• Albania designates Europe's last 'wild river' as a national park
• Colony of shy Albanian pelicans flourishes during pandemic
• With fewer humans to fear, flamingos flock to Albania lagoon

• Hundreds in Albania and Kosovo learn Transcendental Meditation
• Albanian media interview Maharishi University of Management president
• In Kosovo and Albania, President of MUM presents Consciousness-Based Education

• Ethnic Albanian protesters clash with police in Kosovo
• New anti-government protests in Albania
• Crisis escalates in Albania after protest deaths

---

Positive Trends
Short Summaries of Top Stories

Albania designates Europe's last 'wild river' as a national park
28 March 2023 - Albania's government has designated the Vjosa River in the southern part of the country as a national park, marking a victory for environmentalists who have been fighting for years against plans for hydropower plants along the waterway. Environmentalists and scientists have dubbed the Vjosa the last 'wild' river in Europe, as it flows uninterrupted for 270 km (170 miles) from Greece across southern Albania to the Adriatic Sea, without any dams or power stations. (more)

Colony of shy Albanian pelicans flourishes during pandemic
1 July 2021 - The pandemic has brought one good thing to western Albania's Divjaka-Karavasta Lagoon -- badly needed peace and quiet for endangered pelicans, and resulting population growth. Regional environmental officials say nesting pairs have increased by one-fifth in the last two years, from 68 in 2019 to 85 this year, even as numbers of human visitors have halved. They're huge birds, reaching up to six feet (nearly two meters) in length and 11 feet (more than three meters) in wingspan. (more)

With fewer humans to fear, flamingos flock to Albania lagoon
10 May 2020 - The coronavirus pandemic has allowed flamingos and other birds to flourish in a coastal lagoon by the Adriatic Sea. Local Albanian officials and residents say the flamingo population is up to about 3,000 at Narta Lagoon, an important waterfowl habitat that greater flamingos returned to in recent years after a long absence. Bird watchers also have noticed more pelicans, herons and other species this spring at the 28-square-kilometer (10-square-mile) lagoon, which is 145 kilometers (90 miles) south of Tirana, the capital. (more)

Birds in paradise: Albania's flamingos flourish in virus lockdown
23 April 2020 - With tourists home, boats docked, and factories silenced under a coronavirus lockdown, Albania's pink flamingos and curly pelicans are flourishing in the newfound tranquility of lagoons dotting the country's western coastline. Beating their pink and black-lined wings, a growing flock of thousands of flamingos have recently been soaring over and splashing in the glistening waters of Narta Lagoon, an important site for migratory birds on the Adriatic coast. (more)

Albania picks group led by India Power for solar plant
10 November 2018 - Albania's government picked a group led by India Power Corporation Ltd. to build the Adriatic country's first solar power station worth 70 million euros ($79.34 million) with a capacity of 100 MW, the Energy Ministry said on Saturday (10 November). (more)

Agrotourism brings hope to remote north of Albania
18 October 2017 - The small agro-tourism farm in the village of Kcire, built on the initiative of an Italian Catholic priest, has reduced local unemployment and made the remote community a beacon for visitors. Today, 15 people from the village are fully employed in the agro farm while around 100 others work there temporarily during harvest times. They prepare organic products . . . to sell to visitors to their farm or supply organic food shops all over the country. (more)

Project aims to attract tourists to remote Albanian villages
14 August 2017 - An ambitious project is aiming to open up remote villages in the highlands of southern Albania to the outside world and to tourists wanting to discover the spectacular natural beauty and rural way of life of the more isolated parts of the Balkan country. (more)

Pope's Albania visit showcases Muslim-Christian ties
20 September 2014 - The one-room, stone church of St Nicholas has sat on the top of a hill in Derven, Albania since the 16th century, destroyed three times and rebuilt in a testament to the Catholic presence in this region that dates to St Paul. Its latest incarnation, however, is particularly poignant: 15 Muslim families chipped in to help rebuild it in a sign of the remarkable coexistence that exists in Albania between Christians and Muslims. (more)

'Jazz in Albania 2014' to promote cultural heritage
22 July 2014 - The third edition of the International Festival 'JAZZ in ALBANIA' 2014, will be held from 23 July until 27 July in Albania, according to the Albanian Telegraphic Agency. Nine national and international bands will be in Albania. Their music is expected to create a special atmosphere in the country. The festival is supported by the Ministry of Culture, as well as by the respective municipalities. (more)

Smart hand pumps promise cleaner water in Africa
8 June 2012 - Rural communities across Africa may soon benefit from improved water supplies thanks to mobile phone technology. Hundreds of millions of people across rural Africa depend on hand pumps for their water supplies. But it is estimated that around one third are broken at any given moment. Often located in remote areas, repairs can sometimes take up to a month. But one of the big changes in Africa in recent years has been the expansion of mobile phone networks. It is now estimated that more people in Sub-Saharan Africa have access to these networks than have access to improved water supplies. (more)

---

Success of Maharishi's Programmes
Short Summaries of Top Stories

Hundreds in Albania and Kosovo learn Transcendental Meditation
9 September 2013 - Dr Bevan Morris, President of Maharishi University of Management in Iowa, USA, toured Kosovo and Albania in the past year to present the latest developments and research regarding the Transcendental Meditation programme around the world. At the time of Dr Morris's visit, for the past few months a foundation started by a wealthy businessman had sponsored about 700 people to learn Transcendental Meditation in Albania and Kosovo. Because of this, several officials and educators Dr Morris met with had already heard of the technique. (more)

Albanian media interview Maharishi University of Management president
7 September 2013 - Recently describing a visit to southeastern Europe, Dr Bevan Morris, President of Maharishi University of Management in the USA, commented on one of the things that impressed him--the great change in countries in the Balkan region in the last 20 years. Albania especially went from being an isolated and poor country to becoming modern and technologically advanced. He attributed this and other positive changes around the world to rising coherence resulting from people in many countries practising Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's peace-creating technologies of consciousness. 'It's like the tide is rising for the whole world consciousness and a happier, freer, and better life is rising in the world,' he said. (more)

In Kosovo and Albania, President of MUM presents Consciousness-Based Education
7 September 2013 - Dr Bevan Morris, President of Maharishi University of Management in the USA, visited Kosovo and Albania recently, presenting programmes and technologies of consciousness developed by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi to improve the quality of life for individuals and the whole society. Highlighting the role of Transcendental Meditation in improving education, he noted that the technique is a central element in Consciousness-Based Education, and described research showing the benefits of students practising Transcendental Meditation every day in schools, which helps them become more creative and promotes stress-free learning. (more)

Consciousness-Based Education inspires keen interest among educators in Balkan countries
17 April 2010 - During a recent tour of countries in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe, Dr Felix Kaegi, administrator of the Transcendental Meditation Programme, and Dr Ashley Deans had two to four meetings every day about Consciousness-Based Education, all with top level educators, including officials, deans of universities, principals of schools, and those responsible for higher education. (more)

Cyprus and Albania receptive to Consciousness-Based Education on Dr Ashley Deans' tour
17 April 2010 - Educators, government officials, and the public in Cyprus and Albania have shown great receptivity towards Consciousness-Based Education over the last few months, during which Dr Ashley Deans, Global Ambassador for Consciousness-Based Education, toured universities and schools in these countries. (more)

New potential for peace and invincibility in Albania, Kosovo
30 December 2009 - New possibilities for peace and progress are dawning for Albania and Kosovo through programmes of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Significant interest in Consciousness-Based Education is being shown in both countries; in Kosovo, people are welcoming effective programmes to help establish their new country. (more)

Albania rises towards invincibility with new Consciousness-Based Education initiatives
24 July 2009 - In the last year, Albania has seen significant developments in the field of Consciousness-Based Education, including the introduction of Maharishi's programmes in universities and schools, and progress in the establishment of Maharishi Central University of Europe. (more)

Global Country of World Peace leaders visit Albania: Plans advance for Maharishi Central University for Europe
3 October 2008 - Speaking from Albania, a delegation of leaders of the Global Country of World Peace discuss plans for rapid construction of Maharishi Central University of Europe, soon to be built on beautiful Lake Prespa, a high mountain lake bordering Albania, Greece, and Macedonia. (more)

Plans evolving for Maharishi Central University in Albania
23 September 2007 - Dr Felix Kägi, Raja (Administrator) of Switzerland for the Global Country of World Peace, recently reported on progress toward establishing Maharishi Central University in Europe with a campus of 2,500 students in Albania. (more)

---

Flops
Short Summaries of Top Stories

Ethnic Albanian protesters clash with police in Kosovo
27 June 2013 - Kosovo's parliament approved an EU-brokered agreement on creating normal ties with neighbouring Serbia on Thursday as protesters opposing the deal clashed with riot police in Pristina. The 120-seat assembly passed the deal, reached under European Union auspices in April, with 84 votes in favour. In unruly scenes outside, police used pepper spray to disperse protesters and pushed them away from the entrance to parliament and other government buildings in the capital. Some demonstrators threw cans of pink paint at the police. The agreement, which will allow Serbia and Kosovo to start moving closer towards EU membership, is designed to end the ethnic partition of majority-Albanian Kosovo, five years after the territory of 1.7 million seceded from Serbia. (more)

New anti-government protests in Albania
4 February 2011 - Thousands of Albanians converged on central Tirana on Friday to demand the government step down over corruption allegations, two weeks after a similar anti-government demonstration turned violent and left three people dead. Protest marches were also being held in another three cities, including the town of Lezha northwest of Tirana, Vlora to the southwest, and Korca to the southeast. Tensions rose sharply last month when the country's Deputy Prime Minister, Ilir Meta, resigned amid allegations he tried to influence a state tender for a hydropower station. The opposition Socialists are now demanding that conservative Prime Minister Sali Berisha hold early elections over allegations of corruption and vote rigging in the previous 2009 general election. The opposition has vowed to hold weekly rallies across the country every Friday. (more)

Crisis escalates in Albania after protest deaths
22 January 2011 - A political crisis escalated in Albania on Saturday as the government and the opposition traded blame for the deaths of three protests during a violent demonstration against an administration accused of deeply rooted corruption. Tensions have been mounting for months between Albania's conservative government and the main opposition Socialist Party. They rose sharply last week when Deputy Prime Minister Ilir Meta resigned after a private TV station aired a video that it said showed him asking a colleague to influence the awarding of a contract to build a power station. On Friday night, protesters overturned and burned police vehicles, and clashed with officers who fought them off with tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon. Two men were fatally shot in the chest and another died of a wound to the head. (more)

Trash, sewage mar Albania tourism, investment lure
17 June 2009 - By closing Albania to the outside world, its Communist leaders preserved vast swaths of virgin Mediterranean coastline from unbridled development. Yet trash and sewage from the consumer and construction explosion after communism endanger the pristine beauty that could fuel future economic growth through tourism. Albania was Europe's poorest and most isolated country under Communism and people consumed little. Its opening to the outside world in the 1990s brought packaged consumer goods that led to a mass of trash across the country. A traveller in Albania frequently encounters small random piles of trash by the roadside, with larger quantities sometimes dumped over cliffs, or into rivers. In some spots, plastic bottles accumulate in rivers or along shores. (more)

Serbs, ethnic Albanians don't reach agreement over Kosovo
22 February 2006 - UN-mediated talks over Kosovo's disputed political status will resume in a month, after a Serb and ethnic Albanian meeting on the issue Tuesday produced no agreement. Albert Rohan, the UN's deputy envoy at the talks, conceded that it might take a generation for the two sides to live together in harmony after the bloodshed of the 1990s. (more)

UN recommends that Kosovo talks go ahead despite corruption and ethnic tension
7 October 2005 - UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan recommended Friday that talks on Kosovo's future go ahead despite corruption and pervasive ethnic tension. The issue of Kosovo's fate is highly contentious because the majority ethnic Albanians want full independence, but the Serb minority insists that Kosovo remain part of Serbia-Montenegro, the union that replaced Yugoslavia. (more)

Albanian polls are test of ties to West
3 July 2005 - Political leaders are touting Sunday's general elections as a showcase of Albania's progress toward democracy since the fall of communism a decade ago and a near collapse into anarchy in the late 1990s. But apathy is evident among voters and the country remains one of Europe's most destitute. Meanwhile, the World Bank estimates revenue lost from corruption at some $1.4 billion per year. (more)