Opposition lawmakers in Albania disrupted a parliamentary session on Thursday by setting off flares that filled the chamber with colored smoke, marking an escalation following weeks of student-led anti-government protests.
Members of the main opposition Democratic Party also blocked access to the podium during a vote on a central bank bill, Reuters reported.
"These ruling lawmakers are criminals, and they deserve tear gas, rubber bullets, cracked skulls, and broken bones—not the young people," opposition leader Sali Berisha declared during a speech before his microphone was cut off.
As the chamber devolved into chaos, fellow opposition members surrounded Berisha, holding blue flares, the official color of their party, and displaying images of protesters injured by police rubber bullets.
Albania has been gripped in recent weeks by student-led demonstrations demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama over alleged government corruption, underfunded schools, widespread unemployment, and a lack of economic opportunities.
The protests began on Oct. 13 and quickly turned violent as demonstrators clashed with police and set fire to government buildings. Protesters also targeted Rama’s ruling Socialist Party headquarters in Tirana, clashing with riot police deployed to protect the property.
The unrest has since spread to several other cities across the country.
In response, Rama, who has governed since 2013 and secured a fourth term last year, blamed "foreign hands who do not want Albania in the European Union. " He accused outside forces of manipulating the movement, claiming they "represent organized crime rather than students. "
To curb the violence, Rama introduced strict new measures, including $6,000 fines for anyone participating in a protest that turns violent, regardless of whether they personally commit acts of violence.
EXCLUSIVE: Two Republican members of Congress sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressing concern over the state of NATO ally Albania’s democratic backsliding, urging the department to use its visa restriction authority against Albanian officials complicit in significant corruption.
"We write to express concern about the state of democracy and the rule of law in the Republic of Albania, a NATO ally and candidate for European Union membership. The United States has invested heavily in Albania's justice reforms and has a strong interest in their success. Recent events suggest that progress is fragile and, in key areas, at risk of reversal," the letter to Secretary Rubio said.
Specifically, the letter urges Secretary Rubio to use the State Department's authority under Section 7031(c) of the annual Department of State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriations Act to publicly designate Albanian officials and their immediate family members, if necessary, if credible information of involvement in significant corruption exists.
The letter, written by Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., and his Republican colleague, House Europe Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, requested the administration answer four key questions by Nov. 5.
In addition to asking the state department to commit to reviewing Albanian officials for designation under its visa restriction authority, the members of congress inquired about what assistance is being provided to Albania's broader justice reform efforts and whether the U.S. Embassy in Tirana is working with local officials to protect protesters and journalists.
The Republican representatives are also requesting an update on former Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku, who was charged with interfering in public procurement for road construction. Prosecutors asked parliament in December 2025 to lift her immunity so she could be arrested, but Prime Minister Edi Rama called the request unconstitutional, and parliament has not allowed the arrest to proceed.
The members of congress say that Albania's anti-corruption institutions cannot succeed in rooting out corruption when political leaders shield the officials they investigate.
Like fellow protesters in France and across Europe, tens of thousands have protested amid allegations of government corruption, inadequate education, unemployment and a lack of opportunity. The growing nationwide protest movement is driven by students and citizens also demanding accountability, an end to corruption and what they say is the restoration of democratic institutions and the rule of law.
Demonstrations broke out in the capital, Tirana, two weeks ago, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama. The protests quickly turned violent as demonstrators lobbed Molotov cocktails at the Education Ministry and clashed with police.
Protesters also took aim at Rama’s Socialist Party headquarters in Tirana, squaring off with riot police who had been dispatched to protect government property.
Rama blamed "foreign hands who do not want Albania in the European Union and who promote the masks that claim to represent students, but who in fact, more than students, represent organized crime itself."
So far, the prime minister has refused to resign but has proposed entering into dialogue with the protesters.
The violence taking place across Albania is a worrying sign for a country struggling to maintain its democracy and continue the path to EU accession.
"Congress is deeply concerned about the situation in Albania as the government uses excessive force against citizens who are demanding accountability and clean institutions. Corruption and narcotrafficking associated with the Rama government must be countered," Rep. Wilson told Fox News Digital in a statement.
The turmoil in Albania comes as the country has long sought European Union membership, which began in 2014 when it became an official candidate for accession. While the 2025 annual European Commission report stated that Albania made significant strides in judicial reforms and combating organized crime, the continued allegations of corruption in the Rama government and the current violence taking place will complicate its path to EU membership.
The student protests in Albania mirror the mass protests that took place in neighboring Serbia, where a student-led political movement toppled longtime leader Aleksandar Vučić.
"Vucic’s defeat by a student-backed movement, following nearly two years of demonstrations over corruption and government accountability, is a striking parallel with the unrest now confronting Rama in Albania, where protests have been ongoing for over 150 days," Agim Nesho, former Albanian ambassador to the U.N. and U.S., told Fox News.
"In Albania, students and other citizens have been demonstrating since May, with the latest wave of daily protests intensifying demands for the resignation of a prime minister who has governed for more than 13 years with rampant corruption and declining public services," Nesho added.
An assailant armed with two knives attacked a member of Serbia's Gendarmerie guarding the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade shortly after midnight Wednesday, prompting the officer to fatally shoot the attacker in self-defense, according to Serbian authorities.
The assailant, who was a minor, allegedly shouted "Allahu Akbar" — or "God is great" in Arabic — as he slashed the officer in the face, leaving the officer "slightly injured."
Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said authorities are treating the incident as a terrorist attack, adding that security forces had been monitoring the assailant.
Dacic said the attacker supported ISIS and displayed a black flag bearing the terrorist group's symbol on his Instagram account. The attacker was believed to be Serbian and from the town of Sabac, Dacic added.
Israel's foreign ministry confirmed the "attempted terrorist attack," and said the incident was under investigation by the relevant authorities.
"The attacker was neutralized by local police. No embassy personnel were injured, and the mission was closed at the time of the incident, which occurred late at night," the statement said.
According to Serbian prosecutors, an unidentified person wearing black clothes opened the door to the security booth outside the embassy around 12:15 a.m. local time.
Prosecutors said the attacker then walked toward the officer inside, identified as D.S., and threw one of his knives in his direction, hitting the officer in the left cheek.
D.S. then retrieved his service weapon and fired multiple rounds, killing the attacker on the spot, according to the office of the Higher Public Prosecutor in Belgrade.
Photos from the scene hours after the attack show heavily armed police officers standing at the entrance of the embassy.
Dacic said Serbia had raised its terrorism threat level to the highest level, prompting an increased police presence at sensitive sites and crowded public spaces across the country.
In June 2024, a crossbow-wielding assailant wounded a Serbian police officer guarding the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade before the officer returned fire, killing the attacker.
Serbia’s longtime leader, President Aleksandar Vucic, conceded defeat Sunday to the student-led opposition in an election that sent shock waves throughout Europe and the Western Balkans.
"We do not have the final results yet, and many people will be surprised. Based on a stratified sample, it is clear that we have lost these elections. The student-led protest list has won," Vucic said in an address to the nation Sunday night.
The Student List victory brings an end to 14 years of Vucic and his Serbian Progressive Party rule, in what many are saying is the biggest political shake-up in the Balkans since the toppling of Yugoslav dictator Slobodan Milosevic in 2000.
Observers say the Student List party's policies remain vague, which has some worried about Serbia's future.
Ana Brnabic, vice president of the main Board of the Serbian Progressive Party, told Fox News Digital that, "The election victory of the Student List recalls similar electoral triumphs in other countries. The Student List represents a classical anti-establishment movement: it had neither a program nor a coherent political ideology. In an essentially anarchic fashion, it opposed everything, claiming to fight for justice and against corruption."
She added, "After 14 years of Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) rule, people may have wanted change. That is understandable and logical. But the grim consequences of this movement in power will soon become apparent."
Turnout reached 69 %, the highest this century, with more than 4.4 million people casting their ballots, according to Rasa Nedeljkov, head of the CRTA Election Observation Mission.
"This is by all means a historic victory and indeed a surprise to many. While it was clear from the beginning that the students will have an impressive result, very few expected a landslide," Helena Ivanov, associate fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, told Fox News Digital.
The Election Observation Mission reported that the Student List won 52.45 % of the vote and is projected to hold 138 of 250 seats in the National Assembly, an absolute majority, allowing it to form a government on its own.
Vucic won 39.2 % and is projected to hold 103 seats.
Supporters celebrated throughout Belgrade and across Serbia as it became clear the Student List won by a larger margin that caught many experts and observers by surprise.
Many claimed they were concerned about the possibility of violence escalating as polls began to close. Almost two hours after polling stations closed, Vucic addressed the nation, confirming his defeat and announcing the peaceful transfer of power.
"The path to an electoral victory with such a decisive margin will undoubtedly earn its own chapter in the handbooks on how to topple an autocrat. Two years of unprecedented grassroots mobilization, creative organization and impeccable campaigning kept the student list two steps ahead of the regime. Vučić was left playing catch-up, and all his attempts to co-opt, demoralize and fragment the movement failed," Sinisa Vukovic, director of the Global Policy Program at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, told Fox News Digital.
The CRTA Election Observation Mission reported that the campaign was marked by the abuse of state resources, pressure on candidates and voters, attempts to bring the media under total government control, and attacks on independent election observers.
Tens of thousands of Serbians volunteered to run and monitor polling stations across the country, and the vote was mostly peaceful.
Student led protests marched in the streets for two years after the deaths of 16 people following the collapse of a railway station in the town of Novi Sad in November 2024. People had taken to the streets, demanding justice for those killed and accountability for anyone responsible for the disaster.
The momentum of nearly two years of street demonstrations culminated in a nationwide movement ready for change. The political novices were able to rally the nation behind a simple message against corruption and state capture.
Serbs across the country embraced the Student List, who are viewed as fresh faces in politics and are not tied to Serbia’s traditional political opposition, which is perceived as ineffective and corrupt by a lot of the voters.
Milos Jevtic, a 48-year-old professor with the Faculty of Organizational Sciences at the University of Belgrade, was among the many Student List candidates who won a seat in parliament.
Jevtic told Fox News Digital that their victory came from the values that the students have stood for from the very beginning: expertise, professionalism, responsibility, solidarity and unity.
"What is particularly important is that the students have never compromised on these values and principles. Of course, widespread public dissatisfaction also played a major role, along with a lack of trust in both the current regime and the opposition parties," Jevtic explained.
Jevtic said he believes the priorities for the new Student List-run government should be economic stability, fighting corruption, establishing the rule of law and strengthening institutions, much of what carried the student-led protests since 2024.
"The ultimate goal is to build a system in which institutions function in the interests of all citizens," Jevtic said.
On foreign policy, there is an expectation that there will be a certain degree of continuity with the Vucic administration in international relations, including maintaining good relations with neighboring European countries and all major international partners.
But Brnabic warned that "Serbia has lost meaningful political pluralism. After 35 years of a multiparty system, the country is effectively left with one established political party, SNS, while the rest of the political scene is dominated by largely unknown movements without a clear ideology. This is catastrophic for any parliamentary democracy."
She added, "Secondly, nobody in Serbia knows where the country is heading. Are we firmly pro-EU? Will we maintain our ties with Russia? What about China? Will we continue to enhance our relations with the United States — which was a priority of Aleksandar Vucic? Will economic policy be more left-liberal or conservative? Are we heading towards a woke liberal society, or will we preserve our traditional Orthodox Christian values? There are no clear answers to any of these questions."
She concluded by noting, "We have also called for Parliament and all state institutions to be constituted as soon as possible, so that the country has functioning institutions on which people can rely. We will be a strong but constructive opposition. We call on the Student List’s representatives to end the intimidation and assume the responsibility entrusted to them by the voters."
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