Albanians await royal family's return

Monarchists in Albania have welcomed the news that the exiled royal family is due to return to the country on Friday.

The return of Leka Zog, the son of former King Zog, has been made possible by an amnesty granted this month for his part in unrest during a referendum five years ago on the future of the monarchy.

Earlier this year he was given a presidential pardon for possessing weapons during the unrest.

Leka Zog, who was only two-days-old when his family fled Albania during an Italian invasion in 1939, has lived in South Africa for much of the past 20 years.

Two-thirds of Albanian voters rejected the restoration of the monarchy in the 1997 referendum. Former King Zog was deposed by the Communists in 1946.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service