Opposition lawmakers in Albania disrupted a parliamentary session on Thursday by setting off flares that filled the chamber with colored smoke, marking an escalation following weeks of student-led anti-government protests.Members of the main opposition Democratic Party also blocked access to the podium during a vote on a central bank bill, Reuters reported."These ruling lawmakers are criminals, and they deserve tear gas, rubber bullets, cracked skulls, and broken bones—not the young people," opposition leader Sali Berisha declared during a speech before his microphone was cut off.SERBIA’S STUDENT MOVEMENT TOPPLES VUCIC’S PARTY AFTER 14 YEARS, BUT POLITICAL AGENDA REMAINS UNCLEAROpposition Albanian lawmakers lit flares inside a parliamentary session amid weeks of anti-government protests.(Reuters)As the chamber devolved into chaos, fellow opposition members surrounded Berisha, holding blue flares, the official color of their party, and displaying images of protesters injured by police rubber bullets.Albania has been gripped in recent weeks by student-led demonstrations demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama over alleged government corruption, underfunded schools, widespread unemployment, and a lack of economic opportunities.SERBIA’S LONGTIME LEADER FACES BIGGEST POLITICAL TEST AS STUDENTS MOUNT ELECTION CHALLENGEThe protests began on Oct.
13 and quickly turned violent as demonstrators clashed with police and set fire to government buildings.Protesters also targeted Rama’s ruling Socialist Party headquarters in Tirana, clashing with riot police deployed to protect the property.The unrest has since spread to several other cities across the country.THOUSANDS FLOOD BRUSSELS STREETS AS ANTI-AUSTERITY PROTESTS ERUPT INTO CLASHES WITH POLICEIn response, Rama, who has governed since 2013 and secured a fourth term last year, blamed "foreign hands who do not want Albania in the European Union.
" He accused outside forces of manipulating the movement, ...