
Flash News
Counting ends in Kukës district, DP wins 2 mandates
Egnatia is declared champion of Albania, ending Vllaznia's 24-year dream
DP leads in Kavaja against SP
Financial Times / Rama wins fourth term: the creation of a cosmetic pluralism is at risk
Neither PS, nor DP/ In Vau i Dejës, Tom Doshi's party is declared the leading force
"Hydroelectric gold", The Guardian echoes Vjosa: How Europe's first wild river national park removed dams
The Vjosa River was declared a National Park a week ago. "The Guardian" has dedicated an article to the Vjosa River, calling it the first wild river to be declared a National Park.
The article focuses on the construction of dams on the Vjosa River as it writes: "At one point, 45 dams were proposed on the Vjosa River, eight on the main river and 37 on its tributaries. Until now, the largest was the 50-meter-high Kalivac hydropower plant. You can still see the terraces cut into the hills on either side of the river, while long-abandoned earth movers remain on one bank, left by an Italian company that started work in 2007, before abandoning it. In the river beyond, the arm of a yellow digger lies, half submerged.”
The head of Riveratch, a Vienna-based NGO for river protection, Ulrich Eichelmann, and his allies from the Save the Blue Heart of Europe (STBHE) coalition, have campaigned relentlessly against what they call "hydroelectric gold". in the Balkans, where its most pristine and biodiverse rivers are threatened by more than 3,000 proposed dams.
Eichelmann notes the gravel islands where stone curlews lay their eggs, and the gorges where hawks nest. Complex underwater habitats support critically endangered European eels, whose numbers have declined by 95% since the 1980s, as they migrate 270 km (168 miles) upstream to the river's source in the Pindus Mountains in Greece.
"That's the attacker!" Eichelmann says, as his eyes wander to the distant fadromes. "It's a symbol of war - but the river won."
"The dam would destroy the whole system," says Eichelmann. "The water will not be clean, the gravel will be blocked. The dam will collect sediment and the whole thing will collapse. A tank may look beautiful, but underneath it is stagnant.”
After the failed Italian project, the Albanian government, which receives almost all of its domestic energy production from hydropower, awarded a concession to build the dam to a Turkish-Albanian consortium in 2017.
Ulrika Åberg, a project officer at IUCN, says: "When people talk about hydropower as renewable, they say: 'It's just water, it's the same water in the system.' But what it does to a river is not renewable. It destroys habitats that have been built up over years."
If the planned dam were to be built on the tributary, it would divert the river 7 km downstream and bring no profit to the community, which is interested in developing river-based tourism.
The marathon campaign to get protected park status for Vjosa involved years of protests, lawsuits and investigations questioning environmental impact assessments submitted by hydropower companies.
The campaign attracted support from scientists, EU parliamentarians and celebrities including Leonardo DiCaprio. In 2018, Eichelmann accompanied international scientists to the banks of Vjosa to carry out sampling. They found 1,000 species of plants and animals, 13 of which were globally threatened.
Latest news


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2025-05-12 22:11:27
Egnatia is declared champion of Albania, ending Vllaznia's 24-year dream
2025-05-12 22:03:56


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2025-05-12 21:36:15
Rama leaves headquarters, does not speak to journalists
2025-05-12 21:26:16
New report, old refrain
2025-05-12 21:18:59
DP gains advantage in Lezha, secures 4 mandates
2025-05-12 21:06:16
DP leads in Kavaja against SP
2025-05-12 20:57:52
In Shkodra, Vllaznia brings together the commissioners of the SP and the DP
2025-05-12 20:43:15
60% of votes counted across Albania, how mandates are distributed
2025-05-12 20:30:56

OSCE-ODIHR Report/ Media in Albania, collaborators of the government
2025-05-12 20:20:13
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2025-05-12 20:08:27
Counting closes in Librazhd, how votes were divided between the DP and the SP
2025-05-12 20:02:24

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2025-05-12 19:45:19
The May 11 elections, with old problems
2025-05-12 19:37:31
Source: DP should request the annulment of the elections
2025-05-12 19:25:20
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2025-05-12 19:18:39

Vllaznia-Egnatia is played today, Shkodra fans arrive at the "National Arena"
2025-05-12 19:03:11

Even in the women's prison, the SP is voted for
2025-05-12 18:44:08
Accident in Laç, 84-year-old man taken to Trauma Hospital
2025-05-12 18:30:36
Counting continues in Tirana, Tabaku: Projection of mandates will change
2025-05-12 18:18:03

The Diaspora vote, a reflection of the elections within the country?
2025-05-12 17:59:12



The DP leads confidently in Fushë Krujë and Kamëz
2025-05-12 17:19:50



Number of diplomas declining, 9-year education most affected
2025-05-12 16:41:54
Leaving aside votes from Greece, CEC: They will not be excluded from the count
2025-05-12 16:31:53

They photographed ballots, two people are wanted in Tirana
2025-05-12 16:11:52

Prisoners choose Rama!? PS wins with 82% in Elbasan detention center
2025-05-12 15:55:19

Austrian tourist, injured in accident on Himara-Borsh road, dies
2025-05-12 15:37:14
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2025-05-12 15:31:20

"There are violations!"/ Vote counting halted in CEAZ 17 in Klos
2025-05-12 15:11:41


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2025-05-12 14:49:37
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2025-05-12 14:28:33

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Vote counting in Delvina closes, here are the results
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2025-05-12 13:20:00



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Electronic voting results published in Vora, votes for each party
2025-05-12 12:10:03
In such elections, victory can only be Edi Rama's.
2025-05-12 12:01:10
Threatened journalist during duty, 26-year-old faces criminal charges
2025-05-12 11:57:39

The counting process in Himara ends, the Socialist Party wins
2025-05-12 11:49:17
May 11th elections, SPAK: 39 criminal proceedings have been registered
2025-05-12 11:36:25


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2025-05-12 11:04:31
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2025-05-12 10:50:30
Counting ends in Tepelena, Socialist Party wins
2025-05-12 10:45:23
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Mirditë/ DP leads over SP, how many votes have they received so far
2025-05-12 10:23:30
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Threats for a vote, the party's deputy chairman under investigation by SPA
2025-05-12 09:53:18
The DP-ASHM coalition leads in Kavaja
2025-05-12 09:47:41
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2025-05-12 09:24:39

Counting ends in Kolonjë, who is leading?
2025-05-12 09:00:13

Counting ends in Pustec, SP leads
2025-05-12 08:41:21
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2025-05-12 08:38:13

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