Massacre averted at the Military Hospital Kasandër Noga tries to kill again Page 5

EDITORIAL By Genci ÇOBANI The government opens its purse for the party activists, opens its purse for the party. The calculations appear to be made with a sharpened pencil, and the logic of hands washing away the past, in order to hide the tracks afterward, takes its rightful place in a crossword of thieves and scoundrels, bringing the country its latest notoriety. The criminal thus joins the thieves, and the gang’s configuration is now complete. So complete that ordinary hypocrisy… [text unclear] …has determined its winners. Hardened PS activists have been given exclusive rights to their profits and will thus be able to recycle a large part of the money intended to be spent on pre-election infrastructure investments, returning it to the pockets from which it came—the government’s. Only its purpose will have changed, and it will be ready to be stolen, … [text unclear] …what it needs for the campaign ahead of this year’s October 1. They won the tenders; those in power want the money. And once again, one hand washes the other; both conceal the corrupt face of the thief, the abuser, the manipulator and the squanderer of state funds. The plan seems clever, but not very intelligent. The promise of asphalt to be laid like a weapon on some of the country’s most “problematic” roads, in the most “problematic” areas, is so weak that even relying on it to win a few more votes is like pointing a finger at yourself to escape electoral punishment. And that is what the Socialists are doing, secretly, as usual…

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Scandals upon scandals over the October 1 elections Numerous transfers of civil servants from one office to another, heads of enterprises and local-government officials, beneficiaries of companies that invite them to… [partly illegible] …quiet conversations, promises and more promises. This is the first impression one gets at the Ministry of Public Works and the Ministry of Transport. 201 million… 960 thousand lekë for the former and 832 million lekë for the latter, or around 1 billion and 33 million lekë for both together, have already come out of the State Budget and entered these districts of the country. The two ministries most generously supplied with funds by the Government have been swept up in tender fever. …of punishment of the… [partially illegible] … a crossroads solution of thieves and usurpers, bringing the country yet another tyrant. The criminal accomplice… [partially illegible] … in this way with thieves, and the formation of the gang is now complete. So complete that even the usual hypocrisy of the pre-election situation, regardless of the motives that prompted it, cannot turn the Government and its political and economic support forces into a “b… [partially illegible] …”, even of the Mafia type. It is said that the tenders were held… …the connection to pre-election investments in infrastructure, returning them once again to the pockets from which they came, those of the Government. But with a changed destination, ready to be stolen by using them for campaigning, without fear that tomorrow anyone will demand an account for the misuse of Government funds. The predetermined winners of the tenders will tomorrow be the donors and, at the same time, the PS’s first “shakedown victims”, in order to secure the funds that… Page 3

Elections/Republicans submit documents The Local Government Election Commissions will begin work with five commissioners as well. Sources from the CEC say that, for the seven members of this institution, it does not matter if the full number of parties entitled to submit the names of members to the LGECs is not reached. It is sufficient for only five electoral subjects to submit the materials with the names of the LGEC members, and work will begin immediately. Page 2

Crime/Rakipi and Jano, 4 hours of face-to-face debate Page 11

Municipality: The standard is one taxi per 2,000 residents Page 19

Problems with illegal cross-border transport Page 16

Education/State schools “are left behind” The last two years can safely be called the years of flourishing for private education in Albania. According to specialists at the Ministry of Education, attendance at private schools has increased compared with last year. There are a total of 83 private schools throughout the country. The expansion of private schools has come first and foremost as a result of the decline in the quality of state education. Page 12

The list of students who must report today, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., to the Italian Embassy, as well as the documents they must have with them Page 13

28 television stations and 17 radio stations receive operating licenses Page 7

Dossier Page 4