The General Prosecutor’s Office levels a scandalous accusation against prosecutor Velaj and three of her subordinates . Meidani yesterday: four prosecutors favored the killers. TIRANA—President Meidani signs the proposal by the head of the General Prosecutor’s Office, Arben Rakipi, to dismiss Tirana chief prosecutor Dolores Velaj and three prosecutors from that office. This draft decree, after being drawn up by the head of personnel, was signed by Rakipi and yesterday was also given final approval by President Meidani. The four prosecutors sought minimal sentences for the crimes of murder, rape and drug trafficking. PAGE 2. Serious crimes such as murder, rape and drug trafficking—this is the grave accusation brought by the General Prosecutor’s Office. Chief Prosecutor Rakipi appears determined this time to crack down on crime.

The only “black hole” among Albanians remains the 3 percent that Bukoshi collected PAGE 12 Bujar Bukoshi

Pali of the DP decides: Only early parliamentary elections, not local elections PAGE 5

ERION BRAÇE “Whoever breaks it pays” is a standard written rule that is often used in cases of theft. In private bars, pr-

Another oddity at the border with Greece

ERION BRAÇE is a standard written rule that is often applied in cases of wrongdoing. In private establishments, the owners are the ones who enforce the punishment and compensation. Outside these cases, when the damage is inflicted on public property and affects the public interest, it is up to the state to set in motion the mechanisms for punishment and compensation. The state has its own institutions for declaring guilt, determining the damage—including its monetary value—and imposing the terms for settling it. When you see no reason to look at how this system works, the popular expression you hear in places like this is naturally: this state has no guts. The case of the “Fisherman’s Bridge” on the Tirana-Elbasan national road has been astonishing. Not so much because of how it collapsed, but rather because of how it is being rebuilt. It is being rebuilt with state money—or, more precisely, with Albanian taxpayers’ money. The Institute for Construction Technology Studies, otherwise known as the “construction prosecutor’s office,” has publicly accused the owners of several gravel-washing sites near the bridge’s piers on several occasions. Based on its inspection, the accusation argues that the exploitation and excavation of the riverbed increased the speed of the water flow and its impact force against the bridge’s piers, causing the collapse. The astonishment is compounded by the possibility that the culprit will not pay for the damage, and even more by the fact that the state is paying for it while allowing the excavation to continue, without a single day’s pause at the foot of the bridge. “The state has no guts” to maintain its bridges. But is the taxpayer supposed to pay?

Another surprise at the border with Greece International licences signed by Albanians, which as of yesterday [?] PAGE 11 Another surprise at the border with Greece Greeks Ban Drivers from Travelling with Licences Signed in Albanian International licences signed by Albanians, which as of yesterday [?] PAGE 11

Shameful: guns turned on a church too Another building under construction is blown up; the perpetrator is behind bars PAGE 8 Shameful: guns turned on a church too He Fires a Barrage of Bullets at the Church; Sinner Arrested the Same Day Another building under construction is blown up; the perpetrator is behind bars PAGE 8

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in the local elections 6 in the local elections Angjeli: Investments to Be Detailed on January 15 6

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weather in Albania sun and snow Temperatures: 2–12° Celsius

SP’s objective: a clear victory in the local elections 3

Editor-in-chief’s page 1,008 people—elderly people, adults and children—from 321 families are at risk of losing their lives. In their homes, with “life-threatening danger” signs hung somewhere on walls that can no longer bear the strain, are the faces of this thousand-strong group, growing more distorted with every passing day by the terror that their homes, where they live, will collapse. PAGE 16