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The National Albanian American Council (NAAC) is a nonprofit advocacy group based in Washington, DC that represents Albanian Americans and lobbies on their behalf.
Ekrem Bardha co-founded the group on 1 October 1996.
Avni Mustafaj served as its executive director. [1]
Albania, officially the Republic of Albania, is a country in Southeast Europe on the Adriatic and Ionian Sea within the Mediterranean Sea. It shares land borders with Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, North Macedonia to the east, Greece to the south and maritime borders with Greece, Montenegro and Italy to the west.
The Albanians are an ethnic group native to the Balkan Peninsula and are identified by a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia as well as in Croatia, Greece and Italy. They also constitute a diaspora with several communities established in the Americas, Europe and Oceania.
Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a partially-recognized state in Southeastern Europe, subject to a territorial dispute with the Republic of Serbia.
Tirana is the capital and largest city by area and population of the Republic of Albania. The city was awarded the title of the European Youth Capital of 2022.
The Albanian Armed Forces are the military of Albania and were formed after the declaration of independence in 1912. Today, it consists of: the General Staff, the Albanian Land Force, Albanian Air Force and the Albanian Naval Force.
The Socialist Party of Albania, is a social-democratic political party in Albania; it gained power following the 2013 parliamentary election. The party seated 66 MPs in the 2009 Albanian parliament. It achieved power in 1997 following a political crisis and governmental realignment. At the 2001 parliamentary election the party secured 73 seats, which enabled it to form a government. At the general election of 3 July 2005, the Socialist Party lost its majority and the Democratic Party of Albania (PD) formed the new government, having secured, with its allies, a majority of 81 seats.
KF Shkupi is a professional football club based in Čair, North Macedonia. The club plays in the Macedonian First Football League, which is the top tier of football in the country.
Klubi i Futbollit Tirana is an Albanian football club based in the country's capital city, Tirana. The men's football club is part of the multi-disciplinary sports club SK Tirana, and is the most successful in Albania, having won 51 recognized major domestic trophies. They play their home games at the Selman Stërmasi Stadium in Tirana and they play in the Albanian Superliga.
Top Channel is a national commercial television station based in Tirana, Albania, founded by businessman Dritan Hoxha in 2001. A part of Top Media Group, in January 2008 Top Channel was awarded national frequency coverage by making it the third such channel in Albania. In 2009, it was the first Albanian channel to become available in 16:9 widescreen high-definition television for selected programs. Since September 2003, Top Channel has been present on satellite by broadcasting all over Europe through DigitAlb, and North America through TV ALB and Shqip TV. The channel is available through IPTV in Europe and North America, and through local cable in Switzerland. Top Channel forms part of Top Media Group together with Top Albania Radio, Top Gold Radio, My Music Radio, daily newspaper Shqip, Shqip Magazine, part of pay TV platform Digitalb, Top News, VGA Studio, musicAL, and Imperial Cinemas.
The Albanian Subversion is one of the earliest and most notable failures of the Western covert paramilitary operations in the Eastern Bloc. The British SIS and the American CIA launched a joint subversive operation, using as agents Albanian expatriates. Other anti-communist Albanians and many nationalists worked as agents for Greek, Italian and Yugoslav intelligence services, some supported by the UK and U.S. secret services. A Soviet mole, and, later, other spies tipped off the missions to Moscow, which in turn relayed the information to Albania. Consequently, many of the agents were caught, put on trial, and either shot or condemned to long prison terms at hard labor.
Evangelical Protestantism is one of five officially recognized faiths in Albania. It is a Christian faith that views Jesus Christ as its founder and head, and the Bible as its written authority. Evangelical Protestants in Albania numbered approximately 8,000 in 1998. The International Religious Freedom Report of 2007 reported 189 different Protestant associations and groups. Unlike other official religions in Albania, Evangelical Protestants are not organized under a hierarchy with an official head, but operate autonomously in separate churches or organizations bearing different denominational or non-denominational names. Most, but not all Evangelical/Protestant groups are members of the Albania's Evangelical Brotherhood (VUSH), a cooperative organization which views itself as existing as "an instrument of blessing … with the purpose of promoting unity amongst the churches, representing every local church with dignity, and promoting evangelism."
Albanian Americans are Americans of full or partial Albanian ancestry and heritage in the United States. They trace their ancestry to the territories with a large Albanian population in the Balkans among others to Albania, Italy, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Montenegro. They are adherents of different religions and are predominantly Muslims, Christians as well as Irreligious.
KF Apolonia is an Albanian football club based in Fier. The club was founded on 17 June 1925 and took its name from the nearby ruins of the ancient Illyrian city of Apollonia. The club currently compete in the Albanian First Division and they play their home games at the Loni Papuçiu Stadium.
The Albanian mafia or Albanian organized crime are the general terms used for criminal organizations based in Albania or composed of ethnic Albanians. Albanian organized crime is active in Europe, North America, South America, and various other parts of the world including the Middle East and Asia. The Albanian Mafia participates in a diverse range of criminal enterprises including trafficking in drugs, arms, humans, and human organs. The Albanian criminal scenario is characterized by diversified criminal plans which, in their complexity, show one of the highest criminal capacities in the world. In Albania alone, there are over 15 mafia families that control organized crime. According to WikiLeaks reports, the Albanian mafia has monopolized various international affiliations from as far east as Israel, to as far west as South America. These reports primarily indicate a strong connection between politicians and various Albanian mafia families. According to the Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS), Albanian mafia groups are hybrid organizations, often involved in both criminal and political activities.
The Albanian Republic was the official name of Albania as enshrined in the Constitution of 1925. Albania became a de facto protectorate of the Kingdom of Italy after the signing of the Treaties of Tirana of 1926 and 1927. Albania was declared a constitutional monarchy in 1928. Upon its inception, Italy demanded to be allies with the republic. This was done largely to increase Italy's influence in the Balkans, and to aid Italian and Albanian security in their territorial feuds with the Second Hellenic Republic and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
The Italian protectorate of Albania, also known as the Kingdom of Albania or Greater Albania, existed as a protectorate of the Kingdom of Italy. It was practically a union between Italy and Albania, officially led by Italy's King Victor Emmanuel III and its government: Albania was led by Italian governors, after being militarily occupied by Italy, from 1939 until 1943. During this time, Albania ceased to exist as an independent country and remained as an autonomous part of the Italian Empire led by Italian government officials, who intended to make Albania part of a Greater Italy by assimilating Albanians as Italians and colonizing Albania with Italian settlers from the Italian Peninsula to transform it gradually into an Italian land.
Albania – United States relations refer to the current and historical relations of Albania and the United States of America, first established in 1912, following its independence from the Ottoman Empire, ending in 1939 due to German and Italian occupation in the Second World War, and re-established in 1991 after the fall of communism in Albania and the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
DigitAlb is an Albanian media, digital satellite and terrestrial TV platform based in Tirana, Albania. The TV platform began terrestrial broadcasts in July 2004, and satellite broadcasts by the end of that year. At the same time, DigitAlb began broadcasting some channels of defunct AlbaniaSat's satellite platform SAT + which eventually went bankrupt. DigitAlb closely collaborates with sports package SuperSport while having introduced wireless DVB-H technology for wireless TV for the first time in Albania since 2006. The company forms part of Top Media Group together with Top Channel, Top Albania Radio, Top Gold Radio, Gazeta Shqip, Shqip Magazine, Top News, VGA Studio, My Music Radio, and musicAL. In Europe, Digitalb will broadcast until 2020 on Eutelsat.
The Albanian diaspora are the ethnic Albanians and their descendants living outside of Albania, Kosovo, southeastern Montenegro, western North Macedonia, southeastern Serbia and northwestern Greece.
Anti-Albanian sentiment or Albanophobia is discrimination or prejudice towards Albanians as an ethnic group, described in countries with large Albanian population as immigrants, especially Greece and Italy though in Greece the sentiment has existed mainly in the post-communist Albania era where many criminals escaped to Greece.
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