TIRANA, Albania — Italy's foreign minister on Wednesday urged an international donors' conference to raise funds for Albania following last month's earthquake that flattened buildings and killed 51 people. Luigi di Maio also pledged further aid from Italy, saying Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte would soon announce a new package of assistance. Italy sent the biggest group of rescuers in the first days after the Nov. 26 earthquake that left more than 13,000 people homeless, who are housed in hotels, public buildings, tents, with relatives or in neighboring Kosovo. “The EU can do more and it will do more,” di Maio said at a news conference with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama. “This tragedy is a case when the European institutions show their nearness to Albania, a friendly country for Italy and the EU."

Source: International New York Times December 11, 2019 16:30 UTC