Two explosions in ten minutes The South rocked: PS headquarters blown up The Socialists’ building was destroyed first, followed by another three-story building Three initial suspects at the police station. Special forces patrolling as far as Greece GJIROKASTËR—The South is rocked. A powerful explosive blew up the Socialist Party building, a three-story structure, as well as part of the home of a Socialist activist in the village of Lazarat. The terrible explosions caused fear and panic in the stone city. Special forces quickly arrived in Gjirokastër. Some of them crossed into Greek territory to prevent the perpetrators from fleeing to the neighboring country. The regional police director, Islam Qeribai, told Gazeta Shqiptare that the perpetrators would soon be caught. The first three people were taken to the police station late at night. They are suspected of carrying out the incident. The criminal police are also considering suspicions involving remnants of the gang captured a few days earlier. “They want to show that they were not responsible for last night’s explosions,” was the idea they put forward. Representatives of the Ministry of the Interior and the Prosecutor’s Office have arrived from Tirana, while the city is still shaken. Gjirokastër, PS headquarters after the attack (Photo: REUTERS) EMERGENCY MEETING AT THE PS Ministers shocked by the events Attack on Legisi and others. “Where are they taking us like this?” On page 3 On page 2

Prosecutor’s Office: Jani disappeared the sale proceeds from the banks TIRANA—The former Minister of Defense and several of the Ministry of Defense’s former senior officers are under investigation for arms smuggling. “The issue of the illegal trade in arms and ammunition in Albania will soon be clarified,” senior investigation officials told the press yesterday. While the justice system is saying for the first time that it will investigate, Zhulali refused to comment yesterday, while the state secretary at the Ministry of Defense said that “all financial violations will soon be punished.” Sources from the General Prosecutor’s Office also said that not a single lek from the arms trade alleged to have been conducted through smuggling had been paid into the state budget. “The Albanian state has not engaged in smuggling. The arms trade was conducted as everywhere, in accordance with all the laws, while the money ended up in the state coffers, and there is complete documentation for this,” Prime Minister Aleksandër Meksi replies. Zhulali, the company “Meiko,” and several others are included in the investigation. “The trade took place with several countries, but the investigation will uncover everything.” The Ministry of the Interior prepares the operation The traffic in stolen Benzes: From the Buna to Montenegro On page 6

DURRËS / 6 ALBANIANS DETAINED DURRËS—The mystery of the smuggling ship caught in the Karavasta Lagoon on Monday has been solved. “Demon,” the name of the Greek ship flying the Albanian flag, has a capacity of 350 tons, is registered at the port of Durrës, and has been engaged in commercial activity for several years. Six Albanian sailors served aboard it; in fact, they come from different parts of northern and southern Albania. Two are from Lezha, two from Laçi, and two from Tepelena. Its captain is Gavrosh Millo from Lezha. All six people have been detained and questioning by investigators has begun, once again concerning the suspicious cargo on board. According to police sources, the ship’s hold is still sealed, since customs authorities must also arrive for the procedures to continue; however, according to “Demon’s” documents, it is carrying 1,450,500 packets, valued at around one million dollars. On page 5

WAR ON THE GREEK COAST On page 6

The Ministry of the Interior prepares the operation TIRANA—The final destination of the stolen “Benz” cars has been discovered. “The Buna estuary, near Velipojë, is the base where stolen or robbed cars are gathered and then sent through this border crossing point to Montenegro,” sources at the Ministry of the Interior say. Various facts, gathered case by case, have ruled out traces of the other versions: the cars are now passing through the hands of a network that deals specifically in this traffic and are headed for the foreign market. On page 6

TIRANA—At a time when, according to figures from the Ministry of Labor, dramatic estimates indicate that there are currently around 300,000 unemployed people in Albania, an official signal has also arrived pointing to a lack of concrete plans to reduce unemployment. —At a time when, according to figures from the Ministry of Labor, dramatic estimates indicate that there are currently around 300,000 unemployed people in Albania, an official signal has also arrived pointing to a lack of concrete plans to reduce unemployment. “The state can intervene to reduce unemployment only through employment policies and attracting investment. We are in a market economy,” the Ministry’s spokesperson also said. On page 8

TIRANA - Hafizi is ready for the test against Turkey. “The group of players is ready; however, friendly matches are for trying out and experimenting with tactical formations.” Nevertheless, the national team coach views the match with some uncertainty: “It is a double-edged sword, but I will try out the players available to me. At the last meeting I held at the FSHF, I also had the support of President Papadhopulli.” On page 7 Hafizi and Mema ready for the tests against Turkey

ELBASAN/ The owner of the local TV station and bingo comes up with the idea ELBASAN - Buy local telebingo tickets. Your ears are not deceiving you. The people of Elbasan will be the first to have the chance to hear this phrase. In the very city that the national telebingo has never even come near during its entire existence, signs of threatening jealousy have recently begun to appear. It was Isa Kreka, owner of a city bingo hall and, at the same time, of the private television channel “Dardania,” who first had a flash of inspiration to give the city, scorned by fortune, a telebingo of its own. They say that if fortune doesn’t come to you, you should grab it by the hair, and apparently that is what Kreka thought as the big telebingo prizes flew off to other cities. And so it was decided to boost the telebingo’s power within the city, so that it would have no chance of landing in other cities. Apparently, this will be the first collaboration between a game of chance and the owner of a local television station, although in this case both roles belong to the same person. And the calculations have certainly been done very carefully. The chances of winning among 100,000 residents are obviously greater than among 3 million, and this may lead people to flock to buy Elbasan’s local telebingo tickets—the city where, even though the big national telebingo has never landed, it will become the city where telebingo prizes fall most often, even if they are... local. ble.sta

The birthday of the Police Service: Toasts and Mourning On page 2

“We will close pharmacies in the cities” On page 8