ALARM Today, five times fewer tests are conducted on meat than four years ago Meat from Mad Cow countries is being sold in Albania Page 3

EDITORIAL A job left half-done is worse than one never begun at all. But in truth, this message, as ancient as many others enshrined in this people’s philosophical lexicon, has been devalued, perhaps more than all the other messages whose sounds have resonated throughout history. Albanian politics today, genuinely incapable of thinking “properly” in recent times, is that the same characteristics have also begun to emerge in that part of international politics which, institutionally established in Albania, instead of exerting influence, is being influenced by Albanian politicians who do things by halves. Yesterday, the OSCE Ambassador in Tirana, Ahrens, apparently failed; the truth that emerges now, after all this, is that the head of the OSCE Mission has no alternative left but to wander between the half-empty tables of Berisha and Nano, whom he is expected to meet today. A table left half-finished in its composition could have had no other subsequent fate than that of ... having no fate other than the one it is now experiencing. of this people, whose sounds have echoed through history. Current Albanian politics, realistic yet incapable of thinking in Albanian, is showing day by day that it is also incapable of seeing things through to the end. Without exaggerating, either in terms of timing or in the assessments made in this case, it must be said that this phenomenon has been present in Albanian political thought for some time. What is being highlighted as “viol…

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Midnight battle. Six people clash Police mount a seven-hour operation to arrest the perpetrators (Everything about the tragic incident in Milot) Midnight battle. Six people clash The highway bandit is killed He robbed 22 million lire Police mount a seven-hour operation to arrest the perpetrators (Everything about the tragic incident in Milot) Page 7

19 foreign nationals have not been issued work permits 75 of 101 private schools have broken the law Set up to educate, they break the law. This is what has happened at most private educational institutions. During a single inspection conducted in November by the State Labour Inspectorate at 101 non-public schools and various courses in 29 districts, it was found that 75 of them had broken the law.

Today Nano presents his position on the CEC Ahrens brings the political talks on the Central Election Commission to an end. The head of the OSCE met yesterday with the leader of the Democratic Party, Sali Berisha, while a previously announced meeting with the leader of the Socialist Party is scheduled for today. …ently carried out institutionally in Albania, instead of having an impact, is being influenced by Albanian politicians who leave things half-finished. Yesterday, the OSCE Ambassador in Tirana, Ahrens, seemed once again to demonstrate this in his attempt to entice the Democratic Party and its allies to the roundtable he himself had inaugurated. Without prejudging the reasons that led Mr. Ahrens to insist on his request, just as Berisha continues to insist on his position of…

PR deputy chairman: Here are the objections to the Electoral Map The PR deputy chairman receives a response from Sokol Fshazi, Secretary of the Commission for the Delimitation of Electoral District Boundaries. The response is endorsed with the credentials of the CEC, even though what the commission members have often put forward has been precisely its “independence.” This is set out in the letter responding to a series of objections sent to the Commission by the Republican Party, also on behalf of the entire Opposition. Page 4

Power outages expose market tricks Consumption of meat products in the country declines Page 2

The OSCE chief, at the end of the mediation mission

The “Tirana 2000” Fair showcases this year’s books Page 21

Parliament removes the “Anti-Mafia” provision from the law Page 9