SPOTLIGHTS, FORMER VEFA PROPERTY On page 14

THE MYSTERY OF THE TURKISH COMPANY “BE HA SE” On page 10

Zani’s friend executed No one would have believed that such an assassination could be carried out 50 meters from the building of the Capital Police Directorate. The killers had planned everything and got away right under the noses of the police, who arrived quickly. On page 7

Fatos Baxhaku By now we have grown accustomed to things that are very grave, sad, painful, absurd... We can give any name we like to the recent bloody events. But on Sunday evening, in one of the capital’s most respectable neighborhoods, where most of Tirana’s important people live—and, therefore, those of the whole country too—something happened that really makes you stop and think. Bullets from a cruel hand left dead, among the other victims, a man who made his living selling roasted corn. It was as if the symbol of this Albania had been killed. A wood-burning brazier, some ears of roasted corn, with which little beggars and [unclear] played, their eyes brimming with tears as they passed through the bloodstained intersection: this was the scene we saw just 24 hours after Sunday’s horrific murder. A man who made his living selling corn has been killed. A life of cruelty. Could there be a more meaningful symbol for the majority of Albanians than this? The comments the following day were varied. Most came from eyewitnesses who, stunned by the bloody scene, stood as if dumbstruck before the river of blood. Others, the police chiefs, were quick to speak. At the time, it seemed to them a normal event that the victim of this terrible brawl was not ... Continued on page 7

MEETINGS WITH THAÇI AND RUGOVA His brother gets married in Prishtina MEETINGS WITH THAÇI AND RUGOVA Majko’s family alliance in Kosovo His brother gets married in Prishtina On page 2

Two trains collide A collision between two trains caused yesterday morning’s railway disaster in India. So far, 200 bodies have been found, and the death toll may exceed 500. On page 8