Tirana Albania Hotel
H - Europe Overview
Tirana took measures to freeze terrorist assets and shut down nongovernmental organizations suspected of international extremist activity and detained or expelled individuals suspected of having links to terrorism. Albania also provided ongoing close cooperation to the United States in sharing information and investigating terrorist-related groups and activities. Institutional weaknesses, corruption, organized crime, and difficult terrain continued to hamper Albania’s ability to carry out counterterrorism initiatives, however. Efforts to strengthen Albania's money-laundering legislation in May did not clarify or increase the scope of the laws in 2002, but Parliament expects to pass improved legislation, including specific terrorist-financing provisions, in 2003. ... [Read More]
H - Europe Overview
Various Middle Eastern-based nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that have been identified as supporting terrorist activities continued to maintain a presence in Albania. Some of the NGOs continued to provide assistance to Islamic extremists throughout the region, to include procuring false documents and facilitating terrorist travel. In early October, however, the Albanian Government simultaneously raided the Tirana headquarters of four Islamic-based NGOs believed to be involved in international Islamic extremism, detained and interrogated their principal officers, then deported them, together with their families, into the custody of police authorities from their home countries. From late October through December, Albanian authorities conducted three additional raids: two on Islamic-based NGOs suspected of supporting extremist activity, and the third on the Tirana headquarters of an Albanian business owned by a suspected al-Qaida supporter watchlisted by the US Department of the Trea ... [Read More]
2003
1111--07/29/03 Secretary Powell with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon; Mayflower Hotel; Washington, DC ... 1111--05/02/03 Visit to Tirana, Albania ... [Read More]
2003
1111--11/10/03 Press Conference with Assistant Secretaries Jones and Craner; A. Elizabeth Jones, Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs, Lorne Craner, Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor; InterContinental Hotel; Tashkent, Uzbekistan ... 1111--11/18/03 Interview with Laurent Zecchini of Le Monde; Secretary Colin L. Powell; Le Meridien Hotel; Brussels, Belgium ... [Read More]
November
1111--11/10/03 Press Conference with Assistant Secretaries Jones and Craner; A. Elizabeth Jones, Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs, Lorne Craner, Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor; InterContinental Hotel; Tashkent, Uzbekistan ... 1111--11/18/03 Interview with Laurent Zecchini of Le Monde; Secretary Colin L. Powell; Le Meridien Hotel; Brussels, Belgium ... [Read More]
May
1111--05/12/03 Interview with Israel Television Channel Two; David Citadel Hotel, Jerusalem ... 1111--05/02/03 Remarks at the U.S.-Adriatic Charter Signing Ceremony; With Albanian FM Ilir Meta, Croatian FM Tonino Picula, and Macedonian FM Ilinka Mitreva; Tirana, Albania ... 1111--05/07/03 Foreign Policy Association’s Annual Dinner ; New York Hilton Hotel; New York, New York ... [Read More]
May
1111--05/22/03 Interview with French Television 1 (TF-1); Secretary Colin L. Powell; Intercontinental Hotel; Paris, France ... 1111--05/02/03 Remarks at the Article 98 Signing Ceremony; Secretary Colin L. Powell; With Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano; Tirana, Albania ... 1111--05/02/03 Remarks at the U.S.-Adriatic Charter Signing Ceremony; Secretary Colin L. Powell; With Albanian FM Ilir Meta, Croatian FM Tonino Picula, and Macedonian FM Ilinka Mitreva; Tirana, Albania ... [Read More]
US Department Of State Post Report
Notes For Travelers Getting to the PostLast Updated: 9/30/2003 9:53 AM The recommended routing between the U.S. and Tirana is via Zurich or Vienna. Transiting Rome or Milan is also a possibility although the Embassy cautions that Alitalia often uses small planes to fly the Rome-to-Tirana route and travelers sometimes arrive without their luggage. The airport servicing Tirana is located 45–60 minutes out of town in Rinas. For travelers arriving via automobile, ferry service is available from Bari, Ancona, and Trieste in Italy to Durresi, Albania. Drivers must have the European “green card” insurance, as well as a valid U.S. driver’s license or international license to drive in the E.U. [Read More]
Albania
Albania is a cash economy. Credit cards and travelers checks are not generally accepted, except at the major new hotels in Tirana and some international airline offices. Travelers' checks can be changed at banks in larger towns. ... CRIME: Albania has a high crime rate, with instances of armed robberies and assaults. Caution should be exercised in bars in Tirana – where violent incidents, some involving the use of firearms, do sometimes occur, particularly in the early morning hours. Carjackings still occur but with less frequency than in the past. Anyone who is carjacked should surrender the vehicle without resistance. Armed crime is common in Shkoder and frequent in other towns in northern and northwestern Albania. Throughout the country, street crime is fairly common, and occurs particularly at night. Criminals do not deliberately target U.S. citizens or other foreigners, but criminals seek targets of opportunity and select those who appear to have anything of value. Pick pocketing is w ... [Read More]
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