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Frozen Albania
TIRANA, Feb 9 - If you are grabbing this newspaper at the airport on the way into Albania, bundle up, it’s likely colder than you expect this February. In fact, it is pretty much as cold as it gets in Albania.

Like much of the continent, Albania has been in the midst of one of its coldest winters in memory, as snow, ice and record-breaking cold temperatures have hit the entire country, isolating remote villages and placing lives in danger.

As usual, the mountainous northern areas were hit hardest, with roads blocked and many mountain municipalities isolated by snow and ice reporting health and food emergencies.

The government has set up emergency services and an inter-ministry committee to handle the situation, which was rapidly developing into a weather emergency, requiring food and medicine deliveries be done by helicopter in some isolated areas.
Article Category: News
Featured article
Selling citizenship: Not a good idea
TIRANA, Feb 9 - In a recent government meeting, Prime Minister Sali Berisha floated the idea of granting Albanian citizenship to foreigners who invest 100,000 euros or more in Albania. At this time, it appears to be a proposal set for public debate not backed by an actual plan or draft law. So it is not entirely clear who the government would try to target with this type of investment plan. We also don't know if the government will actually write up a bill and send it to parliament any time soon. However, the idea of offering Albanian citizenship to anyone who can pay for it - particularly requiring such a small investment - is dangerous and presents a multitude of problems. This newspaper believes extreme caution is warranted.
Moro: EU membership not only up to the politicians, citizens should also get involved
Opinion
 
Tirana Zoo featured in “Arena” video
Arts and Culture
 
Robert Elsie promotes Albania, Kosovo historical dictionaries
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News
Citizenship offer for investors sparks concern
TIRANA, Feb. 7 - Albania’s Prime Minister Sali Berisha recently announced changes to the law on citizenship, saying that foreign nationals investing over Euro 100,000 would be granted Albanian citizenship. But it is not clear whether that can be allowed by the European Union in which Albanian citizens have been traveling visa-free for more than a year. Other people expressed concern that it could open the way to offering passports to terrorists around the world, taking into account Albania’s poor or weak law-enforcement authorities. Berisha said Albanian citizenship should also be given to all the citizens of Albanian descent in line with the obligations stemming from the agreement on lifting the visa regime and other legal definitions.
News
Albanian parliament makes Italian-fueled steps of progress
TIRANA, Feb 9 - This week, IPALMO, a non-profit organization in partnership with the Embassy of Italy in Tirana and in collaboration with the Italian Chamber of Deputies and the Albanian Parliament, organized a training seminar for Albanian officials and parliamentarians with focus on the role of parliaments in the institutional consolidation of the democratic process and the path towards European integration. The meetings served to deepen and consolidate the results of several significant initiatives carried out in various Balkan countries in the field of inter-parliamentary cooperation and strengthening rule of law. For Albania, this is especially critical as it seeks to earn EU candidate status this year.
Business and Economy
Albania teeters on the brink of power crisis
TIRANA, Feb. 8 - Lack of sufficient rainfall and forced expensive electricity imports during the past few weeks have put the new overoptimistic 2012 budget at serious risk in its very initial stage. Finance Minister Ridvan Bode announced on Wednesday government will use its contingency fund, (initially scheduled to keep the budget deficit in check, increase wages and pensions and handle natural disasters), to continue supplying uninterrupted power during these cold days as the country’s northern and southeastern areas remain covered in snow, with snow depth in some remote communes above 1 metre. Current domestic electricity production, dependant on water flows in the country’s top HPP
Business and Economy
Businesses face tighter lending standards for third quarter in a row
TIRANA, Feb. 7 – With bad loans standing at a record high, commercial banks operating in Albania continued applying tighter lending standards for the third quarter in row despite a slight increase in demand for new loans by businesses in the final quarter of 2011. At 18 percent of the total at the end of Sept. 2011, bad loans are likely to have undergone another increase considering the ongoing rising trend which has seen them grow by six times during the past three years of global crisis. While new Bank of Albania data on bad loans for the final quarter of 2011 have not been published yet, the crisis impacts the country’s key economic sectors are facing and the fragile macroeconomic
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