A fire broke out this morning in Rriban, Mallakastër. As the footage shows, the flames have engulfed the forested area, making it even more difficult for firefighting services to intervene.

Despite the challenging terrain, firefighters are working to bring the flames under control.

Mallakastër was also affected by fires yesterday, when around 10 hectares of olive groves and scrubland burned near the village of Hekal, close to “Qafa e Vidhit.”

The flames also approached oil wells and homes, but fortunately they were brought under control in time.

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Over the past seven years, apartment prices in Tirana have risen sharply across all administrative units, ranging from around 85% in the areas with the lowest increases to more than 151% in those with the highest increases.

Monitor presents changes in average prices across the 11 municipal units, based on data from the Keydata Albania index published by “Çelësi Media Group,” comparing the second quarter of 2019 with the second quarter of 2026.

Overall, the data show that average apartment prices have nearly doubled in most administrative units over the past seven years, while in some areas the increase has reached as much as 150%.

According to the index data, in Unit No. 1, average apartment sale and purchase prices in Tirana had reached €2,116 per square meter by June 2026. Compared with the same period in 2019, average prices in this unit rose by 115% over the seven-year period.

To clarify where this unit is located and which cadastral zones it includes, according to the Keydata index maps, Unit No. 1 comprises two cadastral zones: 1/1 (the “Ali Demi” Cinema, the Sports Field, Shkozë village, the Water Depot) and Zone 1/2, which includes Poligrafiku, Shkozë, Autotraktorët, Shkozë village, Lana Bregas, Linzë and Sauk.

In Unit No. 2, the average price rose from €1,186 per square meter in the second quarter of 2019 to €2,306 per square meter by June 2026, an increase of around 95%.

According to the maps, Unit No. 2 is divided into five cadastral zones: 2/1 Piramida, the former “Qemal Stafa” Stadium; 2/2 Pazari i Ri, the nine-story buildings and “Avni Rustemi” School; 2/3 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambulance No. 1 and Bërryli; 2/4 the Ballet School and the American Embassy; 2/5 the “Student City,” the Faculty of Economics, the Martyrs’ Cemetery, Sauk and Selitë.

In Unit No. 3, prices rose by 116%, from €832 per square meter in the second quarter of 2019 to €1,796 per square meter by June 2026.

Unit No. 3 is divided into two cadastral zones: 3/1 Xhamllëku, Profarma, “Bardhyl” Street, “Kongresi i Manastirit” Street and “Zhan D’Ark” Boulevard; 3/2 Porcelani, IK V, Kinostudio, “Hoxha Tahsim” Street, the old Lana and Linzë village.

Unit No. 4 also saw average sale prices rise by around 130%. The price climbed from €769 per square meter to €1,759 per square meter. Unit No. 4 includes the following cadastral zones: 4/1 the hospital complex, SHIK, Oxhaku, New Allias and Tufinë village; 4/2 Allias, “Njazi Meka” Street, Bregu i Lumit, New Allias, “Myslym Keta” Street and “5 Maji”.

In Unit No. 5, prices rose by 127%, from an average of €1,110 per square meter in the second quarter of 2019 to €2,514 per square meter in the same period of 2026, seven years later.

Unit No. 5 includes the following cadastral zones: 5/1 the former Blloku, the University Bookshop and Vodafone; 5/2 “Selman Stermasi” Stadium, Shushica and the Artificial Lake; 5/3 the Botanical Garden, “Komuna e Parisit” Street and the Artificial Lake; 5/4 the “Diplomat” Hotel, the “Vasil Shanto” block and Little Selitë.

For the former Blloku area, the Keydata Albania index calculates prices separately. The average price in this area reached €2,962 per square meter by June 2026. Compared with the second quarter of 2019, the average price rose by 117%.

The largest increase was recorded in Administrative Unit No. 6, where average prices rose by 151%, from €672 per square meter to €1,687 per square meter. This unit has only one cadastral zone, No. 6, which includes the Technology School, Kombinat, Vaqar, Selitë, Yzberisht and Sharrë.

Unit No. 7 also recorded a strong increase of 128%, with the average price reaching €2,131 per square meter, compared with €935 per square meter seven years earlier. Unit No. 7 is divided into four cadastral zones: 7/1 the District Court road and the former “Albania Today” Exhibition; 7/2 the Embassy Block and the Faculty of Civil Engineering; 7/3 NSHRAK, the Ministry of Interior park and the bread factory; 7/4 the New Ring Road, the Flour Mill, the former Aviation Field and Yzberisht.

In Unit No. 8, prices rose by 85%, the lowest increase among the units analyzed. The average apartment price rose from €958 per square meter to €1,786 per square meter by June 2026. This unit is divided into three cadastral zones: 8/1 Selvia, “Partizani” High School and “Tafajt” Street; 8/2 Medreseja, Pharmacy No. 10 and the Industrial Market; 8/3 the Industrial Market, the “Ajka” factory, the “Dinamo” plant and Bregu i Lumit.

Unit No. 9, meanwhile, recorded an increase of 112%, from €1,004 to €2,127 per square meter.

This unit is also divided into three cadastral zones: 9/1 Bar Piazza, the block along “Zogu I,” Barrikadave Street, “Fortuzi” Street and “Sulejman Pasha” Street up to “Mine Peza”; 9/2 the train station, the General Archives, the Mortgage Office and the Polytechnic; 9/3 “Don Bosko,” the Shoe Factory, Bregu i Lumit, the Polytechnic and “Siri Kodra” Street.

After the former Blloku area, Unit No. 10 remains one of the capital’s most expensive areas. Over seven years, the average price rose by 119%, from €1,150 to €2,515 per square meter. Unit No. 10 includes the following cadastral zones: 10/1 PTT, Telekom and the former Writers’ League; 10/2 “Myslym Shyri” Street, the Police Directorate and the Catholic Church; 10/3 the Embassy Block, the Prosecutor’s Office and Durrës Street.

Meanwhile, in Unit No. 11, prices rose by around 107%, from €740 per square meter to €1,530 per square meter. This unit includes the following cadastral zones: 11/1 Zogu i Zi and the former Party School; 11/2 Ferluti, the former Tirana Plant, FIAT and the descent toward Laprakë; 11/3 Laprakë, the Customs Directorate, the Military Hospital, Bregu i Lumit, Fushë Mëzes and Don Bosko. / Monitor

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A statement by Prime Minister Edi Rama, made years ago when he was in opposition, has resurfaced and is circulating on social media. In his speech at the time, Rama said:

“The red-and-black flag of Skanderbeg, of Ismail Qemali, of the heroes of the war, all those who gave what they could to leave us this shared wealth called Albania as their legacy. Let us save it from the clutches of a regime of theft and fraud.”

The statement was made at a time when the Socialist Party was in opposition and Rama was criticizing the government of the day.

Today, as protests are taking place against the government led by Edi Rama, citizens who have been taking to the streets for more than two months are demanding the same thing Rama once articulated: “Let’s save Albania from the regime’s clutches.”

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An arsenal hidden for decades has been uncovered as a result of the major fires that swept through southern France. Around 400 shells and historic munitions were found buried near the village of Le Porge, in the Gironde region.

Local authorities said that the explosions recorded during the fires may have been caused by World War II munitions that were activated by the high temperatures. It was initially suspected that the noises came from exploding gas cylinders, according to the BBC.

Martial Zaninetti, mayor of Le Porge, told France Info that more than 100 explosions were heard during the second night of the fire. He described the noise as resembling “the sounds of war.”

The mayor explained that buried ammunition depots were located on municipal land, although the authorities had been completely unaware of their presence.

“There were ammunition depots buried on our municipal land, but we did not know about them. They exploded,” Zaninetti said.

During the detonations, several shells were thrown in different directions, while one managed to penetrate a house, he added.

Following clearance operations in the area, most residents have been allowed to return home. However, some areas remain inaccessible to the public.

Because of the danger posed by the munitions that have not yet been collected, access to the beach, a campsite and the village of La Jenny remains prohibited.

The fires in Gironde, which continued for nearly 10 days, have now been brought under control, but they have left considerable damage in their wake.

In the Le Porge area, the fire destroyed more than 180 homes. Images released from the scene show families searching through the ruins of burned-out houses.

France’s Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornu, expressed his gratitude to firefighters for their work, describing the situation the country had gone through as an “unprecedented crisis.”

According to him, the fight against the fires has entered a new phase, while evacuees are gradually returning to their homes.

Over the past two weeks, wildfires have affected several parts of Europe, with France and Spain among the hardest-hit countries. Because of the situation, more than 330,000 people were forced to temporarily leave their homes.

France ranked among the countries suffering the most severe consequences, as around 42,000 hectares of forest burned in the southwest. This is considered one of the largest fires in the country since World War II.

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Nearly three decades after the bodies of Albanian civilians were discovered in the valley of the village of Recak in Kosovo, the trial for this crime has begun in Pristina, while official Belgrade continues to deny it.

The trial began on July 31, but at the start of the hearing, the judge announced that the defendants’ bench was empty. More than 20 members of the Serbian army and police, who have been indicted in absentia for the killing of 42 people, are in Serbia, Radio Free Europe (RFE) writes, as reported by KosovaPress.

Some of the defendants are members of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), which is in power, while others have been honored with high state decorations.

An analysis of available data and archives conducted by Radio Free Europe (RFE) shows that some of them continue to publicly promote what they present as “the truth about Recak.”

Ten of them denied the killing of Albanian civilians in a film broadcast by Serbia’s public broadcaster.

In Serbia, no official proceedings are being conducted against these individuals. Serbia’s ministries of the interior, defense and justice did not respond to RFE’s questions about the defendants, against whom an international arrest warrant has been issued.

Serbia’s War Crimes Prosecutor’s Office also failed to respond to Radio Free Europe’s questions.

Kosovo’s indictment contradicts Belgrade’s version, according to which the events in Recak were the result of a “legitimate police operation” in which members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) were killed.

Although the killing of civilians has been established by several international organizations, including the Hague Tribunal, Serbian authorities continue to claim that the massacre was staged.

Defendants’ presence at ruling-party events

“There is no reason for us to be afraid; we know that we fought for our state.”

Goran Radosavljevic Guri gave this response during an appearance on Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) in January 2024, when he was asked whether he feared that his name might be included in the indictment of Kosovo’s Special Prosecutor’s Office.

RFE was unable to contact him after the trial began in Pristina. In previous statements, Radosavljevic had described Recak as “a perfectly executed police operation during which armed terrorists were killed.”

According to the indictment, at the time of the massacre, he served as deputy commander of the General Staff for special operations in Kosovo.

He is currently a member of the SNS, attends the party’s rallies and appears as a guest on Serbia’s national television channels.

Goran Radosavljevic Guri is also mentioned in the Hague Tribunal’s judgment against former head of the Public Security Department, Vlastimir Djordjevic. In that document, he is identified as one of the commanders of the special police forces that took part in the operation in Recak.

The Humanitarian Law Center, a nongovernmental organization, has discussed his links to this and other crimes in Kosovo. Nevertheless, he has never been tried.

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Vigan Qorrolli, a deputy from the Vetëvendosje Movement, said Tuesday’s meeting with the Democratic League of Kosovo could pave the way for a political agreement that would unblock the formation of institutions.

According to him, the LVV expects the LDK, the third-largest parliamentary group with 18 deputies, to enter the talks constructively and with a willingness to compromise.

Qorrolli expressed optimism that tomorrow’s meeting could produce a positive and achievable outcome, leading to an agreement between the two political entities.

He said communication between the two parties was taking place in a calm atmosphere, while the main objective was to establish stable institutions with a full four-year mandate.

“We are operating within the rules of the political game and political consensus. I do not believe there will be any taboo topics. Everything will be discussed. The post of prime minister is uncontested, and Albin Kurti will hold it. Meanwhile, I believe a formula will be found for the other positions במסגרת of a political agreement, under which participation in the government, its composition and then also the position of president will be negotiated,” he said.

Asked about the possibility of the LDK joining the government, the LVV deputy said all issues could be discussed at the negotiating table. The only exception, he said, was the post of prime minister, which was not up for discussion and would be held by Albin Kurti.

Qorrolli said the LVV did not support a second term for the current president, Vjosa Osmani, and preferred a candidate who would have consensus support and be closer to the shared values of the two parties.

“We have made our position on President Osmani clear. The LVV does not prefer her to serve as president again. We want a consensus candidate who could be closer to the values shared by the two political parties. At the moment, there is no agreement on her candidacy, not even within the parliamentary group,” he said.

He added that, based on the information he had, there was no unanimous agreement within the LVV Parliamentary Group on Osmani’s renomination for the presidency.

“I have made it clear several times that I will not be the ‘black cat,’ but as far as I know, there is no agreement within the parliamentary group on her candidacy. Many deputies have said they do not want Osmani as president,” Qorrolli stressed.

The deputy reiterated that the LVV remained convinced that the LDK should show the courage to negotiate on political terms that would secure stable institutions for Kosovo for four years.

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The house in Zveçan, where the Berisha family had begun work to return to their property after 28 years, caught fire and suffered extensive damage.

According to journalist Boshnjaku, the incident suggests that the family’s return to their birthplace may have troubled someone.

“During the night of Sunday, while the family members were not at home, a person set fire to the house. The flames completely destroyed one of the rooms in the two-story building, while considerable damage was also caused to the roof. The work and everything else the family had begun renovating were also damaged,” Boshnjaku said.

The Kosovo Police registered the case as “Arson” and dispatched the relevant units to the scene. Erduan Baliqi, head of Regional Planning and Operations, said that so far there are no suspects, while the investigation is ongoing.

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Vigan Qorrolli, an LVV member of parliament, commented on the meetings that acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti has called with representatives of political entities ahead of the continuation of the constitutive session of the Assembly of Kosovo.

According to Qorrolli, the Democratic Party of Kosovo is in opposition because of the will expressed by the citizens, and not as a result of a decision by the party itself. He made the comments after the Democratic Party of Kosovo and the Alliance refused to attend the meeting.

“The people have left it in opposition, while what the PDK deputy chairwoman said reveals the truth behind this letter. During a press conference at the premises of the Assembly of Kosovo, she said they would not participate, while the justification that they are in opposition serves to conceal the fact that they do not want to allow Albin Kurti to govern. Being in opposition is entirely legitimate, but this does not apply when the election of the president requires two-thirds of the deputies and consensus is needed for them to be present in the chamber,” Qorrolli said.

The LVV lawmaker also assessed that, in his view, failure to attend the meeting was an attempt to prevent the establishment of the new institutions.

“Their decision to refuse the meeting constitutes direct sabotage of the establishment of the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo, including the position of president, since no result can be expected when the aim is to establish the institutions,” Qorrolli declared.

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Albin Kurti, the acting prime minister, and Lumir Abdixhiku, chairman of the Democratic League of Kosovo, are expected to hold a meeting today at the Kosovo Assembly, starting at 18:00.

The talks are being held just three days before the Assembly’s constitutive session, during a decisive period for establishing the new institutions. The possibility of political cooperation and overcoming the institutional deadlock are expected to be the main topics of discussion.

Abdixhiku’s participation in the meeting, along with the time and venue, was confirmed by LDK spokesperson Besian Mustafa.

On Monday, Kurti sent invitations for meetings to three political entities to discuss the constitution of the Assembly and the formation of the new institutions.

The invitation was rejected by the Democratic Party of Kosovo, which reiterated its position that it would remain in opposition. Meanwhile, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo brought renewed attention to its six-point offer, which also includes the issue of electing the president.

There is significant attention on the Kurti-Abdixhiku meeting, as a possible rapprochement between the two parties could have a direct impact both on political developments and on the process of forming the institutions. It remains unknown, however, whether the discussion will produce a concrete agreement or end without any result.

On July 10, Kurti also held separate talks with the leaders of the PDK and LDK, but they did not result in an agreement. Today’s meeting with Abdixhiku is viewed as another attempt to bring their positions closer before the Assembly session.

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Firefighters continued their efforts throughout the night to extinguish the fire near the village of Raec in Kavadar. According to the Directorate for Protection and Rescue, the situation has improved significantly, but the fire has not been fully extinguished and remains active.

Today, the teams have been deployed along two routes. On the section from the village of Drenovë to Qesendre, the Kavadar Public Utility Company “Komunalec” is participating with one water tanker, one container and two employees. The Ministry of Internal Affairs is taking part with one jeep, one Pinzgauer and four employees, while the “Bor” branch of the Kavadar Public Utility Company has made available one truck, one jeep and four employees. Kavadar firefighters are also on the ground with two Pinzgauers, one “Lada Niva” and eight firefighters.

Meanwhile, in the area of the village of Raec, the Kavadar Public Utility Company “Komunalec” is operating with one water tanker, one container and two employees. Kavadar firefighters are present with one fire engine and 5 firefighters, while those from Negotino have one jeep and four firefighters. Four Ministry of Internal Affairs employees have also been deployed in this area, the Directorate for Protection and Rescue announced./Telegrafi/

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