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Chaos over the winners’ names Disqualifications begin Page 2 “Roosters’” match

EDITORIAL By Neritan ALIBALI The lightning-fast dismissal of three ministers and appointment of four others has left the whole of Albania speechless. In fact, few people know the real reason why Meta bundled up and tossed one fifth of his Cabinet into the wastebasket. Even the most attentive citizens cannot say for certain whether Hajdaraga was dismissed because he drove the Greek company out of Albania or, say, because he crashed the state car in a road accident; whether Ilir Panda called for the dismissal of 12 judges, or had to be sacrificed in the political calculations of the Alliance for the State; whether Demeti opposed the nationalization of homes belonging to their rightful owners, or whether his department had become a source of “exploitation” for the Socialist Party. But one thing is known for certain: this coup within the state is taking place precisely at the height of the intensifying clan war inside the Socialist Palace. Nano’s unquestionable victory at the most recent Congress has apparently forced Meta to wield the stick against his own flock. In response to Nano’s people, Ruçi and Malaj, taking over key party posts, Prime Minister Meta is strengthening the positions of his own people, Gjoni and Legisi, in the Government. In this way, Nano and Meta are using the party and the Government as the stakes in a race whose end only God knows. The local elections are just around the corner, and parliamentary elections are just beyond that. From Nano’s recent statements at the PS leadership forums, one can discern a tendency to pin a potentially unpleasant election result on the grassroots. Meta is in the same position. In parallel, both “roosters” are trying to dodge the elections and continue their fight with each other. And this “cockfight” inevitably leads to their “coops” being wrecked one after another.

ERIETA A new piece of evidence comes to light. DNA results arrive A great deal is recorded in Erieta Avduli’s medical record, but it has not been made public. According to one of the experts at the Central Criminalistics Laboratory, it has been established that Erieta was not pregnant, although this is also confirmed by the examination Erieta had and by what she told her sister Ble[t]a in an e-mail, writing: “I can hardly wait to keep[?] my job and go to the doctor for an examination, because I’m afraid I’ve become pregnant...”; meanwhile, in that same email message she tells her: “I’ve been vomiting for several days, but I hope I’ve caught the flu...” Page 7

Heat and smog increase emergency calls In these hot, sweltering days, people faint in the street. Citizens cannot make it to the emergency department; their hearts give out on the sidewalks. Just yesterday, 7 people fell ill and fainted while walking in the street. Two of them were elderly people who were at Tirana’s New Market. Doctors say this is the first summer in which citizens have sought first aid in the street on such a large scale. This is because temperatures have peaked and citizens are out and about more. Page 4

Presidential decree declared invalid This decree was based on a proposal by Prime Minister Majko, who was not in office when Rama resigned from his position as deputy head of SHIK. The deputy head of SHIK also accuses President Meidani of violating the Constitution, since the description in his decree of Rama as unfit for duty is considered a humiliating stance. Page 6

Culture Page 14

Five-year agreement to fight them announced Page 9

Environmental laws are not being enforced Page 11

Ministry summons directors of the chain of directorates Page 13

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