Albanian Court Suspends Controversial Italy Migrant Deal

Albania's Constitutional Court has temporarily blocked the ratification of a deal between Albania and Italy that would have allowed asylum applications of migrants arriving in Italy by sea to be processed in Albania. The court will hold a public hearing in January to determine if the agreement violates Albania's constitution. Under the deal, Albania would have housed up to 36,000 migrants for a year while Italy fast-tracked their asylum requests. The opposition argues that the agreement denies migrants their rights, while rights organizations and Italy's left-wing opposition parties have criticized the deal.