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

Albanian riot police used tear gas, water cannons, and rubber bullets on Saturday to disperse student-led protesters in Tirana who threw rocks and set a fire at the agriculture ministry door, escalating anti-government unrest. The demonstrations, driven by anger over government corruption, unemployment, and poor education standards, have spread to other cities this month. Protesters demanding Prime Minister Edi Rama's resignation have also set fire to government buildings and banks, and smashed shop windows. The unrest follows months of peaceful summer protests against a luxury coastal development and poses the biggest challenge to Rama, who has governed since 2013. Protesters described the government as a "dictatorship with the clothes of democracy."