Toll: 3 dead, 17 injured, 6 still beneath the rubble Mystery surrounds the causes and perpetrators of the tragedy. A district prosecutor also lived in the building PESHKOPI / Tragedy after midnight. Explosives destroy a five-story building PESHKOPI - Tragic explosion in the city of Peshkopi. The initial toll, established after the five-story building was searched, was three dead and sixteen injured. The building was blown up with an as-yet-undetermined quantity of TNT. Sources at the scene stress that at least six more bodies must still be beneath the rubble of the apartment building. It was three o’clock yesterday morning when a shattering roar disturbed the peace of the small northern city. Building number 14 in the “Gjon Beci” neighborhood was the target of a terrible TNT explosion. The type of explosive has been determined by police experts, while the reasons for this tragedy remain unknown. The initial toll was three dead, including a 14-year-old adolescent. Meanwhile, the number of injured reached sixteen. Efforts are being made to save the lives of six other people who, according to eyewitnesses, must be beneath the building’s rubble. On page 5

All before Meidani: “We swear” YESTERDAY: THE NEW GOVERNMENT The new government cabinet moments after taking the oath before the President (Photo: Plator Ilo) TIRANA - A bouquet of flowers for the new President, Rexhep Mejdani, was the first gesture of 44-year-old Fatos Nano, who took charge of the country yesterday. Shortly afterward, Nano officially announced his team of 22 ministers, including two women, all representatives of five political parties. Before meeting the head of state, who, after appointing him head of the executive, asked Nano to name the people with whom he would work, everything was said during their very brief talks. “It is time to constitute this Government, opening the way for our contacts with all Albanians, whatever they voted, and with the other institutions established by the President of the Republic. On page 3 The new government cabinet moments after taking the oath before the President (Photo: Plator Ilo)

Victims of gangs on Thursday alone The city continues to live in the grip of death. Gangs make the law

Prosecution

TIRANA - “RTV censored Meidani’s speech.” A heated debate broke out in Parliament yesterday. Once again, the small screen and its chiefs were in the spotlight. Deputy Speaker Antoneta Malja tried to respond from her office. “It was a gross mistake by the journalist,” she explained. According to her, the institution she heads has now gained new dimensions in its presentation of the country’s political forces. On page 2 TVSH building

Victims of the gangs on Thursday alone BERAT - The toll from clashes between rival groups in the city of Berat is tragic. 9 dead, two of them brothers from Uznova. The battle between the gangs began at lunchtime on Thursday, in the “Çlirimi” neighborhood, shaking the city, which for several days seemed to have settled into a period of calm. Six young people aged 20–32 lost their lives in exchanges of gunfire. On Thursday, another serious incident struck the Jlo family. The brothers K.I. and P.I. were found dead, killed by Kalashnikov bullets, for reasons that are still unknown. The circumstances of the crime also remain unclear. Also on Thursday, the shops and the chairman of the district council, Shkëlqim Ruli. Three weeks earlier, as he was leaving his office, he was hit by a bullet. On page 5

TIRANA - The Republic’s Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation into the incident at the Malësi e Madhe Police Station. Two officers from the Criminal Police unit at Police Station 2 in Tirana have also been arrested; they appear to be connected with this incident. Meanwhile, they are suspected of being involved in a smuggling operation. The two officers were detained the day before yesterday in Rinas with a large sum of money, ready to leave Albania. But now it is up to the prosecutors to have their say. On page 8

Stationery shops were his victims TIRANA - A “judge” before the court. While dozens of people accused of fraud through usury have appeared before the courts, a classic fraudster turned up two days ago. But, as if he were someone else, this man too will be tried in absentia. Months earlier—he was from Patos and had opened an “office” in Tirana—he had started committing fraud in the name of the court. His victims were stationery stores and shops selling office supplies. “I’m from the Tirana Court; we need to buy carbon paper, paper, pens, document clips...” and the list went on and on. After taking the goods, he would provide a forged document and leave the court’s address, telling the shop owner to go there and complete the payment order. While the owner returned empty-handed from the Court, the “judge” continued his work with other owners, again of stationery shops. He had even opened an “office” at the old courthouse, where he “received” his clients, to make himself more convincing. This scheme had gone on not just briefly, but for several months, and the list of victimized shops had reached seven. Meanwhile, reports had begun to be filed, until the police managed to identify the “judge” who was buying office supplies in the name of the Court. He was a 33-year-old man from Patos. But after spending a short time in prison, his arrest was an abuse in prison. The Tirana Court has now opened proceedings against him, but in absentia; however, with the punishment for fraud still pending, that case file seems set to become one of the largest in the archive of fraud cases.

FOOTBALL

FOOTBALL Grima, a “beggar,” in Greece On page 7