EUREKA POLL While among 150 northern children, 57.1% say they will personally avenge the blood of their murdered relatives — on pages 12–13

NAMES OF THE NEW GOVERNMENT The leadership: Here is the candidate they rejected

The parents are alarmed A 6-year-old child was kidnapped on Sunday and the kidnappers demanded 18 million lekë for his release. The parents, frightened by the threatening letter, did not report it to the police, but the police station found out through announcements on television and began working to catch the kidnappers. Apparently, 5 boys have been taken to the police station. Six-year-old Denis Xhelaj from Vlorë, the son of a wholesale trader, went out to play in the courtyard in front of his apartment building on Sunday afternoon, in the “Dëshmorët” neighborhood, near the Mosque. Surrounded by his sister (two years older) and his other friends,

Nano with Meta yesterday at the “Rogner” (Photo: H. Pustina) Nano with Meta yesterday at the “Rogner” (Photo: H. Pustina)

paradox Edmond TUPJA* The misfortune of many Albanians is that they still know how to read and write. This gives them the illusion that they are genuine intellectuals. This illusion was strengthened during the long and harsh years of the communist dictatorship. At that time, one of the fundamental requirements for becoming a writer, poet, or journalist, besides political allegiance and a clean biography, was knowing how to read and write, while talent and passion were the last things taken into consideration. As a result, for decades mediocre books and newspapers were written, published, circulated, and read in at least eighty percent of cases. Of course, the communist system collapsed, but the old reflexes remain. Indeed, they were reinforced with... Continued on page 4