On Wednesday evening, judges ordered the detention of Ylli Polovina, author of the “suspicious” article An identification lineup sends another young man to police cells Detention measures are imposed on the first detainee, suspected of links to the attack. On Wednesday evening, judges ordered the detention of journalist Ylli Polovina. Unconfirmed court sources speak of arrests and of the other detainees as well. The proceedings concerning Polovina at the Tirana court were carried out at around 7 p.m. on Wednesday, in his absence On page 5

Explosive material also placed on the high-voltage pylon Mirditë, explosions in two villages On page 5

After the car bomb explosion in Tirana (photo: H. Pustina)

Interior Minister appeals for cooperation Musaraj: “The killer will be found” Interior Minister appeals for cooperation Parliament mourns Musaraj: “The killer will be found” TRANE - The statement by the head of the Albanian police was optimistic. “We will achieve positive results in identifying and apprehending the perpetrators of the 26 February crime.” Agim Musaraj said this in a statement before the members of parliament. Meanwhile, a minute of silence was observed for this innocent victim of Monday’s bloody explosion. The parliamentarians changed the names Vera Dume, Muhamet Karamani, Asim Karamani and Valid Osmani... On page 3

THE STORY KUKËS - Little Visari, only 7 years old, fought for hours and survived alone in a leaking boat in the middle of the lake. It had begun as a lovely game among friends in the boat abandoned by fishermen on the shore in the village of Pobreg, Kukës. For a long time the boat had served as an entertaining toy for the children. On Tuesday afternoon, Visari had again wanted to have some fun. His friends had left, and alone in the boat he wanted to enjoy moments of glory like a real fisherman. He chose it, but the wind played a nasty trick on him: little by little it pushed him toward the middle of the lake. The boy began shouting and crying, but nobody could hear him. The wind and waves grew stronger, and meanwhile the boat had begun taking on water. Visari used an old bucket that happened to be in the boat to bail out the water nonstop. From a nearby spot, some villagers noticed the boat and ran over in a state of alarm. Within minutes the alarm had been raised in the village: a large number of distraught people gathered on the shore. The inhabitants of this village still vividly remembered the pain caused a few months earlier when a four-year-old boy drowned in this lake. Two boats full of people headed to help the boy, who by then had been battling fear for hours, as well as the death that circled the sinking boat. But their efforts did not go well: the boats’ engines would not start. While waiting for help, Visari kept bailing water out of the boat with the old bucket. After very long efforts, they managed to find the little boy, who was crying loudly, but was he not playing on a frightening...? [The source text is unclear here.] ... Jonuz Hallaçi

ELBASAN On page 5

BERAT On page 5

KUKËS Accident: van in a ravine 11 in hospital On page 5

ECONOMY ECONOMY ECONOMY TIRANA - An extremely uneven “landscape” of food commodity prices in Albania’s markets during February of this year. Statistics confirm that when comparing retail prices in different cities or areas, differences require percentages expressed in three digits. Meanwhile, it is observed that the Gjirokastër area is the one with the largest number of goods sold to buyers at the highest average prices, while the Fier area has held the “record” for the largest number of goods sold there at lower prices compared with other areas of the country. On page 7

On page 7

Demand from the 15: Maintain sanctions against Belgrade Greek politicians with Berisha Athens supports Tirana in the EU TIRANA - Greece promises support for Albania’s integration into European institutions. Representatives of the “Democracy” party confirmed Athens’s assistance to Tirana, including at the highest European levels, during meetings with Albanian authorities. TIRANA - Kosovo has now become a condition for recognition of the Yugoslav Federation. This is what the European Parliament decided in Brussels, calling for the “embargo” not to be lifted, for Belgrade not to receive such recognition, and for sanctions not to be revoked until the crisis in Kosovo is resolved. The result in favor of the Albanian province was achieved following the insistence of the Commission, which also drafted a special resolution. On page 3

SPORT Schoen: The final farewell One World Cup title, one European title, one time runner-up in the World Cup and in Europe, and one third place. Here is the career of the former coach On page 7

By Befa On page 2

The journey of a young man from Elbasan: more shoes, more money TIRANA - From Elbasan to Tirana, to... polish shoes. A 24-year-old from Elbasan makes the long journey twice a day through the cold Qafë Kërrabë, so that he can earn a living for himself and his large family. His name is Vladimir; he is only 24, but he is already a “recruit” in a job everyone prefers: shoe-shining. “Come on, shoe shine!” he shouts every morning before getting down to the hard work of making other people’s footwear look good. To do this, he first travels for several hours, as long as the journey from Elbasan—his hometown—to Tirana. While Ladi keeps polishing different shoes nonstop, his three sisters and two brothers continue to help the family. Their wages are meagre, almost those of a beggar. Often he does not even see his customers’ faces. High boots, muddy shoes, well-worn ones, new ones, old ones, shoes left “by mistake,” or expensive ones brought from abroad: to him there is no longer any difference. He begins polishing with his head bowed until they start to shine. This is the aim of the shoeshiner from Elbasan who roams Tirana’s corridors. After he has polished our shoes—and we do not dare ask him more about his background in case he takes offence—we wonder what makes him take this long daily journey. There is no other reason: in Tirana there are endless numbers of shoes moving back and forth along the sidewalks, at least more than he could polish in his own city. On page 7 One of Tirana’s shoeshiners

On page 6

The stars’ predictions for all signs On page 4