferred to Italy before being repatriated to their countries of origin.\n\nThere is also a prison, with a capacity of 20 places, for migrants who commit crimes. However, the entire centre of Gjad\u00ebr is in fact a place of forced detention, fenced off and monitored by Italian police officers.\n\nAsylum seekers who have their request accepted will be transferred to Italy with a residence permit. Those who receive a refusal will be repatriated, always at the expense and under the responsibility of Italy.\n\nTens of millions of euros have been spent to build these structures, but the authorities are not able to quantify the overall cost of the procedures for the five-year duration of the agreement between Italy and Albania\n\n","htmlText":"<p>Up to 400 people will initially be sent there. Exclusively male, these migrants will have been rescued by Italian ships in the Mediterranean Sea before being transported to the coastal Albanian town of Shengjin.<\/p>\n<p>Here, a centre ran by Italian staff has been set up. Interpreters, medicals visits and the possibility of applying for asylum are guaranteed.<\/p>\n<p>The main section is meant to house asylum seekers while their requests are being processed. <\/p>\n<p>Applications must be completed within 28 days, according to the accelerated procedure foreseen in Italian law. During this time, applicants will be able to meet lawyers and staff from international organizations.<\/p>\n<p><strong>All costs to be met by Italy<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Those who are not entitled to asylum will end up in another part of the camp. There are dozens of places in this centre, but if the capacity is exceeded the migrants will be transferred to Italy before being repatriated to their countries of origin.<\/p>\n<p>There is also a prison, with a capacity of 20 places, for migrants who commit crimes. However, the entire centre of Gjad\u00ebr is in fact a place of forced detention, fenced off and monitored by Italian police officers.<\/p>\n<p>Asylum seekers who have their request accepted will be transferred to Italy with a residence permit. Those who receive a refusal will be repatriated, always at the expense and under the responsibility of Italy.<\/p>\n<p>Tens of millions of euros have been spent to build these structures, but the authorities are not able to quantify the overall cost of the procedures for the five-year duration of the agreement between Italy and Albania<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1728638862,"updatedAt":1728670685,"publishedAt":1728670337,"firstPublishedAt":1728670337,"lastPublishedAt":1728670337,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/78\/46\/34\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_58bb20f3-f52a-580f-8b26-c05d630329a9-8784634.jpg","altText":"The Sh\u00ebngjin hotspot, built inside the port","caption":"The Sh\u00ebngjin hotspot, built inside the port","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Euronews","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":2048,"height":1536}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"id":2428,"urlSafeValue":"genovese","title":"Vincenzo Genovese","twitter":null}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":5,"slug":"albania","urlSafeValue":"albania","title":"Albania","titleRaw":"Albania"},{"id":105,"slug":"european-union","urlSafeValue":"european-union","title":"European Union","titleRaw":"European Union"},{"id":147,"slug":"immigration","urlSafeValue":"immigration","title":"Immigration","titleRaw":"Immigration"},{"id":158,"slug":"italy","urlSafeValue":"italy","title":"Italy","titleRaw":"Italy"},{"id":29210,"slug":"migration-policy","urlSafeValue":"migration-policy","title":"Migration Policy","titleRaw":"Migration Policy"},{"id":26564,"slug":"demandeurs-d-asile","urlSafeValue":"demandeurs-d-asile","title":"asylum seekers","titleRaw":"asylum seekers"}],"widgets":[],"related":[{"id":2655700},{"id":2656194}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":{"youtubeId":"wUkO_Aur5fc","dailymotionId":"x976g32"},"hasExternalVideo":1,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":1,"video":1,"videos":[{"format":"mp4","quality":"md","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/med\/EN\/E3\/SU\/24\/10\/11\/en\/241011_E3SU_56734353_56734411_157000_194104_en.mp4","editor":"","duration":157000,"filesizeBytes":20039402,"expiresAt":0},{"format":"mp4","quality":"hd","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/EN\/E3\/SU\/24\/10\/11\/en\/241011_E3SU_56734353_56734411_157000_194104_en.mp4","editor":"","duration":157000,"filesizeBytes":29810922,"expiresAt":0}],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":null,"additionalReporting":null,"freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"europe-news","urlSafeValue":"europe-news","title":"Europe 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News"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":5,"urlSafeValue":"albania","title":"Albania","url":"\/news\/europe\/albania"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":["84111001","84112003","84211001","84212004"],"slugs":["law_gov_t_and_politics_immigration","law_government_and_politics","society","society_ethnic_specific"]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":{"id":1,"slug":"deepl","isAutomatic":1,"isActive":1},"localisation":{"producerLanguage":"it","storyId":8784634,"online":1},"path":"\/my-europe\/2024\/10\/11\/albania-italian-governments-migrant-centres-ready-to-host-first-consignment","lastModified":1728670337},{"id":2649102,"cid":8777080,"versionId":2,"archive":0,"housenumber":"241008_NWSU_56703324","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"ALBANIA OPPOSITION PROTEST","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Albanian opposition supporters clash with police at protest demanding PM Rama's resignation","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Protesters in Tirana clash with police demanding PM Rama's resignation","titleListing2":"Albanian opposition supporters clash with police at protest demanding caretaker Cabinet","leadin":"Later this month, Tirana will start discussions with Brussels on how the country aligns with EU stances on the rule of law, the functioning of democratic institutions and the fight against corruption.","summary":"Later this month, Tirana will start discussions with Brussels on how the country aligns with EU stances on the rule of law, the functioning of democratic institutions and the fight against corruption.","keySentence":"","url":"albanian-opposition-supporters-clash-with-police-at-protest-demanding-pm-ramas-resignation","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2024\/10\/08\/albanian-opposition-supporters-clash-with-police-at-protest-demanding-pm-ramas-resignation","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Opposition supporters in Albania clashed with police and threw Molotov cocktails in the capital Tirana Monday, demanding that their government be replaced by a technocratic caretaker cabinet before next year\u2019s parliamentary election.\n\nThe opposition has in the past accused Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama\u2019s Socialist Party of corruption, voter manipulation, and usurping the powers of the country\u2019s judiciary, among other things.\n\nAfter a party member was convicted of slander and imprisoned in a case they consider politically motivated, the Democratic Party of former Prime Minister Sali Berisha has been holding protests outside the Albanian parliament for the last week.\n\nA few thousand protesters gathered in front of the main government building in Tirana, shouting, \u201cDown with the dictatorship\u201d and \u201cBerisha, Berisha\u201d. \n\nOutside the governing Socialist Party headquarters, they hurled more Molotov cocktails, burning a large advertisement featuring Rama's image, continuing the clashes outside the interior ministry and city hall buildings.\n\nPolice used tear gas to clear them away from the parliament.\u00a0\n\nHundreds of police officers took up positions to protect government institutions. Traffic was reportedly blocked on many streets.\n\nSome 10 officers were hurt by Molotov cocktails, pyrotechnic items and hard objects, according to police.\u00a0\n\nSeveral protesters were taken to hospital, some with injuries caused by tear gas, local media report.\n\nDemocratic Party Secretary-General Flamur Noka ended the protest by pledging that the \u201ccivil disobedience\u201d would continue.\n\nBoth the US and EU have urged opposition to resume dialogue with the government, saying that violence won\u2019t help the country integrate with the 27-nation bloc.\n\nThe Democrats also seek Berisha\u2019s release from house arrest, where he was placed during an investigation of alleged corruption. Since 2013, they have staged sometimes violent protests against the government.\n\nLater this month, Tirana will start discussing with Brussels how the country aligns with the EU\u2019s stances on rule of law, democratic institutions, and the fight against corruption as part of its bid to join the union.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>Opposition supporters in Albania clashed with police and threw Molotov cocktails in the capital Tirana Monday, demanding that their government be replaced by a technocratic caretaker cabinet before next year\u2019s parliamentary election.<\/p>\n<p>The opposition has in the past accused Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama\u2019s Socialist Party of corruption, voter manipulation, and usurping the powers of the country\u2019s judiciary, among other things.<\/p>\n<p>After a party member was convicted of slander and imprisoned in a case they consider politically motivated, the Democratic Party of former Prime Minister Sali Berisha has been holding protests outside the Albanian parliament for the last week.<\/p>\n<p>A few thousand protesters gathered in front of the main government building in Tirana, shouting, \u201cDown with the dictatorship\u201d and \u201cBerisha, Berisha\u201d. <\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.6669921875\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//08//77//70//86//808x539_cmsv2_7e062c3c-e6e3-57a8-9674-629beb046616-8777086.jpg/" alt=\"Opposition supporters scuffle with riot police during a anti-government rally, in Tirana, Albania, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/77\/70\/86\/384x256_cmsv2_7e062c3c-e6e3-57a8-9674-629beb046616-8777086.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/77\/70\/86\/640x427_cmsv2_7e062c3c-e6e3-57a8-9674-629beb046616-8777086.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/77\/70\/86\/750x500_cmsv2_7e062c3c-e6e3-57a8-9674-629beb046616-8777086.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/77\/70\/86\/828x552_cmsv2_7e062c3c-e6e3-57a8-9674-629beb046616-8777086.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/77\/70\/86\/1080x720_cmsv2_7e062c3c-e6e3-57a8-9674-629beb046616-8777086.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/77\/70\/86\/1200x800_cmsv2_7e062c3c-e6e3-57a8-9674-629beb046616-8777086.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/77\/70\/86\/1920x1281_cmsv2_7e062c3c-e6e3-57a8-9674-629beb046616-8777086.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Opposition supporters scuffle with riot police during a anti-government rally, in Tirana, Albania, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024.<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Hameraldi Agolli\/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Outside the governing Socialist Party headquarters, they hurled more Molotov cocktails, burning a large advertisement featuring Rama's image, continuing the clashes outside the interior ministry and city hall buildings.<\/p>\n<p>Police used tear gas to clear them away from the parliament.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Hundreds of police officers took up positions to protect government institutions. Traffic was reportedly blocked on many streets.<\/p>\n<p>Some 10 officers were hurt by Molotov cocktails, pyrotechnic items and hard objects, according to police.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.6669921875\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//08//77//70//86//808x539_cmsv2_a1c71372-eefb-5903-a6a8-01e292edee57-8777086.jpg/" alt=\"Fire burns behind a police cordon and in front of a poster depicting the Albania Prime minister Edi Rama during an anti-government rally in Tirana, Albania, Monday, Oct. 7\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/77\/70\/86\/384x256_cmsv2_a1c71372-eefb-5903-a6a8-01e292edee57-8777086.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/77\/70\/86\/640x427_cmsv2_a1c71372-eefb-5903-a6a8-01e292edee57-8777086.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/77\/70\/86\/750x500_cmsv2_a1c71372-eefb-5903-a6a8-01e292edee57-8777086.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/77\/70\/86\/828x552_cmsv2_a1c71372-eefb-5903-a6a8-01e292edee57-8777086.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/77\/70\/86\/1080x720_cmsv2_a1c71372-eefb-5903-a6a8-01e292edee57-8777086.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/77\/70\/86\/1200x800_cmsv2_a1c71372-eefb-5903-a6a8-01e292edee57-8777086.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/77\/70\/86\/1920x1281_cmsv2_a1c71372-eefb-5903-a6a8-01e292edee57-8777086.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Fire burns behind a police cordon and in front of a poster depicting the Albania Prime minister Edi Rama during an anti-government rally in Tirana, Albania, Monday, Oct. 7<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Hameraldi Agolli\/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Several protesters were taken to hospital, some with injuries caused by tear gas, local media report.<\/p>\n<p>Democratic Party Secretary-General Flamur Noka ended the protest by pledging that the \u201ccivil disobedience\u201d would continue.<\/p>\n<p>Both the US and EU have urged opposition to resume dialogue with the government, saying that violence won\u2019t help the country integrate with the 27-nation bloc.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"8758304,8743544\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//my-europe//2024//09//27//albania-has-potential-to-be-accession-frontrunner-eu-ambassador-says/">Albania has potential to be accession \u2018frontrunner,\u2019 EU ambassador says<\/a><\/li><li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//my-europe//2024//09//19//prime-minister-rama-insists-albania-migrant-deal-exclusive-to-italy-as-more-countries-eye-/">Prime Minister Rama insists Albania migrant deal 'exclusive' to Italy as more countries eye scheme<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The Democrats also seek Berisha\u2019s release from house arrest, where he was placed during an investigation of alleged corruption. Since 2013, they have staged sometimes violent protests against the government.<\/p>\n<p>Later this month, Tirana will start discussing with Brussels how the country aligns with the EU\u2019s stances on rule of law, democratic institutions, and the fight against corruption as part of its bid to join the union.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1728369057,"updatedAt":1728374946,"publishedAt":1728371875,"firstPublishedAt":1728371875,"lastPublishedAt":1728372187,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/77\/70\/80\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_4074c384-6eee-5a50-ba52-c03b1f0e7dbb-8777080.jpg","altText":"An opposition supporter protests during a rally, in Tirana, Albania, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024.","caption":"An opposition supporter protests during a rally, in Tirana, Albania, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Hameraldi Agolli\/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":683},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/77\/70\/86\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_7e062c3c-e6e3-57a8-9674-629beb046616-8777086.jpg","altText":null,"caption":null,"captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":null,"sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":683},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/77\/70\/86\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_a1c71372-eefb-5903-a6a8-01e292edee57-8777086.jpg","altText":null,"caption":null,"captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":null,"sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":683}],"authors":{"journalists":[],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":5,"slug":"albania","urlSafeValue":"albania","title":"Albania","titleRaw":"Albania"},{"id":12028,"slug":"demonstration","urlSafeValue":"demonstration","title":"Demonstration","titleRaw":"Demonstration"},{"id":19316,"slug":"edi-rama","urlSafeValue":"edi-rama","title":"Edi Rama","titleRaw":"Edi Rama"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"image","count":2},{"slug":"related","count":1}],"related":[{"id":2654088},{"id":2655702},{"id":2688940}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":{"youtubeId":"16ZjnB4SUu0","dailymotionId":"x96yxlw"},"hasExternalVideo":1,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":1,"video":1,"videos":[{"format":"mp4","quality":"md","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/med\/EN\/NW\/SU\/24\/10\/08\/en\/241008_NWSU_56703324_56703345_70960_093040_en.mp4","editor":"","duration":70960,"filesizeBytes":9203438,"expiresAt":0},{"format":"mp4","quality":"hd","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/EN\/NW\/SU\/24\/10\/08\/en\/241008_NWSU_56703324_56703345_70960_093040_en.mp4","editor":"","duration":70960,"filesizeBytes":14346478,"expiresAt":0}],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":"AP","additionalSources":"","additionalReporting":"Euronews","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"world","urlSafeValue":"world","title":"World 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ALBANIA FAMILY HOLIDAY","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"\u2018Good morning my friend!\u2019: My toddler was treated like royalty on our family holiday to Albania","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"How Albania changed my mind about travelling with a toddler","titleListing2":"\u2018Good morning my friend!\u2019: My toddler was treated like royalty on our family holiday to Albania","leadin":"Despite being rough and ready in some places, we found Albania to be really welcoming to families.","summary":"Despite being rough and ready in some places, we found Albania to be really welcoming to families.","keySentence":"","url":"good-morning-my-friend-my-toddler-was-treated-like-royalty-on-our-family-holiday-to-albani","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/travel\/2024\/09\/22\/good-morning-my-friend-my-toddler-was-treated-like-royalty-on-our-family-holiday-to-albani","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"\u201cGood morning my friend! I\u2019ve missed you!\u201d\n\nManuel scoops up our son and enfolds him in a hug before delighting him with a chase through the restaurant. Finley\u2019s squeals of laughter echo through the family-run hotel\u00a0 in the tiny village of Qeparo where we\u2019re staying on the Albanian Riviera.\u00a0\n\nEasy access to white pebbled beaches, azure water and views of Greece make this a relaxing spot to enjoy delicious locally sourced Albanian cuisine. But the food and landscape are not the only reasons my husband and I have fallen in love with this country.\u00a0\n\nOur two-year-old son is welcomed everywhere we go. His presence is expected and celebrated as opposed to just being tolerated, as we experienced when we travelled with him as a six-month-old.\n\nOur three-week family holiday included UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Butrint National Park, the world-class hiking trail between Theth and Valbona, and the thermal springs and fascinating history of Permet in the Vjos\u00eb River Valley.\n\nHiking the Valbona Pass: Come rain or shine\u00a0\n\nAlbania\u2019s family-friendly atmosphere is evident as soon as we arrive in the Balkan country, immediately making our way north.\n\nInstead of the sun, sea and sand that most tourists are here for, we embrace the scent of rain and heavy rumble of thunder that cuts through the moody clouds crowding the tiny hamlet of Theth. \n\nA 16km hike over the famous Valbona Pass awaits us the next day. Said to be one of the world\u2019s best hikes, we can\u2019t wait to lace up our boots and hit the trail.\n\nWe dash from the taxi into the welcoming arms of a family-run guesthouse where local children inspect Finley curiously before taking him outside to meet a lively black and white puppy.\u00a0\n\nWe sip Korca beer and watch our son play happily while we meet other hikers who have now arrived, wet and exhausted, from Valbona.\u00a0\n\nWhat's it like to hike Albania\u2019s Accursed Mountains?\n\nThe next morning we clamber up a hillside studded with Norway Spruce, the woodsy balsamic scent tingling in our nostrils. \n\nOccasionally the light tinkering of a cowbell breaks thorugh our huffing and puffing as we toil up the steep slope, only catching our breath once the first pearly peaks of the Accursed Mountains emerge.\u00a0\n\nAt a small hillside caf\u00e9, I give Finley a break from the backpack he\u2019s been strapped into, arm him with a hiking pole and let him walk.\u00a0\n\nThe trail is crowded with fellow hikers but everyone gives him a smile, moving aside as he makes his way up an incline, only occasionally toppling over into the mud that has formed after last night\u2019s storm.\u00a0\n\nTirana: UNESCO Sites and sumptuous hot springs\n\nBack in Tirana we rent a car, cruising between destinations on newly paved roads, ending up at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Berat.\u00a0\n\nThe city of a thousand windows, seasoned liberally with Byzantine churches, offers a visual feast for our adult eyes, while the crumbling castle walls of the Citadel of Berat - dating back to the 13th century - are the perfect playground for Finley. \n\nHe totters up the cobbled roads, scrambles over stones and inspects an Ottoman Mosque while the sun sinks below this hallowed horizon.\u00a0\n\nIn the city of Permet near the Greek border we soak in the sumptuous hot springs of the Vjos\u00eb Valley while Finley creates abstract art with the mud by the side of the river in the alabaster canyon that flows into the valley.\u00a0\n\nWe scale the \u2018Stone of the City\u2019, a bulging landmark of the town, climbing 42 metres or 101 steps up a rickety staircase to the remains of a fortress dating back to the 4th century.\u00a0\n\nWe learn about the local legend in which Premt, the ruler of the fortress, threw himself from the rock rather than being captured by an enemy invasion. We keep a close eye on our son, who is examining the ruins, to ensure the same thing doesn\u2019t happen to him.\u00a0\n\nAt the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Gjirokaster, we wander through the ghostly green glow of a sound tunnel that was once an entrance to a cold war bunker under the Gjirokaster Fortress.\u00a0\n\nThe strategically important castle also serves as an amusement park as Finleyruns along the ramparts, shouts with delight at the historic armoury on display and plays hide and seek among the perfectly preserved arches that adorn the ancient 12th century structure overlooking the magnificent mountains ringing the Drino Valley.\n\nButrint National Park: Furry felines and views for miles\u00a0\n\nIn Butrint National Park - first a prehistoric Greek colony, then a Roman city and then, following a brief occupation by the Venetians, abandoned to the salty marshes of area - Finley is enamoured by the many cats that live onsite, gently stroking the furry felines while my husband and I admire our first views of the Adriatic.\u00a0\n\nThe Albanian Riviera is calling to us, but first, Finley must shimmy and climb over the richly layered archaeological ruins that now preserve the stories of the many ancient civilisations that once settled here.\n\nWhile visiting the fabled beaches of the coastline, we watch our son timidly play next to the surging surf, dipping a toe, maybe two at a time, shyly contemplating the endless horizon that stretches before him.\u00a0\n\nBy the end of our time in Albania, much like our initial uneasy approach to travelling here with our son, Finley is frolicking confidently in the sea. We can\u2019t wait to come back.\u00a0\n\n","htmlText":"<p>\u201cGood morning my friend! I\u2019ve missed you!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Manuel scoops up our son and enfolds him in a hug before delighting him with a chase through the restaurant. Finley\u2019s squeals of laughter echo through the family-run hotel\u00a0 in the tiny village of Qeparo where we\u2019re staying on the Albanian Riviera.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Easy access to white pebbled beaches, azure water and views of Greece make this a relaxing spot to enjoy delicious locally sourced Albanian cuisine. But the food and landscape are not the only reasons my husband and I have fallen in love with this country.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Our two-year-old son is welcomed everywhere we go. His presence is expected and celebrated as opposed to just being tolerated, as we experienced when we travelled with him as a six-month-old.<\/p>\n<p>Our three-week family holiday included UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Butrint National Park, the world-class hiking trail between Theth and Valbona, and the thermal springs and fascinating history of Permet in the Vjos\u00eb River Valley.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"7830954,8175572\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//travel//2024//01//16//i-hiked-this-remote-mountain-pass-in-albania-and-found-unspoilt-landscapes-and-soulful-hos/">I hiked this remote mountain pass in Albania and found unspoilt landscapes and soulful hospitality<\/a><\/li><li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//travel//2023//08//19//this-balkan-nation-is-my-favourite-secret-retreat-heres-why-im-moving-there-as-a-digital-n/">This Balkan nation is my favourite secret retreat \u2013 here\u2019s why I\u2019m moving there as a digital nomad<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2>Hiking the Valbona Pass: Come rain or shine<\/h2><p>Albania\u2019s family-friendly atmosphere is evident as soon as we arrive in the <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//travel//2023//08//04//budget-friendly-travel-this-undiscovered-balkan-gem-should-be-your-next-trip/">Balkan country, immediately making our way north.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of the sun, sea and sand that most tourists are here for, we embrace the scent of rain and heavy rumble of thunder that cuts through the moody clouds crowding the tiny hamlet of Theth. <\/p>\n<p>A 16km hike over the famous Valbona Pass awaits us the next day. Said to be one of the world\u2019s best <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//travel//2024//07//21//friendly-locals-lemon-orchard-hikes-and-mouthwatering-food-why-i-loved-spains-lesser-known/">hikes, we can\u2019t wait to lace up our boots and hit the trail.<\/p>\n<p>We dash from the taxi into the welcoming arms of a family-run guesthouse where local children inspect Finley curiously before taking him outside to meet a lively black and white puppy.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>We sip Korca beer and watch our son play happily while we meet other hikers who have now arrived, wet and exhausted, from Valbona.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"8690272,8512534\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//travel//2024//09//01//from-autumn-colour-to-wine-walks-the-best-european-hiking-holidays-this-september-and-octo/">From autumn colour to wine walks: The best European hiking holidays this September and October <\/a><\/li><li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//travel//2024//08//12//hiking-experts-tips-for-staying-safe-in-hot-weather-after-five-tourists-die-in-greek-heatw/">Hiking experts\u2019 tips for staying safe in warm weather as Italy faces hottest weekend of summer<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2>What's it like to hike Albania\u2019s Accursed Mountains?<\/h2><p>The next morning we clamber up a hillside studded with Norway Spruce, the woodsy balsamic scent tingling in our nostrils. <\/p>\n<p>Occasionally the light tinkering of a cowbell breaks thorugh our huffing and puffing as we toil up the steep slope, only catching our breath once the first pearly peaks of the Accursed <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//travel//2024//05//27//this-new-7-day-hiking-trail-has-just-opened-in-italys-stunning-dolomites-mountains/">Mountains emerge.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>At a small hillside caf\u00e9, I give Finley a break from the backpack he\u2019s been strapped into, arm him with a hiking pole and let him walk.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The trail is crowded with fellow hikers but everyone gives him a smile, moving aside as he makes his way up an incline, only occasionally toppling over into the mud that has formed after last night\u2019s storm.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"7500848,7974486\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2023//10//18//albania-colombia-moldova-which-countries-are-doing-the-most-for-air-pollution-and-climate/">Albania, Colombia, Moldova: Which countries are doing the most for air pollution and climate?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2023//03//31//albania-is-our-green-european-country-of-the-month-heres-why/">Albania is our Green European country of the month - here\u2019s why<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2>Tirana: UNESCO Sites and sumptuous hot springs<\/h2><p>Back in <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//travel//2021//06//03//albanian-food-tour-sheep-s-head-and-beer-for-breakfast-anyone/">Tirana we rent a car, cruising between destinations on newly paved roads, ending up at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Berat.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The city of a thousand windows, seasoned liberally with Byzantine <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//travel//2024//02//29//5-art-filled-churches-in-europe-that-will-make-you-want-to-book-a-trip-to-these-cities/">churches, offers a visual feast for our adult eyes, while the crumbling castle walls of the Citadel of Berat - dating back to the 13th century - are the perfect playground for Finley. <\/p>\n<p>He totters up the cobbled roads, scrambles over stones and inspects an Ottoman Mosque while the sun sinks below this hallowed horizon.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In the city of Permet near the <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//travel//2024//07//15//greek-beaches-plagued-with-overcrowding-are-facing-a-sunbed-crackdown-enforced-by-drones/">Greek border we soak in the sumptuous hot springs of the Vjos\u00eb Valley while Finley creates abstract art with the mud by the side of the river in the alabaster canyon that flows into the valley.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.75\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//08//74//64//08//808x608_cmsv2_942d3582-e412-5a11-9017-3110589f8656-8746408.jpg/" alt=\"My toddler exploring Berat Castle in Albania\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/74\/64\/08\/384x288_cmsv2_942d3582-e412-5a11-9017-3110589f8656-8746408.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/74\/64\/08\/640x480_cmsv2_942d3582-e412-5a11-9017-3110589f8656-8746408.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/74\/64\/08\/750x563_cmsv2_942d3582-e412-5a11-9017-3110589f8656-8746408.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/74\/64\/08\/828x621_cmsv2_942d3582-e412-5a11-9017-3110589f8656-8746408.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/74\/64\/08\/1080x810_cmsv2_942d3582-e412-5a11-9017-3110589f8656-8746408.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/74\/64\/08\/1200x900_cmsv2_942d3582-e412-5a11-9017-3110589f8656-8746408.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/74\/64\/08\/1920x1440_cmsv2_942d3582-e412-5a11-9017-3110589f8656-8746408.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">My toddler exploring Berat Castle in Albania<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Jennifer Malloy<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>We scale the \u2018Stone of the City\u2019, a bulging landmark of the town, climbing 42 metres or 101 steps up a rickety staircase to the remains of a fortress dating back to the 4th century.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>We learn about the local legend in which Premt, the ruler of the fortress, threw himself from the rock rather than being captured by an enemy invasion. We keep a close eye on our son, who is examining the ruins, to ensure the same thing doesn\u2019t happen to him.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>At the <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//travel//2024//04//18//from-luxembourg-to-swiss-wine-country-lesser-known-unesco-sites-to-visit-in-2024/">UNESCO World Heritage Site of Gjirokaster, we wander through the ghostly green glow of a sound tunnel that was once an entrance to a cold war bunker under the Gjirokaster Fortress.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The strategically important castle also serves as an amusement park as Finleyruns along the ramparts, shouts with delight at the historic armoury on display and plays hide and seek among the perfectly preserved arches that adorn the ancient 12th century structure overlooking the magnificent mountains ringing the Drino Valley.<\/p>\n<h2>Butrint National Park: Furry felines and views for miles<\/h2><p>In Butrint National Park - first a prehistoric Greek colony, then a Roman city and then, following a brief occupation by the Venetians, abandoned to the salty marshes of area - Finley is enamoured by the many <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//travel//2023//08//23//all-paws-on-deck-this-sunset-cruise-in-singapore-offers-a-luxury-trip-for-cats-and-their-h/">cats that live onsite, gently stroking the furry felines while my husband and I admire our first views of the Adriatic.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Albanian Riviera is calling to us, but first, Finley must shimmy and climb over the richly layered archaeological ruins that now preserve the stories of the many ancient civilisations that once settled here.<\/p>\n<p>While visiting the fabled <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//travel//2024//04//04//two-of-the-worlds-top-100-beaches-are-in-europe-and-theyre-not-in-spain-or-portugal/">beaches of the coastline, we watch our son timidly play next to the surging surf, dipping a toe, maybe two at a time, shyly contemplating the endless horizon that stretches before him.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>By the end of our time in Albania, much like our initial uneasy approach to travelling here with our son, Finley is frolicking confidently in the sea. We can\u2019t wait to come back.\u00a0<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1726843700,"updatedAt":1726995386,"publishedAt":1726995362,"firstPublishedAt":1726995362,"lastPublishedAt":1726995386,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/74\/64\/08\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_7b50a055-f6d5-5c8d-aa21-2b3e2355961f-8746408.jpg","altText":"Snapshots of a family holiday to Albania","caption":"Snapshots of a family holiday to Albania","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Jennifer Malloy","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1920,"height":1080},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/74\/64\/08\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_934b97ac-1731-5b29-8154-7a22834dde7f-8746408.jpg","altText":null,"caption":null,"captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":null,"sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":4032,"height":3024},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/74\/64\/08\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_942d3582-e412-5a11-9017-3110589f8656-8746408.jpg","altText":null,"caption":null,"captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":null,"sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":4032,"height":3024}],"authors":{"journalists":[],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":5,"slug":"albania","urlSafeValue":"albania","title":"Albania","titleRaw":"Albania"},{"id":24440,"slug":"hiking","urlSafeValue":"hiking","title":"hiking","titleRaw":"hiking"},{"id":12637,"slug":"adventure","urlSafeValue":"adventure","title":"Adventure","titleRaw":"Adventure"},{"id":14890,"slug":"family","urlSafeValue":"family","title":"family","titleRaw":"family"},{"id":12073,"slug":"children","urlSafeValue":"children","title":"Children","titleRaw":"Children"},{"id":24282,"slug":"travel-tips","urlSafeValue":"travel-tips","title":"Travel tips","titleRaw":"Travel tips"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"image","count":1},{"slug":"related","count":3}],"related":[],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":[],"hasExternalVideo":0,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":0,"video":0,"videos":[],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":"","additionalReporting":"Jennifer Malloy","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"destinations","urlSafeValue":"destinations","title":"Destinations","online":0,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/travel\/destinations\/destinations"},"vertical":"travel","verticals":[{"id":7,"slug":"travel","urlSafeValue":"travel","title":"Travel"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":7,"slug":"travel","urlSafeValue":"travel","title":"Travel"},"themes":[{"id":"destinations","urlSafeValue":"destinations","title":"Destinations","url":"\/travel\/destinations"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":28,"urlSafeValue":"destinations","title":"Destinations"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":5,"urlSafeValue":"albania","title":"Albania","url":"\/news\/europe\/albania"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":"'gv_safe','gb_safe','gb_safe_from_high','gb_safe_from_high_med','pos_equinor','pos_facebook','pos_pmi','pos_ukraine-russia','pos_ukrainecrisis','gs_travel','gs_science','gt_positive','gs_travel_holidays','progressivemedia','gs_travel_type','gs_fooddrink','gs_science_environ','gs_science_environment','gs_science_geography','neg_facebook_q4','gt_positive_like','neg_mobkoi_castrol','neg_bucherer'","versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/travel\/2024\/09\/22\/good-morning-my-friend-my-toddler-was-treated-like-royalty-on-our-family-holiday-to-albani","lastModified":1726995386},{"id":2636520,"cid":8747426,"versionId":9,"archive":0,"housenumber":"240921_E3SU_56570225","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE ALBANIA","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Albania announces plan to create a Bektashi-run Vatican City-like microstate","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Albania announces plan to create a Vatican City-like microstate","titleListing2":"Albania announces plan to create a Sufi Muslim-run Vatican City-like microstate","leadin":"If all goes to plan, the so-called \"Sovereign State of the Bektashi Order\" will become the world's smallest state, just a quarter of the size of Vatican City.","summary":"If all goes to plan, the so-called \"Sovereign State of the Bektashi Order\" will become the world's smallest state, just a quarter of the size of Vatican City.","keySentence":"","url":"albania-plans-to-create-sovereign-micro-state-for-sufi-muslim-order","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2024\/09\/21\/albania-plans-to-create-sovereign-micro-state-for-sufi-muslim-order","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Albania will transform the Tirana-based Bektashi Muslims, an Islamic Sufi order, into a sovereign state to promote moderation, tolerance and peaceful coexistence, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said Sunday.\n\nIf all goes to plan, the Sovereign State of the Bektashi Order will become the world's smallest state, just a quarter of the size of Vatican City. The 10-hectare patch of land will have its own administration, passports and borders.\n\nThe new state would allow alcohol, permit everyone to wear what they want and impose no lifestyle rules, reflecting the Bektashi Order's tolerant practices. \n\nRama said the aim of the new state was to promote a tolerant version of Islam on which Albania prides itself. \n\nSpeaking at the United Nations, Rama pointed out that Albania, a tiny Western Balkan country, saved Jewish refugees from the Nazis during World War II and sheltered Afghans after the Taliban came to power three years ago.\n\nAlbanians are also proud of giving to the world the Catholic Church's famed humanitarian, Mother Teresa \u2014 born in neighbouring North Macedonia \u2014 who \u201cembodied love for humanity,\u201d he said. The Bektashi represent about 10% of Albania's Muslim community, according to the latest census. \n\nThe Balkan country of some 2.8 million is known for its religious tolerance in an otherwise divided region.\n\nDecisions made with 'love and kindness'\n\nAn offshoot of Sufism, the Bektashi movement or Bektashiyya originated in Turkey's region of Anatolia and soon became the official order of the elite military units, the Janissaries.\n\nHowever, over time, the order came under fire for its liberal approach to faith and growing political influence, and it was reduced in size and limited to Albania, Kosovo, and North Macedonia. \n\nThe order was officially banned twice: first, in the 17th century, by the Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II. Then, in 1925, the founding father of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atat\u00fcrk, shut down all of the Bektashi lodges or tekke after he banned all branches of Islam not recognised by the Directorate of Religious Affairs from Turkey.\n\nThe Sufis, the mystic branch of Islam, do not enforce the religion's more stringent tenets, and the Bektashi are one of its most liberal branches.\n\nDervish Baba Mondi, the current spiritual leader of the order, is set to be the leader of the Sovereign State of the Bektashi Order. He said decisions will be made with \"love and kindness\". \n\nIn an interview with Euronews in 2018, he said: \"being a Bektashi means being human. We have built our community basing it on the principles of peace, love, and mutual respect.\"\n\nA team of experts is working on legislation defining the new state\u2019s sovereign status inside Albania. Rama\u2019s governing Socialist Party will also need to endorse it. \n\nBaba Mondi expressed hope that the US and other Western powers would recognise his state\u2019s sovereignty. \u201cWe deserve a state,\u201d Mondi said in a recent interview with The New York Times. \n\n\u201cWe are the only ones in the world who tell the truth about Islam (and) don\u2019t mix it up with politics.\u201d\n\nAccording to some estimates, there are between 7 and 20 million Bektashis worldwide, including some 12.5 million in Turkey.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>Albania will transform the Tirana-based Bektashi Muslims, an Islamic Sufi order, into a sovereign state to promote moderation, tolerance and peaceful coexistence, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>If all goes to plan, the Sovereign State of the Bektashi Order will become the world's smallest state, just a quarter of the size of Vatican City. The 10-hectare patch of land will have its own administration, passports and borders.<\/p>\n<p>The new state would allow alcohol, permit everyone to wear what they want and impose no lifestyle rules, reflecting the Bektashi Order's tolerant practices. <\/p>\n<p>Rama said the aim of the new state was to promote a tolerant version of Islam on which Albania prides itself. <\/p>\n<p>Speaking at the United Nations, Rama pointed out that Albania, a tiny Western Balkan country, saved Jewish refugees from the Nazis during World War II and sheltered Afghans after the Taliban came to power three years ago.<\/p>\n<p>Albanians are also proud of giving to the world the Catholic Church's famed humanitarian, Mother Teresa \u2014 born in neighbouring North Macedonia \u2014 who \u201cembodied love for humanity,\u201d he said. The Bektashi represent about 10% of Albania's Muslim community, according to the latest census. <\/p>\n<p>The Balkan country of some 2.8 million is known for its religious tolerance in an otherwise divided region.<\/p>\n<h2>Decisions made with 'love and kindness'<\/h2><p>An offshoot of Sufism, the Bektashi movement or Bektashiyya originated in Turkey's region of Anatolia and soon became the official order of the elite military units, the Janissaries.<\/p>\n<p>However, over time, the order came under fire for its liberal approach to faith and growing political influence, and it was reduced in size and limited to Albania, Kosovo, and North Macedonia. <\/p>\n<p>The order was officially banned twice: first, in the 17th century, by the Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II. Then, in 1925, the founding father of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atat\u00fcrk, shut down all of the Bektashi lodges or tekke after he banned all branches of Islam not recognised by the Directorate of Religious Affairs from Turkey.<\/p>\n<p>The Sufis, the mystic branch of Islam, do not enforce the religion's more stringent tenets, and the Bektashi are one of its most liberal branches.<\/p>\n<p>Dervish Baba Mondi, the current spiritual leader of the order, is set to be the leader of the Sovereign State of the Bektashi Order. He said decisions will be made with \"love and kindness\". <\/p>\n<p>In an interview with Euronews in 2018, he said: \"being a Bektashi means being human. We have built our community basing it on the principles of peace, love, and mutual respect.\"<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.6666666666666666\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//08//74//74//26//808x539_cmsv2_5067b194-201d-544d-a9d1-97245cfe5dcc-8747426.jpg/" alt=\"Baba Mondi\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/74\/74\/26\/384x256_cmsv2_5067b194-201d-544d-a9d1-97245cfe5dcc-8747426.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/74\/74\/26\/640x427_cmsv2_5067b194-201d-544d-a9d1-97245cfe5dcc-8747426.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/74\/74\/26\/750x500_cmsv2_5067b194-201d-544d-a9d1-97245cfe5dcc-8747426.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/74\/74\/26\/828x552_cmsv2_5067b194-201d-544d-a9d1-97245cfe5dcc-8747426.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/74\/74\/26\/1080x720_cmsv2_5067b194-201d-544d-a9d1-97245cfe5dcc-8747426.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/74\/74\/26\/1200x800_cmsv2_5067b194-201d-544d-a9d1-97245cfe5dcc-8747426.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/74\/74\/26\/1920x1280_cmsv2_5067b194-201d-544d-a9d1-97245cfe5dcc-8747426.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Baba Mondi<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Euronews<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>A team of experts is working on legislation defining the new state\u2019s sovereign status inside Albania. Rama\u2019s governing Socialist Party will also need to endorse it. <\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"3177924\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2018//06//11//the-bektashis-a-sufi-community-that-still-stands-for-tolerance-despite-a-long-history-of-p/">The Bektashis: A Sufi community that still stands for tolerance despite a long history of persecution<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Baba Mondi expressed hope that the US and other Western powers would recognise his state\u2019s sovereignty. \u201cWe deserve a state,\u201d Mondi said in a recent interview with The New York Times. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are the only ones in the world who tell the truth about Islam (and) don\u2019t mix it up with politics.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to some estimates, there are between 7 and 20 million Bektashis worldwide, including some 12.5 million in Turkey.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1726941357,"updatedAt":1727087365,"publishedAt":1726948099,"firstPublishedAt":1726948099,"lastPublishedAt":1727087365,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/74\/74\/26\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_ae1b37ba-f2b8-552b-810a-9e1ce997235b-8747426.jpg","altText":"Sheikh Dyrri-Tekke at the World Bektashi Center, Qendra Boterore e Bektashinjve, Center of a Sufi Brotherhood, Tirana, Albania","caption":"Sheikh Dyrri-Tekke at the World Bektashi Center, Qendra Boterore e Bektashinjve, Center of a Sufi Brotherhood, Tirana, Albania","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Euronews","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1920,"height":1080},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/74\/74\/26\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_5067b194-201d-544d-a9d1-97245cfe5dcc-8747426.jpg","altText":null,"caption":null,"captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":null,"sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":828,"height":552}],"authors":{"journalists":[],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":5,"slug":"albania","urlSafeValue":"albania","title":"Albania","titleRaw":"Albania"},{"id":19316,"slug":"edi-rama","urlSafeValue":"edi-rama","title":"Edi Rama","titleRaw":"Edi 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ALBANIA MIGRANT CAMPS","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Italy-funded asylum centres in Albania to be fully operational by September","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Italy-funded asylum centres in Albania to be fully ready by September","titleListing2":"Italy-funded asylum centres in Albania to be fully operational by September","leadin":"The agreement signed last year by Italy's Premier Giorgia Meloni and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama aims to process the asylum claims of migrants rescued at sea while keeping them in Albania, a move that has garnered both criticism and support.","summary":"The agreement signed last year by Italy's Premier Giorgia Meloni and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama aims to process the asylum claims of migrants rescued at sea while keeping them in Albania, a move that has garnered both criticism and support.","keySentence":"","url":"italy-funded-asylum-centres-in-albania-to-be-fully-operational-by-september","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/my-europe\/2024\/08\/02\/italy-funded-asylum-centres-in-albania-to-be-fully-operational-by-september","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Italy\u2019s controversial plan to open migrant processing centres in Albania has been delayed. Officials cite construction issues at the Gjad\u00ebr site primarily due to the region's hot weather. \n\nInitially set to open on Thursday, the centres are expected to be operational in several weeks, according to Italian Cabinet Secretary Alfredo Mantovano. \n\nThe agreement signed last year by Italy's Premier Giorgia Meloni and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama aims to process the asylum claims of migrants rescued at sea while keeping them in Albania, a move that has garnered both criticism and support.\n\nLocally, reactions to the centres are mixed. \n\nWhile protests have occurred in Tirana and Lezh\u00eb, many residents near the sites seem largely indifferent.\n\nWatch the Euronews Albania video above for more details on the story.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>Italy\u2019s controversial plan to open migrant processing centres in Albania has been delayed. Officials cite construction issues at the Gjad\u00ebr site primarily due to the region's hot weather. <\/p>\n<p>Initially set to open on Thursday, the centres are expected to be operational in several weeks, according to Italian Cabinet Secretary Alfredo Mantovano. <\/p>\n<p>The agreement signed last year by Italy's Premier Giorgia Meloni and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama aims to process the asylum claims of migrants rescued at sea while keeping them in Albania, a move that has garnered both criticism and support.<\/p>\n<p>Locally, reactions to the centres are mixed. <\/p>\n<p>While protests have occurred in Tirana and Lezh\u00eb, many residents near the sites seem largely indifferent.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Watch the Euronews Albania video above for more details on the story.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1722529868,"updatedAt":1723539856,"publishedAt":1722586779,"firstPublishedAt":1722586779,"lastPublishedAt":1722586779,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/61\/93\/62\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_21e19486-4cef-5a5d-a3c0-57f92f2bb7db-8619362.jpg","altText":"A migrant center is seen from above in Gjader, northwest Albania.","caption":"A migrant center is seen from above in Gjader, northwest Albania.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Vlasov Sulaj\/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":576},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/62\/33\/86\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_317e7dd2-7de1-5498-a935-af950154255c-8623386.jpg","altText":null,"caption":null,"captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Euronews Alb\u00e2nia","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1920,"height":1080}],"authors":{"journalists":[],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":5,"slug":"albania","urlSafeValue":"albania","title":"Albania","titleRaw":"Albania"},{"id":158,"slug":"italy","urlSafeValue":"italy","title":"Italy","titleRaw":"Italy"},{"id":13190,"slug":"migrants","urlSafeValue":"migrants","title":"Migrants","titleRaw":"Migrants"},{"id":8151,"slug":"refugees","urlSafeValue":"refugees","title":"Refugees","titleRaw":"Refugees"},{"id":147,"slug":"immigration","urlSafeValue":"immigration","title":"Immigration","titleRaw":"Immigration"}],"widgets":[],"related":[{"id":2587264},{"id":2664520}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":{"youtubeId":"weDby0yS6WE","dailymotionId":"x93dlei"},"hasExternalVideo":1,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":1,"video":1,"videos":[{"format":"mp4","quality":"md","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/med\/EN\/E3\/SU\/24\/08\/01\/en\/240801_E3SU_56180980_56183902_152880_074357_en.mp4","editor":"","duration":152880,"filesizeBytes":19920613,"expiresAt":0},{"format":"mp4","quality":"hd","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/EN\/E3\/SU\/24\/08\/01\/en\/240801_E3SU_56180980_56183902_152880_074357_en.mp4","editor":"","duration":152880,"filesizeBytes":30697701,"expiresAt":0}],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":"","additionalReporting":"Alice Taylor, Euronews Albania","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"europe-news","urlSafeValue":"europe-news","title":"Europe News","online":1,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/my-europe\/europe-news\/europe-news"},"vertical":"my-europe","verticals":[{"id":2,"slug":"my-europe","urlSafeValue":"my-europe","title":"Europe"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":2,"slug":"my-europe","urlSafeValue":"my-europe","title":"Europe"},"themes":[{"id":"europe-news","urlSafeValue":"europe-news","title":"Europe News","url":"\/my-europe\/europe-news"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":56,"urlSafeValue":"europe-news","title":"Europe News"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":5,"urlSafeValue":"albania","title":"Albania","url":"\/news\/europe\/albania"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":"'gv_safe','gb_safe_from_high','gs_science','gs_science_geography','gb_sensitive_edu','gb_sensitive_high_med','gb_sensitive_high_med_low','gb_sensitive_news-ent','gs_politics_misc','gs_society_misc','gs_society'","versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/my-europe\/2024\/08\/02\/italy-funded-asylum-centres-in-albania-to-be-fully-operational-by-september","lastModified":1722586779},{"id":2598224,"cid":8620492,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":"240731_NCSU_56171664","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"NC5 ALBANIA WILDFIRES","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"WATCH: Firefighters battle to contain wildfires in Albania","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"WATCH: Firefighters battle to contain wildfires in Albania","titleListing2":"The battle against wildfires in Albania saw significant improvement last night, particularly in the coastal town of Shengjin. ","leadin":"The battle against wildfires in Albania saw significant improvement in the last 24 hours, particularly in the coastal town of Shengjin.","summary":"The battle against wildfires in Albania saw significant improvement in the last 24 hours, particularly in the coastal town of Shengjin.","keySentence":"","url":"watch-firefighters-battle-to-contain-wildfires-in-albania","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2024\/07\/31\/watch-firefighters-battle-to-contain-wildfires-in-albania","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"The battle against wildfires in Albania saw significant improvement in the last 24 hours, particularly in the coastal town of Shengjin. \n\nThe situation was critical on Tuesday with fires spreading rapidly through residential areas, forcing many residents to evacuate. \n\n","htmlText":"<p>The battle against wildfires in Albania saw significant improvement in the last 24 hours, particularly in the coastal town of Shengjin. <\/p>\n<p>The situation was critical on Tuesday with fires spreading rapidly through residential areas, forcing many residents to evacuate. <\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1722442558,"updatedAt":1723539856,"publishedAt":1722444964,"firstPublishedAt":1722444964,"lastPublishedAt":1722444964,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/62\/04\/92\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_47940b92-1827-5b68-9e1a-bce4515aaeb7-8620492.jpg","altText":"Albania fire.","caption":"Albania 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FIRE PREVENTION","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Albania continues to tackle wildfires spreading up north of country","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Albania continues to tackle fires spreading through country","titleListing2":"Albania continues to tackle wildfires spreading up north of country","leadin":"Fires blazing through Albania have spread up north of the country. The EU has been assisting the country with resources needed to tackle the wildfires.","summary":"Fires blazing through Albania have spread up north of the country. The EU has been assisting the country with resources needed to tackle the wildfires.","keySentence":"","url":"albania-continues-to-tackle-wildfires-spreading-up-north-of-country","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2024\/07\/17\/albania-continues-to-tackle-wildfires-spreading-up-north-of-country","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Albanian authorities enter a third week of fighting fires that have been raging through the country. The blazes were predominantly located in southern Albania but have made their way up to the country\u2019s north. Three new fires were reported in the northeastern district of Diber, as well as another fire in the central Albanian district of Elbasan.\n\nEarlier last week, Albanian Interior Minister Taulant Balla confirmed that the government asked for help from the European Commission\u2019s Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC). He states that the remote mountainous areas were impossible to reach by the emergency services, and that the team were only using one Cougar helicopter. \n\nAlbania, who are a member of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism since 2022, are able to receive assistance from other countries if they are struck by a disaster. In a response to the on-going wildfires in the country, multiple Canadair planes came from neighbouring Greece to help extinguish flames. \n\nA State Supreme Audit found that Albania\u2019s fire engines are old and badly maintained. The report also shows that while the Defence Ministry is in possession of four helicopters to use in emergencies, only one of them is active, as others were rejected from failing safety tests.\n\nWhile drones are not used to put out fires directly, the General Director of the Fire Department, Arben Cara, says the police have Bayraktar drones that can spot and assess fire hotspots from above. According to him, this has really helped them to come up with effective plans to control the fires.\n\nBecause of its high temperatures and landscape, Albania is prone to summer wildfires - which burn an average of 10 thousand hectares of land annually.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>Albanian authorities enter a third week of fighting fires that have been raging through the country. The blazes were predominantly located in southern Albania but have made their way up to the country\u2019s north. Three new fires were reported in the northeastern district of Diber, as well as another fire in the central Albanian district of Elbasan.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-tweet widget--size-medium widget--align-left\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio\u2014auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <div class=\"widget__tweet\" data-tweet-id=\"1810993116796834019\"><\/div>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Earlier last week, Albanian Interior Minister Taulant Balla confirmed that the government asked for help from the European Commission\u2019s Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC). He states that the remote mountainous areas were impossible to reach by the emergency services, and that the team were only using one Cougar helicopter. <\/p>\n<p>Albania, who are a member of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism since 2022, are able to receive assistance from other countries if they are struck by a disaster. In a response to the on-going wildfires in the country, multiple Canadair planes came from neighbouring Greece to help extinguish flames. <\/p>\n<p>A State Supreme Audit found that Albania\u2019s fire engines are old and badly maintained. The report also shows that while the Defence Ministry is in possession of four helicopters to use in emergencies, only one of them is active, as others were rejected from failing safety tests.<\/p>\n<p>While drones are not used to put out fires directly, the General Director of the Fire Department, Arben Cara, says the police have Bayraktar drones that can spot and assess fire hotspots from above. According to him, this has really helped them to come up with effective plans to control the fires.<\/p>\n<p>Because of its high temperatures and landscape, Albania is prone to summer wildfires - which burn an average of 10 thousand hectares of land annually.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1721202252,"updatedAt":1723539856,"publishedAt":1721241775,"firstPublishedAt":1721241775,"lastPublishedAt":1721241775,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/58\/16\/96\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_67784ae0-1fb3-5bac-8565-f05aef23dcde-8581696.jpg","altText":"Wildfire in Dropull, Albania on July 9, 2024.","caption":"Wildfire in Dropull, Albania on July 9, 2024.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1920,"height":1080}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"id":3110,"urlSafeValue":"dom","title":"Evelyn Ann-Marie Dom","twitter":null}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":7902,"slug":"fires","urlSafeValue":"fires","title":"Fires","titleRaw":"Fires"},{"id":5,"slug":"albania","urlSafeValue":"albania","title":"Albania","titleRaw":"Albania"},{"id":13294,"slug":"firemen","urlSafeValue":"firemen","title":"firefighters","titleRaw":"firefighters"},{"id":17856,"slug":"extreme-weather","urlSafeValue":"extreme-weather","title":"Extreme weather","titleRaw":"Extreme weather"},{"id":20218,"slug":"climate-crisis","urlSafeValue":"climate-crisis","title":"Climate crisis","titleRaw":"Climate crisis"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"twitter","count":1}],"related":[{"id":2581498},{"id":2591236},{"id":2599082}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":{"youtubeId":"lFRA8DSBRQQ","dailymotionId":"x92crjm"},"hasExternalVideo":1,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":1,"video":1,"videos":[{"format":"mp4","quality":"md","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/med\/EN\/NW\/SU\/24\/07\/17\/en\/240717_NWSU_56053928_56057796_91400_154956_en.mp4","editor":"","duration":91400,"filesizeBytes":11875222,"expiresAt":0},{"format":"mp4","quality":"hd","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/EN\/NW\/SU\/24\/07\/17\/en\/240717_NWSU_56053928_56057796_91400_154956_en.mp4","editor":"","duration":91400,"filesizeBytes":18233750,"expiresAt":0}],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":"AP","additionalSources":"Euronews Albania","additionalReporting":"","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"world","urlSafeValue":"world","title":"World 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PROTESTS","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Protesters in Tirana, Albania demand resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama ","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Protesters in Albania demand resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama ","titleListing2":"Protesters in Tirana demand Prime Minister Edi Rama resign","leadin":"Demonstrators also demanded the release of opposition leader Sali Berisha who has been held under house arrest on corruption charges since last year.","summary":"Demonstrators also demanded the release of opposition leader Sali Berisha who has been held under house arrest on corruption charges since last year.","keySentence":"","url":"protesters-in-tirana-albania-demand-resignation-of-prime-minister-edi-rama","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/my-europe\/2024\/07\/13\/protesters-in-tirana-albania-demand-resignation-of-prime-minister-edi-rama","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Thousands of opposition supporters in Albania staged a protest in the capital, Tirana, on Thursday, demanding Prime Minister Edi Rama step down. The demonstrators accused Rama, who has been in power since 2012, of corruption.\n\nThe protesters pelted a government building and the mayor of Tirana's office, who is affiliated with the prime minister's Socialist Party.\n\nPolice put out the fires caused by the bombs, and there were no reports of more serious altercations or injuries.\n\nThe demonstrators also demanded the release of opposition leader Sali Berisha, who has been held under house arrest on corruption charges since last year, in a move many say is politically motivated.\n\nThe former Prime Minister, who leads the opposition Democratic Party, had called for the protests from his house arrest.\n\nBerisha made a video link statement, saying, \"Albania is the only country in Europe with its opposition leader under political arrest without any facts, evidence, or documents.\" \"Edi Rama wants an Albania without Albanians, without opposition, and without justice.\"\n\nIn October 2023, prosecutors accused Berisha of allegedly abusing his post to help his son-in-law, Jamarber Malltezi, privatize public land to build 17 apartment buildings. \n\nProsecutors have yet to take the formal charges to court, and Berisha is still technically under investigation.\n\nBerisha, 79, and Malltezi, 52, both have proclaimed their innocence, alleging the case was a political move by the ruling Socialist Party of Prime Minister Edi Rama. \n\nProsecutors have said that if Berisha is convicted, he faces a prison sentence of up to 12 years.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>Thousands of opposition supporters in Albania staged a protest in the capital, Tirana, on Thursday, demanding Prime Minister Edi Rama step down. The demonstrators accused Rama, who has been in power since 2012, of corruption.<\/p>\n<p>The protesters pelted a government building and the mayor of Tirana's office, who is affiliated with the prime minister's Socialist Party.<\/p>\n<p>Police put out the fires caused by the bombs, and there were no reports of more serious altercations or injuries.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-tweet widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio\u2014auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <div class=\"widget__tweet\" data-tweet-id=\"1811495664754344205\"><\/div>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The demonstrators also demanded the release of opposition leader Sali Berisha, who has been held under house arrest on corruption charges since last year, in a move many say is politically motivated.<\/p>\n<p>The former Prime Minister, who leads the opposition Democratic Party, had called for the protests from his house arrest.<\/p>\n<p>Berisha made a video link statement, saying, \"Albania is the only country in Europe with its opposition leader under political arrest without any facts, evidence, or documents.\" \"Edi Rama wants an Albania without Albanians, without opposition, and without justice.\"<\/p>\n<p>In October 2023, prosecutors accused Berisha of allegedly abusing his post to help his son-in-law, Jamarber Malltezi, privatize public land to build 17 apartment buildings. <\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors have yet to take the formal charges to court, and Berisha is still technically under investigation.<\/p>\n<p>Berisha, 79, and Malltezi, 52, both have proclaimed their innocence, alleging the case was a political move by the ruling Socialist Party of Prime Minister Edi Rama. <\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors have said that if Berisha is convicted, he faces a prison sentence of up to 12 years.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"7986780,5676264\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2021//05//19//us-sanctions-albanian-ex-pm-sali-berisha-over-corruption/">US sanctions Albanian ex-PM Sali Berisha over corruption<\/a><\/li><li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2023//10//23//albanias-former-pm-sali-berisha-faces-corruption-charges-over-land-privatisation-scandal/">Albania's former PM Sali Berisha faces corruption charges over land privatisation scandal<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1720813421,"updatedAt":1723539856,"publishedAt":1720867354,"firstPublishedAt":1720867354,"lastPublishedAt":1720867354,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/57\/30\/62\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_4f178fea-4fc0-5e50-846d-0a916e3e5ab3-8573062.jpg","altText":"Protests in Tirana, Albania","caption":"Protests in Tirana, Albania","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Visar Kryeziu\/Copyright 2019 The AP. All rights reserved.","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":5068,"height":3378}],"authors":{"journalists":[],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":5,"slug":"albania","urlSafeValue":"albania","title":"Albania","titleRaw":"Albania"},{"id":10551,"slug":"albania-politics","urlSafeValue":"albania-politics","title":"Albania politics","titleRaw":"Albania politics"},{"id":27110,"slug":"protestas","urlSafeValue":"protestas","title":"Protests","titleRaw":"Protests"},{"id":10449,"slug":"sali-berisha","urlSafeValue":"sali-berisha","title":"Sali Berisha","titleRaw":"Sali Berisha"},{"id":19316,"slug":"edi-rama","urlSafeValue":"edi-rama","title":"Edi Rama","titleRaw":"Edi Rama"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"twitter","count":1},{"slug":"related","count":1}],"related":[{"id":2597614}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":{"youtubeId":"MA9JPK4rfUM","dailymotionId":"x923adw"},"hasExternalVideo":1,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":1,"video":1,"videos":[{"format":"mp4","quality":"md","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/med\/EN\/E3\/SU\/24\/07\/13\/en\/240713_E3SU_56025802_56025825_35000_220929_en.mp4","editor":"","duration":35000,"filesizeBytes":4897644,"expiresAt":0},{"format":"mp4","quality":"hd","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/EN\/E3\/SU\/24\/07\/13\/en\/240713_E3SU_56025802_56025825_35000_220929_en.mp4","editor":"","duration":35000,"filesizeBytes":7129452,"expiresAt":0}],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":"ALRTSH","additionalSources":"","additionalReporting":"Euronews","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"europe-news","urlSafeValue":"europe-news","title":"Europe 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News"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":5,"urlSafeValue":"albania","title":"Albania","url":"\/news\/europe\/albania"},"town":{"id":2167,"urlSafeValue":"tirana","title":"Tirana"},"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":"'gs_politics_issues_policy','gs_politics','gb_sensitive_high','gb_sensitive_high_med','gb_sensitive_high_med_low','gb_sensitive_serious','gs_politics_misc','gb_arms_high','gb_arms_high_med','gb_arms_high_med_low','gb_arms_serious','gb_crime_high','gb_crime_high_med','gb_crime_high_med_low','gb_crime_serious','gv_arms','gs_food','gs_food_drink','gs_fooddrink','gs_fooddrink_alcohol'","versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/my-europe\/2024\/07\/13\/protesters-in-tirana-albania-demand-resignation-of-prime-minister-edi-rama","lastModified":1720867354},{"id":2584248,"cid":8572588,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":"240712_NWSU_56022682","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"BELERIS EU PARLIAMENT","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Fredi Beleri to be temporarily freed from Albanian prison to be sworn in as MEP","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Fredi Beleri to be temporarily freed from Albanian jail ","titleListing2":"Fredi Beleri to be temporarily freed from Albanian prison to be sworn in as MEP","leadin":"Jailed Greek mayor-elect Fredi Beleri will take temporary leave from Albanian prison to attend the inaugural session of European Parliament.","summary":"Jailed Greek mayor-elect Fredi Beleri will take temporary leave from Albanian prison to attend the inaugural session of European Parliament.","keySentence":"","url":"fredi-beleri-to-be-temporarily-freed-from-albanian-prison-to-be-sworn-in-as-mep","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2024\/07\/13\/fredi-beleri-to-be-temporarily-freed-from-albanian-prison-to-be-sworn-in-as-mep","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Incarcerated Greek mayor-elect Alfred \"Fredi\" Beleri has been granted temporary leave of his Albanian prison to be sworn in as an MEP in Strasbourg, according to the state-owned public broadcaster ERT.\n\nEuropean Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas trumpeted the news on Friday, writing on social media platform X that the \"respect for the right to vote and to be elected is a key element of any privileged state.\"\n\n\"Justification that Fr. Beleris will officially take up his duties and participate in the European Parliament votes next week in Strasbourg,\" the post states.\n\nBeleri, a member of Albania's ethnically Greek minority, is serving a prison sentence until October for buying votes in a municipal election, Albanian prosecutors allege. \n\nBeleri was elected mayor of the Albanian city of Himare in 2023 but was stripped of the mayoral title at the beginning of the July, 2024.\n\nA month before, in June, the 52-year-old's was elected to European Parliament as part of the centre-right Greek New Democracy party. \n\nIt came as the Albanian appeals court upheld a two-year prison sentence for Beleris, a move which exacerbated tensions with neighboring Greece.\n\nThe Greek foreign ministry has said Beleris' case \u201craises several questions concerning fundamental principles of the rule of law\u201d in Albania.\n\nThe politician will return to Albanian prison following next week's inaugural session. \n\n","htmlText":"<p>Incarcerated Greek mayor-elect Alfred \"Fredi\" Beleri has been granted temporary leave of his Albanian prison to be sworn in as an MEP in Strasbourg, according to the state-owned public broadcaster ERT.<\/p>\n<p>European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas trumpeted the news on Friday, writing on social media platform X that the \"respect for the right to vote and to be elected is a key element of any privileged state.\"<\/p>\n<p>\"Justification that Fr. Beleris will officially take up his duties and participate in the European Parliament votes next week in Strasbourg,\" the post states.<\/p>\n<p>Beleri, a member of Albania's ethnically Greek minority, is serving a prison sentence until October for buying votes in a municipal election, Albanian prosecutors allege. <\/p>\n<p>Beleri was elected mayor of the Albanian city of Himare in 2023 but was stripped of the mayoral title at the beginning of the July, 2024.<\/p>\n<p>A month before, in June, the 52-year-old's was elected to European Parliament as part of the centre-right Greek New Democracy party. <\/p>\n<p>It came as the Albanian appeals court upheld a two-year prison sentence for Beleris, a move which exacerbated tensions with neighboring Greece.<\/p>\n<p>The Greek foreign ministry has said Beleris' case \u201craises several questions concerning fundamental principles of the rule of law\u201d in Albania.<\/p>\n<p>The politician will return to Albanian prison following next week's inaugural session. <\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1720801881,"updatedAt":1723539856,"publishedAt":1720861113,"firstPublishedAt":1720861113,"lastPublishedAt":1720861113,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/55\/49\/84\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_59e76656-4d37-5cfa-b9c0-9a089ea47df1-8554984.jpg","altText":"FILE - Fredi Beleris looks on as Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visits to the ethnic Greek minority of Albania, in Himare, Albania, on Dec. 22, 2022. ","caption":"FILE - Fredi Beleris looks on as Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visits to the ethnic Greek minority of Albania, in Himare, Albania, on Dec. 22, 2022. ","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":683}],"authors":{"journalists":[],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":5,"slug":"albania","urlSafeValue":"albania","title":"Albania","titleRaw":"Albania"},{"id":13844,"slug":"european-parliament","urlSafeValue":"european-parliament","title":"European Parliament","titleRaw":"European Parliament"},{"id":128,"slug":"greece","urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","titleRaw":"Greece"},{"id":29340,"slug":"european-elections-2024","urlSafeValue":"european-elections-2024","title":"European elections 2024","titleRaw":"European elections 2024"}],"widgets":[],"related":[{"id":2562106},{"id":2571676},{"id":2568114}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":{"youtubeId":"OtF58dlZKPo","dailymotionId":"x9234iu"},"hasExternalVideo":1,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":1,"video":1,"videos":[{"format":"mp4","quality":"md","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/med\/EN\/NW\/SU\/24\/07\/12\/en\/240712_NWSU_56022682_56024714_35000_214604_en.mp4","editor":"","duration":35000,"filesizeBytes":4453184,"expiresAt":0},{"format":"mp4","quality":"hd","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/EN\/NW\/SU\/24\/07\/12\/en\/240712_NWSU_56022682_56024714_35000_214604_en.mp4","editor":"","duration":35000,"filesizeBytes":6827840,"expiresAt":0}],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":"AP","additionalSources":"","additionalReporting":"Angela Skujins","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"world","urlSafeValue":"world","title":"World News","online":1,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/programs\/world"},"vertical":"news","verticals":[{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"themes":[{"id":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World","url":"\/news\/international"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":1,"urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":5,"urlSafeValue":"albania","title":"Albania","url":"\/news\/europe\/albania"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":"'gb_safe','gb_safe_from_high','gb_safe_from_high_med','gs_politics','gs_fooddrink','gs_busfin','gs_busfin_indus'","versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/2024\/07\/13\/fredi-beleri-to-be-temporarily-freed-from-albanian-prison-to-be-sworn-in-as-mep","lastModified":1720861113},{"id":2583740,"cid":8570022,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":"240712_E3SU_56016987","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"ALBANIA WILDFIRES","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Albania asks for help from EU Emergency Response Coordination Centre to tackle wildfires","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Albania asks for EU help to tackle wildfires","titleListing2":"Albania asks for help from EU Emergency Response Coordination Centre to tackle wildfires","leadin":"There have been numerous wildfires in the southern district of Dropull, 250 kilometers south of the capital Tirana. Fires there have been made worse by wind with firefighters hampered by a lack of equipment and the means to access the remote mountainous areas.","summary":"There have been numerous wildfires in the southern district of Dropull, 250 kilometers south of the capital Tirana. Fires there have been made worse by wind with firefighters hampered by a lack of equipment and the means to access the remote mountainous areas.","keySentence":"","url":"albania-asks-for-help-from-eu-emergency-response-coordination-centre-to-tackle-wildfires","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/my-europe\/2024\/07\/11\/albania-asks-for-help-from-eu-emergency-response-coordination-centre-to-tackle-wildfires","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Authorities in Albania have requested assistance from the European Union to help tackle wildfires in the south of the country.\u00a0\n\nInterior Minister Taulant Balla said on Thursday the government has asked for help from the European Commission's Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC).\n\n\"We are in contact with the Centre of the European Mechanism of Solidarity through which we would like to continue the fight from the air because, as we have seen, it is almost impossible to intervene at a great part of the existing fire locations,\" he said.\n\nBalla said it was \"impossible\" for the country's firefighters and military personnel to extinguish fires in some remote mountainous areas and they only had one Cougar helicopter at their disposal.\u00a0\n\n\"We have not won the war. We likely have won some small battles but the war with such an extended fire of some kilometres is difficult,\" he added.\n\nThere have been numerous wildfires in the southern district of Dropull, 250 kilometres south of the capital Tirana. It\u2019s close to the border with Greece and inhabited mainly by an ethnic Greek minority.\u00a0\n\nFires there have been fanned by wind with firefighters hampered by a lack of equipment and the means to access the remote mountainous areas.\n\nAlbania has been hit by a heatwave with temperatures reaching 42 degrees Celsius in some central areas. The Defence Ministry says that extreme heat has caused at least 23 wildfires to break out in the last 24 hours alone.\n\nEuropean heatwave\n\nMeanwhile, the heatwave which has affected parts of central and southern Europe has sent the mercury rising in nearby Serbia.\u00a0\n\nAuthorities there recorded temperatures in the north of around 35 degrees Celsius and in the capital Belgrade, doctors reported treating people who had collapsed, felt dizzy or complained of headaches due to the heat.\u00a0\n\nSerbian authorities have said that the increased use of air conditioning has led to huge power consumption similar to levels normally seen in winter, when many in the Balkan country use electricity for heating.\n\nDuring a previous heat wave last month, Montenegro, Bosnia, Croatia and Albania faced a major power outage amid the overload and a collapse of a regional distribution line.\n\nAnd there were similar high temperatures in Slovenia.\n\n\"We are in a heatwave which will last longer that the two we had in June. It will also be stronger. Yesterday was the third day that qualified this as a heatwave. That is why we issued a warning yesterday. The heat was and will continue to range between 30 and 36 degrees Celsius,\" said meteorologist, Branko Gregorcic.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>Authorities in Albania have requested assistance from the European Union to help tackle wildfires in the south of the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Interior Minister Taulant Balla said on Thursday the government has asked for help from the European Commission's Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC).<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-tweet widget--size-medium widget--align-left\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio\u2014auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <div class=\"widget__tweet\" data-tweet-id=\"1810993116796834019\"><\/div>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>\"We are in contact with the Centre of the European Mechanism of Solidarity through which we would like to continue the fight from the air because, as we have seen, it is almost impossible to intervene at a great part of the existing fire locations,\" he said.<\/p>\n<p>Balla said it was \"impossible\" for the country's firefighters and military personnel to extinguish fires in some remote mountainous areas and they only had one Cougar helicopter at their disposal.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\"We have not won the war. We likely have won some small battles but the war with such an extended fire of some kilometres is difficult,\" he added.<\/p>\n<p>There have been numerous wildfires in the southern district of Dropull, 250 kilometres south of the capital Tirana. It\u2019s close to the border with Greece and inhabited mainly by an ethnic Greek minority.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Fires there have been fanned by wind with firefighters hampered by a lack of equipment and the means to access the remote mountainous areas.<\/p>\n<p>Albania has been hit by a heatwave with temperatures reaching 42 degrees Celsius in some central areas. The Defence Ministry says that extreme heat has caused at least 23 wildfires to break out in the last 24 hours alone.<\/p>\n<h2>European heatwave<\/h2><p>Meanwhile, the heatwave which has affected parts of central and southern Europe has sent the mercury rising in nearby Serbia.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//08//57//00//22//808x454_cmsv2_58cf769c-3958-5367-9c09-ee234e252fa2-8570022.jpg/" alt=\"A wildfire burns in a remote part of the southern district of Dropull, July 11, 2024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/57\/00\/22\/384x216_cmsv2_58cf769c-3958-5367-9c09-ee234e252fa2-8570022.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/57\/00\/22\/640x360_cmsv2_58cf769c-3958-5367-9c09-ee234e252fa2-8570022.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/57\/00\/22\/750x422_cmsv2_58cf769c-3958-5367-9c09-ee234e252fa2-8570022.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/57\/00\/22\/828x466_cmsv2_58cf769c-3958-5367-9c09-ee234e252fa2-8570022.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/57\/00\/22\/1080x608_cmsv2_58cf769c-3958-5367-9c09-ee234e252fa2-8570022.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/57\/00\/22\/1200x675_cmsv2_58cf769c-3958-5367-9c09-ee234e252fa2-8570022.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/57\/00\/22\/1920x1080_cmsv2_58cf769c-3958-5367-9c09-ee234e252fa2-8570022.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">A wildfire burns in a remote part of the southern district of Dropull, July 11, 2024<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Screenshot from AP video 4505535<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Authorities there recorded temperatures in the north of around 35 degrees Celsius and in the capital Belgrade, doctors reported treating people who had collapsed, felt dizzy or complained of headaches due to the heat.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Serbian authorities have said that the increased use of air conditioning has led to huge power consumption similar to levels normally seen in winter, when many in the Balkan country use electricity for heating.<\/p>\n<p>During a previous heat wave last month, Montenegro, Bosnia, Croatia and Albania faced a major power outage amid the overload and a collapse of a regional distribution line.<\/p>\n<p>And there were similar high temperatures in Slovenia.<\/p>\n<p>\"We are in a heatwave which will last longer that the two we had in June. It will also be stronger. Yesterday was the third day that qualified this as a heatwave. That is why we issued a warning yesterday. The heat was and will continue to range between 30 and 36 degrees Celsius,\" said meteorologist, Branko Gregorcic.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1720732413,"updatedAt":1723539856,"publishedAt":1720734887,"firstPublishedAt":1720734887,"lastPublishedAt":1720734887,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/57\/00\/22\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_45712597-111a-5895-bf0f-5e20e001592d-8570022.jpg","altText":"A firefighter tries to bring a wildfire under control in the southern district of Dropull, July 11, 2024","caption":"A firefighter tries to bring a wildfire under control in the southern district of Dropull, July 11, 2024","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Screenshot from AP video 4505535","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1920,"height":1080},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/57\/00\/22\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_58cf769c-3958-5367-9c09-ee234e252fa2-8570022.jpg","altText":null,"caption":null,"captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":null,"sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1920,"height":1080}],"authors":{"journalists":[],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":5,"slug":"albania","urlSafeValue":"albania","title":"Albania","titleRaw":"Albania"},{"id":15386,"slug":"climate-change","urlSafeValue":"climate-change","title":"climate change","titleRaw":"climate 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News"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":5,"urlSafeValue":"albania","title":"Albania","url":"\/news\/europe\/albania"},"town":{"id":2167,"urlSafeValue":"tirana","title":"Tirana"},"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":"'gb_safe_from_high','gb_safe_from_high_med','pos_equinor','pos_facebook','pos_pmi','pos_ukraine-russia','neg_mobkoi_castrol','gs_politics','gs_science','gs_politics_misc','gs_politics_issues_policy','neg_facebook','shadow9hu7_pos_ukrainecrisis','neg_saudiaramco','gs_science_weather','neg_citi_campaign_4','gb_death_injury_edu','gb_death_injury_high_med_low','eu_brussels_politics_eng','gt_negative','gv_death_injury','gs_health','gv_military'","versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/my-europe\/2024\/07\/11\/albania-asks-for-help-from-eu-emergency-response-coordination-centre-to-tackle-wildfires","lastModified":1720734887},{"id":2581498,"cid":8561780,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":"240709_E3SU_55992275","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"ALBANIA WILDFIRES","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Fire sweeps through mountains in southern Albania","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Soldiers and firefighters battle Albanian mountain fire","titleListing2":"Soldiers and firefighters battle mountain fire in southern Albania","leadin":"Soldiers and firefighters are struggling to contain a massive blaze amid summer heat.","summary":"Soldiers and firefighters are struggling to contain a massive blaze amid summer heat.","keySentence":"","url":"fire-sweeps-through-mountains-in-southern-albania","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/my-europe\/2024\/07\/09\/fire-sweeps-through-mountains-in-southern-albania","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Soldiers and firefighters are attempting to extinguish a fire that erupted in Albania's south on Monday. \n\nThe wildfire started as an isolated incident in the mountains, but within two hours, it posed a danger to residents in the villages of Frashtan, Gorica and Dropull.\n\nMinister of Defence Niko Peleshi said on Tuesday that authorities are working to manage the blaze under the coordination of the National Agency of Civil Protection.\n\nThe fire is currently controlled and does not threaten residents and their homes, but it has yet to be extinguished. \n\nExperts say human-induced climate change is responsible for the wild weather swings, increasingly unpredictable storms and heat waves in which wildfire conditions can arise.\n\nWatch more in the player above.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>Soldiers and firefighters are attempting to extinguish a fire that erupted in Albania's south on Monday. <\/p>\n<p>The wildfire started as an isolated incident in the mountains, but within two hours, it posed a danger to residents in the villages of Frashtan, Gorica and Dropull.<\/p>\n<p>Minister of Defence Niko Peleshi said on Tuesday that authorities are working to manage the blaze under the coordination of the National Agency of Civil Protection.<\/p>\n<p>The fire is currently controlled and does not threaten residents and their homes, but it has yet to be extinguished. <\/p>\n<p>Experts say human-induced climate change is responsible for the wild weather swings, increasingly unpredictable storms and heat waves in which wildfire conditions can arise.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Watch more in the player above.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1720515375,"updatedAt":1723539856,"publishedAt":1720521331,"firstPublishedAt":1720521331,"lastPublishedAt":1720521331,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/56\/17\/80\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_1f234ccb-bc1c-53f7-9d1c-92e746c3a5a1-8561780.jpg","altText":"Fire crews tackle massive fire in Dropull area of Albania on Tuesday, 9 July, 2024.","caption":"Fire crews tackle massive fire in Dropull area of Albania on Tuesday, 9 July, 2024.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"EBU","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1920,"height":1080},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/56\/17\/86\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_b1e564bd-b75b-5857-9082-e78d8e09a751-8561786.jpg","altText":null,"caption":null,"captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"EBU","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":960,"height":540}],"authors":{"journalists":[],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":5,"slug":"albania","urlSafeValue":"albania","title":"Albania","titleRaw":"Albania"},{"id":10375,"slug":"fire","urlSafeValue":"fire","title":"Fire","titleRaw":"Fire"},{"id":13294,"slug":"firemen","urlSafeValue":"firemen","title":"firefighters","titleRaw":"firefighters"}],"widgets":[],"related":[],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":{"youtubeId":"ynBimXUkiS4","dailymotionId":"x91st0q"},"hasExternalVideo":1,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":1,"video":1,"videos":[{"format":"mp4","quality":"md","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/med\/EN\/E3\/SU\/24\/07\/09\/en\/240709_E3SU_55992275_55992304_35000_120746_en.mp4","editor":"","duration":35000,"filesizeBytes":4827481,"expiresAt":0},{"format":"mp4","quality":"hd","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/EN\/E3\/SU\/24\/07\/09\/en\/240709_E3SU_55992275_55992304_35000_120746_en.mp4","editor":"","duration":35000,"filesizeBytes":7162713,"expiresAt":0}],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":"EBU","additionalSources":"","additionalReporting":"Euronews","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"europe-news","urlSafeValue":"europe-news","title":"Europe 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News"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":5,"urlSafeValue":"albania","title":"Albania","url":"\/news\/europe\/albania"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":"'gv_death_injury','gb_death_injury_edu','gb_death_injury_high_med_low','gb_safe_from_high','gb_safe_from_high_med','gs_science','gs_science_weather','gs_politics_civicaffairs','gs_politics'","versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/my-europe\/2024\/07\/09\/fire-sweeps-through-mountains-in-southern-albania","lastModified":1720521331},{"id":2575780,"cid":8542720,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":"240701_C2SU_55929231","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"CULTURE - Ismail Kadare death","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"World-renowned Albanian novelist Ismail Kadare, known for quietly defying dictatorship, dies aged 88","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"World-renowned Albanian novelist Ismail Kadare dies aged 88","titleListing2":"World-renowned Albanian novelist Ismail Kadare, known for quietly defying dictatorship, dies aged 88","leadin":"The Albanian literary giant was best known for works including \"Broken April\" and \"The General of the Dead Army\", chronicling life under communist dictator Enver Hoxha by way of allegorical stories.","summary":"The Albanian literary giant was best known for works including \"Broken April\" and \"The General of the Dead Army\", chronicling life under communist dictator Enver Hoxha by way of allegorical stories.","keySentence":"","url":"world-renowned-albanian-novelist-ismail-kadare-known-for-quietly-defying-dictatorship-dies","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/culture\/2024\/07\/01\/world-renowned-albanian-novelist-ismail-kadare-known-for-quietly-defying-dictatorship-dies","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Ismail Kadare, who had long been mentioned as a possible contender for the Nobel Literature Prize, died at the age of 88 after being rushed to a hospital in Tirana, his publishing editor said on Monday.\n\nA nurse at the hospital, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorised to talk to the press, said the renowned author had suffered a cardiac arrest.\n\n\u201cAlbania and Albanians lost their genius of letters, their spiritual emancipator, the Balkans (lost) the poet of its myths, Europe and the world (lost) one of the most renowned representatives of modern literature,\u201d Albanian President Bajram Begaj said in a statement released by his office.\n\nKadare gained international fame after his novel \u201cThe General of the Dead Army\u201d was published in 1963, when Albania was still ruled by the communist government of late dictator Enver Hoxha \u2013 who, like Kadare, hailed from the Ottoman fortress city of Gjirokast\u00ebr.\n\nFamed for his use of metaphor and gentle sarcasm, Kadare fled to France in 1990, mere months before the fall of the communist regime following student protests the previous December. Labelled a traitor by communist authorities, he lived in Paris and had only recently returned to Albania.\n\nLast year, French President Emmanuel Macron awarded him the Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor title during a visit to Tirana. France had previously also made him a foreign associate of the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences, as well as Commander of the Legion of Honor.\n\nKadare was the recipient of a number of international prizes for his works, which totalled more than 80 novels, plays, screenplays, poetry, essays and story collections translated into 45 languages.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>Ismail Kadare, who had long been mentioned as a possible contender for the Nobel Literature Prize, died at the age of 88 after being rushed to a hospital in Tirana, his publishing editor said on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>A nurse at the hospital, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorised to talk to the press, said the renowned author had suffered a cardiac arrest.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//travel//2023//07//04//low-cost-lovely-locals-and-beautiful-scenery-why-albania-is-no-longer-europes-best-kept-se/">Albania and Albanians lost their genius of letters, their spiritual emancipator, the Balkans (lost) the poet of its myths, Europe and the world (lost) one of the most renowned representatives of modern literature,\u201d Albanian President Bajram Begaj said in a statement released by his office.<\/p>\n<p>Kadare gained international fame after his novel \u201cThe General of the Dead Army\u201d was published in 1963, when Albania was still ruled by the <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//video//2019//01//21//futuris-archiving-popular-dissent-against-communism/">communist government<\/strong><\/a> of late dictator Enver Hoxha \u2013 who, like Kadare, hailed from the Ottoman fortress city of Gjirokast\u00ebr.<\/p>\n<p>Famed for his use of metaphor and gentle sarcasm, Kadare fled to France in 1990, mere months before the fall of the communist regime following student protests the previous December. Labelled a traitor by communist authorities, he lived in Paris and had only recently returned to Albania.<\/p>\n<p>Last year, French President Emmanuel Macron awarded him the Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor title during a visit to Tirana. France had previously also made him a foreign associate of the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences, as well as Commander of the Legion of Honor.<\/p>\n<p>Kadare was the recipient of a number of international prizes for his works, which totalled more than 80 novels, plays, screenplays, poetry, essays and story collections translated into 45 languages.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1719828978,"updatedAt":1723539856,"publishedAt":1719832521,"firstPublishedAt":1719832521,"lastPublishedAt":1719832521,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/54\/27\/20\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_f19c789d-3e6d-51ec-b637-1ce9fe96382b-8542720.jpg","altText":"Ismail Kadare received the France\u2019s Legion d\u2019Honneur medal in 2016","caption":"Ismail Kadare received the France\u2019s Legion d\u2019Honneur medal in 2016","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP Photo","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1000,"height":666}],"authors":{"journalists":[],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":4153,"slug":"literature","urlSafeValue":"literature","title":"Literature","titleRaw":"Literature"},{"id":5,"slug":"albania","urlSafeValue":"albania","title":"Albania","titleRaw":"Albania"},{"id":12695,"slug":"writer","urlSafeValue":"writer","title":"Writer","titleRaw":"Writer"},{"id":10079,"slug":"books","urlSafeValue":"books","title":"Books","titleRaw":"Books"}],"widgets":[],"related":[{"id":2282372},{"id":2242408},{"id":2591360}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":[],"hasExternalVideo":0,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":0,"video":0,"videos":[],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":"","additionalReporting":"Euronews and AP","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"culture-news","urlSafeValue":"culture-news","title":"Culture News","online":0,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/culture\/culture-news\/culture-news"},"vertical":"culture","verticals":[{"id":10,"slug":"culture","urlSafeValue":"culture","title":"Culture"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":10,"slug":"culture","urlSafeValue":"culture","title":"Culture"},"themes":[{"id":"culture-news","urlSafeValue":"culture-news","title":"Culture news","url":"\/culture\/culture-news"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":53,"urlSafeValue":"culture-news","title":"Culture news"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":5,"urlSafeValue":"albania","title":"Albania","url":"\/news\/europe\/albania"},"town":{"id":2167,"urlSafeValue":"tirana","title":"Tirana"},"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":"'gb_safe_from_high','pos_equinor','pos_facebook','pos_pmi','pos_ukraine-russia','pos_ukrainecrisis','gs_books','gs_entertain_books','neg_mobkoi_castrol','gs_popculture','gs_books_fiction','gv_death_injury','gb_sensitive_edu','gb_sensitive_high_med_low','gs_popculture_celebdeath','gs_health','neg_facebook','gb_death_injury_edu','gb_death_injury_high_med_low','neg_tiktok_q1_2024_eng','gs_politics_misc','gs_politics_issues_policy','neg_intel_en','gt_positive','client_easports_sporting_gaming','gb_sensitive_high_med','gb_sensitive_news-ent'","versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/culture\/2024\/07\/01\/world-renowned-albanian-novelist-ismail-kadare-known-for-quietly-defying-dictatorship-dies","lastModified":1719832521},{"id":2574310,"cid":8538306,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":"240628_E3SU_55914394","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"ITALY ALBANIA MIGRANT CENTRES","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Migrant detention facilities nearly built in Albania in controversial deal with Italy","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Migrant detention facilities nearly built in Albania in controversial ","titleListing2":"Migrant detention facilities in Albania nearing completion as part of controversial Italy deal","leadin":"The construction of two Italian migrant detention centres in Albania is underway with the facilities expected to open at the beginning of August.","summary":"The construction of two Italian migrant detention centres in Albania is underway with the facilities expected to open at the beginning of August.","keySentence":"","url":"migrant-detention-facilities-nearly-built-in-albania-in-controversial-deal-with-italy","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/my-europe\/2024\/06\/28\/migrant-detention-facilities-nearly-built-in-albania-in-controversial-deal-with-italy","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"The construction of two Italian migrant detention centres in Albania is underway \u2013 with the facilities expected to open at the beginning of August.\u00a0\n\nItalian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama signed a five-year deal in November concerning cooperation between the two countries when it came to asylum seekers in Italy.\n\nAlbania agreed to detain up to three thousand migrants rescued from international waters each month while Italy processes their asylum claims.\u00a0\n\nAsylum requests are expected to take around a month to process \u2013with Albania potentially receiving up to 36,000 asylum seekers each year.\u00a0\n\nOne centre will be built in Gjader \u2013 a former military airport located 80km away from the Albanian capital city of Tirana. \u00a0\n\nA second centre is almost finished in Shengjin, where housing units and offices are set in an area covering 4,000 square metres and surrounded by a 5-metre-high barbed metal fence. \u00a0\n\nMeloni has defended the controversial plan \u2013 saying it is necessary as part of her policy to crackdown on migration and deter prospective refugees from making the dangerous Mediterranean crossing.\u00a0\n\nHuman rights groups and opposition lawmakers have warned that refugee protections could be compromised. Amnesty International described the deal as \u201cdangerous\u201d and \u201cshameful.\u201d\u00a0\n\nMeloni said the deal with Albania was \u201cextremely innovative,\" adding that 15 of the 27 EU countries were reportedly interested at the prospect. \u00a0\n\nShe said these countries had asked the European Commission \u201cif the Union (could) follow the Italian model in the agreement with Albania.\u201d\u00a0\n\nAlbania is not a European Union member and the idea of sending asylum seekers outside the bloc has been met with controversy. \u00a0\n\nItaly will remain legally responsible for asylum seekers detained at the Albanian centres throughout the process and will organise their deportations from the country if they are refused international protection. \u00a0\n\nThe initiative was first announced last July, with Meloni saying that the swift processing of asylum applications could help relieve chronic overcrowding in Italian processing centres.\u00a0\n\nPrior to the deal with Albania, Italy had sought solidarity with other European Union nations to help handle the large number of people arriving to the country. \u00a0\n\nOne of Meloni\u2019s key promises as part of her political programme was curbing illegal migration into Italy \u2013 though this has proven to be a particularly difficult challenge.\u00a0\n\nDespite Meloni\u2019s tough stance on immigrants, migrant arrivals in Italy are up from last year.\u00a0\n\n","htmlText":"<p>The construction of two Italian migrant detention centres in Albania is underway \u2013 with the facilities expected to open at the beginning of August.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama signed a five-year deal in November concerning cooperation between the two countries when it came to asylum seekers in Italy.<\/p>\n<p>Albania agreed to detain up to three thousand migrants rescued from international waters each month while Italy processes their asylum claims.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Asylum requests are expected to take around a month to process \u2013with Albania potentially receiving up to 36,000 asylum seekers each year.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>One centre will be built in Gjader \u2013 a former military airport located 80km away from the Albanian capital city of Tirana. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A second centre is almost finished in Shengjin, where housing units and offices are set in an area covering 4,000 square metres and surrounded by a 5-metre-high barbed metal fence. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Meloni has defended the controversial plan \u2013 saying it is necessary as part of her policy to crackdown on migration and deter prospective refugees from making the dangerous Mediterranean crossing.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Human rights groups and opposition lawmakers have warned that refugee protections could be compromised. Amnesty International <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.amnesty.org//en//latest//news//2024//02//italy-parliaments-ratification-of-dangerous-automatic-detention-deal-with-albania-shameful///">described the deal<\/a> as \u201cdangerous\u201d and \u201cshameful.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Meloni said the deal with Albania was \u201cextremely innovative,\" adding that 15 of the 27 EU countries were reportedly interested at the prospect. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>She said these countries had asked the European Commission \u201cif the Union (could) follow the Italian model in the agreement with Albania.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"8537264,8531300,8476810\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//my-europe//2024//06//26//meloni-contests-undemocratic-eu-top-jobs-talks-mulling-abstention/">Meloni contests \u2018undemocratic\u2019 EU top jobs talks, mulling abstention<\/a><\/li><li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//my-europe//2024//06//28//what-is-melonis-strategy-in-brussels/">What is Meloni's strategy in Brussels?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2024//06//04//anti-immigrants-rhetoric-divides-italian-coastal-town-of-monfalcone/">Anti-immigrants rhetoric divides Italian coastal town of Monfalcone<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Albania is not a European Union member and the idea of sending asylum seekers outside the bloc has been met with controversy. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Italy will remain legally responsible for asylum seekers detained at the Albanian centres throughout the process and will organise their deportations from the country if they are refused international protection. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The initiative was first <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2023//11//07//albania-to-host-migrants-arriving-to-italy-pending-processing-of-asylum-applications/">announced last July<\/a>, with Meloni saying that the swift processing of asylum applications could help relieve chronic overcrowding in Italian processing centres.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Prior to the deal with Albania, Italy had sought solidarity with other European Union nations to help handle the large number of people arriving to the country. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>One of Meloni\u2019s <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//my-europe//2024//05//30//migration-remains-a-hot-topic-in-italy-ahead-of-european-elections/">key promises<\/a> as part of her political programme was curbing illegal migration into Italy \u2013 though this has proven to be a particularly difficult challenge.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Despite Meloni\u2019s tough stance on immigrants, migrant arrivals in Italy are <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2023//04//10//migrant-arrivals-in-italy-have-more-than-tripled-from-last-year-why/">up from last year<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1719588744,"updatedAt":1723539856,"publishedAt":1719593205,"firstPublishedAt":1719593205,"lastPublishedAt":1719593205,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/53\/83\/18\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_20263e6f-4d66-5d1f-9a95-5c69ed316846-8538318.jpg","altText":"The construction of two Italian migrant detention centres in Albania is underway with the facilities expected to open at the beginning of August.","caption":"The construction of two Italian migrant detention centres in Albania is underway with the facilities expected to open at the beginning of August.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Vlasov Sulaj\/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":683}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"id":2974,"urlSafeValue":"osullivan-d","title":"David O'Sullivan","twitter":null}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":5,"slug":"albania","urlSafeValue":"albania","title":"Albania","titleRaw":"Albania"},{"id":158,"slug":"italy","urlSafeValue":"italy","title":"Italy","titleRaw":"Italy"},{"id":13190,"slug":"migrants","urlSafeValue":"migrants","title":"Migrants","titleRaw":"Migrants"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"related","count":1}],"related":[{"id":2572354},{"id":2571244},{"id":2567950}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":{"youtubeId":"BO2Txo_xCF8","dailymotionId":"x914a1q"},"hasExternalVideo":1,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":1,"video":1,"videos":[{"format":"mp4","quality":"md","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/med\/EN\/E3\/SU\/24\/06\/28\/en\/240628_E3SU_55914394_55915785_62640_203431_en.mp4","editor":"","duration":62640,"filesizeBytes":8077014,"expiresAt":0},{"format":"mp4","quality":"hd","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/EN\/E3\/SU\/24\/06\/28\/en\/240628_E3SU_55914394_55915785_62640_203431_en.mp4","editor":"","duration":62640,"filesizeBytes":12413142,"expiresAt":0}],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":"AP","additionalSources":"","additionalReporting":"","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"europe-news","urlSafeValue":"europe-news","title":"Europe News","online":1,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/my-europe\/europe-news\/europe-news"},"vertical":"my-europe","verticals":[{"id":2,"slug":"my-europe","urlSafeValue":"my-europe","title":"Europe"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":2,"slug":"my-europe","urlSafeValue":"my-europe","title":"Europe"},"themes":[{"id":"europe-news","urlSafeValue":"europe-news","title":"Europe News","url":"\/my-europe\/europe-news"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":56,"urlSafeValue":"europe-news","title":"Europe News"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":5,"urlSafeValue":"albania","title":"Albania","url":"\/news\/europe\/albania"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":"'gv_safe','gb_sensitive_edu','gb_sensitive_high_med','gb_sensitive_high_med_low','gb_sensitive_news-ent','gb_safe_from_high','gs_travel_misc','gs_society_misc','gs_society'","versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/my-europe\/2024\/06\/28\/migrant-detention-facilities-nearly-built-in-albania-in-controversial-deal-with-italy","lastModified":1719593205},{"id":2571676,"cid":8529248,"versionId":2,"archive":0,"housenumber":"240625_NWSU_55881938","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"FREDI BELERI ALBANIA APPEAL COURT","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Greek minority politician and elected MEP to remain behind bars in Albania","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Elected MEP Fredi Beleri to remain behind bars in Albania","titleListing2":"MEP Dhionisios Alfred Beleris to remain behind bars in Albania","leadin":"The move is expected to further exacerbate Albania\u2019s tension with its neighbour, Greece.","summary":"The move is expected to further exacerbate Albania\u2019s tension with its neighbour, Greece.","keySentence":"","url":"greek-mep-dhionisios-alfred-beleris-to-remain-behind-bars-in-albania","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2024\/06\/25\/greek-mep-dhionisios-alfred-beleris-to-remain-behind-bars-in-albania","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"An Albanian appeals court on Tuesday upheld a two-year prison sentence for an elected mayor of the country\u2019s Greek minority, Fredi Beleri, after his lawyers attempted to overturn what they describe as a politically motivated incarceration. \n\nThe 51-year-old Himare mayor-elect was arrested last year after being charged for allegedly buying votes.\n\nBeleri was never sworn into the council position as he was placed under house arrest and subsequently sentenced. He has denied the charges. Beleri will remain in prison until October, according to the court\u2019s ruling.\n\nYet, the New Democracy party politician recently won a seat in the European Parliament, meaning he enjoys political immunity \u2014 even for historical crimes. In the case of Beleri, however, the rule is unlikely to affect his outcome as he is serving time for a crime committed in a non-EU member country.\n\nSix countries\u00a0in the Western Balkans \u2014 Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia \u2014 are at different stages in their applications for EU membership. Croatia was the last EU member country to be accepted in 2013.\n\nThe Beleri row has caused a considerable strain in relations between neighbours Greece and Albania. Following the verdict, the Greek ambassador to Tirana, Konstantina Kamitsi, raised concerns about this.\n\n\u201cIt is a fully democratic request that members of the European Parliament be able to be present in person at all parliamentary sessions, starting from July,\u201d said Kamitsi.\n\nIt comes almost weeks after the radical left-wing Italian activist Ilaria Salis was released from Hungarian prison as she was successfully elected into the European Parliament at the recent election. \n\n","htmlText":"<p>An Albanian appeals court on Tuesday upheld a two-year prison sentence for an elected mayor of the country\u2019s Greek minority, Fredi Beleri, after his lawyers attempted to overturn what they describe as a politically motivated incarceration. <\/p>\n<p>The 51-year-old Himare mayor-elect was arrested last year after being charged for allegedly buying votes.<\/p>\n<p>Beleri was never sworn into the council position as he was placed under house arrest and subsequently sentenced. He has denied the charges. Beleri will remain in prison until October, according to the court\u2019s ruling.<\/p>\n<p>Yet, the New Democracy party politician recently won a seat in the European Parliament, meaning he enjoys political immunity \u2014 even for historical crimes. In the case of Beleri, however, the rule is unlikely to affect his outcome as he is serving time for a crime committed in a non-EU member country.<\/p>\n<p><a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////apnews.com//article//western-balkans-albania-eu-growth-plan-reforms-47cfefa66b998f26bc1a411c896a46bc?utm_source=copy&utm_medium=share\%22>Six countries<\/a>\u00a0in the Western Balkans \u2014 Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia \u2014 are at different stages in their applications for EU membership. Croatia was the last EU member country to be accepted in 2013.<\/p>\n<p>The Beleri row has caused a considerable strain in relations between neighbours Greece and Albania. Following the verdict, the Greek ambassador to Tirana, Konstantina Kamitsi, raised concerns about this.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is a fully democratic request that members of the European Parliament be able to be present in person at all parliamentary sessions, starting from July,\u201d said Kamitsi.<\/p>\n<p>It comes almost weeks after the radical left-wing Italian activist <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//my-europe//2024//06//14//italian-activist-ilaria-salis-released-after-15-months-in-prison-following-mep-election-wi/">Ilaria Salis<\/strong><\/a> was released from Hungarian prison as she was successfully elected into the European Parliament at the recent election. <\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1719321669,"updatedAt":1725287930,"publishedAt":1719335190,"firstPublishedAt":1719335190,"lastPublishedAt":1725287930,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/52\/92\/48\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_1aea23cb-93d1-5be4-ad37-19065c7995b3-8529248.jpg","altText":"Dhionisios Alfred Beleris outside Albania's Tirana court of appeals on Tuesday, 25 June, 2024.","caption":"Dhionisios Alfred Beleris outside Albania's Tirana court of appeals on Tuesday, 25 June, 2024.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Euronews","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1920,"height":1080},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/52\/92\/48\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_1aea23cb-93d1-5be4-ad37-19065c7995b3-8529248.jpg","altText":"Dhionisios Alfred Beleris outside Albania's Tirana court of appeals on Tuesday, 25 June, 2024.","caption":"Dhionisios Alfred Beleris outside Albania's 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News","online":1,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/programs\/world"},"vertical":"news","verticals":[{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"themes":[{"id":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World","url":"\/news\/international"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":1,"urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":5,"urlSafeValue":"albania","title":"Albania","url":"\/news\/europe\/albania"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":"'gb_safe_from_high','gs_fooddrink','gs_fooddrink_coffeetea','gs_fooddrink_non-alcoholic','gs_food','gs_genres_truecrime','gs_law_misc','gs_genres','gv_crime','gb_crime_high_med','gb_crime_high_med_low','gb_crime_news-ent','gs_politics_issues_policy'","versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/2024\/06\/25\/greek-mep-dhionisios-alfred-beleris-to-remain-behind-bars-in-albania","lastModified":1725287930},{"id":2568114,"cid":8517310,"versionId":2,"archive":0,"housenumber":"240624_CESU_55841500","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"CUBE ALBANIA PM","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Did Albania\u2019s prime minister call the US \u2018one of the three evils in the world\u2019?","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Did Albania\u2019s PM call the US \u2018one of the three evils in the world\u2019?","titleListing2":"Did Albania\u2019s prime minister call the US \u2018one of the three evils in the world\u2019?","leadin":"A video circulating on social media claims to show Prime Minister Edi Rama labelling the US, Soviet Union and Israel as the world\u2019s three \u201cevils\u201d.","summary":"A video circulating on social media claims to show Prime Minister Edi Rama labelling the US, Soviet Union and Israel as the world\u2019s three \u201cevils\u201d.","keySentence":"","url":"did-albanias-prime-minister-call-the-us-one-of-the-three-evils-in-the-world","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/my-europe\/2024\/06\/24\/did-albanias-prime-minister-call-the-us-one-of-the-three-evils-in-the-world","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Prime Minister Edi Rama is known for his straight-talking, and his comments often serve as great fodder for headlines and social media posts.\n\nHe previously called the EU \u201ca big mess and a disgrace\u201d in 2022 after the bloc put Albania\u2019s accession negotiations on ice, and who can forget his joke about Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2019s alleged role in the death of Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin?\n\nNew claims have emerged that he described the US as \u201cevil\u201d and a \u201cdevil\u201d, yet his words have been taken out of context.\n\nThis post on X claims to show a video in which Rama discusses the world's three main evils.\n\nIt\u2019s been seen over 4 million times as of the time of this fact-check and liked and reshared around 100,000 times altogether.\n\nThe video begins with Rama immediately describing \u201cthree major devils\u201d: the United States, the Soviet Union and Israel.\n\nThe post points out that the video is particularly striking because Rama makes the comments while addressing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.\n\nRama goes on to specify that these evils particularly refer to \u201cAmerican imperialism, Soviet social imperialism and Jewish Zionism\u201d.\n\nThe prime minister did indeed say all these things, but the post on X contains a cropped video that has taken his words out of context.\n\nHe actually made the comments while speaking about Albania\u2019s view on world affairs during its communist dictatorship era in the mid- to late 20th century.\n\nThe speech comes from a press conference held by Rama and Blinken in Tirana, Albania, in February, which can be found on the US Department of State\u2019s official YouTube channel.\n\nThe remarks in question come from the end of the presser when the pair are responding to journalists.\n\nOne reporter notes that Albania recognised Palestine in 1988 before asking Rama whether he thinks a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine is still possible with the current Israeli government and how he and the US think this is achievable.\n\nRama recalls that when Albania was a communist dictatorship, the country\u2019s leader Enver Hoxha was one of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation\u2019s \u201cclosest friends and allies\u201d.\n\nDuring the Hoxha years, Albania was first an ally of the Soviet Union and then openly rejected it for China over its alleged failure to adhere to Marxist beliefs.\n\nAt the time, the Balkan country was often pegged as the \u201cNorth Korea of Europe\u201d for its strict isolationist and contrarian politics.\n\nRama said at the press conference that, back then, the Albanian regime was also \u201cvery viciously against three major devils\u201d before listing the US, the Soviet Union and Israel.\n\nHe then went on to describe how Albania welcomed and protected Jews fleeing Nazi Germany.\u00a0\n\nFamously, Albania was the only European country where the Jewish community was bigger after World War II than before the pogroms and the Holocaust.\n\nRama confirmed that he still sees a two-state solution as the only way for Israel and Palestine but notes that this will require huge political will and reform from the countries involved and the international community.\n\nHe finishes by saying he doesn\u2019t envy Blinken\u2019s position at all, striking a friendly tone that confirms his country\u2019s positive relations with the US \u2014 a far cry from viewing it as \u201cevil\u201d or a \u201cdevil\u201d.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>Prime Minister Edi Rama is known for his straight-talking, and his comments often serve as great fodder for headlines and social media posts.<\/p>\n<p>He previously called the EU \u201ca big mess and a disgrace\u201d <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//my-europe//2022//06//23//you-are-a-mess-guys-albania-pm-angry-over-eu-membership-delays/">in 2022<\/strong><\/a> after the bloc put Albania\u2019s accession negotiations on ice, and who can forget <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.tiktok.com//@euronews.tv//video//7273794731786636577/">his joke<\/strong><\/a> about Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2019s alleged role in the death of Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin?<\/p>\n<p>New claims have emerged that he described the US as \u201cevil\u201d and a \u201cdevil\u201d, yet his words have been taken out of context.<\/p>\n<p>This post <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////x.com//SMO_VZ//status//1802409650089845017/">on X<\/strong><\/a> claims to show a video in which Rama discusses the world's three main evils.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s been seen over 4 million times as of the time of this fact-check and liked and reshared around 100,000 times altogether.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//08//51//73//10//808x454_cmsv2_281fc8ff-549b-5f7d-85ae-50def3bd76d0-8517310.jpg/" alt=\"The video&#39;s caption takes Rama&#39;s words out of context\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/51\/73\/10\/384x216_cmsv2_281fc8ff-549b-5f7d-85ae-50def3bd76d0-8517310.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/51\/73\/10\/640x360_cmsv2_281fc8ff-549b-5f7d-85ae-50def3bd76d0-8517310.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/51\/73\/10\/750x422_cmsv2_281fc8ff-549b-5f7d-85ae-50def3bd76d0-8517310.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/51\/73\/10\/828x466_cmsv2_281fc8ff-549b-5f7d-85ae-50def3bd76d0-8517310.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/51\/73\/10\/1080x608_cmsv2_281fc8ff-549b-5f7d-85ae-50def3bd76d0-8517310.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/51\/73\/10\/1200x675_cmsv2_281fc8ff-549b-5f7d-85ae-50def3bd76d0-8517310.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/51\/73\/10\/1920x1080_cmsv2_281fc8ff-549b-5f7d-85ae-50def3bd76d0-8517310.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">The video&#39;s caption takes Rama&#39;s words out of context<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Euronews<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The video begins with Rama immediately describing \u201cthree major devils\u201d: the United States, the Soviet Union and Israel.<\/p>\n<p>The post points out that the video is particularly striking because Rama makes the comments while addressing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.<\/p>\n<p>Rama goes on to specify that these evils particularly refer to \u201cAmerican imperialism, Soviet social imperialism and Jewish Zionism\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The prime minister did indeed say all these things, but the post on X contains a cropped video that has taken his words out of context.<\/p>\n<p>He actually made the comments while speaking about Albania\u2019s view on world affairs during its communist dictatorship era in the mid- to late 20th century.<\/p>\n<p>The speech comes from <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.youtube.com//watch?v=9z5OHgNDwvg&t=2979s\%22>a press conference<\/strong><\/a> held by Rama and Blinken in Tirana, Albania, in February, which can be found on the US Department of State\u2019s official YouTube channel.<\/p>\n<p>The remarks in question come from the end of the presser when the pair are responding to journalists.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.6666666666666666\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//08//51//73//10//808x539_cmsv2_afb2ac9b-927c-5a13-8f8b-20ae89f1ce34-8517310.jpg/" alt=\"US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and Albania&#39;s Prime Minister Edi Rama shake hands after a joint press conference in Tirana, Albania, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/51\/73\/10\/384x256_cmsv2_afb2ac9b-927c-5a13-8f8b-20ae89f1ce34-8517310.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/51\/73\/10\/640x427_cmsv2_afb2ac9b-927c-5a13-8f8b-20ae89f1ce34-8517310.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/51\/73\/10\/750x500_cmsv2_afb2ac9b-927c-5a13-8f8b-20ae89f1ce34-8517310.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/51\/73\/10\/828x552_cmsv2_afb2ac9b-927c-5a13-8f8b-20ae89f1ce34-8517310.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/51\/73\/10\/1080x720_cmsv2_afb2ac9b-927c-5a13-8f8b-20ae89f1ce34-8517310.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/51\/73\/10\/1200x800_cmsv2_afb2ac9b-927c-5a13-8f8b-20ae89f1ce34-8517310.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/51\/73\/10\/1920x1280_cmsv2_afb2ac9b-927c-5a13-8f8b-20ae89f1ce34-8517310.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and Albania&#39;s Prime Minister Edi Rama shake hands after a joint press conference in Tirana, Albania, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024.<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Armando Babani\/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>One reporter notes that Albania recognised Palestine in 1988 before asking Rama whether he thinks a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine is still possible with the current Israeli government and how he and the US think this is achievable.<\/p>\n<p>Rama recalls that when Albania was a communist dictatorship, the country\u2019s leader Enver Hoxha was one of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation\u2019s \u201cclosest friends and allies\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>During the Hoxha years, Albania was first an ally of the Soviet Union and then openly rejected it for China over its alleged failure to adhere to Marxist beliefs.<\/p>\n<p>At the time, the Balkan country was often pegged as the \u201cNorth Korea of Europe\u201d for its strict isolationist and contrarian politics.<\/p>\n<p>Rama said at the press conference that, back then, the Albanian regime was also \u201cvery viciously against three major devils\u201d before listing the US, the Soviet Union and Israel.<\/p>\n<p>He then went on to describe how Albania welcomed and protected Jews fleeing Nazi Germany.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Famously, Albania was the only European country where the Jewish community was bigger after World War II than before the pogroms and the Holocaust.<\/p>\n<p>Rama confirmed that he still sees a two-state solution as the only way for Israel and Palestine but notes that this will require huge political will and reform from the countries involved and the international community.<\/p>\n<p>He finishes by saying he doesn\u2019t envy Blinken\u2019s position at all, striking a friendly tone that confirms his country\u2019s positive relations with the US \u2014 a far cry from viewing it as \u201cevil\u201d or a \u201cdevil\u201d.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1718874595,"updatedAt":1723539856,"publishedAt":1719201642,"firstPublishedAt":1719201642,"lastPublishedAt":1719215393,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/51\/73\/10\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_7d97ae96-f0de-50cd-92c0-9a1916867f23-8517310.jpg","altText":"US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama shake hands during their meeting in Tirana, Albania, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024.","caption":"US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama shake hands during their meeting in Tirana, Albania, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP Photo\/Armando Babani","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1920,"height":1080},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/51\/73\/10\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_afb2ac9b-927c-5a13-8f8b-20ae89f1ce34-8517310.jpg","altText":null,"caption":null,"captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":null,"sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":5472,"height":3648},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/51\/73\/10\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_281fc8ff-549b-5f7d-85ae-50def3bd76d0-8517310.jpg","altText":null,"caption":null,"captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":null,"sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1920,"height":1080},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/51\/73\/10\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_2b3249bd-cbb7-51cf-b72b-d200e5145d3f-8517310.jpg","altText":"US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama shake hands during their meeting in Tirana, Albania, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024.","caption":"US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama shake hands during their meeting in Tirana, Albania, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Armando Babani\/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":4886,"height":3258}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"id":2290,"urlSafeValue":"thomas-ja","title":"James Thomas","twitter":"@jwjthomas"}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":19316,"slug":"edi-rama","urlSafeValue":"edi-rama","title":"Edi Rama","titleRaw":"Edi Rama"},{"id":15332,"slug":"thecube","urlSafeValue":"thecube","title":"TheCube","titleRaw":"TheCube"},{"id":26642,"slug":"fact-checking","urlSafeValue":"fact-checking","title":"Fact checking","titleRaw":"Fact checking"},{"id":12747,"slug":"fake-news","urlSafeValue":"fake-news","title":"fake news","titleRaw":"fake news"},{"id":24426,"slug":"antony-blinken","urlSafeValue":"antony-blinken","title":"Antony BLINKEN","titleRaw":"Antony BLINKEN"},{"id":13363,"slug":"united-states","urlSafeValue":"united-states","title":"United States ","titleRaw":"United States 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is Trump\u2019s son-in-law allowed to build in Europe\u2019s first wild river national park delta?","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Why is Trump\u2019s son-in-law allowed to build in Europe\u2019s first wild river national park delta?","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"The dark truth behind a 5* resort planned on an Albanian wetland","titleListing2":"Why is Trump\u2019s son-in-law allowed to build in Europe\u2019s first wild river national park delta?","leadin":"A new international airport and luxury tourism developments could spell the end for one of Europe\u2019s last pristine deltas.","summary":"A new international airport and luxury tourism developments could spell the end for one of Europe\u2019s last pristine deltas.","keySentence":"","url":"why-is-trumps-son-in-law-allowed-to-build-in-europes-first-wild-river-national-park-delta","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/green\/2024\/05\/18\/why-is-trumps-son-in-law-allowed-to-build-in-europes-first-wild-river-national-park-delta","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Joni Vorpsi was protesting outside the Albanian Parliament when he heard the draft law he was there to stop had passed. \n\nLaw 21\/2024, as it\u2019s officially known, is a nightmare for environmentalists as it enables the construction of five-star mega resorts anywhere in the country - including protected natural areas. \n\nIts approval came in February, three days after Donald Trump\u2019s son-in-law Jared Kushner went public with his plans to create two resorts by the Vjosa River delta, an ecologically priceless wetland. \n\n\u201cIt was devastating,\u201d says Vorpsi, a project manager at the Protection and Preservation of Natural Environment in Albania (PPNEA) NGO. \u201cIt's the biggest attack on Albanian nature since the 90s,\u201d he adds, looking back to a dark chapter in his nation\u2019s history when \u201cpeople couldn\u2019t see nature as something to preserve.\u201d \n\nToday, Albania appears to have recognised the value of its natural assets. More than 21 per cent of the country\u2019s total landmass is within a network of protected areas, the Ministry of Tourism and Environment says. It won international plaudits for making the Vjosa Europe\u2019s first wild river National Park last year after bowing to pressure from a prolonged campaign by activists. \n\nBut the protection did not stretch to the delta, something which alarmed PPNEA since this coastal wetland is the most biodiverse part of the waterway, home to Dalmatian pelicans, endangered water frogs, flamingos, spoonbills and loggerhead turtles. \n\nUnderneath the current of positivity, environmentalists say there is a clear pattern of nature being sacrificed to development, as the government looks to realise its vision of an Albanian riviera. \n\n\u2018Everything is connected\u2019: The airport by the lagoon \n\nNearby where Kushner is eyeing up developments - on the Zv\u00ebrnec peninsula and Savan island - lies the construction site for a new airport , begun in 2022. \n\nVlora International Airport is being built on the edge of the 40 kilometres squared Vjosa-Nart\u00eb Lagoon, a key stopover for migrating birds that has been protected for 20 years. \n\nBut the government redrew the boundaries of this nature reserve (among others), meaning the airport site fell outside of the protected area and was then given a construction permit. PPNEA is involved in two ongoing lawsuits over these steps. \n\nThe EU (which Albania aims to join) has said the airport contradicts both national laws and international biodiversity protection conventions that Albania has ratified. The Committee of the Bern Convention tells Euronews it is following the situation closely, after its call to suspend construction was ignored. \n\nFor environmentalists, the airport is the start of a slippery slope. \u201cIf they start saying that we are building the airport in protected areas because it's for the public interest, then they will start doing it in all the protected areas with resorts,\u201d Vorpsi says. \n\nHe claims that the Vjosa wild river national park designation is being used by the Albanian government to portray themselves as protectors of nature. \n\nA government spokesperson tells Euronews Green that, \u201cThe airport project isn't emerging from nothing; rather, it's evolving in an area where the previous airport operated until the early 1970s. This location falls outside the protected areas system and has no impact on Natural Monuments such as the Narta Dunes, the Zvernec Forest, and the Narta Lagoon.\u201d \n\nThe Albanian law change that enables construction in protected areas \n\nUnder the change to Albania\u2019s law on protected areas, the National Territory Council can award permits for luxury tourist resorts anywhere in the country. \n\nMPs submitted the draft law in November, and it was sped through in February, despite the EU requesting the government to suspend voting and make the process more transparent. \n\nThe delegation of the EU to Albania - a diplomatic mission which guides the country towards integration with the bloc - said in response that it will be following the implementation of the new legal provisions \u201cvery closely.\u201d \n\nFor Vorpsi, that doesn\u2019t go nearly far enough. He describes the significance of Law 21\/2024 in much stronger words: \u201cwe realise that now things have changed forever. Now we will be in a constant war.\u201d \n\nWhere five-star resorts are permitted, he foresees a much wider sprawl of infrastructure - from highways and bridges to new power plants and golf courses . \n\nThe Kushner-backed projects in Albanian nature \n\nVorpsi didn\u2019t know who Kushner was when he first heard about his designs on Albania. But he can see the attraction: \u201cit's like kilometres of virgin coastline, which every investor would be happy to have.\u201d \n\nKushner\u2019s Miami-based private equity firm Affinity Partners is on the verge of investing in new tourist developments along this stretch of southern Albania. \n\nPhotos shared to his Facebook page show early design images for the resorts on uninhabited Sazan island - a speed boat ride from Vlora airport site - and the Zv\u00ebrnec peninsula, connected by a wooden bridge to an island in the Nart\u00eb lagoon. Affinity Partners, with a pot filled by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, has also just got the green light to build a $500 million (\u20ac461 mn) hotel complex in Serbia, prompting local protest. \n\nAccording to the Ministry of Tourism and Environment, Albania is still \u201cat a very early stage\u2019\u2019 with the Sazan island application, which has been received by the Albanian Investment Development Agency but has to go through several levels of review. Officially, the government has not yet received an application for the project in the Narta area, it adds. \n\nSazan is in the Karaburun-Sazan national marine park, and Zv\u00ebrnec is inside the Pish\u00eb Poro-Nart\u00eb protected area, but the ministry contests that Sazan is a protected area. \n\nKushner\u2019s plan for Zv\u00ebrnec reportedly includes up to 10,000 \u2018units of villas\u2019. With a minimum of two to a room, Vorpsi fears a deluge of 20,000 tourists and their needs will effectively give rise to a \u201cnew luxury city\u201d. Some of the infrastructure required will be supplied by the government, as part of its offer to \u2018strategic investors\u2019. \n\n\u201cWhen you start putting all the pieces in the puzzle, you don't feel very much surprised that there is this big name,\u201d says Vorpsi. But he fears the Trump -related name has been a distraction to the press and public, prompting political rather than environmental discussion. \n\nLocals are divided over the developments, with some viewing them as an economic opportunity. There is a shallow-rooted attachment to the land in villages that were only created during the 1970s, Vorpsi explains, when lagoons were drained for agriculture. \n\n\u201cBut still people have started to understand, there is a lot of public rage,\u201d he adds. \n\nHow will the developments impact biodiversity in the Vjosa delta? \n\nThe airport, the law change, the Kushner projects: \u201call this is a vision\u201d Vorpsi says, which makes it impossible to talk in detail about the species which will be disturbed or lost. \n\n\u201cWe are losing the coastal wetlands once and forever because of this vision,\u201d PPNEA\u2019s pelican conservation coordinator says. \u201cWe don\u2019t talk at all about biodiversity presence there, in the end [...] it will be vanished.\u201d \n\nPeople are at risk of losing their natural resources too if the hydrology of the lagoon area and its underwater rivers are wrecked. And since this coastal wetland provides a vital buffer against flooding and sea-level rise, \u201cbig catastrophes\u201d could follow, he warns. \n\nSpanning 240 square kilometres as it empties into the Adriatic, the Vjosa Delta is one of the vanishingly few intact deltas in the Mediterranean Basin. \n\nScientists undertook a data-gathering mission at the site last month. \u201cOur first findings reveal the enormous ecological value of the delta,\u201d says Austrian lead scientist Prof Fritz Schiemer. \u201cAmidst the allure of luxury tourism, we must remember the unparalleled ecological importance of the Vjosa Delta, a treasure unique in all of Europe.\u201d \n\nEnvironmental NGO Euronatur and others involved in the science delegation are urging the government to include the delta in the Vjosa Wild River National Park. But Vorpsi says this wouldn\u2019t safeguard it from development given the new law. \n\nHow are environmental campaigners fighting back? \n\nPPNEA is instead channelling its energy into rallying the public, and fighting the government through legal means. One of its lawsuits against the construction permit for Vlora airport, submitted almost two years ago, is now back in the Court of Appeal. \n\nCampaigners feel that the authorities are \u201cwaiting until the airport is more advanced and they will say that it's a done fact now,\u201d says Vorpsi. \n\nIn the meantime, the delta appears to be fighting back in its own way. Layers and layers of gravel are having to be laid down, each sinking into the mudflat, he says, before the asphalt can go on the runway. The airport opening has been delayed until next year. \n\nIn a statement, the Ministry of Tourism and Environment emphasises that, \u201cAlbania aims for high-end tourism, as a measure to protect the environment through sustainable tourism and not mass tourism .\u201d \n\n\u201cIt's crucial to recognise that protected areas and human communities are not separate entities; they can coexist harmoniously as they did historically,\u201d the ministry spokesperson adds. \n\n\u201cThese areas shouldn't be viewed as static reserves or isolated zones akin to zoos, displacing inhabitants from their ancestral homes. The new legislation on protected areas ensures their holistic preservation and integrity.\u201d \n\nAffinity Partners did not respond to a request for comment about its potential investments in Albania, and their impact on the environment. \n\n","htmlText":"<p>Joni Vorpsi was protesting outside the Albanian Parliament when he heard the draft law he was there to stop had passed.<\/p>\n<p>Law 21\/2024, as it\u2019s officially known, is a nightmare for environmentalists as it enables the construction of five-star mega resorts anywhere in the country - including protected natural areas.<\/p>\n<p>Its approval came in February, three days after Donald Trump\u2019s son-in-law Jared Kushner went public with his plans to create two resorts by the Vjosa River delta, an ecologically priceless wetland.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was devastating,\u201d says Vorpsi, a project manager at the Protection and Preservation of Natural Environment in Albania (PPNEA) NGO. \u201cIt&#039;s the biggest attack on Albanian nature since the 90s,\u201d he adds, looking back to a dark chapter in his nation\u2019s history when \u201cpeople couldn\u2019t see nature as something to preserve.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"8440892,8427798\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2024//05//10//this-country-has-become-the-first-in-modern-history-to-lose-all-of-its-glaciers/">This country has become the first in modern history to lose all of its glaciers<\/a><\/li><li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2024//05//17//jellyfish-could-be-one-marine-creature-that-benefits-from-climate-change/">Jellyfish could be one marine creature that benefits from climate change<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Today, Albania appears to have recognised the value of its natural assets. More than 21 per cent of the country\u2019s total landmass is within a network of protected areas, the Ministry of Tourism and Environment says. It won international plaudits for making the Vjosa Europe\u2019s <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2023//03//15//could-hydropower-dams-destroy-europe-s-last-wild-river/">first wild river National Park<\/strong><\/a> last year after bowing to pressure from a prolonged campaign by activists.<\/p>\n<p>But the protection did not stretch to the delta, something which alarmed PPNEA since this coastal wetland is the most biodiverse part of the waterway, home to Dalmatian pelicans, endangered water frogs, flamingos, spoonbills and loggerhead turtles.<\/p>\n<p>Underneath the current of positivity, environmentalists say there is a clear pattern of nature being sacrificed to development, as the government looks to realise its vision of an Albanian riviera.<\/p>\n<h2>\u2018Everything is connected\u2019: The airport by the lagoon<\/h2><div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-ease-in-up widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//08//44//34//42//808x454_cmsv2_e5a81dba-a393-5dd7-9481-4232aa3995c7-8443442.jpg/" alt=\"Vlora International Airport is under construction right next to Nart\u00eb Lagoon.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/44\/34\/42\/384x216_cmsv2_e5a81dba-a393-5dd7-9481-4232aa3995c7-8443442.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/44\/34\/42\/640x360_cmsv2_e5a81dba-a393-5dd7-9481-4232aa3995c7-8443442.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/44\/34\/42\/750x422_cmsv2_e5a81dba-a393-5dd7-9481-4232aa3995c7-8443442.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/44\/34\/42\/828x466_cmsv2_e5a81dba-a393-5dd7-9481-4232aa3995c7-8443442.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/44\/34\/42\/1080x608_cmsv2_e5a81dba-a393-5dd7-9481-4232aa3995c7-8443442.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/44\/34\/42\/1200x675_cmsv2_e5a81dba-a393-5dd7-9481-4232aa3995c7-8443442.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/44\/34\/42\/1920x1080_cmsv2_e5a81dba-a393-5dd7-9481-4232aa3995c7-8443442.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Vlora International Airport is under construction right next to Nart\u00eb Lagoon.<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">PPNEA supplied<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Nearby where Kushner is eyeing up developments - on the Zv\u00ebrnec peninsula and Savan island - lies the construction site for a <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2023//01//31//spectacular-bird-sanctuary-threatened-by-construction-of-albanias-biggest-airport/">new airport<\/strong><\/a>, begun in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>Vlora International Airport is being built on the edge of the 40 kilometres squared Vjosa-Nart\u00eb Lagoon, a key stopover for migrating birds that has been protected for 20 years.<\/p>\n<p>But the government redrew the boundaries of this nature reserve (among others), meaning the airport site fell outside of the protected area and was then given a construction permit. PPNEA is involved in two ongoing lawsuits over these steps.<\/p>\n<p>The EU (which Albania aims to join) has said the airport contradicts both national laws and international biodiversity protection conventions that Albania has ratified. The Committee of the Bern Convention tells Euronews it is following the situation closely, after its call to <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////rm.coe.int//tpvs01e-2024-bureau-meeting-18-19-march-2024-final-2774-3352-5513-1//1680af5dff/">suspend construction<\/strong><\/a> was ignored.<\/p>\n<p>For environmentalists, the airport is the start of a slippery slope. \u201cIf they start saying that we are building the airport in protected areas because it&#039;s for the public interest, then they will start doing it in all the protected areas with resorts,\u201d Vorpsi says.<\/p>\n<p>He claims that the Vjosa wild river national park designation is being used by the <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2023//03//31//albania-is-our-green-european-country-of-the-month-heres-why/">Albanian government<\/strong><\/a> to portray themselves as protectors of nature.<\/p>\n<p>A government spokesperson tells Euronews Green that, \u201cThe airport project isn&#039;t emerging from nothing; rather, it&#039;s evolving in an area where the previous airport operated until the early 1970s. This location falls outside the protected areas system and has no impact on Natural Monuments such as the Narta Dunes, the Zvernec Forest, and the Narta Lagoon.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"8435556\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//business//2024//05//14//green-groups-welcome-commission-caution-on-fast-track-renewables-deployment/">Green groups welcome Commission caution on fast-track renewables deployment<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2>The Albanian law change that enables construction in protected areas<\/h2><p>Under the change to Albania\u2019s law on protected areas, the National Territory Council can award permits for luxury tourist resorts anywhere in the country.<\/p>\n<p>MPs submitted the draft law in November, and it was sped through in February, despite the EU requesting the government to suspend voting and make the process more transparent.<\/p>\n<p>The delegation of the EU to Albania - a diplomatic mission which guides the country towards integration with the bloc - <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////x.com//EUinAlbania//status//1760612060696649880/">said in response that it will be following the implementation of the new legal provisions \u201cvery closely.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-tweet widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio\u2014auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <div class=\"widget__tweet\" data-tweet-id=\"1776949681060184550\"><\/div>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>For Vorpsi, that doesn\u2019t go nearly far enough. He describes the significance of Law 21\/2024 in much stronger words: \u201cwe realise that now things have changed forever. Now we will be in a constant war.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Where five-star resorts are permitted, he foresees a much wider sprawl of infrastructure - from highways and bridges to new power plants and <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2022//07//17//golf-is-a-giant-board-game-damaging-the-planet-time-for-it-to-go/">golf courses<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>The Kushner-backed projects in Albanian nature<\/h2><p>Vorpsi didn\u2019t know who Kushner was when he first heard about his designs on Albania. But he can see the attraction: \u201cit&#039;s like kilometres of virgin coastline, which every investor would be happy to have.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kushner\u2019s Miami-based private equity firm Affinity Partners is on the verge of investing in new tourist developments along this stretch of southern Albania.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-freeform\nwidget--size-fullwidth\nwidget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <iframe src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.facebook.com//plugins//post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fjaredckushner%2Fposts%2Fpfbid06hwKviDCLxXRMydh73TW3SVJSvMuM6o6y98WkGD1PXWJHEDU6ybuW29yNUdDBHgAl&show_text=true&width=500&is_preview=true\%22 width=\"500\" height=\"250\" style=\"border:none;overflow:hidden\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share\"><\/iframe> \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Photos shared to his Facebook page show early design images for the resorts on uninhabited Sazan island - a speed boat ride from Vlora airport site - and the Zv\u00ebrnec peninsula, connected by a wooden bridge to an island in the Nart\u00eb lagoon. Affinity Partners, with a pot filled by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, has also just got the green light to build a $500 million (\u20ac461 mn) hotel complex in Serbia, prompting local protest.<\/p>\n<p>According to the Ministry of Tourism and Environment, Albania is still \u201cat a very early stage\u2019\u2019 with the Sazan island application, which has been received by the Albanian Investment Development Agency but has to go through several levels of review. Officially, the government has not yet received an application for the project in the Narta area, it adds.<\/p>\n<p>Sazan is in the Karaburun-Sazan national marine park, and Zv\u00ebrnec is inside the Pish\u00eb Poro-Nart\u00eb protected area, but the ministry contests that Sazan is a protected area.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-ease-in-up widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.75\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//08//44//34//42//808x608_cmsv2_896d61c0-78bb-59d1-b8a8-68f93964cbce-8443442.jpg/" alt=\"A view of Zv\u00ebrnec peninsula, where Kushner&apos;s firm is looking to invest in a tourist resort with hundreds of rooms and swimming pools.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/44\/34\/42\/384x288_cmsv2_896d61c0-78bb-59d1-b8a8-68f93964cbce-8443442.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/44\/34\/42\/640x480_cmsv2_896d61c0-78bb-59d1-b8a8-68f93964cbce-8443442.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/44\/34\/42\/750x563_cmsv2_896d61c0-78bb-59d1-b8a8-68f93964cbce-8443442.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/44\/34\/42\/828x621_cmsv2_896d61c0-78bb-59d1-b8a8-68f93964cbce-8443442.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/44\/34\/42\/1080x810_cmsv2_896d61c0-78bb-59d1-b8a8-68f93964cbce-8443442.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/44\/34\/42\/1200x900_cmsv2_896d61c0-78bb-59d1-b8a8-68f93964cbce-8443442.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/44\/34\/42\/1920x1440_cmsv2_896d61c0-78bb-59d1-b8a8-68f93964cbce-8443442.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">A view of Zv\u00ebrnec peninsula, where Kushner&apos;s firm is looking to invest in a tourist resort with hundreds of rooms and swimming pools.<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">PPNEA<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Kushner\u2019s plan for Zv\u00ebrnec reportedly includes up to 10,000 \u2018units of villas\u2019. With a minimum of two to a room, Vorpsi fears a deluge of 20,000 tourists and their needs will effectively give rise to a \u201cnew luxury city\u201d. Some of the infrastructure required will be supplied by the government, as part of its offer to \u2018strategic investors\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you start putting all the pieces in the puzzle, you don&#039;t feel very much surprised that there is this big name,\u201d says Vorpsi. But he fears the <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2023//02//21//fact-check-are-wind-turbines-killing-whales-off-americas-atlantic-coast/">Trump-related name has been a distraction to the press and public, prompting political rather than environmental discussion.<\/p>\n<p>Locals are divided over the developments, with some viewing them as an economic opportunity. There is a shallow-rooted attachment to the land in villages that were only created during the 1970s, Vorpsi explains, when lagoons were drained for agriculture.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut still people have started to understand, there is a lot of public rage,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"6704750\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2022//05//16//why-is-a-record-breaking-year-of-dam-removals-good-news-for-europe-s-wildlife/">Why is a record-breaking year of dam removals good news for Europe\u2019s wildlife?<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2>How will the developments impact biodiversity in the Vjosa delta?<\/h2><p>The airport, the law change, the Kushner projects: \u201call this is a vision\u201d Vorpsi says, which makes it impossible to talk in detail about the species which will be disturbed or lost.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are losing the coastal <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2023//11//19//are-wetlands-really-flood-risk-experts-debunk-most-common-myths-around-these-precious-ecos/">wetlands once and forever because of this vision,\u201d PPNEA\u2019s pelican conservation coordinator says. \u201cWe don\u2019t talk at all about biodiversity presence there, in the end [...] it will be vanished.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-ease-in-up widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//08//44//34//42//808x454_cmsv2_12042bea-40a2-50e7-9d23-2ad0e080bc8d-8443442.jpg/" alt=\"Pelicans in the Vjosa Delta.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/44\/34\/42\/384x216_cmsv2_12042bea-40a2-50e7-9d23-2ad0e080bc8d-8443442.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/44\/34\/42\/640x360_cmsv2_12042bea-40a2-50e7-9d23-2ad0e080bc8d-8443442.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/44\/34\/42\/750x422_cmsv2_12042bea-40a2-50e7-9d23-2ad0e080bc8d-8443442.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/44\/34\/42\/828x466_cmsv2_12042bea-40a2-50e7-9d23-2ad0e080bc8d-8443442.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/44\/34\/42\/1080x608_cmsv2_12042bea-40a2-50e7-9d23-2ad0e080bc8d-8443442.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/44\/34\/42\/1200x675_cmsv2_12042bea-40a2-50e7-9d23-2ad0e080bc8d-8443442.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/44\/34\/42\/1920x1080_cmsv2_12042bea-40a2-50e7-9d23-2ad0e080bc8d-8443442.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Pelicans in the Vjosa Delta.<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Peter Sackl<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>People are at risk of losing their natural resources too if the hydrology of the lagoon area and its underwater rivers are wrecked. And since this coastal wetland provides a vital buffer against <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2024//04//22//glomma-loire-rhine-which-european-rivers-experienced-record-flooding-in-2023/">flooding and sea-level rise, \u201cbig catastrophes\u201d could follow, he warns.<\/p>\n<p>Spanning 240 square kilometres as it empties into the Adriatic, the Vjosa Delta is one of the vanishingly few intact deltas in the Mediterranean Basin.<\/p>\n<p>Scientists undertook a data-gathering mission at the site last month. \u201cOur first findings reveal the enormous ecological value of the delta,\u201d says Austrian lead scientist Prof Fritz Schiemer. \u201cAmidst the allure of luxury tourism, we must remember the unparalleled ecological importance of the Vjosa Delta, a treasure unique in all of Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Environmental NGO Euronatur and others involved in the science delegation are urging the government to include the delta in the Vjosa Wild River National Park. But Vorpsi says this wouldn\u2019t safeguard it from development given the new law.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"8171602\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2024//12//30//positive-environmental-stories-from-2024/">Electric wallpaper and carbon-sequestering cows: Positive environmental stories from 2024<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2>How are environmental campaigners fighting back?<\/h2><p>PPNEA is instead channelling its energy into rallying the public, and fighting the government through <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2024//04//10//what-does-the-echrs-landmark-ruling-mean-for-human-rights-and-climate-change/">legal means. One of its lawsuits against the construction permit for Vlora airport, submitted almost two years ago, is now back in the Court of Appeal.<\/p>\n<p>Campaigners feel that the authorities are \u201cwaiting until the airport is more advanced and they will say that it&#039;s a done fact now,\u201d says Vorpsi.<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, the delta appears to be fighting back in its own way. Layers and layers of gravel are having to be laid down, each sinking into the mudflat, he says, before the asphalt can go on the runway. The airport opening has been delayed until next year.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement, the Ministry of Tourism and Environment emphasises that, \u201cAlbania aims for high-end tourism, as a measure to protect the environment through sustainable tourism and not <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2024//04//21//thousands-protest-in-spains-canary-islands-over-mass-tourism/">mass tourism<\/strong><\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt&#039;s crucial to recognise that protected areas and human communities are not separate entities; they can coexist harmoniously as they did historically,\u201d the ministry spokesperson adds.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese areas shouldn&#039;t be viewed as static reserves or isolated zones akin to zoos, displacing inhabitants from their ancestral homes. The new legislation on protected areas ensures their holistic preservation and integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Affinity Partners did not respond to a request for comment about its potential investments in Albania, and their impact on the environment.<\/em><\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1715951592,"updatedAt":1723539856,"publishedAt":1716012050,"firstPublishedAt":1715953745,"lastPublishedAt":1716012050,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/44\/34\/42\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_0974a08b-66cc-5dcb-8546-585d1cb81ca8-8443442.jpg","altText":"Flamingos in the Nart\u00eb Lagoon on the Adriatic Flyway - a major migration route between Europe and Africa","caption":"Flamingos in the Nart\u00eb Lagoon on the Adriatic Flyway - a major migration route between Europe and Africa","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"PPNEA","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1600,"height":900},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/44\/34\/42\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_12042bea-40a2-50e7-9d23-2ad0e080bc8d-8443442.jpg","altText":"Pelicans in the Vjosa Delta.","caption":"Pelicans in the Vjosa Delta.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Peter Sackl","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1600,"height":900},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/44\/34\/42\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_896d61c0-78bb-59d1-b8a8-68f93964cbce-8443442.jpg","altText":"A view of Zv\u00ebrnec peninsula, where Kushner's firm is looking to invest in a tourist resort with hundreds of rooms and swimming pools. ","caption":"A view of Zv\u00ebrnec peninsula, where Kushner's firm is looking to invest in a tourist resort with hundreds of rooms and swimming pools. ","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"PPNEA","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":4032,"height":3024},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/44\/34\/42\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_e5a81dba-a393-5dd7-9481-4232aa3995c7-8443442.jpg","altText":"Vlora International Airport is under construction right next to Nart\u00eb Lagoon.","caption":"Vlora International Airport is under construction right next to Nart\u00eb Lagoon.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"PPNEA supplied","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1600,"height":900}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"id":2280,"urlSafeValue":"limb","title":"Lottie Limb","twitter":null}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":17454,"slug":"river","urlSafeValue":"river","title":"river","titleRaw":"river"},{"id":20434,"slug":"kushner","urlSafeValue":"kushner","title":"Jared Kushner","titleRaw":"Jared 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ALBANIA MIGRATION ACCIDENT","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Eight dead after car carrying suspected migrants crashes in Albania","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Eight dead after car carrying suspected migrants crashes in Albania","titleListing2":"Eight dead after car carrying suspected migrants crashes in Albania","leadin":"Albania is a route for some migrants heading for the EU, which is working with the country to close off paths into the bloc.","summary":"Albania is a route for some migrants heading for the EU, which is working with the country to close off paths into the bloc.","keySentence":"","url":"eight-dead-after-car-carrying-suspected-migrants-crashes-in-albania","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2024\/04\/02\/eight-dead-after-car-carrying-suspected-migrants-crashes-in-albania","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Eight people, including seven thought to be migrants, have died after the car they were travelling in swerved off a mountain road into the Vjosa River in southeastern Albania.\u00a0 \n\nAuthorities said the driver failed to stop at a checkpoint and sped away. According to\u00a0regional police chief Ardian Cipa, officers followed the car and later saw that it had crashed into the river about 240 kilometres southeast of the capital, Tirana. \n\nIt is believed the driver lost control of the car and veered into the river at about 4am local time. \n\n\u201cIt is suspected the driver is from Shkodra and the others are suspected to be migrants who frequently pass this road,\u201d Cipa said. \n\nA police statement said seven of the victims were suspected to be \u201cfrom third countries,\u201d it said, a description often used to refer to migrants. \n\nAlbania itself is not a primary route for migrants but small groups from Arab countries or Asia use it to reach Italy by sea or other neighbouring countries by land. The region is a transit hub and key corridor for migrants heading for the EU, especially from the Middle East, Asia and Africa, according to the European Council. \n\nIn 2019, Albania became the first non-EU member country to have officers of the bloc\u2019s border agency, Frontex, manage its borders in the south and east, and fight cross-border crime. \n\nIn February, Albania\u2019s parliament approved a deal for the country to hold thousands of asylum seekers for Italy. \n\n","htmlText":"<p>Eight people, including seven thought to be migrants, have died after the car they were travelling in swerved off a mountain road into the Vjosa River in southeastern Albania.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Authorities said the driver failed to stop at a checkpoint and sped away. According to\u00a0regional police chief Ardian Cipa, officers followed the car and later saw that it had crashed into the river about 240 kilometres southeast of the capital, Tirana.<\/p>\n<p>It is believed the driver lost control of the car and veered into the river at about 4am local time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is suspected the driver is from Shkodra and the others are suspected to be migrants who frequently pass this road,\u201d Cipa said.<\/p>\n<p>A police statement said seven of the victims were suspected to be \u201cfrom third countries,\u201d it said, a description often used to refer to migrants.<\/p>\n<p>Albania itself is not a primary route for migrants but small groups from Arab countries or Asia use it to reach Italy by sea or other neighbouring countries by land. The <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.consilium.europa.eu//en//policies//eu-migration-policy//western-balkans-route///">region is a transit hub and key corridor for migrants heading for the EU, especially from the Middle East, Asia and Africa, according to the European Council.<\/p>\n<p>In 2019, Albania became the first non-EU member country to have officers of the bloc\u2019s border agency, Frontex, manage its borders in the south and east, and fight cross-border crime.<\/p>\n<p>In February, Albania\u2019s parliament approved a deal for the country to hold thousands of asylum seekers for Italy.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1712057530,"updatedAt":1723539856,"publishedAt":1712072440,"firstPublishedAt":1712072443,"lastPublishedAt":1712072745,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/34\/60\/04\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_4253c533-85f1-587d-8281-daa62b810eba-8346004.jpg","altText":"A damaged vehicle that crashed into the Vjosa River about 240 kilometres southeast of Tirana, Albania","caption":"A damaged vehicle that crashed into the Vjosa River about 240 kilometres southeast of Tirana, Albania","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Uncredited\/AP","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":576}],"authors":{"journalists":[],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":147,"slug":"immigration","urlSafeValue":"immigration","title":"Immigration","titleRaw":"Immigration"},{"id":9369,"slug":"illegal-immigration","urlSafeValue":"illegal-immigration","title":"Illegal immigration","titleRaw":"Illegal 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BALKANS COOPERATION","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Western Balkans leaders pledge to speed up reforms for EU growth plan","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Western Balkans leaders pledge to speed up reforms for EU growth plan","titleListing2":"The leaders of Western Balkan countries agreed Thursday to speed up regional cooperation to benefit more from a new European Union plan of financial aid that will help provide a faster road to membership.","leadin":"The leaders of Western Balkan countries agreed Thursday to speed up regional cooperation to benefit more from a new European Union plan of financial aid that will help provide a faster road to membership.","summary":"The leaders of Western Balkan countries agreed Thursday to speed up regional cooperation to benefit more from a new European Union plan of financial aid that will help provide a faster road to membership.","keySentence":"","url":"western-balkans-leaders-pledge-to-speed-up-reforms-for-eu-growth-plan","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2024\/03\/01\/western-balkans-leaders-pledge-to-speed-up-reforms-for-eu-growth-plan","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"The leaders of Western Balkan countries agreed Thursday to speed up regional cooperation to benefit more from a new European Union plan of financial aid that will help provide a faster road to membership. \n\nBrussels' plan calls for 6 billion euros to be sent to the Balkan states over the next three years in an effort to double the region's economy over the next decade and accelerate their efforts to the join the bloc. That aid is contingent on reforms that would bring their economies in line with EU rules. \n\nBalkan leaders have welcomed the plan, but the reform agenda is a challenge to implement. \n\nAlbanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, who hosted the summit in Tirana, called the new growth plan \u201ca truly encouraging result of a friendly and open exchange of views.\u201d \n\n\u201cThe new opportunity of this out-of-the box plan represents not only recognition from the EU of our decade-long efforts to build a common future against the savage winds of the past, but also challenges us to demonstrate our readiness for a shared European destiny,\u201d he said in an opening speech. \n\nThe region's six countries \u2014 Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia \u2014 are at different stages in their applications for membership, but residents have been frustrated with the slow pace of the process. Croatia was the last EU member country to be accepted in 2013. \n\nEU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi said the European Commission aims to halve the implementation time for the new \u201cambitious\u201d plan. \n\nVarhelyi told reporters that the Western Balkan countries agreed to take concrete steps this year such as unifying their financial regulations. Rama said banking transaction costs are six times higher for countries in the region and the new rules would save a half billion euros ($540 million). \n\nThe six countries also pledged to adapt customs regulations and create joint border crossings like EU member countries. \n\n","htmlText":"<p>The leaders of Western Balkan countries agreed Thursday to speed up regional cooperation to benefit more from a new European Union plan of financial aid that will help provide a faster road to membership.<\/p>\n<p>Brussels&#039; plan calls for 6 billion euros to be sent to the Balkan states over the next three years in an effort to double the region&#039;s economy over the next decade and accelerate their efforts to the join the bloc. That aid is contingent on reforms that would bring their economies in line with EU rules.<\/p>\n<p>Balkan leaders have welcomed the plan, but the reform agenda is a challenge to implement.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-tweet widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio\u2014auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <div class=\"widget__tweet\" data-tweet-id=\"1763220303801409760\"><\/div>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, who hosted the summit in Tirana, called the new growth plan \u201ca truly encouraging result of a friendly and open exchange of views.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe new opportunity of this out-of-the box plan represents not only recognition from the EU of our decade-long efforts to build a common future against the savage winds of the past, but also challenges us to demonstrate our readiness for a shared European destiny,\u201d he said in an opening speech.<\/p>\n<p>The region&#039;s six countries \u2014 Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia \u2014 are at different stages in their applications for membership, but residents have been frustrated with the slow pace of the process. Croatia was the last EU member country to be accepted in 2013.<\/p>\n<p>EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi said the European Commission aims to halve the implementation time for the new \u201cambitious\u201d plan.<\/p>\n<p>Varhelyi told reporters that the Western Balkan countries agreed to take concrete steps this year such as unifying their financial regulations. Rama said banking transaction costs are six times higher for countries in the region and the new rules would save a half billion euros ($540 million).<\/p>\n<p>The six countries also pledged to adapt customs regulations and create joint border crossings like EU member countries.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1709241621,"updatedAt":1723539856,"publishedAt":1709275823,"firstPublishedAt":1709275829,"lastPublishedAt":1709275829,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/27\/71\/48\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_38c609cd-1763-5ec4-a0d9-9359123f8568-8277148.jpg","altText":"Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama, right, makes statements with European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi","caption":"Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama, right, makes statements with European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Armando Babani\/AP","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":683}],"authors":{"journalists":[],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":18,"slug":"balkans","urlSafeValue":"balkans","title":"Balkans","titleRaw":"Balkans"},{"id":93,"slug":"eu-enlargement","urlSafeValue":"eu-enlargement","title":"EU enlargement","titleRaw":"EU enlargement"},{"id":105,"slug":"european-union","urlSafeValue":"european-union","title":"European Union","titleRaw":"European Union"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"twitter","count":1}],"related":[{"id":2489130},{"id":2477438},{"id":2477442}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":{"youtubeId":"urbc0dW5o9c"},"hasExternalVideo":1,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":1,"video":1,"videos":[{"format":"mp4","quality":"md","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/med\/EN\/NW\/SU\/24\/03\/01\/en\/240301_NWSU_54937854_54939534_80000_071756_en.mp4","editor":"","duration":80000,"filesizeBytes":10692380,"expiresAt":0},{"format":"mp4","quality":"hd","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/EN\/NW\/SU\/24\/03\/01\/en\/240301_NWSU_54937854_54939534_80000_071756_en.mp4","editor":"","duration":80000,"filesizeBytes":16204060,"expiresAt":0}],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":"","additionalReporting":"AP","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"world","urlSafeValue":"world","title":"World News","online":1,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/programs\/world"},"vertical":"news","verticals":[{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"themes":[{"id":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World","url":"\/news\/international"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":1,"urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":5,"urlSafeValue":"albania","title":"Albania","url":"\/news\/europe\/albania"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":"'gv_safe','gb_safe','gb_safe_from_high','gb_safe_from_high_med','gs_science','eu_brussels_politics_fr','gs_science_geography','gs_politics_misc','gs_politics','gs_politics_issues_policy','gs_busfin'","versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/2024\/03\/01\/western-balkans-leaders-pledge-to-speed-up-reforms-for-eu-growth-plan","lastModified":1709275829},{"id":2487226,"cid":8267424,"versionId":3,"archive":0,"housenumber":"240226_HLSU_54901734","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"Albania TikTok Digital Rules - Next","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"'Matter of national security': Call to act on cyber violence against women after suicides in Albania","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Death of two women in Albania leads to calls for ban on cyber violence","titleListing2":"\u2018A matter of national security\u2019: Albanian group wants government to ban cyber violence against women","leadin":"An Albanian women\u2019s group is asking the government to criminalise cyber violence against women after two were pushed to suicide so far this year.","summary":"An Albanian women\u2019s group is asking the government to criminalise cyber violence against women after two were pushed to suicide so far this year.","keySentence":"","url":"a-matter-of-national-security-albanian-group-wants-government-to-ban-cybercrimes-against-w","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/next\/2024\/02\/26\/a-matter-of-national-security-albanian-group-wants-government-to-ban-cybercrimes-against-w","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"An Albanian organisation is demanding the government criminalise cyber violence against women in the wake of another woman\u2019s suicide over leaked photos on social media. \n\nA 27-year-old woman killed herself this month after a TikTok influencer she was seeing blackmailed her and published her explicit photos on the app, according to local media . \n\nThe man accused of leaking the photos, Tiktoker Altin \u00c7oku, was arrested and charged by the Court of Tirana with \"causing suicide\".\u00a0 \n\nHe made his first court appearance last Thursday. Euronews Next has reached out to TikTok for comment. \n\nThis recent case in Albania is the second death in the country this year caused by a leak of intimate pictures on social media. \n\nAnita Lushi, coordinator of the Albanian Women\u2019s Empowerment Network (AWEN), told Euronews Next that this is a growing form of gender-based violence that needs to be addressed by all levels of government. \n\n\"This is a matter of emergency and national security, that women are being pushed towards suicide,\" Lushi said. \n\n\"Digital image-based abuse has reached a peak point where we cannot stand it anymore and be observers\". \n\nAlthough Lushi says this is a growing trend, she acknowledged there\u2019s no data so far for how many women have killed themselves in Albania due to any kind of cyber violence.\u00a0 \n\nHer team at AWEN are launching what she says is the first comprehensive study of the issue, with results expected later this year. \n\nTheir goal is to eventually use their findings to draft a law that will specifically criminalise online acts of violence against women. \n\n\"[Albania is] in the process of revising the penal code, so this would be the most important\u2026 act that the government should take right now,\" Lushi said, as the law doesn\u2019t currently refer to digital image-based abuse or revenge porn. \n\nCombatting online misogyny \n\nAlbanian prime minister Edi Rama met with TikTok officials on the sides of the Munich Security Conference last Friday to talk about the recent deaths in his country. \n\nHe told officials from the social media giant that they discussed \"the need to increase vigilance against violence, blackmail and hate speech online,\" according to a Facebook post . \n\nAlbania is a signatory country to the Istanbul Convention, which aims to fight and prevent violence against women. However, the convention doesn\u2019t specifically address any form of cyberattacks. \n\nEarlier this month, the European Commission approved a new directive to combat online misogyny that criminalises all forms of cyber violence against women, including the \"non-consensual sharing of intimate images (including deepfakes)\". \n\n\"Today\u2019s proposal\u2026 brings a major change in an online world by criminalising certain forms of cyber-violence,\" V\u011bra Jourov\u00e1, the Commission\u2019s Vice-President for Values and Transparency, said in a press release. \n\n\"Non-consensual sharing of intimate images, including AI-generated ones, may lead to mental health issues and even to suicides in extreme cases\u2026 this directive would ensure that the authors of such a coward behaviour don\u2019t go unpunished,\" she added. \n\nWhile Albania isn\u2019t a member of the EU, the Balkan state is a candidate country and, Lushi said, they generally adopt EU directives to bring them closer to membership. \n\nSo, she continued, this new EU directive will be \"helpful\" in shaping Albania\u2019s stance on cyber violence against women. \n\n","htmlText":"<p>An Albanian organisation is demanding the government criminalise cyber violence against women in the wake of another woman\u2019s suicide over leaked photos on social media.<\/p>\n<p>A 27-year-old woman killed herself this month after a TikTok influencer she was seeing blackmailed her and published her explicit photos on the app, according to local <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////balkaninsight.com//2024//02//12//trend-of-albanian-women-suicides-caused-by-men-worrying-experts-say///">media./n

The man accused of leaking the photos, Tiktoker Altin \u00c7oku, was arrested and charged by the Court of Tirana with \"causing suicide\".\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"8278588\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//next//2024//03//04//deepfake-porn-videos-surging-in-greece/">AI deepfake porn videos of underage young people are surging in Greece<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>He made his first court appearance last Thursday. Euronews Next has reached out to TikTok for comment.<\/p>\n<p>This recent case in Albania is the second death in the country this year caused by a leak of intimate pictures on social media.<\/p>\n<p>Anita Lushi, coordinator of the Albanian Women\u2019s Empowerment Network (AWEN), told Euronews Next that this is a growing form of gender-based violence that needs to be addressed by all levels of government.<\/p>\n<p>\"This is a matter of emergency and national security, that women are being pushed towards suicide,\" Lushi said.<\/p>\n<p>\"Digital image-based abuse has reached a peak point where we cannot stand it anymore and be observers\".<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"8202718\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//culture//2024//01//29//pornographic-deepfakes-of-taylor-swift-spark-calls-for-new-ai-legislation/">Pornographic deepfakes of Taylor Swift spark calls for new AI legislation <\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Although Lushi says this is a growing trend, she acknowledged there\u2019s no data so far for how many women have killed themselves in Albania due to any kind of cyber violence.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Her team at AWEN are launching what she says is the first comprehensive study of the issue, with results expected later this year.<\/p>\n<p>Their goal is to eventually use their findings to draft a law that will specifically criminalise online acts of violence against women.<\/p>\n<p>\"[Albania is] in the process of revising the penal code, so this would be the most important\u2026 act that the government should take right now,\" Lushi said, as the law doesn\u2019t currently refer to digital image-based abuse or revenge porn.<\/p>\n<h2>Combatting online misogyny<\/h2><p>Albanian prime minister Edi Rama met with TikTok officials on the sides of the Munich Security Conference last Friday to talk about the recent deaths in his country.<\/p>\n<p>He told officials from the social media giant that they discussed \"the need to increase vigilance against violence, blackmail and hate speech online,\" according to a Facebook <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.facebook.com//ediramaal//posts//950566393105689/">post./n

Albania is a signatory country to the Istanbul Convention, which aims to fight and prevent violence against women. However, the convention doesn\u2019t specifically address any form of cyberattacks.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"8223724\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//my-europe//2024//02//07//eu-agrees-first-ever-law-on-violence-against-women-but-rape-is-not-included/">EU agrees first-ever law on violence against women. But rape is not included<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Earlier this month, the European Commission approved a new directive to combat online misogyny that criminalises all forms of cyber violence against women, including the \"non-consensual sharing of intimate images (including deepfakes)\".<\/p>\n<p>\"Today\u2019s proposal\u2026 brings a major change in an online world by criminalising certain forms of cyber-violence,\" V\u011bra Jourov\u00e1, the Commission\u2019s Vice-President for Values and Transparency, said in a press release.<\/p>\n<p>\"Non-consensual sharing of intimate images, including AI-generated ones, may lead to mental health issues and even to suicides in extreme cases\u2026 this directive would ensure that the authors of such a coward behaviour don\u2019t go unpunished,\" she added.<\/p>\n<p>While Albania isn\u2019t a member of the EU, the Balkan state is a candidate country and, Lushi said, they generally adopt EU directives to bring them closer to membership.<\/p>\n<p>So, she continued, this new EU directive will be \"helpful\" in shaping Albania\u2019s stance on cyber violence against women.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1708948011,"updatedAt":1723539856,"publishedAt":1708948662,"firstPublishedAt":1708948665,"lastPublishedAt":1709712901,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/26\/74\/24\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_d0167949-b300-5c86-b38a-6f85d5eef56e-8267424.jpg","altText":"The TikTok logo is displayed on a smartphone screen, Sept. 28, 2020, in Tokyo, Japan.","caption":"The TikTok logo is displayed on a smartphone screen, Sept. 28, 2020, in Tokyo, Japan.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Kiichiro Sato\/AP Photo, File","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":4576,"height":3051}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"id":2860,"urlSafeValue":"desmarais","title":"Anna Desmarais","twitter":"anna_desmarais"}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":18960,"slug":"tiktok","urlSafeValue":"tiktok","title":"TikTok","titleRaw":"TikTok"},{"id":12233,"slug":"suicide","urlSafeValue":"suicide","title":"Suicide","titleRaw":"Suicide"},{"id":5,"slug":"albania","urlSafeValue":"albania","title":"Albania","titleRaw":"Albania"},{"id":23868,"slug":"porn","urlSafeValue":"porn","title":"porn","titleRaw":"porn"},{"id":18946,"slug":"blackmail","urlSafeValue":"blackmail","title":"Blackmail","titleRaw":"Blackmail"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"related","count":3}],"related":[{"id":2497490},{"id":2629068}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":[],"hasExternalVideo":0,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":0,"video":0,"videos":[],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":"","additionalReporting":"","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"tech-news","urlSafeValue":"tech-news","title":"Tech News","online":0,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/next\/tech-news\/tech-news"},"vertical":"next","verticals":[{"id":9,"slug":"next","urlSafeValue":"next","title":"Next"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":9,"slug":"next","urlSafeValue":"next","title":"Next"},"themes":[{"id":"tech-news","urlSafeValue":"tech-news","title":"Tech News","url":"\/next\/tech-news"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":40,"urlSafeValue":"tech-news","title":"Tech News"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":5,"urlSafeValue":"albania","title":"Albania","url":"\/news\/europe\/albania"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":"'neg_saudiaramco','neg_mobkoi_castrol','neg_facebook_q4','neg_mobkoi_fb-weareonit_fs_28feb2019','neg_facebook_neg1','gv_crime','neg_bucherer','gb_crime_high_med','gb_crime_high_med_low','gb_crime_news-ent','neg_facebook','gb_safe_from_high','pos_equinor','pos_facebook','pos_pmi','gs_politics','gs_politics_issues_policy','gs_politics_misc','gt_negative','gv_death_injury','gs_tech','gb_death_injury_high_med','gb_death_injury_high_med_low','gb_death_injury_news-ent','gs_tech_compute','gs_tech_compute_net','gv_adult','gb_crime_edu','gs_law','gs_tech_compute_net_social','gt_negative_anger'","versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/next\/2024\/02\/26\/a-matter-of-national-security-albanian-group-wants-government-to-ban-cybercrimes-against-w","lastModified":1709712901}]" data-api-url="">

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The agreement signed last year by Italy's Premier Giorgia Meloni and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama aims to process the asylum claims of migrants rescued at sea while keeping them in Albania, a move that has garnered both criticism and support.

02/08/2024

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WATCH: Firefighters battle to contain wildfires in Albania

The battle against wildfires in Albania saw significant improvement in the last 24 hours, particularly in the coastal town of Shengjin.

31/07/2024

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Albania

Albania continues to tackle fires spreading through country

Fires blazing through Albania have spread up north of the country. The EU has been assisting the country with resources needed to tackle the wildfires.

17/07/2024

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Europe News

Protesters in Albania demand resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama

Demonstrators also demanded the release of opposition leader Sali Berisha who has been held under house arrest on corruption charges since last year.

13/07/2024

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Albania

Fredi Beleri to be temporarily freed from Albanian jail

Jailed Greek mayor-elect Fredi Beleri will take temporary leave from Albanian prison to attend the inaugural session of European Parliament.

13/07/2024

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Europe News

Albania asks for EU help to tackle wildfires

There have been numerous wildfires in the southern district of Dropull, 250 kilometers south of the capital Tirana. Fires there have been made worse by wind with firefighters hampered by a lack of equipment and the means to access the remote mountainous areas.

11/07/2024

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Europe News

Soldiers and firefighters battle Albanian mountain fire

Soldiers and firefighters are struggling to contain a massive blaze amid summer heat.

09/07/2024

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Culture news

World-renowned Albanian novelist Ismail Kadare dies aged 88

The Albanian literary giant was best known for works including "Broken April" and "The General of the Dead Army", chronicling life under communist dictator Enver Hoxha by way of allegorical stories.

01/07/2024

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Europe News

Migrant detention facilities nearly built in Albania in controversial

The construction of two Italian migrant detention centres in Albania is underway with the facilities expected to open at the beginning of August.

28/06/2024

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Albania

Elected MEP Fredi Beleri to remain behind bars in Albania

The move is expected to further exacerbate Albania’s tension with its neighbour, Greece.

25/06/2024

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Europe Decoded

Did Albania’s PM call the US ‘one of the three evils in the world’?

A video circulating on social media claims to show Prime Minister Edi Rama labelling the US, Soviet Union and Israel as the world’s three “evils”.

24/06/2024

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Nature

The dark truth behind a 5* resort planned on an Albanian wetland

A new international airport and luxury tourism developments could spell the end for one of Europe’s last pristine deltas.

18/05/2024

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Albania

Eight dead after car carrying suspected migrants crashes in Albania

Albania is a route for some migrants heading for the EU, which is working with the country to close off paths into the bloc.

02/04/2024

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Albania

Western Balkans leaders pledge to speed up reforms for EU growth plan

The leaders of Western Balkan countries agreed Thursday to speed up regional cooperation to benefit more from a new European Union plan of financial aid that will help provide a faster road to membership.

01/03/2024

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Tech News

Death of two women in Albania leads to calls for ban on cyber violence

An Albanian women’s group is asking the government to criminalise cyber violence against women after two were pushed to suicide so far this year.

26/02/2024

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