Archive
Thursday, October 22, 2026
23 stories
Politics
Only Politics- DiplomacyOcasio-Cortez and Ritchie Torres condemn violence against protesters in Albania: De-escalateTwo U.S. Democratic members of Congress call on the Albanian government to respect the right to peaceful protest after a week of clashes in Tirana.
- DiplomacyRama at the Berlin Process summit in Budva; Merz: Don't pour gasoline on the fire of the pastWestern Balkan leaders gathered in Montenegro, where the German chancellor warned against divisive rhetoric and Commissioner Kos urged Albania not to slow the pace of reforms.
- ParliamentChaos in Parliament: Noka grabs Balla's microphone, PD blocks the podium and PS votes bills by show of cardsThursday's plenary session, whose agenda included an urgent interpellation of Interior Minister Ervin Demo, turned into a physical clash between lawmakers, while outside students protested for a 10th day.
- Politics“Don't touch the students!”: Lecturers march on Parliament as medical students join the protestOn the 10th day of the protest, lecturers set out from the Polytechnic toward Parliament, while union leader Sandër Kovaçi warned they will be back on the streets tomorrow at 10 a.m.
- PartiesKëlliçi from the podium: PD demands Rama's resignation, a caretaker government and the dissolution of ParliamentThe Democratic lawmaker told the plenary session that PD's parliamentary group will stand by the students and condemned what he called “brutish” police violence against young people.
- GovernmentAfter the burned chairs, Rama places dialogue invitations on stone benches outside the Prime Minister's OfficeThe prime minister posted a video Thursday morning with his third invitation to protesters, a day after the previous chairs were thrown and burned on the boulevard.
Crime & Courts
Only Crime & Courts- CourtsSpecial court continues Meta and Kryemadhi trial without lawyers, suspends pretrial detention deadlines for former presidentThe court fined the four lawyers who refused to appear and set the next hearing for Oct. 29; Meta said he is ready to defend himself.
- CourtsTirana court releases 18 protesters under obligation to report; 271 arrested in seven days of protestsAccording to Euronews Albania, the arrests were deemed lawful but the court did not order jail; a day earlier the same measure had been imposed on 22 others.
- AccidentsCar catches fire while moving on Kardhiq–Delvina road; 37-year-old dies at Trauma HospitalMaridon Dhuli suffered third-degree burns; a passerby from Saranda put out the flames with his jacket, but the driver did not survive his injuries.
Economy
Only EconomyRegion
Only Region- KosovoPresident expected to return Specialist Chambers law to Parliament today; Shiroka-Pula: Constitutional Court rulings must be implementedThe eight-day constitutional deadline expires tomorrow; the law provides for a maximum sentence of 15 years and for sentences to be served in Kosovo.
- MontenegroBerlin Process summit in Miločer; Kurti: The moment has come for Kosovo to get candidate statusChancellor Merz and Prime Minister Spajić co-chair the meeting of Western Balkan leaders; Commissioner Kos asks Pristina for “decisive choices.”
- North MacedoniaBrvenica heads to a runoff on Nov. 1: Arkin Jahiji faces Stojanče Radičevski as VLEN accuses the opposition of sowing divisionThe State Election Commission unanimously approved the first-round results with no complaints; VLEN says its voters back the Albanian candidate.
World
Only World- EuropeMacron convenes security council at the Élysée ahead of Saturday’s “Act II” protests; police presence up 20%Authorities admit intelligence services underestimated the Oct. 17 protests, when 550,000 to 800,000 people took to the streets instead of the expected 200,000.
- Middle EastHouthi attacks on Saudi Arabia: two dead at Dammam airport, U.S. orders non-emergency staff to leaveThe U.S. State Department is ordering non-essential employees and their families to leave the kingdom, while the U.S. military quietly scales back its presence at some posts in the region.
- EuropeRussian overnight strikes after Witkoff visit: seven killed in Ukraine, metro hit near Kyiv’s Pivdenny BridgeRussia resumed massive attacks on Ukraine just hours after the Putin–Witkoff meeting, while Moscow says it shot down hundreds of Ukrainian drones over the capital region.
- Middle EastRevolutionary Guard says it struck four oil ships in the Gulf, three more hit mines near Hormuz; threat to U.S. basesThe IRGC navy warns the confrontation will extend to U.S. bases in the region if Washington keeps encouraging ships to pass through “unauthorized” routes.
Sports
Only Sports
Culture
Only Culture- MusicJunior Eurovision: first rehearsal footage released, Eslin Kurti 14th on stage; dress rehearsal for the juries on FridayOrganizers released the first clips from the rehearsals of the 16 contestants in Malta. With the second rehearsals over, Albania’s representative enters the two decisive days before Saturday’s final.
- HeritageJanjeva becomes a classroom: 11 students from different communities document the town’s heritageThe five-day camp, organized by the OSCE Mission with the Ministry of Culture and the Regional Center for Cultural Heritage in Pristina, runs until Oct. 23.
Opinion
Only Opinion- OpinionStrong lek, lighter pocketsA record-low euro has winners and losers. The problem is that the losers, exporters, tourism and families living on remittances, have no protection at all.
- OpinionA camera is not a weaponJournalists beaten, phones returned with footage deleted and a photojournalist detained by force: the police must answer to the public for how they treated those who keep it informed.
- OpinionThe Parliament that voted with cardsOn the day the country most needed a debate, Parliament chose grabbed microphones and a vote without discussion. Both sides lost.