Only Tirana Emergency received more than 20 patients Holiday victims: In Albania, the table causes problems TIRANE — Even New Year seems to have its victims. There are many cases of people urgently admitted to hospital on the night of 31 December. And most of them suffer from abdominal pain. So, when the table is well laid out, it does not mean that everything on the plate should be eaten. But apparently the temptation was great. Victims of the traps laid by the table were people of different ages, from 20-year-olds to 70-year-olds. All of them — without distinction — driven by the desire to taste perhaps every good thing prepared, and unintentionally even some spoiled food, spent that night in the wards of Tirana Military Hospital. According to medical sources, they were among the first cases of the evening and continued throughout the night and even during the first day of 1994. More than 10 patients had been urgently admitted. The symptoms were the same: severe stomach pain and nausea. Almost all came directly from the New Year’s table. This is a common thing — doctors at the Military Hospital in Tirana told Gazeta Shqiptare — a situation that repeats every year. On the evening of 31 December, roughly the same thing happened as in ancient times with the Romans. At festive banquets they had to eat all the time, and to cope with the provocation they vomited. Here, however, to cope, they ended up in hospital. But it was not only the table that set traps. Many were also the victims of accidents. Thus, the concern expressed to Gazeta Shqiptare days before New Year by Medhi Alimehmeti, head of Tirana’s Hospital Center, was confirmed: “During the evening of 31 December many accidents can occur. People, also because they have drunk a little [?], drive cars at high speed, creating the risk of collisions among themselves.” Thus, the same common thing — doctors at the Emergency Service Center told Gazeta Shqiptare — as happens every year, some euphoria caused urgent hospitalization, and some previously visible thing happens. Meanwhile, on the first night, a 4-year-old child went into a coma. Others suffered severe burns, especially from lit pyrotechnic materials and hand-held flares. And while these people, in one way or another, can be considered somewhat guilty toward themselves, others — who, due to appendicitis, were forced to leave the celebration by the scalpel — cannot be blamed. But the holiday victims also had special joys. Those are the joys brought by the birth of a child. On the festive evening — in an Albanian maternity ward many newborns were still being delivered. Perhaps this year will belong to boys, because on the first day the doctors of the “singers” hospital saw only one girl.

Titles and decorations are removed The defendants await the Court of Appeal’s decision Titles and decorations are removed Three former bloc men also in prison The defendants await the Court of Appeal’s decision TIRANE — Three former senior officials of the regime have ended up in prison cells. A few hours before the end of the year... when the Tirana Court’s verdict in the trial against ten bloc men was also announced — the courtroom ordered the immediate arrest of Lenka Cuko, Hajredin Çelik and Llambi Gegprifti, who at the time of the summons were being tried under house arrest. From 67 years of deprivation of liberty requested by all the defendants by the prosecutor Gokutaj, the sentence handed down on 30 December ended at 63 years, since for Çerra[vë?], Gjygji, Murri and Asllani the court decided to reduce the sentence by one year each. But Truqi Fivjsku [?], presided over by Judge Artan Zene, together with the criminal verdict also decided on the civil liability of the defendants — the recovery of misused values — albeit in much smaller amounts than those requested by the prosecution. The request of the 12th defense counsel for the removal of honorary titles and decorations for all the defendants was also accepted, this being limited to the period for which the indictment sought punishment for the ten bloc men. Thus, after 20 days, the trial of the year in Albania closes. Started on 10 December, with a joint charge, “Violation of the equality of citizens through complicity, by carrying out privileges in the connection of the accused,” forcing Mëhalli, Miska, Bekteshi, Çerava, Murra, Gegprifti, Asllani, Çeliku, Cami and Cuko to be sentenced. An indictment that, in fact, at no point was accepted by the defendants and their lawyers. The main contradiction lay in the fact that the article chosen by the Prosecutor’s Office for the defendants — according to the accused — referred only to ethnic minorities. On the other hand, even in the prosecution’s closing argument, the prosecutor in the trial described this article as unstable and in line with current legislation. Another contradiction from the defense side was the demand for the civil liability of the defendants — which, according to them, left many demands in the realm of the surreal. In particular, beginning with an indictment referring to millions of dollars in misappropriation, the final verdict of the trial stopped at amounts many times smaller, even reducing something from the prosecutor’s request. Now in Tirana prison — awaiting the decision of the Court of Appeal — besides the seven defendants arrested earlier, there are also three former officials who were tried in this case. Also in this prison are other former senior officials of the regime, among them Ramiz Alia, Adil Çarçani, Manush Myftiu, Rita Marko and Hekuran Isai. For these defendants, the Tirana Prosecutor’s Office had separated the criminal case, since they could not be tried like the other ten defendants on the same charge. The trial that ended on 30 December was part of the first phase. After the fall of communism, the first leaders of the old regime were tried. The first — but not for her state or outside functions — was the widow Hoxha, on charges of large-scale misappropriation.

Sport Inter, a sensational defeat Now Juventus is alone in pursuit of Milan Defender Cravero, among the best on the pitch in the Lazio-Sampdoria match Results of the seventeenth round of the Italian championship (on p. 4) Champions Cup: Albania will play next season (on p. 4)

TWINNING OF THE TOWNS OF LIBRAZHD WITH THE ITALIAN TOWN MIZANO Exchange of experience and assistance in various fields. This was essentially the content of the newly established link between the Albanian town of Librazhd and the Italian town Mizano. The town was also discussed by a group of Italian doctors from Rimini who aim to twin the hospitals of the two cities. IN THE TIME OF PRIVATIZATIONS THE APARTMENTS ARE APPROACHING COMPLETION The privatization procedure has just been completed for 35 apartments in the city of Korçë. Thus the number of privatized apartments in this city reaches 10,950. Only 50 apartments remain to be privatized, showing that this process is nearing completion.

MEXICO: DEAD FROM SHELLING — At least ten are the victims of clashes between guerrillas of the National Liberation Army, Emiliano Zapata, and army forces near San Cristobal de la Casas, which was occupied on Tuesday by the guerrillas and taken by the rebel forces. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defence has reported that after leaving San Cristobal, the guerrillas surrounded and attacked two military centers about ten kilometers from the city. IRAQ: REVELATIONS ABOUT THE U.S. PLAN TO KILL SADDAM The United States had devised a secret plan to kill Iraqi President Saddam Hussein before the coalition forces had established full control, which ended the occupation of Kuwait in 1991.

Police block a train TIRANE — The latest recorded act of violating the embargo within this year that has just passed is also noted. Two vessels were seized and blocked in the port of Pulas by the Financial Police authorities in cooperation with the regular police, precisely on 31 December. It is also the last punishment that ’93 gave to this smuggling. The fishing boats “Isla Muerta” and “Shën Andrea” had set out to transport 21 tons of social fuel to Malsi. On their return they were seized for engaging in smuggling accompanied by violation of the embargo. Two other vessels — “Albatros” and “Demokratia” — as well as two cars with fuel continue to remain blocked in the port precisely because they were trying to carry out such smuggling. For this reason, the Financial Police blocked in Durrës a train of twelve wagons with about 540 tons of fuel, booked by the company “Najk” based in Gjirokastër. The price of about 10 Greek drachmas per liter shown in the purchase invoices has led the financial authorities to suspect that this is a falsification of the fuel purchase price in order to evade customs duties. Also, the destination of the transport cargo — which was Durrës — has raised the suspicion that part of it was also intended to be sent illegally to Montenegro.

In 1993 TIRANE — Along with the economy, the dietary structure of Albanians also seems to have begun changing. In the year just passed, a decline of about 17 percent in per capita wheat consumption was observed. Abdel Sinani, adviser on food issues to the Prime Minister, told the Albanian News Agency that specialists explain this phenomenon by the rise in the consumption of other food products. Traditionally, bread has occupied a considerable share in the dietary structure of Albanians since the poverty of a regime that was shortened by its own name.

NEW YEAR / How magicians and people foresee this year How it is viewed in Europe and in the USA according to a poll NEW YEAR / How magicians and people foresee this year Predictions for 1994, a survey of what it will be like How it is viewed in Europe and in the USA according to a poll The other side of the New Year’s medal are, of course, the fortune tellers, first from one list. A difficult year, not to say a dark one, comes with small devils for them, amid the political atmosphere and the developments and conflicts in the former Yugoslavia. These pessimistic predictions by the Kosovar Dusan (Nuro?), who works in radio astronomy, along with some rather special predictions (??) such as for Bettino Craxi, former Italian prime minister, in power of Prime Minister Damils, who is Minister of Foreign Affairs, has published several kinds, fish (?) city [?] Italian and OPEs, an official prediction in the East, in spring, the opposition to President Clinton will become more pronounced, the radio waves in the former Yugoslavia, thanks to the changes of new personalities, a bit and mainly because the government wants new hopes, health problems for the Pope, political shocks in China and new sources of tension in Islamic countries. For Italy, Damos thinks there will be a fall in June, while he sees it happening in March, while he sees it happening in March, while he sees it happening in March, while he sees it happening in March, while right-wing politics will develop on the 4th and later in April as well. In March there will be the political right’s crash and, looking ahead to the anti-mafia function framework, a scandal involving a senior military officer is predicted that will cost the interior minister. More scientific are the predictions for 1994 according to an international survey carried out by the two institutes Doxa and Gallup. Respondents in Europe, for example, showed opinion in the USA. In the USA, pessimism in Russia and Japan. Through a poll carried out with 60 thousand interviews, conducted from the end of November and the beginning of December 1993, Doxa-Gallup asked citizens about their predictions for 1994 in the Western bloc countries. 9.5 Europe. In front, 25 of Europeans, including Japan and the USA. The survey gave the population 25 percent for the year that had just begun (62 percent) and pessimistic (17 percent), while giving a much larger number than the optimists (21 percent compared with 17 percent). In Russia the majority (37 percent) is pessimistic about predictions compared with 34 percent of the population who believe that 1994 will be better than ’93.

The Albanian lek and its biography 68 years ago Alexander the Great gave our currency its name ON PAGE 2 The horoscope for 1994 from January to December Love, health, money and many other things according to the stars ON PAGE 3

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