The lives of hundreds of passengers are at risk. Disaster averted thanks to the driver’s braking Panic on the railway Elbasan, three wagons derail Great fear on the Tiranë-Pogradec train. A passenger: “It was terrifying, we thought the end had come. We toppled over onto one another” ELBASAN - A railway disaster is averted at the last moment. Three passenger train wagons derailed and only a hard brake by the locomotive driver prevented the tragedy from happening. Horror and panic among the passengers, who fortunately were not injured. Crying children, adults who could not understand what had happened, and fortunately others trying to calm the situation — that was the scene on Wednesday evening on the Tiranë-Pogradec train, which was seriously endangered. The reasons that led to such a situation are still unclear, but railway specialists preliminarily believe that poor maintenance of the track is one of the main reasons for the extraordinary situation that arose. At the Railway Directorate in Durrës, they explain that all measures have been taken to follow the passenger timetable, the three wagons have been put back on the line, and work is underway to repair a 60-meter section of the track that was severely damaged. On page 5

Socialists: “This is against the law” Last night, debate at the Palace of Congresses TIRANE - The Central Elections Commission has openly given the “green light” for the President of the Republic’s participation in the electoral campaign for local elections. Heated debates among the “grown-up” electoral members characterized yesterday’s meeting. “The President is not allowed to take part in the campaign,” said Besnik Bare, deputy chairman of the Central Elections Commission. At the same time, according to the Socialist members of the Commission, the chairman, Thereska, had held the same view only 48 hours earlier. Yesterday, the leader of the main electoral bodies, Thereska, “reversed” his statements from the previous day. In fact, Bare — the number-one man trusted by the SP for the Commission — did not hesitate to declare after the stormy meeting that, starting from day two, it seems to raise the curtain on major disagreements among representatives of Albanian politics. The headquarters of the Central Elections Commission Polo: Gjinushi’s statement “In the EC they told us: fight Berisha” On page 3

Charge: “He spread terror in front of the presidency” At 9:00 the trial of the young man from Krujë, Ilir Buza, begins TIRANE - Today the young man who appeared with a bomb in his hand in front of the presidency is before the court. He has been charged by the prosecution with attempted terrorism and attempted kidnapping. It is the chairman of the Tirana court, Qazim Gjonaj, who will preside over the court panel that will decide for the first time on the punishment to be imposed on someone accused of terrorism. Five months ago, Buza, while at the presidency headquarters, where Berisha was holding a meeting with his Italian counterpart Scalfaro, wanted to intimidate him by threatening him with a bomb in his hand. “I want to meet the president,” he shouted, “otherwise I will endanger the safety of the bomb and I will kill myself.” Suspected of being mentally ill, medical experts have found the young man from Krujë to be completely normal. On page 5

TIRANE Today the Municipality decides on the new Mayor On page 5

INTERVIEW Driza: “Here’s why they accuse me” TIRANE - I cannot accept being accused for the sake of other people’s interests. Ramazan Driza responds to the accusations made in the press after the Lapraka incident. In the 5,000-hectare plot, the history of its ownership, as well as all the efforts Driza made to comply with the laws in force “to get the land that belongs to him,” are explained in the interview he agrees to give to Gazeta. “I know it is a scheme and how it would work.” This is what the municipal official says, according to whom, “such a show interests a category of people who tomorrow are expected to be targeted by this kind of confrontation.” Although he does not intend to reveal names or specific individuals, the municipal official limits himself to counter-accusations directed at the wrong targets. On page 5

FIER Attempted murder: caught after a year On page 5

VLORE Seed sellers quarrel over the sidewalk On page 5

HIER[?] Killed “to protect honor”: sentenced On page 5

The Slavs win 4–0 after an extended match Football: The great comeback of "Zvezda" Cup Winners’ Cup: last night in Belgrade defeat for "Kaiserslautern" The Slavs win 4–0 after an extended match On page 7 From the match "Zvezda" - "Kaiserslautern" 4–0

The super-accused before Justice Kulla in court, the first words today TIRANE - The super-accused, Nehat Kulla, will be in court today. In a special hearing, the judge will decide on the measure of his arrest. Detained since early Wednesday morning, Kulla is expected to be brought to the Tirana courtroom during the afternoon. The police squad and escort had taken all security measures yesterday around 5 p.m. But the prosecution announced that the arrest measure against him would be reviewed a day later, today, since “the preliminary investigative materials were not yet ready.” Until yesterday, Kulla was held at Police Station No. 1. The prosecution’s investigations into him had begun the day of the attack on the two police brothers. Against Kulla and the other people accused by the police of being involved in the murder of three, an arrest warrant in absentia had also been issued and investigators had already started the usual investigative orders. Yesterday morning, the people who had seen the event up close were placed in special court sessions, which had the value of evidence. But while the prosecution’s investigations continue intensively, one by one the wanted men have ended up in cells. The last two, Kulla and Doda, had moved toward an agreement with themselves and it was said that from the early hours of Thursday they would be questioned. Today Kulla will be in court for the first time and will be questioned in a closed-door hearing because of the secrecy of the investigation, along the path of which he is accused by the prosecution. It is still unknown at the moment whether he is being accused only of the murder of the two police officers or also of other crimes, which the Ministry of Interior knew about and which K[?] was arrested by the police in a house on the outskirts of Tirana. Nehat Kulla

ARRESTED Former policeman: steals the debtor’s house He had invested money at interest, while now... ELBASAN - He had gone into the owner’s house and taken a television, a v[?]lyer, 2,000 marks and a quantity of jewelry. This is about the former policeman Bori and his friend Myrteza, who were arrested in Elbasan for stealing 15,000 extorted dollars. In fact, the two accused had also taken the debtor’s telephone and tray. But their denouncer Xh. has filed the complaint in absentia, since he was arrested. The accused of “fraud” had invested money at interest and had left for Italy for this reason with the commissioner. The two young men accused of fraud brought him to Albania, where he may also be tried. Bori and Myrteza, although they had declared for a long time that they were in Italy with this person, did not know where he had been detained. In fact, the debtor, R., had also received from other people a considerable amount of money, legality which he was in a position[?] for this reason and the direction to Italy with the accused of fraud. The two youngsters were brought here as well with accounts and were able to take foreign telephones. But the complainant was not arrested and, without issuing any document, even after being arrested. In a suitcase investigators discovered a “TT”-brand pistol as well as 150,000 lek and an amount of 200,000 marks [?]. M. S.

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FROM THE WORLD Palestine, massacre: 46 killed Yesterday in Gaza (REUTERS) JERUSALEM - Clashes have started again between Palestinians and Israelis in the Gaza Strip. The situation has deteriorated to such an extent that on both sides there have been at least ninety victims. On the Palestinian side they are counted at up to 36 people, while on the Israeli side there are 10 people. The situation, which the United Nations Security Council has also described as the worst since the 1993 peace, has led the Israeli prime minister to return urgently home from his three-day visit to Europe. On page 2

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