Albania

Painting in Darkness', a documentary on Lulzim Beqiri, a painter imprisoned during the communist regime because his art did not conform to the ideology of the ruling party, was screened for the first time in Tirana

Italians are the leading group of foreign tourists in Albania in 2023, compared to other European or regional countries, excluding Kosovo, which traditionally outnumbers other areas; around 1 million Italians visited Albania last year, 9% of the total

The Albanian Information Technology Agency has opened tender procedures for a project with an estimated value of 578 million lek (€5,5 million) to improve the electronic platform for government services, e-Albania

Uplift Albania, the first European start-up accelerator in Albania, launched its fifth programme to support the country's start-ups

Voltalia, an international operator in renewable energies, has started production of its 140 MW solar project, in Fier district in southern Albania; the Karavasta plant will be able to generate electricity equivalent to the consumption of 220.000 people

The Albanian Parliament has suffered a cyber attack by hackers who tried to break into its data system, causing a temporary interruption of its services, but would not 'touch the system's data' - they declared

The Albanian parliament will have to suspend ratification of a dibated migration pact agreed with Italy after a top court endorsed an opposition request to review the constitutionality of the deal

At least 1.700 organised criminals from Albania are at large in the UK, British police fear; officers from the Metropolitan Police and the National Crime Agency have requested documents from the Albanian authorities on each of the suspects

The European Court of Human Rights held the Albanian state responsible for the killing of three people by the National Guard during opposition protests in 2011 and for failing to adequately investigate their deaths

A co-operation programme to improve waste management in Albania officially started this week and is expected to last 3,5 years, supported by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development with €14,6 million

Albanian journalist Afrovita Hysaj said she received death threats after reporting an alleged rape in her city; police in Vlora said they had started an investigation

Albania signed four cooperation agreements in different fields with France during President Macron's official visit to Tirana; the two countries had signed the Strategic Partnership Declaration five years ago