Following Hamas’ release of all 20 remaining living hostages held in Gaza on Monday, pictures and videos are pouring in of their families’ reunifications.
The hostages have arrived back in Israel, where they will undergo medical checks after 738 days in captivity. Their release was part of a deal aimed at ending two years of war.
When Guy Gilboa-Dalal met his family at the initial reception point following his release, his family shouted and hugged him so tightly they were hanging off of him as they went into another room. Moments later, the group posed for a photo.
Israeli twins Gali and Ziv Berman, 28, were all smiles when they were handed over to the IDF and saw each other face to face. Hostages previously released had said the twins from Kfar Aza were held separately.
Photos of the first seven hostages to be freed Monday showed them looking pale but less gaunt than some of the hostages freed in January.
‘Generations from now, this will be remembered as the moment that everything began to change,’ President Donald Trump declared to the Israeli Knesset during a longer than 40-minute address on Monday.
Trump spoke with families at the Knesset building as they expressed their gratitude for helping to bring them back together with their loved ones.
While Israel started to free hundreds of Palestinians from its prisons, major questions remain unanswered over what happens next, raising the risk of sliding back into war — even as the world pushes for peace.
The war began when Hamas-led militants launched a surprise attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in which some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and 251 were taken hostage.
A new House GOP proposal would withhold funding from U.S. jurisdictions that celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day instead of Columbus Day.
It comes after President Donald Trump signed a proclamation last week declaring Oct. 13 Columbus Day in honor of the famed explorer as well as the heritage of Italian Americans across the U.S.
‘This is about every son and daughter of Italy, every Knights of Columbus, every pasta dinner on Sunday, and every communion — everything that makes our culture who we are, from Philadelphia to San Francisco,’ Rep. Michael Rulli, R-Ohio, told Fox News Digital in an interview.
‘Every Little Italy neighborhood of this country celebrates Christopher Columbus. It’s so much more than the man. It’s the people.’
Rulli’s new bill would both reaffirm Columbus Day as a federal holiday and punish cities and states that replaced the celebration of it with Indigenous Peoples Day.
‘We are not going to allow any American municipality to think that they have power over the federal government,’ he said.
In 2021, then-President Joe Biden formally recognized the second Monday in October as both Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples Day.
The move was lauded by progressive activists and historians who saw Christopher Columbus as the harbinger of a genocide against the land’s indigenous people, millions of whom were killed amid American colonization.
But Rulli argued that Columbus Day was about honoring Italian Americans’ heritage, pointing out that part of the motivation for its founding in 1892 was the extrajudicial lynching of 11 Italian Americans in New Orleans after the death of a local police chief.
He added his legislation was not meant to undercut the significance of Native Americans — whom he said deserve their own day of significance.
‘I mean, the Native Americans are some of the most amazing, dynamic cultural people that make up the fabric of America. But they need their own special day,’ Rulli said. ‘And I would be willing to do that. I’m saying right now, I would be willing to get the Indigenous people their own day, but not this day.’
He further accused the Biden administration of undercutting the legacy of both peoples by declaring both holidays on the same day, while praising Trump for restoring Columbus Day’s original meaning.
‘I don’t care what party you’re in … if you come from Italian-American descent, you love what President Trump did. It was a wonderful olive branch to all Italian Americans,’ Rulli said.
‘By no means, no way, shape or form, is this bill meant to offend any of the indigenous people. They deserve their own day. We will get them their own day, but not Columbus Day. This has already been embedded in our fabric for 130 years,’ he said.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned that if the U.S. supplies Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles, that ‘could end badly for everyone … most of all, for Trump himself,’ according to a Google translation of his Russian-language Telegram post.
‘It’s been said a hundred times, in a manner understandable even to the star-spangled man, that it’s impossible to distinguish a nuclear Tomahawk missile from a conventional one in flight,’ Russian Security Council deputy chair Medvedev noted.
While speaking aboard Air Force One on Sunday, President Donald Trump raised the prospect of supplying Ukraine with the long-range weapons if the Russia-Ukraine war is not going to be settled.
The U.S. commander-in-chief described Tomahawks as a ‘very offensive weapon,’ noting, ‘honestly, Russia does not need that.’
Trump has been seeking to help broker peace between the two warring foreign nations.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
During an appearance on the Fox News Channel, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy indicated that Tomahawks would be utilized for ‘only military goals,’ asserting that Ukraine never attacks Russian civilians.
Perth, Australia (ABN Newswire) – OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCMKTS:OTCM), operator of regulated markets for 12,000 U.S. and international securities, today announced that Locksley Resources Ltd (ASX:LKY,OTC:LKYRF) (FRA:X5L) (OTCMKTS:LKYRF), an exploration and development company focused on rare earths and antimony critical minerals, has qualified to trade on the OTCQX Best Market.
Highlights
– Locksley Resources Limited has qualified to trade on the OTCQX(R) Best Market, upgrading from the OTCQB(R) Venture Market
– Trading on OTCQX enhances Locksley’s visibility and accessibility to U.S. investors, supporting its U.S. focused critical minerals strategy
– Locksley’s flagship Mojave Project in California is strategically located adjacent to MP Materials’ Mountain Pass Mine, targeting rare earth elements (REEs) and antimony as part of a fully integrated mine-tomarket strategy
– The Company’s downstream technology partnerships underpin its role in re-establishing U.S. domestic supply chains for critical materials, with a particular focus on antimony
– Rare earths and Antimony are front and center in the global race to secure critical materials, with Locksley’s Mojave Project positioned at the heart of America’s efforts to restore domestic supply independence through a 100% U.S. mine-to-market strategy
Locksley has upgraded to OTCQX from the OTCQB Venture Market, and the symbol remains as ‘LKYRF.’ U.S. investors can find current financial disclosure and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for the company on www.otcmarkets.com.
The OTCQX Market is designed for established, investor focused U.S. and international companies. To qualify for OTCQX, companies must meet high financial standards, follow best practice corporate governance, and demonstrate compliance with applicable securities laws. Graduating to the OTCQX Market marks an important milestone for companies, enabling them to demonstrate their qualifications and build visibility among U.S. investors.
Rare Earths & Antimony – Front and Centre in a Shifting Global Landscape
Locksley’s progression to the OTCQX comes amid escalating global focus on rare earth security, following new export restrictions and rising trade tensions. As nations move to safeguard access to critical materials, Locksley’s Mojave Project stands at the center of America’s effort to restore domestic supply independence. With a fully integrated mine-to-market strategy across antimony and rare earths, the Company is advancing a 100% American made approach that aligns directly with U.S. national policy priorities and the reshoring of strategic materials.
Nathan Lude – Head of Strategy, Capital Markets & Commercialisation commented
‘Graduating to the OTCQX Market in record time since our initial listing just over three months ago, is a significant milestone for Locksley as we broaden our visibility and accessibility to U.S. investors. Our Mojave Rare Earths and Antimony Critical Minerals Project are strategically located in a tier-one jurisdiction adjacent to MP Materials’ Mountain Pass Mine. Locksley is positioned to play a pivotal role in re-establishing domestic supply chains through its mine-to-market strategy for critical materials, with a particular focus on antimony.’
About Locksley Resources Limited:
Locksley Resources Limited (ASX:LKY,OTC:LKYRF) (FRA:X5L) (OTCMKTS:LKYRF) is an ASX listed explorer focused on critical minerals in the United States of America. The Company is actively advancing exploration across two key assets: the Mojave Project in California, targeting rare earth elements (REEs) and antimony. Locksley Resources aims to generate shareholder value through strategic exploration, discovery and development in this highly prospective mineral region.
Mojave Project
Located in the Mojave Desert, California, the Mojave Project comprises over 250 claims across two contiguous prospect areas, namely, the North Block/Northeast Block and the El Campo Prospect. The North Block directly abuts claims held by MP Materials, while El Campo lies along strike of the Mountain Pass Mine and is enveloped by MP Materials’ claims, highlighting the strong geological continuity and exploration potential of the project area.
In addition to rare earths, the Mojave Project hosts the historic ‘Desert Antimony Mine’, which last operated in 1937. Despite the United States currently having no domestic antimony production, demand for the metal remains high due to its essential role in defense systems, semiconductors, and metal alloys. With significant surface sample results, the Desert Mine prospect represents one of the highest-grade known antimony occurrences in the U.S.
Locksley’s North American position is further strengthened by rising geopolitical urgency to diversify supply chains away from China, the global leader in both REE & antimony production. With its maiden drilling program planned, the Mojave Project is uniquely positioned to align with U.S. strategic objectives around critical mineral independence and economic security.
Tottenham Project
Locksley’s Australian portfolio comprises the advanced Tottenham Copper-Gold Project in New South Wales, focused on VMS-style mineralisation
About OTC Markets Group Inc.:
OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX:OTCM) operates regulated markets for trading 12,000 U.S. and international securities. Our data-driven disclosure standards form the foundation of our public markets: OTCQX(R) Best Market, OTCQB(R) Venture Market, OTCID(TM) Basic Market and Pink Limited(TM) Market. Our OTC Link(R) Alternative Trading Systems (ATSs) provide critical market infrastructure that broker-dealers rely on to facilitate trading.
Our innovative model offers companies more efficient access to the U.S. financial markets.
OTC Link ATS, OTC Link ECN, OTC Link NQB, and MOON ATS(TM) are each SEC regulated ATS, operated by OTC Link LLC, a FINRA and SEC registered broker-dealer, member SIPC.
Source: Locksley Resources Limited OTC Markets Group Inc.
Here’s a quick recap of the crypto landscape for Monday (October 13) as of 9:00 a.m. UTC.
Get the latest insights on Bitcoin, Ether and altcoins, along with a round-up of key cryptocurrency market news.
Bitcoin and Ether price update
Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$114,548, up by 24 percent in 24 hours. The cryptocurrency’s lowest valuation of the day was US$119,967, and its highest was US$115,792.
Bitcoin price performance, October 13, 2025.
Chart via TradingView
Bitcoin and major cryptocurrencies rebounded at the start of the week, regaining some ground after Friday’s sharp sell-off triggered by President Donald Trump’s renewed tariff threats against China. The correction, which wiped out billions in leveraged positions, marked one of the largest single-day liquidations in crypto trading history.
Bitcoin climbed 2.2 percent in the past 24 hours to trade above US$114,200 on Monday, after plunging below US$109,000 late Friday and coming off a record high near US$126,200 earlier in the week.
The weekend rebound followed Trump’s more conciliatory Truth Social post on Sunday, where he wrote, “Don’t worry about China, it will all be fine! Highly respected President Xi just had a bad moment. He doesn’t want Depression for his country, and neither do I. The U.S.A. wants to help China, not hurt it!!!”
Data from CoinGlass revealed that over 1.6 million traders were liquidated on Friday, amounting to more than US$19 billion in forced sales across the crypto market. Other reports placed the figure at roughly US$20 billion, the largest single-day liquidation event in crypto history, as leveraged long positions on Bitcoin and Ethereum were rapidly unwound. The event also saw major altcoins like XRP, Dogecoin, and Cardano slump by as much as 30 percent, deepening what traders described as a “cascade of leveraged liquidations.”
According to Bitcoin researcher Axel Adler Jr., Friday’s shock “changed the regime to moderately bearish,” though market structure indicators suggest the downturn has yet to reach capitulation levels. Adler noted that the Bitcoin Bull-Bear Structure Index dropped by 8 percent, and a further decline to -15 percent would “signal continued bearish pressure and the risk of retesting local lows.”
Bitcoin dominance in the crypto market now stands at 56.01 percent.
Ether (ETH) was trading at US$4,105.84. Its lowest valuation on Monday was US$3,802.06 and its highest was US$4,196.98.
Ethereum recovered almost 7, pushing back above the US$4,000 threshold after sinking to around US$3,620. Ethereum mirrored Bitcoin’s volatility through the week, briefly dropping 11 percent to around US$3,878 before reclaiming the US$4,100 level.
Altcoin price update
Solana (SOL) was priced at US$199.11, an increase of 5.8 percent over the last 24 hours and its highest valuation of the day. Its lowest valuation on Monday was US$179.00.
XRP was trading for US$2.57, up by 6.8 percent over the last 24 hours. Its lowest valuation of the day was US$2.37, and its highest was US$2.64.
ETF data and derivatives trends
The Fear & Greed Index currently reads 40, climbing back to neutral territory after crashing to ‘fear’ during last week’s massive selloff.
Last week, the cumulative net flow for spot Bitcoin ETFs was predominantly positive despite the sudden crash on the tail end. According to data from the week of October 6 to October 12, spot Bitcoin ETFs had inflows on four days, with October 10 recording the outlier at US$4.50 million outflows. The inflows were led by BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (NASDAQ:IBIT) and the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (BATS:FBTC).
Cumulative total inflows for spot Bitcoin ETFs stood at US$62.77 billion as of October 10.
Digital asset investment products saw US$3.17 billion in inflows last week, shrugging off the volatility sparked by renewed US–China tariff tensions.
According to CoinShares, Bitcoin accounted for $2.67 billion of that total, underscoring its dominance in institutional portfolios as exchange-traded product (ETP) volumes hit a record US$53 billion.
US spot Bitcoin ETFs alone attracted US$2.71 billion, even as major cryptocurrencies corrected midweek. Friday’s minor US$159 million outflow suggested investors were largely unfazed by short-term market shocks.
Furthermore, year-to-date inflows have reached a record US$48.7 billion, already surpassing 2024’s full-year total, which analysts say is indicative of a resilient capital rotation into crypto.
Bitcoin, Ethereum Bounce After $20B Liquidation Shock
The crypto market rebounded sharply over the weekend after enduring one of the largest liquidation events in its history.
On Friday, Bitcoin plunged from US$121,000 to as low as US$109,000, while Ethereum tumbled to $3,686 in a widespread sell-off that erased weeks of gains.
CoinGlass data showed nearly $20 billion in liquidations across crypto derivatives, with US$16.7 billion from long positions alone, marking the biggest one-day wipeout on record.
The extreme volatility mirrored broader market weakness as major US stock indexes also posting their steepest declines since April.
Analysts attributed the cascade to overleveraged traders and algorithmic liquidations triggered by Trump’s tariff announcement.
House of Doge lists on Nasdaq
In a bid to bring Dogecoin deeper into traditional finance, House of Doge—the corporate arm of the Dogecoin Foundation—made its public debut on Nasdaq through a reverse merger with Brag House Holdings.
CEO Marco Margiotta said the listing will help fund new payment and yield infrastructure for Dogecoin, including a pending spot ETF with 21Shares and a treasury product already trading on the NYSE.
The company’s backers include Elon Musk’s attorney Alex Spiro, former Texas Governor Rick Perry, and members of the Steinbrenner family.
Margiotta said being public will accelerate Dogecoin’s integration into retail payments and cultural sectors like sports, where the firm plans to launch tokenized fan initiatives.
Dogecoin rose more than 10 percent following the announcement.
Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Thousands of U.S.-bound packages shipped by UPS are trapped at hubs across the country, unable to clear the maze of new customs requirements imposed by the Trump administration.
As packages flagged for customs issues pile up in UPS warehouses, the company told NBC News it has begun “disposing of” some shipments.
Frustrated UPS customers describe waiting for weeks and trying to make sense of scores of conflicting tracking updates from the world’s largest courier.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” Matthew Wasserbach, brokerage manager of Express Customs Clearance, said of the UPS backlog. “It’s totally unprecedented.”
Wasserbach’s New York City-based shipping services firm helps clients move shipments through customs. He said the company has seen a spike in inquiries for help with UPS customs clearance.
A Boeing 747 operated by UPS on the tarmac at Louisville International Airport in Kentucky during a winter storm on Feb. 3, 2022.Luke Sharrett / Bloomberg via Getty Images file
More than two dozen people who are waiting for their UPS packages explained the circumstances of their shipments to NBC News.
They described shipments of tea, telescopes, luxury glassware, musical instruments and more — some worth tens of thousands of dollars — all in limbo or perhaps gone.
Others have deep sentimental value: notebooks, diplomas and even engagement rings.
The frustration has exploded online, with customers sharing horror stories on Reddit of missing skin care products, art and collectibles.
They are confused and angry, and they want answers.
“It’s almost impossible to get through to anybody to figure out what is happening,” said Ashley Freberg, who said she is missing several boxes she shipped via UPS from England in September.
“Are my packages actually being destroyed or not?”
Freberg’s boxes of journals, records and books were shipped on Sept. 18, according to tracking documents she shared with NBC News.
Over the next two weeks, she received two separate notifications from UPS that her personal mementos had not cleared customs and as a result had been “disposed of” by UPS.
Then, on Oct. 1, a UPS tracking update appeared for her packages, saying they were on the way. The tracking updates Freberg showed NBC News for that shipment revealed it was the most recent update she had received.
UPS transport jets wait to be loaded with packages at UPS Worldport in Louisville, Ky., on April 27, 2021.Timothy D. Easley / AP file
While sentimental value is impossible to measure, other customers fear they will not be able to recover financially if their goods were destroyed.
Tea importer Lauren Purvis of Portland, Oregon, said five shipments from Japan, mostly containing matcha green tea and collectively worth more than $127,000, were all sent via UPS over the last few weeks and arrived at UPS’ international package processing hub in Louisville, Kentucky. Purvis has yet to receive any of the shipments, only a flurry of conflicting tracking updates from UPS.
A series of notifications for one shipment, which she shared with NBC News, said that the shipment had not cleared customs and that UPS had disposed of it.
But a subsequent tracking update said the shipment had cleared customs and was on the way.
“We know how to properly document and pay for our packages,” Purvis said. “There should be zero reason that a properly documented and paid-for package would be set to be disposed of.”
At least a half-dozen people described an emotional seesaw they were put through by weeks of contradictory UPS tracking updates about their shipments. The updates, they said, compounded the stress of not knowing what had really happened to their possessions.
A UPS Boeing 767 aircraft taxis at San Diego International Airport, in San Diego, Calif., August 15, 2025.Kevin Carter / Getty Images file
AJ, a Boston man who asked that NBC News use only his initials to protect his privacy, said he shipped a package from Japan via UPS on Sept. 12 including Japanese language books, a pillow and a backpack.
After it sat in Louisville for nearly two weeks, AJ got a tracking update on Sept. 26, one of several that he shared with NBC News. “We’re sorry, your package did not clear customs and has been removed from the UPS network. Per customs guidelines, it has been destroyed. Please contact the sender for more information,” it read.
UPS tracking updates for a package shipped from Japan to the United States.Obtained by NBC News
Three days later, on Sept. 29, he received another, and this one read: “On the Way. Import Scan, Louisville, KY, United States.” For a moment, it appeared as though AJ’s shipment might have been found.
But less than 24 hours after his hopes were raised, another tracking update arrived: “We’re sorry,” it began. It was the same notice that his package had “been destroyed” that he had received on the 26th.
Two minutes later, he got his final update: “Unable to Deliver. Package cannot clear due to customs delay or missing info. Attempt to contact sender made. Package has been disposed of.”
International shipping was thrown into chaos after the long-standing “de minimis” tariff exemption for low-value packages ended on Aug. 29.
Packages with values of $800 or less, which were previously allowed to enter the United States duty-free, are now subject to a range of tariffs and fees.
They include hundreds of country-specific rates, or President Donald Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs, as well as new levies on certain products and materials.
President Donald Trump holds a chart as he speaks about reciprocal tariffs at a ‘Make America Wealthy Again’ event at the White House on April 2.Brendan Smialowski / AFP – Getty Images file
The result is that international shipping to the United States today is far more complex and costly than it was even two months ago.
The sweeping changes have caught private individuals and veteran exporters alike in a customs conundrum.
It is difficult to know the exact number of the packages that are stuck in UPS customs purgatory. Shipping companies guard their delivery data closely.
UPS reported to investors that in 2023, its international service delivered around 3.2 million packages per day.
This week, the company told NBC News that it is clearing more than 90% of the packages it handles through customs on the first day.
The rest of the packages, or less than 10%, require more time to clear customs and need to be held until they do. That could easily mean that thousands of UPS packages every day are not clearing customs on their first try.
In a statement to NBC News, UPS said it is doing its best to get all packages to their destinations while abiding by the new customs requirements.
“Because of changes to U.S. import regulations, we are seeing many packages that are unable to clear customs due to missing or incomplete information about the shipment required for customs clearance,” it said.
UPS said it makes several attempts to get any missing information and clear delayed shipments, contacting shippers three times.
“In cases where we cannot obtain the necessary information to clear the package, there are two options,” it said.
“First, the package can be returned to the original shipper at their expense. Second, if the customer does not respond and the package cannot be cleared for delivery, disposing of the shipment is in compliance with U.S. customs regulations. We continue to work to bridge the gap of understanding tied to the new requirements and, as always, remain committed to serving our customers.”
A conveyor belt carries envelopes and small packages past UPS workers to their destinations at Worldport on Nov. 20, 2015.Patrick Semansky / AP, file
NBC News asked UPS precisely what it does with packages when it tells customers their shipments have been unable to clear customs and have been “disposed of.” It would not say.
On Sept. 27, a shipper in Stockholm received a formal notification from UPS that two packages her glassware company sent to the United States — which failed to clear customs — would be destroyed.
“We are sorry, but due to these circumstances and the perishable nature of the contents, we are now required to proceed with destruction of the shipment in accordance with regulatory guidelines,” UPS told Anni Cernea in an email she shared with NBC News.
The email continued, “There is no need to contact our call center for further information or to attempt to clear this shipment.”
Cernea said, “It’s just outrageous that they can dispose of products like this without approval from either the sender or recipient.”
From now on, Cernea said, she plans to ship her products via UPS rival FedEx.
Cernea’s decision to switch carriers hints at the worst-case scenario for UPS, which is that people could abandon the company. It is a potential crisis for the roughly $70 billion company.
The company’s stock price is already down more than 30% this year, which analysts attribute to a mix of tariffs, competition and shifting shopping habits.
As she awaits her missing journals and diplomas from England, Freberg is looking ahead to the biggest shipping months of the year.
“I can’t even imagine how bad the holidays are going to be, because that’s a time where loads of people are shipping stuff overseas,” she said.
“If it doesn’t get solved soon, I can only see it becoming an even bigger issue.”
On Oct. 6, Albanian Appeals Court Judge Astrit Kalaja was shot inside the Tirana courtroom where he oversaw a property dispute case, according to the International Commission of Jurists. Kalaja died of his wounds, and two others were injured in the shooting. The 30-year-old suspect has been arrested.
Kalaja’s killing quickly became a lightning rod for nationwide dissatisfaction with the Albanian judiciary.
Former Albanian Ambassador to the United States and the United Nations Agim Nesho told Fox News Digital that reforms implemented almost a decade ago by the European Union and the U.S. were ‘intended to strengthen the rule of law,’ but have been ‘transformed into a political instrument, undermining democratic institutions and concentrating power in the hands of the executive.’
‘As a result,’ Nesho said, ‘the public’s confidence in the justice system has severely eroded, with institutional dysfunction reaching a level where some segments of society feel driven to take justice into their own hands — a dangerous sign of democratic backsliding.’
Opposition Democratic Party leader Sali Berisha told Fox News Digital that Kalaja’s killing was ‘an abominable act and an alarm bell that should not be ignored.’
Berisha said that the ‘evident support that the act has garnered,’ including the creation of a now inactive GoFundMe to support the killer’s legal rights, demonstrates ‘protest against a dysfunctional judiciary, against a corrupt and politicized judicial system.’
Berisha said judicial reforms ‘left the country without a Constitutional Court and without a High Court for more than five years,’ creating a ‘staggering backlog’ of around 200,000 cases. He said that the process of vetting judicial personnel turned into ‘a witch-hunt against magistrates that were perceived [to be] independent or potentially right-leaning.’ According to Berisha, this led to the ‘weaponization of the judiciary against the opposition.’
A 2020 report on U.S. assistance to Albania describes American and EU efforts to ‘restore the integrity of the Albanian justice system.’ The report states that USAID assisted the High Court with creating a procedure to manage 72% of its 35,000 backlogged cases. It also stated that 125 of 286 judges and prosecutors put through vetting procedures had ‘been dismissed for unexplained wealth, ties to organized crime, or incompetence,’ while 50 judges chose to resign rather than go through vetting.
Berisha claimed that in the aftermath of reforms, it now takes about 15–20 years for the resolution of legal disputes. ‘Justice delayed is justice denied,’ Berisha said.
Lawyer Besnik Muçi, formerly a prosecutor and a judge in the Constitutional Court of Albania, told Fox News Digital that judicial reforms aimed ‘to establish a credible, fair, independent, professional, service-oriented justice system that is open, accountable and efficient.’ He said that the Albanian justice system ‘has failed in almost all’ parameters.
Muçi said the courts’ backlog consists of about 150,000 cases. He also noted that the closure of five appeal courts and some district courts has ‘almost blocked the citizens’ access to justice.’ He also explained that most court buildings do not ‘meet…the security conditions and standards necessary.’
‘Citizens do not believe in the justice system,’ Muçi said.
After Kalaja’s murder, the Korça Bar Association and National Bar Association of Albania boycotted court proceedings on Oct. 9 and 10. Korça Bar Association Director Nevzat Tarelli told Albanian news station CNA that Kalaja’s killing highlighted the need for increased security for and trust in judicial personnel. He also said that ‘people who expect justice in a timely manner, if they do not receive it, no longer have faith in justice.’
Engjëll Agaçi, general secretary of Albania’s Council of Ministers, did not respond to Fox News Digital’s questions about nationwide discontent with the judiciary or the size of Albania’s court case backlog.
A State Department spokesperson declined to respond to questions about the success of U.S.-backed judicial reform efforts in Albania or address the issues that Kalaja’s killing has highlighted.
‘We offer our deepest sympathies to the victims of this attack and their families and strongly condemn the use of violence against judges and prosecutors,’ the spokesperson said.
