A court in Albania removed Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku from office on Thursday after she was indicted by prosecutors over her alleged role in selecting a company to build a government-financed tunnel, the court said in a statement. There was no immediate reaction from Balluku. However, during a parliamentary session on Wednesday, she referred to the accusations as "mudslinging, insinuations, half-truths and lies", and said she would fully cooperate with the judiciary.

Balluku, who also served as Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, is a close ally of the country's Prime Minister, Edi Rama, who earlier this year secured his fourth consecutive mandate. The Special Court tasked with fighting corruption and organized crime did not give more information in its ruling, "given that s

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