Yesterday — Eid Day in the capital -Muslims on the day of celebration, drums and a glass of raki Yesterday — Eid Day in the capital Berisha and Arbnori at Haxhi Hafiz Sabri Koçi’s -Muslims on the day of celebration, drums and a glass of raki page 4

Elbasan: After prayers at the mosque - Villagers return from the mosque in their socks Elbasan: After prayers at the mosque Worshippers’ shoes are stolen - Villagers return from the mosque in their socks There are 6 villagers who went to pray at the mosque on the last day of Ramadan, but returned home in their socks. Remaining faithful to the Muslim custom of praying with one’s shoes left outside the door, these devout believers, after the end of the dawn prayer, wandered around the courtyard of their village mosque looking for the shoes that were no longer where they had left them before entering the mosque. Every attempt to find the missing shoes proved fruitless. After praying during the blessed month of Ramadan, the unfortunate believers returned to their doorsteps barefoot. Nevertheless, they forgave the thief of the opingas, believing that God above forgives sinners—and all the more so ordinary thieves. The incident was brought to our attention by one of the believers who was present at the prayer ritual but is too embarrassed to give his name or that of his village. On the other hand, he hopes the theft of the shoes was a “Bajram joke” and that, by evening, someone will bring the now-barefoot believers’ shoes to their doorsteps. BESIM DYBELI

On Sunday, Selami will find himself among the party’s “enemies” Interview with Mr Paskal Milo, deputy chairman of the PSD page 5

Berat: Textile workers on an indefinite strike -The strikers will take to the streets of Berat today page 7 Berat: Textile workers on an indefinite strike 2,000 workers: “We want food for our children” -The strikers will take to the streets of Berat today page 7

Genc Pollo — the preferred candidate page 3

Gjirokastër: Municipal Council appeals to the President With 14 votes in favor and 1 against, at its latest meeting the Municipal Council decided to ask the President of the Republic to pardon the remainder of the sentence of the convicted A.Ç. The request was made by the convict’s family to the city municipality, asking that the person in question be pardoned because of the difficult economic situation in which the family finds itself. He was sentenced to 6 years’ imprisonment in the autumn of 1991 for committing the criminal offense of pederasty, as provided for by the penal code of that time. During the pardon decreed by the President in November of last year, the convict in question benefited from a reduction of 1/6 of his sentence. Thus, he still has two years of his sentence to serve. Considering that the right to grant pardons belongs solely to the President of the Republic, the family’s difficult financial situation, and the fact that the draft of the new penal code does not treat homosexuality as a criminal offense, the Municipal Council decided at its meeting on 28 February to ask the President to pardon citizen A.Ç. for the remainder of his sentence. ILIR BABARAMO