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European capital rocked by violent protests as government corruption probe fuels unrest
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Thousands of anti-government protesters violently faced off against riot police outside government buildings in Albania’s capital, Tirana, earlier this week, as people called for the resignation of the government following a massive corruption scandal.
The main Albanian opposition party called for people to take to the streets and demand the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku after she was indicted by a special prosecutor who alleged she had been improperly influenced in her decision to favor one company in a tender for the construction of a 3.7-mile tunnel in southern Albania.
Albania’s Special Court Against Corruption and Organized Crime suspended Balluku from the government in November, but Prime Minister Edi Rama took the issue to the country’s Constitutional Court, which reinstated Balluku in December.
STATE DEPARTMENT STAYS QUIET AS ALBANIA REINSTATES DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER ACCUSED OF CORRUPTION
Anti-government protests in Albania’s capital Tirana escalated tension on Tuesday, Feb. 10, as demonstrators threw Molotov cocktails and other objects at the prime minister’s office on Feb. 10, 2026. (Anadolu Agency via Reuters)
Balluku denied the allegations, calling the accusations against her amounted to «mudslinging, insinuations, half-truths and lies.» Rama has refused to dismiss her.
The corruption allegations touched off widespread outrage, sparking protests in recent months.
«The wave of popular protests in Albania reflects a growing societal backlash against what critics describe as the increasingly autocratic rule of Prime Minister Edi Rama,» Agim Nesho, former Albanian ambassador to the U.S. and the United Nations, told Fox News Digital.
«Over more than a decade in power, Rama is accused of centralizing authority and personalizing state institutions, while his government has faced persistent allegations of cooperation with organized crime and the misuse of public funds and public assets for the benefit of politically connected clients,» Nesho claimed.
Police officers hold shields outside the Prime Minister’s office during an anti-government protest, triggered by a corruption investigation into Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku, in Tirana, Albania, Feb. 10, 2026. (Florion Goga/Reuters)
The shady circumstances surrounding Rama’s most important ally and the lack of accountability reinforces the sentiment that is pervasive in Albanian society that their government is rife with corruption. With both the incumbent government and opposition figures accused of corruption, public confidence in institutions and the justice system has steadily been eroded.
ITALY ROCKED BY ANARCHIST-LED RIOTS AS OVER 100 POLICE INJURED, MELONI CONDEMNS VIOLENCE
Albania has a long legacy of government corruption and ranks 91st out of 182 countries in Transparency International’s 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index.
The protests on Tuesday turned violent when supporters of Berisha’s opposition Democratic Party threw rocks and Molotov cocktails at government offices in Tirana. Security forces responded with water cannons and tear gas.
Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama (R) and Deputy Prime Minister of Albania and Minister of Infrastructure and Energy Belinda Balluku (R) attend a press conference in the Shpirag region in Berat province, Albania on Aug. 23, 2023. (Albanian Prime Ministry / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Berisha claims the protests have been peaceful, and people are only voicing their opposition to Rama’s increasing autocratic rule and his attacks of the justice system.
At least 16 protesters were treated for injuries and 13 protesters were arrested, according to The Associated Press.
Observers of the region believe Berisha, who was prime minister from 2005 to 2013 and faced his own corruption charges, is angling to topple the socialist prime minister and main political rival, Rama, and return to power.
The turmoil in Albania comes as the country has long sought European Union membership, which began in 2014 when it became an official candidate for accession. While the 2025 annual European Commission report stated that Albania made significant strides in judicial reforms and combating organized crime, the latest allegations against Rami’s government will complicate its path to EU membership.
People gather during a demonstration held in Tirana, the capital of Albania, in support of former Prime Minister Sali Berisha, who was under house arrest from December 2023 to November 2024 on corruption charges and is currently under judicial supervision by the Albanian Special Appeal Court for Corruption and Organized Crime (GJPAKKO). (Olsi Shehu/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The United States helped implement Albania’s judicial reform process, including the creation of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Structure (SPAK). The State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) invested millions to foster democratic progress in Albania and assisted in combating Albania’s struggles with corruption and strengthening its weak institutions.
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Nesho warned the U.S. and European Union need to get serious with policy in the Western Balkans and help move Albania closer to European integration.
«If Washington and Brussels continue to look the other way — failing to enforce the rule of law, restore real checks and balances, and cut the regime’s ties to organized crime and drug trafficking — Albania risks drifting into the orbit of Eastern-style autocracy,» Nesho said.
the balkans,europe,world protests,state department,corruption
INTERNACIONAL
Democrats pressure Mike Johnson to keep House in Washington over ‘rapidly developing’ Iran operation
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FIRST ON FOX: A group of Democrats is demanding that Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., keep the House of Representatives in Washington, D.C., next week in light of the «rapidly evolving» situation in Iran.
«The attacks have resulted in heightened threat assessments around the globe as well as multiple deaths, including the tragic loss of six U.S. service members. At this sensitive time, we believe it is in the best interest of our constituents if we remain in session as events continue to develop,» they wrote to the chamber’s leader on Friday.
The letter is being led by Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., and nine other members of the House Democratic Caucus, and comes nearly a week after the U.S. and Israel first launched strikes targeting Iran’s senior leadership and military assets.
They’re calling on Johnson to not only keep the House in session but encourage meetings of the committees relevant to U.S. national security in light of the heightened threat environment.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., gestures as he meets with reporters ahead of a key procedural vote to end the partial government shutdown, at the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 3, 2026. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)
«By the President’s own admission, current military operations against Iran could be sustained for weeks. The rapid developments of such an operation, and its potential impact here at home, require a firm commitment to legislative engagement,» the Democrats wrote.
«If the House of Representatives is absent during such a pivotal moment in our foreign policy, we will be failing our constituents. We urge you to cancel next week’s recess so that we may fulfill our oversight duty.»
Democrats and Republicans’ responses to the operation have largely fallen across party lines.
HOUSE VOTES TO LET TRUMP’S OPERATION EPIC FURY CONTINUE IN IRAN
Democrats have accused the administration of plunging the U.S. into another Middle East conflict without a clear ending while running roughshod over Congress’ constitutional authority. Republicans, meanwhile, maintain that the White House is acting within its authority in the best interests of the country.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., speaks to members of the media, following a vote at the US Capitol in Washington, D.C., June 23, 2025. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The House is out all next week as Republican lawmakers head to President Donald Trump’s Doral golf club in Florida for their annual member retreat, where they will continue to monitor developments in Washington while discussing policy for the remainder of this year.
Democrats had their own annual retreat in late February.
TRUMP SAYS ‘LOSERS’ SCHUMER, DEMS WOULD HAVE CRITICIZED ANY DECISION HE MADE ON IRAN
But as Democrats hammer Johnson for leaving D.C., Republicans are accusing them of playing politics with the national security situation themselves.
House GOP leaders held a vote on funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) using a bipartisan bill that Democrats had already walked away from weeks ago, arguing it did not do enough to rein in Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Republicans argued that the ongoing situation with Iran is worsening the effects of the ongoing DHS shutdown, which began after Democrats shunned the initial bipartisan deal.
All but four House Democrats voted against the bill on Thursday.
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«They do not want to fund the agencies whose job it is to keep Americans safe at this time of this heightened threat environment that we’re all living in,» Johnson said after the vote. «We’re concerned about sleeper cells in the country. We’re concerned about the safety of every American. And the Democrats are playing politics here.»
A House GOP leadership aide told Fox News Digital in response to Moskowitz’s letter, «Bipartisan majorities in both chambers of Congress just voted to support President Trump and Operation Epic Fury because they know the Iranian regime is a real threat to American security and Middle East stability. By contrast, most House Democrats, including Rep. Moskowitz, voted to keep the Department of Homeland Security closed in order to protect the criminal illegal immigrants they allowed into our country.»
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politics,house of representatives politics,mike johnson,war with iran
INTERNACIONAL
La guerra sacude al Líbano: evacuaron el sur de Beirut y se intensifican los ataques entre Israel y Hezbollah
El Líbano se convirtió en el segundo frente de la guerra en Medio Oriente.
Mientras merma la intensidad de los ataques iraníes a Israel, su grupo proxy libanés, el movimiento armado chiíta Hezbollah, intensificó su ofensiva sobre territorio israelí a través del lanzamiento de misiles.
Leé también: Los kurdos quieren combatir a los ayatollah: contactos con la CIA y el riesgo de una guerra civil en Irán
En represalia, el ejército de Israel bombardeó distintos puntos del país y ordenó evacuar el distrito de Dahiyeh, en el sur de Beirut y bastión de las milicias islámicas, mientras sus soldados entraron en territorio libanés para crear una “zona tapón” en la frontera. Este jueves se produjo un masivo éxodo de la población de la periferia sur de la capital.
Hezbollah es el único aliado militar de Irán que está participando activamente en la guerra que enfrenta a Teherán contra Israel y Estados Unidos y que involucra a más de una docena de países.
Los hutíes yemeníes se mantienen por ahora al margen, mientras las milicias chiítas proiraníes de Siria e Irak no se caracterizan por tener un gran poderío militar.
Qué poder de fuego mantienen las milicias de Hezbollah
Hezbollah (Partido de Dios) es un movimiento político legalizado que creó un poderoso ejército paralelo con enorme control e influencia de la vida política, económica y militar del Líbano. Es en la práctica un Estado dentro del Estado libanés.
Su estructura castrense fue financiada y armada por Irán en las últimas décadas, pero su poderío militar quedó reducido tras dos años de guerra con Israel, en solidaridad con los palestinos de Gaza. Sin embargo, todavía mantiene activos a decenas de miles de combatientes.
Los libaneses buscan salir de la periferia sur de Beirut bajo amenaza de ataque israelí. (Foto: REUTERS/Claudia Greco)
“No está claro qué poder de fuego retuvo Hezbollah. Obviamente ha estado disparando (misiles y cohetes) contra Israel pero no ha provocado daños significativos por lo que sabemos hasta ahora”, dijo a TN el analista David Wood, especialista en temas del Líbano con base en Beirut del Crisis Group, una ONG encargada de la resolución de conflictos.
Según el experto, “siempre es posible que Hezbollah todavía tenga armas pesadas como misiles de precisión guiada que no usaron en la ultima escalada masiva en 2024, si es que todavía tiene esas armas, lo que no está claro”.
Leé también: Error de cálculo o mecanismo de provocación: los motivos detrás del inesperado ataque de Irán a Turquía
“Tampoco está claro si Hezbollah tiene la capacidad de usarlas. Tal vez las personas estrenadas para usar estas armas complejas murieron (en la anterior guerra). Entonces, no está claro si Hezbollah todavía tiene esas armas y, si es así, si tiene la capacidad para usarlas”, afirmó.
Qué está pasando hoy en el Líbano
Desde el estallido de la guerra y la entrada de Hezbollah en el conflicto, el ministerio de Salud libanés, que no responde al grupo islámico, contabliza 102 muertos y 638 heridos. Los desplazados ascienden a más de 83.000.
El gobierno libanés del primer ministro Nawaf Salam, en el que Hezbollah no participa directamente pero mantiene ministros cercanos a su alianza parlamentaria con el movimiento Amal, teme que el número de víctimas aumente en forma exponencial en los próximos días. Éxodo masivo de libaneses en el sur de Beirut, bastión de Hezbollah (Foto: REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi)
Israel ordenó este jueves evacuar todos los suburbios del sur de Beirut, el mayor bastión de Hezbollah en el país. “Salven sus vidas y evacuen sus viviendas de inmediato”, advirtió un portavoz militar,
La orden provocó una virtual estampida de la población, temerosa de ser víctima de un bombardeo masivo de la fuerza aérea israelí. El pánico provocó embotellamientos interminables en las principales salidas del sur de la capital.
De hecho, el ministro de Finanzas israelí, el ultraderechista Bezalel Smotrich, advirtió que el distrito sur de Beirut se enfrentará a una devastación similar a la de Gaza.
“Muy pronto, Dahiyeh se parecerá a Jan Yunis”, aseguró Smotrich, al aludir de la localidad de la Franja de Gaza reducida a escombros durante la guerra en ese enclave palestino. “Hezbollah cometió un grave error y pagará un alto precio. Estamos atacando la cabeza del pulpo en Irán y, al mismo tiempo, cortaremos el brazo de Hezbollah”, dijo durante su visita a la frontera norte de Israel.
Leé también: Qué quiere Trump en Irán: la nueva estrategia “venezolana” y una alternativa islámica alineada con EE.UU.
En las últimas 48 horas, los ataques afectaron partes del territorio libanés más allá de las zonas comúnmente asociadas con Hezbollah, alertó el medio estadounidense The Media Line, especializado en temas de Medio Oriente.
Según el reporte, las fuerzas israelíes atacaron el valle de la Bekaa, de fuerte presencia del grupo islámico, pero también las zonas de Baabda, Aramoun (en el distrito de Aley) y Saadiyat (en Shouf), zonas con mayor población drusa.
Israel ordenó también la evacuación de más de 50 pueblos y ciudades libanesas fronterizas para crear una línea de seguridad en el sur del Líbano. En tanto, las milicias de Hezbollah se atribuyeron ofensivas contra fuerzas terrestres israelíes y 13 ataques contra Israel el martes.
En las últimas horas, el grupo islámico reivindicó además el lanzamiento de cohetes y drones suicidas contra ciudades israelíes, como Tel Aviv y Haifa.
Israel, Líbano, Irán, Donald Trump
INTERNACIONAL
Iranian vessel suffers engine failure, offloads crew days after US submarine sank other ship
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An Iranian ship offloaded more than 200 members of its crew to Sri Lanka on Friday after suffering an engine failure at sea, just days after a U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship in an Indian Ocean torpedo attack.
The IRIS Bushehr, described in previous Iranian media reports as a navy logistics ship, is being brought first to the port of Colombo, according to Sri Lanka navy spokesman Cmdr. Buddhika Sampath. Sailors are being taken to a naval base in Welisara following medical exams and immigration procedures.
«We have to understand that this is not an ordinary situation,» Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said Thursday. «It’s a request by a ship belonging to one party to enter into our port. We have to consider that according to the international treaties and conventions.»
Dissanayake added that authorities decided to take control of the IRIS Bushehr following discussions with Iranian officials and the ship’s captain, after one of its engines failed. He said some crew members would remain on board to help the Sri Lankan navy later navigate the vessel to Trincomalee on the island’s northeast coast, about 165 miles from Colombo.
Iranian navy personnel stand aboard the IRIS Bushehr in Port Sudan, Sudan, in December 2012. The ship ran into engine problems on March 6, 2026, and is being taken to Sri Lanka, reports said. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)
The moves come after the U.S. sank the Iranian warship IRIS Dena off Sri Lanka’s coast on Wednesday.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said it was «the first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War II.»
The Indian navy said Thursday that it had initiated search and rescue operations after receiving a distress signal from the Dena, deploying two aircraft along with a sailing training vessel. By the time the response was launched, the Sri Lankan navy had already started its own rescue efforts, it said.
The Sri Lankan navy rescued 32 sailors and recovered 87 bodies after the attack, according to The Associated Press.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Thursday that the U.S. will «bitterly regret» striking and sinking that ship.
«The U.S. has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran’s shores,» Araqchi wrote on X. «Frigate Dena, a guest of India’s Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning.»
US ‘WINNING DECISIVELY’ AGAINST IRAN, WILL ACHIEVE ‘COMPLETE CONTROL’ OF AIRSPACE WITHIN DAYS, HEGSETH SAYS
A U.S. submarine sunk an Iranian warship in international waters in the Indian Ocean, War Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed Wednesday. (@DeptofWar/X)
«Mark my words: The U.S. will come to bitterly regret precedent it has set,» he added.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine told reporters at the Pentagon on Wednesday that the Iranian vessel was «effectively neutralized» in a Navy «fast attack» using a single Mark 48 torpedo.
Two Iranian sailors, center, who were rescued from the IRIS Dena warship by Sri Lanka’s navy, are seen in Galle, Sri Lanka, on Thursday, March 5, 2026. (Eranga Jayawardena/AP)
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He added that the U.S. Navy achieved «immediate effect, sending the warship to the bottom of the sea.»
Fox News’ Stephen Sorace, Landon Mion and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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iran,war with iran,asia world regions,conflicts,world
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