A speedboat that set out from Vlora in bad weather capsizes BRINDISI - Another tragedy at sea. Nine Albanians have lost their lives near the coast of Brindisi, having set out from Vlora in an inflatable boat. The Italians have found only 4 bodies: one woman and three men, while the search for the others continues. Meanwhile, one of the suspects believed to have organized the journey has been arrested. The alarm was raised with the Brindisi port authority by a mobile phone aboard the inflatable boat, which had split open. The causes of the incident have not yet been established, but the sea was very rough, and the tear may also have been caused by an object carried by the undocumented migrants. There were 21 people aboard the inflatable boat; 14 survived, 4 bodies have been recovered, while 3 others are still at sea. The Italian naval forces are searching for the others, but, according to them, the chances of finding them are slim. The waves are high, making the search very difficult. Today, two motorboats will continue searching the area around the scene. On page 6

FIER - Two trinitrotoluene explosions shook the center of the city of Fier over the weekend. Two children were victims; one of them, seriously injured, was taken to the hospital in Tirana, and nearby kiosks and apartments were badly damaged. Police forces searched the entire area and took two brothers suspected of committing the crimes to the police station. On page 7

Ceremonies today TIRANA - The state is boycotting Vlora. None of the heads of the Presidency, the Prime Minister’s Office, or Parliament has accepted the invitation from the Vlora association “10 shkurti” to commemorate the killing, one year ago, of the bajloz Artur Rustemi. Sources close to the country’s main institutions said last night that their leaders would be occupied today with important political and economic meetings. Meanwhile, Vlora itself has boycotted the Democratic Party (PD), to which it did not send an invitation to today’s ceremony. Nevertheless, the organizers announced yesterday that the ceremony would begin this morning with a speech in Vlora’s main square, and would then continue with a program by the “Vatra vlonjate” Ensemble. In memory of Artur Rustemi, as well as the other victims who lost their lives during the months of autumn protests against the government, a memorial will be inaugurated today in the city center. On page 3

REPORTAGE

FIER

TIRANA - The exact date when the word autopsy first entered world medicine is not known. Only a few isolated episodes from the European Renaissance are known, when it was precisely the wealthy Italian cities that achieved artistic perfection, partly thanks to sessions spent in the icy halls of the morgues of their ancestors, marveling at what lay beneath a person’s skin, even though they were already dead. On page 12. The Tirana morgue.

Albania-Georgia 0:3 TIRANA - The national team lost 3–0 to Georgia. The opponent’s unquestionable superiority and two mistakes by the goalkeeper proved very costly. Bledar Kola, who arrived after an airplane adventure just one hour before the match began, was brought on only in the second half. The team’s play improved in this period, but the attack, which had also been the team’s strongest point in recent matches, faltered on Sunday against the Georgian side. Raklli and Tare played a mediocre match. Nevertheless, in this match too, Hafizi experimented in defence, moving Vata into the centre-back role in the first half. Seven hours of meetings with no result at the Tirana football assembly. After heated debates, Fatmir Frashëri and Enver Shehu withdrew from the team’s leadership, leaving only two names on the table, Sulejman Mema and Ramadhan Shehu; their future will be decided at the next meeting. Meanwhile, until a definitive choice is made, the team will be led by the trio Baçi-Zenglia-Ali Mema. On page 11. From the Albania-Malta match, 1:1

TIRANA - Meidani brings the political persecuted out of their confinement. The intervention of the President of the Republic has brought the hunger strike by the politically persecuted to an end. The compromise consisted of Meidani’s promise to convene a roundtable of political forces to draft a comprehensive law for vetting public figures. Yesterday, at the Presidency, representatives of the hunger strikers were present, along with the OSCE ambassador in Tirana, Dan Everts, and Nafiz Bezhani, chairman of the Commission for the Verification of Public Figures. Agim Bakalli, head of the coordination of hunger strikes throughout the country and former chief of the Presidency’s administration during Berisha’s time, insisted on a roundtable of political forces to amend the law. Meanwhile, Meidani abandoned his idea of a table of specialists from the political forces. According to Meidani, a political roundtable could only prolong the process of producing as modern a law as possible on the issue of the files. On page 2.

MAMURRAS. 14-year-old who killed her father released. Court changes the charge: Negligence. LAÇ - The 14-year-old accused of killing her father has been released. Maranglena Vllashi from Mamurras has returned home after six months in prison. Prosecutors had classified the crime as premeditated, but the evidence presented during the trial changed everything for the teenager. The 14-year-old from Mamurras had been accused of killing her father and possessing a firearm without a permit. The tragic crime within the family had shocked everyone in the small town. Handcuffs were placed on Maranglena’s hands, and the heavy prison doors opened for her. More than anything, she was burdened by the weight of the crime she was accused of. According to prosecutors, on September 4 of last year Maranglena had shot her father with a firearm in the kitchen of their home. The 14-year-old was brought to the defendant’s bench on this charge. During the subsequent hearings, the defence and the defendant’s witnesses presented a great deal of evidence arguing that the killing had occurred through negligence. The gun had fired accidentally in the direction of a close family member. Yesterday, at the 13th hearing in the teenager’s trial, the court delivered its verdict. At the end of the entire judicial examination, the judicial panel declared that the charge would be changed. As a result, the 14-year-old was charged only with negligent homicide. Following this new ruling, the justice officials ordered the release of the minor from Mamurras in the courtroom. Yesterday she returned home, which she had left six months earlier.

REPUBLIKA. A journey in Labëria, to the land of forgotten glory. On page 9. Children in the village of Tërbaç (photo: H. Pustina)

FIER. Oil alarm: “It can cause serious illnesses.” On page 5.