THE MAIN POINTS OF THE ANNUAL REPORT ARE REVEALED. BRUSSELS ISSUES ITS OPINION ON THE STATUS “There were problems with the 2009 elections. There are serious concerns about the judiciary. Public debt remains high.” Yesterday’s decision: Albania visa-free from 15 December, but with conditions

Opinion of the Day By AFRIM KRASNIQI Albania and Bosnia will be the new beneficiaries of visa liberalization. The long wait and the mythical explanation about its value or consequences... Politics of lost opportunities Continues on page 29

The tragic accident happened at 8:00 p.m., on a bus with 50 passengers Tragedy, bus into a ravine, 8 dead and 41 injured (In the photo:) Photos of the injured at Fier hospital, and a photo from the rescue operation Two small children in Fier hospital are asking for their mother, who is found dead in Ballsh. The vehicle remained overturned for more than 2 hours. Rescuing the people with improvised means Testimony of Ervin Mema: The driver was drunk. During the trip he braked unnecessarily several times. Dito Prifti: A passenger from the back of the bus went to chat with him On pages 20-21

By ELIRA ÇANGA Today’s European Commission opinion regarding Albania’s status as a candidate country for membership in the bloc will be a strong “slap in the face” for the Albanian government. The Commission report, a draft of which is in GSH’s possession, is characterized by strong criticism of the state institutions and their inability to meet the standards. “The parliamentary institutions in Albania do not function properly. Parliament does not exercise effective control over the government and the rigor of democratic developments... Continues on pages 2-3

AVA analyzes the ninth-grade exams ‘The blunders of high school students: Dante Alighieri lived in the 20th century’ Specialist: The essay, Teachers do not know how to grade it. Students do not read the questions By ESMERALDA KETA The Matura exams and those for the ninth grade in Literature and Albanian Language have brought to light a series of shortcomings. Both in the way teachers explain them and in the way the students themselves argue. Adriatike Lami, an AVA specialist who has been on the correction committee for the State Matura Literature tests for years, has made a detailed analysis of the biggest shortcomings. According to her, the cause is... On page 18

THE ALBANIAN GOALKEEPER IS RUNNING AS A COUNCILLOR On page 6

Yesterday in the 'Herald Tribune' By BARAK OBAMA As the United States are recovering from the recession, the greatest mistake that can be made is to restart the economy on the same bed... Our road to stability Continues on page 28

“IT IS ON CHURCH PROPERTY” On page 20

THE TRANSLATOR SPEAKS On pages 26-27

THE FIRST TIME IN DECADES On pages 14-15