TIRANA (AP) - Under international mediation, Albania’s two main political forces yesterday reached a compromise on the redrawing of electoral zones, marking an end to the deadlock that had threatened to delay this summer’s general election. The deal between the ruling Socialists and the main opposition Democratic Party, reached at a meeting held at the Tirana office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, opened the way to concrete preparations for the parliamentary polls expected in July. Last week EU officials warned that Albania’s integration efforts into the bloc would be seriously undermined if the elections aren’t held according to international standards.

ANKARA (AFP) - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan leaves today for a five-day visit to Ethiopia and South Africa in a bid to build up economic ties as part of his country’s drive to open up to the African continent. Erdogan will be the first Turkish head of government ever to visit the two countries despite a stated aim by Ankara since 1998 to forge closer ties with Africa. His first port of call will be Ethiopia, where he will meet President Girma Wolde-Giorgis and Prime Minister Meles Zenawi tomorrow for talks mainly on improving trade.

Two businessmen including a top radio executive were killed in a bomb blast overnight in the Albanian capital Tirana, police said yesterday. The bomb, probably activated by remote control, was placed in the elevator of their central office block, early investigation results showed. Vajdin Lame, 37, deputy chief of the national radio station “Top Albania,” was killed instantly, while Klodian Saliu, the 38-year-old head of a pharmaceutical laboratory, died on the way to hospital, police said. (AFP)

Romania’s entry to the European Union could be delayed by one year if it fails to implement economic, judicial and political reforms, a top EU official said yesterday. European Union Expansion Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn is on a three-day visit to Romania to review measures needed to prepare the country for membership by 2007. But Rehn said that Romania’s entry could be delayed by a year if did not meet EU standards in a range of policy areas such as competition, the environment and justice. (AP)

An Albanian fisherman and his 13-year-old son died after their boat capsized in the Adriatic Sea, police reported yesterday. Pjeter Vathi, 37, and his son Floger died Sunday afternoon when a sudden storm arose 2 miles (3 kilometers) from shore as they gathered fish from nets in Lalzi Bay, 40 kilometers (24 miles) from the Albanian capital, Tirana. (AP)

Serbian lawmakers yesterday rejected a bid by Slobodan Milosevic’s allies demanding that legal proceedings against the former president’s family be stopped. The ultra-nationalist Serbian Radical Party, backed by Milosevic’s Socialists, had proposed a draft bill for the Parliament to declare an end to the “political persecution” of Milosevic’s family so that he would have peace of mind to defend himself before the UN war crimes court. (AP)