With five months to go before the general elections, political parties are working to get voters onside both at home and in the diaspora. Meanwhile, the opposition Democratic Party announced the holding of a national protest on December 23. Leader Sali Berisha, warned of a large scale rally, where he will demand a caretaker government.

A cocaine trafficking group based in Fushë Krujë and Kodra e Diellit in Tirana that was busted last week may have distributed drugs on behalf of international criminal groups. The Colombian arrested by SPAK, with the nickname “Gafas”, was wanted in his home country for leading a criminal organization.

Subzero temperatures will cover a large part of the country this week. Meteorologists expect unstable conditions with cloud, rain, and snowy weather throughout the territory.

The phenomenon of sex-selective abortion is still present in Albania, according to UNFPA data. Albania ranks 15th globally for ‘son preference’, with the 2023 census showing the boy/girl birth ratio is still skewed at 107 male births for every 100 female births, instead of the natural birth ratio of 105 to 100. This means some 20,000 girls have been ‘lost’ in Albania since record-keeping began. But it is not just abortion which causes the discrepancy- the sto factor, when women stop having children after having a son, also contributes to the imbalance.

Some 11.4 million people visited Albania during 2024, the highest number ever, 10 million of which came via Rinas Airport, according to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure Belinda Balluku. She said the target for visitors for 2025 is 12 million.