Albanian Opposition Demands Parliament Speaker Quit

Several thousand Albanian opposition supporters have demonstrated peacefully in central Tirana to demand the resignation of the Parliament speaker, following accusations that he hired an assassin to kill two lawmakers.

The speaker, Ilir Meta, denies the allegations.Prosecutors are investigating claims by Tom Doshi, who was expelled from the governing Socialists last week after making the accusations, that he and an opposition Democrat lawmaker were targets of the alleged plot. Doshi claims Meta paid 600,000 euros ($636,000) to someone to carry out the killings.

Democrat leader Lulzim Basha addressed Thursday's rally, accusing Prime Minister Edi Rama of involvement in the alleged assassination plot.

Albania holds municipal elections in June, in a first test for the government that has passed tough reforms since it was elected a year and a half ago.