Muslims conclude the month of Ramadan A great celebration in Albania Muslims conclude the month of Ramadan Bajram, the day of peace A great celebration in Albania TIRANE — On Sunday, Albania rejoiced in a celebration of the Great Bajram. Thousands of Muslim believers — from Tirana and the districts across the country — welcomed the dawn at the squares and at the Old Namazgaja in the capital, where they celebrated together and brought the month of Ramadan to an end. "This is the day of celebration for all Muslim believers," greeted the spiritual leadership of the Islamic Community. The Chairman of the Muslim Community of Albania, Hafiz Sabri Koçi, said: "and for all those who, for a whole month, deny themselves many important things in life." But the celebration of Albanian Muslims in Albania is a national holiday, and so the believers prayed that the blessings of this Bajram, peace, mercy and God's grace, may be for our entire people and nation. "In general, religious holidays are celebrations of the spirit and of a great heart," said Sali Berisha, President of Albania, during his visit on the occasion of the Great Bajram to the headquarters of the Muslim Community of Albania — "this brings man closer to God." The atmosphere of the Muslim holiday had long been felt in Albania. For a month, the true believers had observed all the rules of Ramadan. "The virtues acquired by believers during this month," greeted Hafiz Sabri Koçi at the Old Namazgaja Square, "such as the spirit of humanism, generosity, mercy, compassion, kindness, dedication to one another, and gentleness, should be with and accompany man throughout the whole year." It was the third time that Albanians, after many years, returned to this and to their free faith. For Albania, and also in the other lands where Albanians live, Bajram was felt and celebrated as a manifestation of peace and understanding among people. The traditional holiday — even though in rather difficult conditions — gathered and delighted the spirit of many believers in Kosovo and other occupied areas as well. Meanwhile in Albania, believers also prayed for democracy, for the one that had finally freed them from the shackles of violent atheism. At the same time, democracy itself had felt the need for free faith. "You have contributed a great deal to the consolidation of democracy in Albania," President Berisha stated during his visit to the headquarters of the Muslim Community of Albania. "You have supported it and continue to support it. You understood well that peace and democracy have come to enliven the Holy Books." The nationwide celebration of the Great Bajram — not only because in Albania the majority of the population belongs to the Muslim faith — also reaffirmed once more the harmony among the religious communities that exist in Albania. The wonder of this reality offered a freer life on the eve of spring, uniting around their festive circles all Albanians, regardless of religion, wealth, party, or even passion. "People celebrate paganly," said President Berisha on the day of the Great Bajram, thus recalling the very mission of this holiday, of the people who believe in it and of God himself. (p. re.) Head of the Muslim faith, Hafiz Sabri Koçi

TIRANE — They wanted to kill the mice, but they nearly killed themselves instead. It had been only a mix-up, yet one that nevertheless put many lives at risk. This is the strange story that emerged a few days ago at the Tirana hospital, involving as many as six people. It was a mistake — apparently a very small one — but one that put several human lives in danger. A family from Tirana — living in an apartment — had for some time been suffering from infestations of all sorts of rodents. In order to eliminate these unwelcome intruders, the family members had decided to use a poison. But that was not the disaster. The poison they had bought actually had a different purpose: it was meant to kill rats and grains, not mice. However, the danger did not end there: the poison had been left in a place where, instead of reaching the mice, it ended up in the respiratory systems of the family members. Victims of the war against mice remained among the people themselves. They had come as guests for a visit and ended up poisoned in hospital. But luckily for them, all of them — two nearly 60 years old and three others around 40 — received treatment and medical help, managing to survive a "small" mistake that nearly cost them dearly. Ar. M.

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— The city hospital of Kavajë is changing its appearance. For its restructuring, 2.5 million lek have been invested from the state budget. Meanwhile, there is also a German bank called KFW that is contributing by providing a fund of 5 million German marks. "Many humanitarian organizations have also helped with the renovation of the hospital," said Islam Veliu, director of this hospital, to Gazeta Shqiptare, "by donating various furnishings." Several modern medical devices are now being installed in the hospital, as well as screen X-ray machines, an ECO machine with four processes, a modern microbiology room, and two incinerators for continuity of electrical power in case of an outage from the city.

PUKE / Alert from the Forestry Service The "white mold" infection continues to spread PUKE / Alert from the Forestry Service Pine forests at risk of disappearing The "white mold" infection continues to spread PUKE — The pine forests in the district, which are part of a large national asset, are in danger. An alarm was raised by the director of the Forestry Service enterprise in Fushë-Arrëz. It is the infection — called processionary — that for several years has continued to occupy entire pine areas. It is a serious danger: the white mold wraps around the branches and crowns of the trees, causing suffocation and further decay. According to specialists, the damage caused by the processionary infection reaches as much as 20 thousand cubic meters of timber losses. At present, the only method for combating this disease is a mechanical one: removing the mold from the tree branches or burning it. But last year, due to a lack of funds, these measures were not carried out to the required extent. Now that it is time to take all the necessary measures to fight this infection, specialists believe that the Forestry Service enterprise should be provided with the necessary financial resources — which, in any case, are many times smaller than the losses the economy would suffer if the infection spread in the forest massifs. Moreover, it is a well-known fact that forests, the green lungs, have immeasurable ecological value.

— A donation of 4 million 626 thousand Italian lire has just been distributed to the pediatric hospital of Peqin as well as to the hospital centers of its communes. It consists of a quantity of beds, mattresses, sheets, medicines, and even powdered milk for newborn children. The aid came from the S.S. Pietro e Paolo family from the Varese area. Everything was born and carried out spontaneously. The cause appears to have been a mother from the province of Varese — for the performance of a medical operation — who was almost entirely connected to the Albanian Municipality. Also listed are this couple and the intermediaries for bringing the aid to Albania and delivering it to its destination.

Crime near Lecce He was stabbed by a compatriot who was already wanted by the police Crime near Lecce An Albanian is killed for refusing to give money He was stabbed by a compatriot who was already wanted by the police LEVRANO — An Albanian citizen, Pëtraq Hila, 40 years old, was stabbed to death last night by another Albanian, who is still wanted by the police, during an argument that took place near his home, in a village near Leverano, province of Lecce. Hila, according to what later emerged, lived at his home, where he resided with other Albanians. He had had a disagreement with the brother of Ardian Shpëgo, 24 years old, whom the victim had reported to the police, because he had offered him protection in exchange for the sum of money that Hila claimed, while Shpëgo's intervention had given him regular residence papers in Italy and he worked in the fields of the area as an agricultural laborer, was stabbed to death and the blow cut his main artery. The other compatriots tried to give him quick assistance, but Hila died while they were taking him to the Copertino hospital (Lecce). Police checkpoints have been set up in the area to catch Ardian Shpëgo's brother, whose name and age are not even known.

Demonstrations to demand recognition of an independent republic in the former Yugoslavia BERLIN — Thousands of Kosovo Albanians, left without police protection, demonstrated on Sunday evening in Bonn for the creation of an independent republic on Yugoslav territory. Marching in procession without causing incidents, the demonstrators protested the conditions in which the Albanian minority in Kosovo lives. With banners and many placards, the Albanians demanded recognition of the Republic of Kosovo as an independent state and preventive measures to stop Serbian terror. They also called for the deployment of United Nations blue helmets in Kosovo. As is known, in recent days Germany interrupted the long negotiations with the regime of the former Yugoslavia, among them and many Kosovo Albanians. That German government to change its decision on the expulsion of refugees was hindered by Macedonia, which opposes the passage of refugee convoys through its territory.

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From the world WALDHEIM CASE REOPENED — No irrefutable proof was found, nor any fortuitous or other searches carried out personally, but extensive documentation on the important role he played in internments, forced transfers of civilians to labor or concentration camps, and the executions of Allied soldiers or ordinary civilians: the "career of Wehrmacht officer Kurt Waldheim", former UN secretary-general and president of Austria until 1992, became known from the U.S. Department of Justice in a special 204-page file until now kept secret. ANOTHER ATTACK ON HEATHROW AIRPORT — Another attack, the third in five days, against London Heathrow airport. Four mortar shells were fired from a site southwest of the entrance in the outskirts and hit a corner of the exit, near which the police collected metal all day. There were no damages and no casualties. HILLARY CLINTON ADMITS MISTAKES — Hillary Clinton takes responsibility for her own actions and, after closing for several weeks a kind of Whitewater affair, admits to having made judgment errors. In two interviews given to the weeklies Newsweek and Time, the First Lady draws her conclusions, with the pain of trying to keep her private life away from press attacks, but then admits that she has taken the right course of action. "If the choice proves to be a political duty, then one must renounce every kind of private force." YESTERDAY IN ALBANIA TOURISM HOTEL IN FIER SOLD AT AUCTION — Starting from a modest price of 15 million 800 thousand lek, the tourism hotel changed ownership through an auction for 52 million 800 thousand lek. Among the three auction competitors, the winner was the citizen Haxhi Mehmet. Although the hotel in question is rather worn out, it is located in the center of Fier and has 100 rooms, 2 restaurants and 1 bar. IMPROVEMENT OF SERVICES REQUESTED AT THE KAKAVIJA BORDER CROSSING — It is the large flow of vehicles and people — as a result of the growth of commercial activity with Greece — that has made it necessary, according to specialists, to improve services at the Kakavijë customs point. From time to time there have been blockages, with vehicles accompanied by complaints from traders about goods going bad. This is why the staff at the customs point have requested the implementation of an agreement with the neighboring state, for 24-hour operations at the Kakavijë customs point. According to the data, investments of 4 million dollars are needed for this purpose. IN GJIROKASTËR, 28 PERCENT OF PROPERTY RESTITUTION REQUESTS HAVE BEEN REVIEWED — Out of 2,600 requests filed with the 14th property restitution and compensation commission at the Municipality of Gjirokastër, 60 percent have been reviewed so far. Owners have been returned 100 shops, 28 plots of land, houses and two other buildings. Of the 60 requests reviewed, one was by the commission, 22 percent were fully resolved in favor of the claimants and only 6 percent had partial solutions in favor of the owners.