Tirana sees sixth day of violent protests as Albania’s PM refuses to resign - Al Jazeera

Students and other protesters gathered outside the Ministry of Education in Tirana on Saturday as anti-government demonstrations entered their fifth consecutive day. The protests, which have spread to cities across Albania, intensified after high school and university students joined a broader movement calling for Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama's resignation over allegations of corruption.

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Student-led demonstrators clashed Thursday with Albanian police in the capital Tirana for a third day running, joining a broader anti-government movement launched in opposition to a major development project linked to U. S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Youths protesting Albania’s long-serving Socialist government hurled rocks at a police cordon outside the Education Ministry, and riot police responded with tear gas and water cannons. Police detained several demonstrators. The latest clashes followed riots on Wednesday when protesters attacked government buildings, banks and businesses, leaving 89 people injured including 61 police officers, according to the Health Ministry. The protests were led by student groups seeking education reforms. They have joined the so-called flamingo movement, which is calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama over allegations of widespread corruption and in opposition to the large luxury tourism development on Albania’s southern coast, associated with an investment firm founded by Kushner. Story continues below advertisement

Student protests against poor conditions in Albania’s education system have continued for a third day in the capital, Tirana, as Prime Minister Edi Rama insists he will not resign. Demonstrators have called on Rama to quit in often violent protests since Tuesday. They have set fire to several buildings across the city, including the prime minister’s office, ministry buildings and branches of several banks. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Photos: Student protest in Albania prompts violent clashes with policelist 2 of 4Fire erupts at Albania’s Education Ministry as protests spirallist 3 of 4AI in politics: Is Albania the EU’s testing ground?list 4 of 4‘Each country goes its own way’: How Balkan politics shape ties with Israelend of listDozens of police officers and protesters have been injured amid attempts to disperse the crowds using water cannon and tear gas. “What you are seeing is the boiling point of months of suppressed grievances,” Albanian journalist Arlis Alikaj told Al Jazeera.

Tom Homan, Donald Trump’s “border czar”, has said that the Republican presidential administration could “of course” strip Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar of her citizenship and deport her. Homan’s comments during a Saturday appearance on Fox News were the first remarks explicitly mentioning denaturalization and deportation in connection with Omar that were attributed by name to a top Trump administration official since federal agents raided the Minnesota US House representative’s home on 12 October. The search of Omar’s home sparked major backlash and accusations that the Trump administration was weaponizing the federal government to target a political rival whom the president and his supporters have openly fantasized about denaturalizing and deporting. The federal government’s investigation into the most prominent Somali American in the US is to see whether Omar or her family violated any laws when obtaining her citizenship. The investigation was launched only weeks before the November midterm elections, in which Omar is on the ballot.

The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, has denounced the settler attack that left the Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine badly beaten and needing surgery as a “despicable act of terror” and called for the arrest and prosecution of those responsible. Levine, an award-winning journalist who lives in Israel, was set upon last Friday by masked Israeli settlers who used clubs and other weapons to attack Palestinian people attempting to harvest their olives in occupied West Bank towns. The 63-year-old photographer, who is in a hospital in Petah Tikva near Tel Aviv recovering from hand surgery, broken ribs and other injuries she sustained in the attack, said she was beaten for more than 10 minutes by the settlers, who also stole her camera, passport and phone. American photojournalist recounts Israeli settler attack in the occupied West Bank – video“I was attacked, pushed to the ground,” Levine said. “Luckily, I had my flak jacket and helmet, otherwise I probably wouldn’t even be here, because they just kept kicking and kicking me.” She added the attack ended when her Palestinian colleagues intervened to save her.