Sali

Activist Mayor?

Zagreb's Ban Jelacic square. Photo: EPA-EFE/ANTONIO BAT.

With days to go before the key second round of local elections in Croatia, all eyes are turned to the capital, Zagreb, where leftist candidate Tomislav Tomasevic is poised to take the mayorship of the city. His main rival is popular singer and now right-wing politician Miroslav Skoro.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has officially denied a request for entry in to the US by former Albanian president Sali Berisha.

"Today, I am announcing the public designation of Sali Berisha, former President, Prime Minister and Member of Parliament of Albania, due to his involvement in significant corruption," Blinken said in a statement. 

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama appears to be promoting Turkey as the country's main ally and benefactor and has been criticized for that.

Ramahas promised that a hospital will be built, with Turkish money, and will be ready by the April 25 election.

Rama was on the podium when the egg attack began.

Awaiting for the parliament speaker to intervene, Rama had to leave the session, Albeu.com website has reported.

A photo showing Hasha hitting Rama with eggs was published by former Prime Minister Sali Berisha, along with the message, "for those present - toast and eggs."

Clashes erupted on Monday as thousands of opposition supporters protested outside the Albanian parliament in a bid to stop the ruling majority electing a new temporary general prosecutor.

The protesters clashed with police, who used tear gas in a bid to subdue them. Some people were reported to have been injured.

Albania's former PM and president Sali Berisha says he learned from a policeman that children are being smuggled across the border with Kosovo and Metohija.

The Albanian government has raised the compensation for legal advice offered by Omnia Strategy in the dispute with US company by 150,000 euros, bringing the payment to a total of 645,000 euros.

No reason was given for the increased payment in the government decision, which was taken on December 28 but published in the official gazette on Tuesday.

The OSCE said on Saturday that the report alleging wrongdoing by 36 Albanian MPs, prepared in October 2014 and leaked last week to the Lapsi.al website, "contained information circulating in the country and was not the official view of the organisation".

The investigation, "Albanian Telecoms Deal Cost ‘$1m to Buy Off Politicians', Claim US Businessmen," revealed that a controversial Bosnian businessman, Damir Fazlic, a fixer with powerful friends in Washington and the Balkans, requested $1m in "investment" from US partners for Albania's Democratic Party in order to secure a lucrative telecoms contract.