Free Republic

TIRANA, Albania - Albanians chose a new parliament on Sunday in elections that mark a crucial step in the tiny Balkan country's push for closer ties with Europe, but local observers raised concerns over voting procedures in rural areas. Previous elections in Albania, which was sealed off from the world during decades of communist rule that ended in 1990, have been plagued by fraud and irregularities. Sunday's voting is being watched as a test of the impoverished nation's ability to hold a fair election. Both NATO and the European Union have warned Albanian authorities that only free and fair elections...

TIRANA (AP)--U.S. President George W. Bush Friday thanked Albania for increasing its troop presence in Iraq and praised Tirana's stand on regional issues in the Balkans. In a letter sent to Albania's Prime Minister Fatos Nano, Bush said Albania's decision was "another indicator of Albania's continuous and deep commitment in the fight against terrorism around the world and for security, peace, stability and democracy in Iraq." In February Albania, a small, predominantly Muslim country that has been one of the most vocal backers of the U.S.-led campaign in Iraq, where it has deployed a small unit of 71 troops in...