The story of the murder of Halil Xhani, which even the Kanun does not recognize. The child’s mother, whose other brother is now confined at home, speaks to “KJ” from Barbullush The little child begs the blood-feud killer: let me live, but the 19-year-old empties two magazines into his head

Although the day when Albanians will go to the ballot boxes to elect their new local officials is rapidly approaching, the visible apathy of the SP structures cannot go unnoticed. For those who follow the activities of the SP leadership, headed by Nano, it is not at all difficult to observe that in this party people only talk, without taking concrete action, as if Nano had passed on this incurable disease of his to even his closest associates. While in the opposing camp Berisha has set the PD’s electoral machine in motion, the socialists have still not introduced their electorate to the platform for which they will ask for their votes, let alone the names of candidates for mayors, commune heads, and so on. Even in those cases when various names are mentioned, most represent figures who are not at all convincing and cannot enjoy the support of ordinary socialists, not to mention some discredited names. Faced with such a reality, one gets the impression that someone in the SP is interested in losing these elections. But, reasoning further and considering other facts and phenomena as well, one reaches the conclusion that someone at the head of the party is interested in it being defeated in these elections. After the congress held at the end of June, with the appointment of Ruci as secretary-general, Malaj’s placement at the head of the Socialist Parliamentary Group, and Majko’s defeat, it became clear that Nano had significantly strengthened his position in the party. He now sees himself as having no serious opponents who could stand in his way. And after this, the only serious opponent who could prevent him from carrying out his plans is Prime Minister Meta and his government. This also explains the SP’s “impartiality,” or reluctance to make use of the recent visible successes of Meta’s government, which have received no echo at all from the party’s propaganda. But what draws even more attention is Nano’s utterly inexplicable silence, along with that of other socialist leaders, in the face of the barrage of accusations that opposition leader Berisha has directed at Meta and the members of his cabinet. But Meta, having sensed Nano’s intentions from afar, has increased the government’s assertiveness. To put it more clearly, appointing new people with no ties to the party to ministerial posts should be seen as an effort to separate the government from Nano’s party maneuvers. In this context, the outcome of the local elections would be decisive for the balance of power between the party leader and the head of government. An SP victory would mean the full support of the left-wing electorate for Prime Minister Meta, which would diminish any prospect of removing him from the leadership of the government and would work in the government’s favor. An SP victory would mean difficult local elections, with the blame placed on the government; it would be a great victory for Nano. After that, the socialist leader would easily carry out his plan to secure Meta’s removal, and then replace him with someone from his own circle.

in three hours — page 4

Frouik, the US special envoy for the Balkans Frouik: “The OSCE is fully capable of monitoring the local elections” — page 2

Assailants for Gaxhai at the Durrës Court — page 12

Football The truth behind the breakup of the Tirana team — page 22