INDIA flatly rejected yesterday a demand by the Albanian government for the return of the remains of Nobel laureate Mother Teresa, buried in the eastern city of Calcutta.

Albania wants the remains of Nobel Peace laureate Mother Teresa and the only post-independence monarch to be returned to the country, the prime minister said.

ALBANIANS have voted in a general election that is seen as crucial for the country’s European Union aspirations, with surveys showing the two main rivals neck and neck.

ALBANIANS have voted in a general election that is seen as crucial for the country’s European Union aspirations, with surveys showing the two main rivals neck and neck.

An explosive device killed a conservative politician as he drove through northern Albania today, 10 days ahead of the country’s parliamentary election, police said.

Rescuers were preparing today to enter the heart of a massive blast site at an Albanian army ammunition dump, where a chain of explosions killed at least five people and injured 243.

A massive explosion at an Albanian army ammunition dump near Tirana today killed at least four people and injured 215, including many children, authorities said.

A massive explosion at an Albanian army ammunition dump near Tirana today killed at least four people and injured more than 170, including many children. The country’s prime minister said he feared there could be many dead.

A powerful explosion at an army depot near Tirana today injured more than 150 people, including many children, and damaged the city’s nearby international airport, authorities said.

US PRESIDENT George W Bush, receiving a hero’s welcome as the first American president to visit Albania, said yesterday it was now time for neighbouring Kosovo to be given independence.

US President George Bush received a hero’s welcome as the first American president to visit Albania today, and said there cannot be endless dialogue about achieving independence for Serbia’s province of Kosovo.

Albania is to sign a pre-membership agreement with the European Union, considered as the first step in Tirana’s efforts to join the bloc, the government said today.

Opposition leader Sali Berisha’s coalition was officially declared winner of Albania’s July 3 parliamentary elections today, following weeks of delays in confirming final results.

Albania’s opposition leader was said to be ahead today in parliamentary elections seen as a key test of the country’s post-communist democracy.

Albanians today cast ballots in a key test of its post-Communist institutions, but local observers raised some concerns over voting procedures in rural areas.