Tirana is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea in the distance. Due to its location at the Plain of Tirana and the close proximity to the Mediterranean Sea, the city is particularly influenced by a Mediterranean seasonal climate. It is among the wettest and sunniest cities in Europe, with 2,544 hours of sun per year.
Sali Ram Berisha is an Albanian conservative politician who served as the third president of Albania from 1992 to 1997 and 32nd prime minister from 2005 to 2013.
Edi Rama is an Albanian politician, painter, writer, former university lecturer, publicist and former basketball player, who has served as the 33rd and current Prime Minister of Albania since 2013 and chairman of the Socialist Party of Albania since 2005. Prior to his tenure as Prime Minister, Rama held a number of positions. He was appointed Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports in 1998, an office he held until 2000. First elected mayor of Tirana in 2000, he was reelected in 2003 and 2007.
Fatos Thanas Nano is an Albanian socialist politician who served as Prime Minister of Albania in 1991, from 1997 to 1998 and from 2002 to 2005. He was the first leader and founder of the Socialist Party of Albania and a member of the Albanian Parliament from 1991 to 1993 and 1997 to 2009. He reformed the anti-revisionist Marxist-Leninist ideology of the Labor Party of Albania into social democracy for its successor, the Socialist Party. During his leadership, the Socialist Party, as a result of reforms, joined the Socialist International and Party of European Socialists. Nano was a candidate in the 2007 presidential election but did not win. He again tried in the 2012 presidential election, but he did not even qualify as a candidate, because the leaders of parties in Parliament obstructed their respective MPs to elect him as candidate in the elections.
Top Channel is a national commercial television network based in Tirana, Albania. Founded by Dritan Hoxha in 2001, the network forms part of Top Media Group together with Top Albania Radio, Top Gold Radio, My Music Radio, daily newspaper Shqip, Shqip Magazine, coffee producer Lori Caffe, Digitalb, Top News, VGA Studio, musicAL, and Imperial Cinemas.
The Qemal Stafa Stadium, named after Qemal Stafa (1920–1942), a World War II hero, was a national stadium and the largest football stadium in Tirana, Albania. Construction started in 1939 and the stadium was inaugurated in 1946 for the Balkan Cup, which was won by the Albania national football team. The stadium has been used for football matches of the Albanian Superliga and the national team, athletic events, and the six Albanian Spartakiads. Although it was enlarged in 1974 to accommodate up to 35,000 spectators, in the 1990s it became an all-seater stadium, and its capacity was reduced to 19,700.
Mass media in Albania refers to mass media outlets based in Albania. Television, magazines, and newspapers are all operated by both state-owned and for-profit corporations which depend on advertising, subscription, and other sales-related revenues. The Constitution of Albania guarantees freedom of speech. Albanian media are quite diverse, although politicised, and often influenced by business and political interests.
Zëri i Popullit is an Albanian online newspaper. It was the official press organ of the Party of Labour and, later, of the Socialist Party of Albania, but it later ceased print publication and became an independent online publication.
Agim Zajmi was an Albanian painter. For his contribution to painting, he received the People's Artist of Albania medal.
In 1991, the Socialist Party of Albania, with specific social democratic ideology took control of the country through democratic elections. One year later the Democratic Party of Albania won the new elections. After 1990, Albania has been seeking a closer relationship with the West. What followed were deliberate programs of economic and democratic reform, but the implementation of capitalism led to the proliferation of pyramid schemes. Chaos in late 1996 to early 1997, as a result of the collapse of these pyramid schemes, alarmed the world and prompted the influx of international peacekeeping forces. In 1995, Albania was accepted into the Council of Europe and requested membership in NATO and is a potential candidate country for accession to the European Union. The workforce of Albania has continued to emigrate to Western countries, especially Greece and Italy.
Gazeta 55 is an Albanian language newspaper published in Tirana, Albania. The newspaper is a politically unaffiliated daily, with nine reporters on staff records. The tabloid's owner is Fahri Balliu, an Albanian businessman.
Rilindja Demokratike is an Albanian newspaper founded and continuously published in Tirana. Rilindja Demokratike is the official newspaper of the Democratic Party of Albania. Its chief editor is Bledi Kasmi. Its first publication was on 5 January 1991 and was the first free newspaper since the Fall of communism in Albania, while it functioned against the state newspaper Zëri i Popullit what was the newspaper of the Communist Party and nowadays of the Socialist Party. RD was also the first media in Albania that openly criticized the regime of Enver Hoxha
Gazeta Shqip is a newspaper published in Albania that is a part of Top Media Group together with Top Albania Radio, Top Gold Radio, part of pay TV platform Digitalb, Top News, VGA Studio, My Music Radio, and musical.
Gazeta Panoramais a newspaper published in Albania. It is among the best-selling newspapers in the country and the most visited website in Albanian territory.
The 2011 Albanian opposition demonstrations were a series of anti-government protests in cities around Albania following 18 months of political conflict over alleged electoral fraud by the opposition. A video surfaced which portrayed the deputy prime minister arranging a corrupt deal with the minister of economy. The public outcry over the video resulted in the resignation of the deputy prime minister. A demonstration was called by parliamentary opposition parties, which include the Socialist Party and the Unity for Human Rights Party. These were called on 21 January in order to protest the alleged corruption of the Albanian government as well as widespread unemployment and poverty in the country.
A hunger strike by former politically persecuted persons of Albania began on 21 September 2012 in Tirana involving 20 people persecuted during the communist years. The strike began for economic purposes, seeking the Albanian government to compensate them according to a law passed in 2007 entitling former political prisoners to 2,000 lek for each day they were in prison.
Parliamentary elections were held in Albania on 23 June 2013. The result was a victory for the Alliance for a European Albania led by the Socialist Party and its leader, Edi Rama. Incumbent Prime Minister Sali Berisha of the Democratic Party-led Alliance for Employment, Prosperity and Integration conceded defeat on 26 June, widely viewed as a sign of growing democratic maturity in Albania.
Albania has an embassy in Rome and two general consulates in Bari and Milan. Italy has an embassy in Tirana and a general consulate in Vlorë.
The Albanian local elections of 2023 will take place on 14 May 2023 in Albania.
