Albania Financial News

By Jan Strupczewski

These rankings cover 12 categories, notably introducing the category of 'International student diversity,' a measure that goes beyond simply assessing the proportion of international students, taking into account the number of nationalities they represent, providing a more accurate reflection of diversity. The United Kingdom led the pack, with the most represented universities on this list, accounting for 15.5% of the institutions, followed by Türkiye at 10.6%, Germany at 7.8%, Italy at 7.5%, France at 7.2%, Spain at 6.4%, Poland at 4.8%, and Ukraine at 4.8%. 106 European universities that have not previously been ranked have been added this year, signaling the evolving landscape of higher education. These institutions hail from North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, and Albania. Topping the charts in the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024 is the University of Oxford, leading seven UK institutions in the top 10. Alongside the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London have secured a perfect score of 100 points in categories such as 'Academic reputation,' 'Employer reputation,' and 'International Research Network.' This underscores the UK's robust higher education system, renowned for its exceptional teaching and research standards. Additionally, some universities within the top 10 have over 10% of their student population from international backgrounds, highlighting the UK's appeal to global students.

UN Security Council meeting on Moscow's invasion of his country when Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia objected to him taking the floor at the start of the meeting, according to Reuters reports. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama responded with a gibe at Moscow, which has long said the invasion does not amount to war but was a mere "special military operation". "I want to assure our Russian colleagues and everyone here that this is not a special operation by the Albanian presidency," Rama, known for a piercing sense of humor, said to muted laughter across the room, Reuters reported.

The leaders of Serbia and Kosovo have held long-awaited face-to-face talks that the European Union hopes will improve their strained relations

New Delhi: Toy retailer Hamleys, owned by Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd., has inaugurated its first retail store in Italy with franchisee Giochi Preziosi S.P.A (GP), a prominent player in the European country’s toy manufacturing and distribution industry.. Under the terms of the franchise agreement, GP has secured the exclusive rights to operate Hamleys stores throughout Italy, Reliance Brands Ltd. (RBL), that acquired the British toy retailer in 2019, said in a statement on Thursday Hamleys has made its debut in Italy with a store in Milan at the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II.

Hamleys, owned by Reliance Brands Limited has opened first retail store in Italy with franchisee Giochi Preziosi SPA (GP), a leading player in Italy's toy manufacturing and distribution industry. Under the terms of the franchise agreement, GP has the rights to operate Hamleys stores throughout Italy. The first store is situated in Milan, at the renowned Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, and will be followed by the launch of a flagship store in Rome. “Guided by our vision — crafting memories through the joy of play, we are looking forward to becoming a centerpiece store in the popular shopping and tourist destination of Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, Milan,” said Sumeet Yadav, CEO, Hamleys Global. Hamleys was founded in 1760 by William Hamley and acquired by Reliance Brands Limited (RBL) in 2019. Currently it has a footprint of 191 stores spread across 15 countries. Hamleys continues to expand into newer markets, most recently the Balkans, with its first store in Albania and Kosovo, and further its reach in existing territories like India and Middle East with a store in Qatar. Spread across 13,300 sq.

New Delhi: India’s presidency of G20 or the Group of 20 has been able to bring all member countries to the table on the issue of war in Ukraine and brought to the fore the voice of the emerging markets as moderators, said foreign policy experts, highlighting the country's heritage as the voice of reason. The New Delhi Declaration issued on the first day of the two-day G20 Summit set the direction of future negotiations on important economic issues including climate financing which has for the first time put $5.9 trillion number to the green financing requirements for developing countries, reforms in multilateral banks, international taxation and sustainable development.

A standout story in today's crypto news reports hails from Turkey, where the former CEO of the now-folded Turkish cryptocurrency exchange Thodex has been sentenced to over 11,000 years in jail.

The former CEO of Turkish crypto exchange Thodex, Faruk Fatih Özer, was sentenced to 11,196 years in prison by a Turkish court on charges of “establishing, managing and being a member of an organization,” “qualified fraud,” and “laundering of property values.”

Faruk Fatih Ozer, the founder and former CEO of Thodex, a prominent Turkish cryptocurrency exchange, has been handed 11,196-year prison sentence for fraud and other crimes, Bloomberg reproted. 

Indians were granted a total of 17,379 work visas last year, Federal Foreign Office of Germany said. Germany granted a total of 152,336 national work visas to foreigners in 2022, representing a significant increase compared to 2021. Out of the total visas issued to Indians, 8,613 work visas were granted by the German Consulate General in Bangalore. The second-highest number of work visas for Indians was granted by the German Consulate General in Mumbai (3,013), followed by the Consulate General in Chennai (2,483), the German Embassy in New Delhi (2,434), and the German Consulate in Kolkata (836). Turkish nationals are the second-largest beneficiaries of work visas issued by Germany followed by Bosnians, Kosovars, Russians, Albanians, and North Macedonians. This comes at a time when German cabinet on Wednesday passed a draft bill to ease the citizenship law, hoping a faster track to German nationality will attract skilled migrants to plug chronic labour shortages holding back Europe's biggest economy. Some experts caution that progress may be slow, noting parts of Germany's administrative machinery are already creaking under a big backlog of existing citizenship applications.

By Fatos Bytyci and Florion Goga

Ecuador was an island of peace wedged between Colombia and Peru, the world's largest cocaine producers. But since 2018, drug seizures and homicides have increased alarmingly, blamed widely on transnational organized crime groups.

Saudi Arabia announced that citizens of eight more countries will now be eligible for a visitor e-visa, state media reported. The e-visa will be available to visitors from Albania, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, South Africa, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, for leisure, business, and religious (Umrah only) travel, bringing the total number of eligible countries to 57, Xinhua news agency quoted the state media report as saying. The visitor e-visa is valid for an entire year, grants multiple entries, and permits a stay of up to 90 days. After launching the e-visa program in 2019, Saudi Arabia welcomed 93.5 million visits in 2022, a 93-per cent increase from 2021, registering a tourism expenditure of 185 billion Saudi Riyals ($49 billion). In 2022, Saudi Arabia decided to provide a visitor e-visa for holders of valid Schengen, British and US visas that have been used to enter these countries before arriving in Saudi Arabia and for permanent residents of the European Union, Gulf Arab countries, Britain and the US.

Three months after Faruk Fatih Özer — the founder and former CEO of Thodex — was detained in Türkiye, he received a prison sentence of seven months and 15 days for failing to submit documents requested during the trial.

Albanian special prosecutors have demanded that a lawmaker and former deputy prime minister be arrested on corruption charges, accusing him of failing to declare his assets and other criminal offenses

From thumbs-ups from friendly strangers to midnight police searches, a Bitcoin-themed van continues a whirlwind tour around Europe.

The leaders of the Netherlands and Luxembourg have said that normalizing ties between Kosovo and Serbia would serve not only regional peace and stability but also their prospects of further integration into the European Union

RIMINI, ITALY — The seaside town of Rimini is the Jersey Shore of Italy: From here to the port town of Ancona in the southeast, there are more than 40 miles of sandy beaches. 

The founder and former CEO of a now-defunct crypto exchange, Thodex, has been extradited to Turkey and was detained by police upon arrival in Istanbul.

The saga of the Turkish cryptocurrency exchange Thodex continues, with the founder being finally brought back home in two years after the platform halted trading.