For the families of Albanian men who died fighting for Islamic State, the pain and uncertainty drag on.
Salushe Seferi’s ordeal began in 2013, when her daughter, Ruzhdie Balliu, left Albania for Syria. It ended, of sorts, eight years later in July 2021, when Ruzhdie was repatriated to a shelter in Durres, on the coast. Seferi, however, still suffers the scars of a war that was not hers. And she’s not alone.
Did social networks change a young plumber from normal Muslim believer to radical Islamist – or are Albania’s authorities over-reacting to a non-existent threat?
At sunset on August 2, Bledar Zeneli and his father were attending the Aksham Namaz, one of five daily prayers of Muslim believers, when police came knocking at the door of their home in a newly developed area on the outskirts of Durres, Albania second largest town and main seaport.
The Iranian cyberattack on Albania earlier this year threatened to paralyze public services and digital systems, hack into state records and further sow chaos.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama arrived in Israel on Sunday to strengthen his country’s cyber defense after a series of attacks from Iran that led his country to cut ties with Tehran.
Evidence in terrorism cases is proving difficult to find, while experts warn that the reintegration and rehabilitation of foreign fighters is an even greater challenge.
Since the mid-1990s, more than 200 people have been sentenced to more than 1,100 years in prison in six Western Balkans countries for terrorist acts, or for leaving to fight in a foreign war, according to BIRN analysis.
Războiul din Ucraina ar trebui să ne aducă aminte că primul conflict fratricid pe continentul nostru, după ultima mare conflagrație, a fost în Balcani, o regiune care a intrat în istoria modernă cu numele de ,,butoiul cu pulbere al Europei’’. Bagajul său istoric încă atârnă greu și astăzi iar recursul la valorile păcii și stabilității început acum mai bine de un sfert de secol este departe de a se fi încheiat.
Arhitectura intereselor Chinei în regiune – cauze și efecte. Pătrunderea Chinei în Balcanii de Vest este unul dintre primele 2-3 fenomene care compun matricea geopolitică europenă din ultimii 10-15 ani, ca de altfel și extinderea prezenței economice a Beijingului în vestul continentului nostru.
Former prime minister Boyko Borissov won the fourth parliamentary election in 18 months but is now finding it difficult to sell his anti-Putin coalition proposal as parties are concerned over his party’s poor record on corruption.
Russia says that European sanctions block the energy transfer to Turkiye and Balkan region, Reuters reports.
According to the report, the Russian operator of a pipeline that supplies Turkiye and the Balkans with natural gas, South Stream Transport B.V, would suspend some maintenance and repair work, citing European Union sanctions, a move that threatens to deepen Europe’s energy crisis.
“Notre pays souffre du chômage, et mon fils rêve comme ses pairs de fonder une famille. C’est mieux de migrer que de rester ici et de voir les gens se développer, alors que lui est impuissant et humilié, parce qu’il n’a pas qui l’aider. Je n’attendrai pas jusqu’à ce qu’il se suicide.” C’est ainsi que Mahmoud résume les raisons qui l’ont poussé à collecter de l’argent pour financer la migration irrégulière de son fils, à travers la Serbie, jusqu’en France, suivant ainsi l’exemple de plusieurs jeunes de Tataouine.
From 1 September to 2 September 2022, a summit of the Open Balkan initiative, which is a joint project of Serbia, North Macedonia and Albania based on the idea of free flow of people, goods, capital and services, was organized in Belgrade. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and North Macedonia Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski participated at the summit of the leaders of the Open Balkan regional initiative. The political leaders primarily came together to consider the future and look for optimal solutions for the complex situation in which the Western Balkans region is currently embroiled.