Durrës

Dublin-based low-cost giant Ryanair recently announced it was adding Albania to its roster for the first time as its 37th country destination, with new flights from Edinburgh, London Stansted and Manchester, alongside a host of European cities.

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Brothers Rifat and Asim, both traders, lived in the Albanian coastal city of Durres in the first half of the last century, Asim born in 1900, and Rifat in 1910.

The older brother married a woman called Hatixhe and they were blessed with 15 children, of which 10 survived into adulthood. The last was born in 1946.

Albania's Special Prosecution, SPAK, in collaboration with Bergamo prosecutors in Italy have announced the conclusion of an operation that resulted in the seizure of large amounts of drugs in Italy.

The criminal group responsible for the drug-running was led by three Albanians, according to the special prosecutor. Twenty other persons face trial as part of this criminal group.

The death shocked the country, where many have been asking for more security on beaches.

Police on Tuesday fired the entire chain of command of the local Directorate for Border and Migration of Vlora, "for not implementing additional measures to prevent incidents with watercraft in coastal areas".

Albanians are calling for better beach security and protection after a series of accidents and disasters, the latest being the death of a seven-year-old child on Tuesday, killed by a speedboat that was passing near where people were swimming.

Prime Minister Edi Rama has dismissed the concern, however, saying that "until yesterday, this has been the most secure [summer] season".

"He later sent me photos of our house, which was burned," she tells BIRN in an interview at a hotel in Albania's port city of Durres, on the Adriatic. "We have basically nothing now," she adds.

In December last year, Albania's High Court overturned a decision by the country's Appeals Court which, five years earlier, had freed a notorious underworld figure called Lulzim Berisha.

Pelicans on Skadar Lake in Montenegro. Photo: PR Centar

Bojan Zekovic of the Centre for the Study and Protection of Birds, CRZP, said that 15 pelicans at the lake had died since the first case of avian flu was registered in Montenegro in April 6.

Six months passed before his parents found out, and the boy, from the Albanian port city of Durres, had already been duped into downloading a photo app containing what he described as "embarrassing photos", without elaborating.

The home of the head of Albanian football's governing body, Armando Duka, in the coastal town of Durres was targeted with explosives on Monday evening, causing damage but no casualties.

Police said on Monday night that the explosive device was placed at the gate of his apartment and that "an investigative unit is working to clarify the circumstances of the event".