Albanian police fire tear gas as student protests turn violent in Tirana

Albanian riot police fired tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets in Tirana on Saturday as student-led anti-government protests turned violent, with demonstrators throwing rocks and setting a fire at the agriculture ministry. Protesters are demanding Prime Minister Edi Rama's resignation over corruption, unemployment and education concerns. The demonstrations, which began this month, have spread from Tirana to other cities, with protesters burning government buildings and banks, smashing shop windows and pulling up paving stones. The unrest follows months of peaceful summer protests against a luxury coastal development backed by Jared Kushner, and poses the biggest challenge to Rama's rule since 2013. Rama, who won a fourth term last year, called the protests "a hybrid war" and accused demonstrators of holding Tirana "under a climate of terror." Protesters described the government as "a dictatorship with the clothes of democracy," with one saying Albanians no longer want him due to corruption and scandals.