Erion

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".

The Albanian Football Federation, FSHF, the country's football governing body, has accused Erion Veliaj, Socialist Party Mayor of Tirana, of using threats against board members ahead of a vote for the head of the Federation.

The head of the Albanian Media Council has criticised the behaviour of the Mayor of Tirana's security detail after a video published by Ora News media outlet showed a journalist being physically stopped from putting questions to Mayor Erion Veliaj.

Critics say the demolition of the National Theatre is an old project of Prime Minister Edi Rama, since the time when he was Culture Minister in 1998 and proposed to build a tower in its place and incorporate the theatre inside.

The renewed bid to demolish the theatre divided artists and activists, and raised concerns among anti-corruption and heritage watchdogs.

The municipal council in the Albanian capital is expected to adopt the 'TR030' urban development plan on Thursday, although opposition councillors claim that issues like water supplies and public transport have not been properly addressed by the project.

The South East Europe Media Organisation, SEEMO said on Monday that the cancellation of the investigative programme was "disturbing" and called for a clarification of the reasons why the show was pulled off the air.

After broadcasting only three episodes, the investigative TV show "Publicus" aired on Vision Plus TV station was scrapped on Sunday, sparking accusations of political censorship.

In its brief lifespan, the show had built up a reputation after exposing the government's lack of preparedness to monitor waste imports into the country - a hot issue in Albania.

The head of Albania's main opposition party faces a probe concerning 17 building permits issued by the municipality of Tirana when Basha was mayor from 2011 until 2015.

A source in the general prosecutor's office told BIRN that the probe into Basha follows charges filed by the National Agency for Planning, AKPT, over a number of building permits.

The main parties have announced their candidates for the biggest electoral prize that is up for grabs in June's polls - the mayoralty of the capital Tirana.

The left-wing ruling coalition which came to power at parliamentary elections in 2013 has named the current minister of welfare and former social activist Erion Veliaj as its candidate.