Tragedy in Athens - An emigrant family is set on fire Two young children die in the flames Tragedy in Athens - An emigrant family is set on fire Four Albanians burn to death in their sleep Two young children die in the flames Four others are in serious condition in hospital Flames, smoke and corpses yesterday in one of Athens’ main neighborhoods. Four Albanians, including two children, were burned alive, while four others are in hospital with severe burns. This terrible tragedy happened yesterday around 2:00 a.m., after a fire was deliberately set in their home. After an hour the firefighters had extinguished the flames. From the houses turned to ashes they pulled out four corpses: Viktor Çuko, 37, from Puka; Denisa and Sokol Çuko, aged 7 and 10; and Tonin Gjoni, 27. The mother of the two children, Nexhmije Çuko, managed to escape alive from the inferno that engulfed her whole family. Hospitalized together with the mother are her sisters, Behije and Paraskevi Beqir from Tepelena, as well as 19-year-old Edmond Ibrahimi from Fieri, a nephew of the family. Although they are in serious condition, doctors say the four injured have passed the danger to their lives. page 2

The President appeals to officials In an interview given yesterday to Radio Voice of America, President Berisha, among other things, also spoke about the relations between journalists and state officials. In many cases the courts have ruled against journalists and in favor of senior state officials. Berisha’s latest message on relations between the state and the press is completely clear. In yesterday’s interview he says: "... what I would recommend to my officials is denial. Denial would be a more normal path than prosecution and court hearings, when the issues are not so fundamental; through denial the journalist receives a moral punishment for the disinformation or deception he carries out".

The Socialist International meeting in Brussels comes to an end The political imprisonment of Fatos Nano is condemned The Socialist International meeting in Brussels comes to an end European leftists are interested in Albania The political imprisonment of Fatos Nano is condemned page 3

Dom Simon Jubani is proposed as Chairman of the Control Commission In Germany, the opening of the files was entrusted to a priest Dom Simon Jubani is proposed as Chairman of the Control Commission AD: The files in the hands of the man of Christ In Germany, the opening of the files was entrusted to a priest The party "Democratic Alliance" once again asked yesterday at midday the Albanian Parliament and its Chairman, Pjetër Arbnori, that the Chairman of the Commission for the Verification of the Figures of the Elected and Appointed be Dom Simon Jubani, known as a silent priest, persecuted during the communist dictatorship. Dom Simon Jubani is known to the Albanian public as a man who opposed the communist dictatorship not silently, but openly. page 3

Lawyer: “Someone has already returned the money to the state during this time” Yesterday at the Durrës Court the trial began over the scandal involving the firm “Epidamn”, which defrauded the state through fraud and falsification of documents of an amount of 850 thousand dollars. The opening of the hearing was sensational, as the lawyer for the defendant Arta Driza, an economist at the State Bank in Durrës, declared that there is no debt obligation at her financial institution, because there are indications that someone has repaid the amount after the criminal case began. page 2

Report from the track without rails, Rrëshen-Klos Thousands of tons of gravel, brought by the machines that once built the hydropower plants of Fierzë and Koman, make up the body of the half-finished Rrëshen-Klos railway line, which even after 10 years has still not heard the sound of a train’s siren. Instead of the tracks that were supposed to be laid, weeds have grown there and lonely cows or small flocks of sheep graze undisturbed. page 5

Gjinushi: Television has a status that is not determined by its director "If this is approved by law - says Zogaj - then Albania’s road toward democracy is among the most vital, the life itself, original and unmatched. It is understood that the government will not pay, or will pay one seventh of the information given about it."