The Grand Prize is still blocked In Tirana, contenders from Kuçova and Pogradec EDMOND LACI TIRANA — The blocking of the "Mercedes Benz" — the Grand Prize of the lottery for the show "Around Fortune for 12 Weeks" — has been set as the Commission’s only temporary solution for this lottery. Meanwhile, in the capital and beyond, there are two claimants — the holders of the allegedly winning tickets from the third and second draws — one from Përrondia in Kuçova and the other from Nizhavec in Pogradec. Together with the Grand Prize, the leaders of the Lottery Commission — immediately after verifying the technical error made during the live TV broadcast of Saturday’s show — also locked in a safe with three padlocks all the documents for this lottery and even the very computer that had, unfortunately, been operating in a reckless way. However, by Monday, the Commission’s request for the intervention of the Prosecutor’s Office in this unpleasant affair had been rejected — to open a criminal case after the last-minute interest, while leaving open only the hypothesis that the winning ticket of the third draw would be deposited ... Also immediately informed about this incident were officials of the Republic’s Prosecutor’s Office as well as the Albanian Minister of Finance. Thus the Grand Prize of a lottery in Albania now risks being handed over to the justice authorities. Yesterday at noon the Commission of the lottery "Around Fortune for 12 Weeks" had scheduled a joint meeting with the two protagonists in an attempt to restore calm. According to the Commission’s leaders, the ticket from Kuçova — for which the live broadcast had wrongly made it the winner of the "Mercedes Benz" — as well as the winner of the second draw, whose ticket — after verification a few hours later — turned out to have been sold. If the Commission has convinced them, despite the technical error made by the house during the live broadcast of the show — told Gazeta Shqiptare by Jemin Gjana, Chairman of the Lottery Commission and deputy in the People’s Assembly — the Grand Prize, in accordance with all laws, belongs to ticket 417674 from the second draw. However, if the man from Kuçova, wrongly announced as winner, does not accept the facts tonight, he has the right to file a civil lawsuit. This is the reason why the Commission has decided that all documents concerning the Grand Prize — as well as the "Mercedes Benz" itself — be temporarily blocked from any action and moved into a place under the justice authorities, whom it hopes will settle the matter once and for all. Thus the fate of a lottery that had attracted nearly one million Albanians now pits two claimants against each other: the tractor driver from Përrondia in Kuçova, married with many children, and another villager from Nizhavec in Pogradec, raised as an orphan after his father’s accident, perhaps a good son-in-law for the future. And the other fairy-tale object is the "Mercedes Benz" itself.

He is outside TIRANA — Aleksandër Frangaj, editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper "Koha Jonë", risks being arrested again. By the day-before-yesterday ruling of the Court of Appeal, Frangaj was sentenced to five months in prison, whereas a few days earlier the Tirana Court — first instance — had dismissed the case against him after a stay of one month and a half in Tirana prison. According to his colleagues, he was "on duty outside the territory of the Republic" and now Frangaj risks being arrested immediately by the competent authorities as soon as he crosses the Albanian border. "There is no arrest warrant for Frangaj in court — his lawyer explains to Gazeta Shqiptare — this can be done only after the decision becomes final and binding at the Court of Cassation, following our appeal. Frangaj is still free and cannot be arrested when he arrives in Albania." But the lawyer’s answer, the Law on the Organization of Justice in the Republic of Albania, states unequivocally that Appeal Court decisions are always final, which means that Frangaj can be arrested immediately upon entering Albanian territory. Meanwhile, the Appeal also overturned the ruling against the soldier Feta, who now must serve six months in prison suspended for one year. As for journalist Leka and soldier Lika, the sentences were the same as those of the Tirana Court, except for the reclassification of the respective charges. (Ed. La.)

The project will be completed within '95 A mission of European experts will soon discuss the most urgent needs with their Albanian colleagues TIRANA — After the concern caused by the recent damage to Albania’s cultural heritage — the most serious of which was the sensational theft of the Epitaph of Glavenica only a short time ago — positive signals are finally arriving. This time they have come from the Council of Europe, which has decided to implement an urgent intervention plan to address the most pressing needs of Albanian institutions for the preservation of important cultural values. The proposal was made by the Albanian Minister of Culture, Dhimitër Anagnosti, and Raymond Veber, Director of the Directorate of Culture and Sports in the General Secretariat of the Council of Europe. According to the senior European official, the Council of Europe has decided to draw up a specific plan for Albania, the implementation of which will begin this year and continue throughout 1995. To further detail the needs on the ground, a team of experts will arrive from the Council of Europe in Tirana at the end of May. Meanwhile, the special director of the Council of Europe for cultural heritage, Jose Maria Ballester, and the head of the Cultural Heritage Division at the Council of Europe — who, in cooperation with Albanian experts, will carry out the first official contact with Albanian cultural institutions and assess the urgent needs for its protection. The European experts will examine the projects prepared by the Ministry of Culture and will also determine the financial, technical, and organizational sums with which the EC will help in this field. It is precisely within this framework that the proposal Veber sent to Anagnosti belongs. Thus, hope is growing from yet another direction that a complete solution will be found for the preservation of cultural values, which in recent years have become the scene of damage and theft of many objects in various districts of the country, culminating in the spectacular theft of numerous items from the National Historical Museum. An act that shook public opinion throughout the country. Fatos Baxhaku In the photo, a view of the National Historical Museum from which the famous epitaph of Glavenica was stolen

The government TIRANA — The draft law and the many decisions approved at the latest meeting of the Council of Ministers. In particular, approval of an amendment to the law "On the privatization of state housing". Through these measures, the aim has been to define more clearly the categories of former politically persecuted persons eligible for free housing, to identify citizens who will privatize their homes free of charge, and to restore the deadline for privatization of housing in implementation of the law "On the return and compensation of property to former owners". The extension of this deadline has been made necessary by the slow pace of examination of documents by the property restitution commissions.

Known infections are also spreading more widely TIRANA — The health sector is worried about sexually transmitted diseases in Albania. While some of them have increased over these last years, others are appearing for the first time. The analyses and figures available so far point to a considerable and alarming increase. This is also because some of these diseases facilitate the spread of the AIDS virus. Albania’s opening and the increasingly frequent contacts with foreign countries have, among other things, brought the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, and for the first time a disease known medically as "chlamidia trachomatis" has appeared. This infection mainly affects women and results in infertility in both men and women, increasing the risk for both. "The figures that have emerged from the analyses, for the first time at the beginning of this year, are alarming — says Mella Paparisto, head of the infectious diseases sector at the Institute of Hygiene in Tirana, to Gazeta Shqiptare — out of 520 women in maternity care, around 25 percent have been found to be affected by this infection." In addition to these diseases — previously unknown — the infections that had already appeared earlier in Albania are now also spreading more widely. This is the case with "gonorrhea". The number of those affected by this infection reaches up to 300 a year. According to specialists, this number is thought to be even higher. The same situation is seen with several other diseases. A major impact on social life, health specialists say, is the spread of a number of hereditary diseases such as syphilis. "By the end of February this year, more than 140 cases have been registered — Paparisto declares — and the few analyses carried out so far have not revealed that this type of disease, often fatal, is present." The last appearance of this disease in Albania had been in 1979. Since then it had been known. "This worrying situation is related to the fact that our country is closed — Paparisto explained — but also because after circulation, a mass screening of the population was carried out and those infected by it were forced by the police to undergo treatment until they were considered fully cured." Armand Mero

An unusual incident in a mountain village of Mallakastra FIER — After the fight against rats in a group of people in Tirana, recently poisoned through negligence in Tirana — this time there was also an attack of a rare kind, occurring in this village. The object of the hungry animal’s attack was a baby from a remote village in Mallakastra. Left alone with an unsteady infant, the rat bit the child’s face, including the upper lip, and the baby was left in a state of alarm for the family. Only when the late-night alarm was heard, the rural family rushed out in distress. The baby was taken urgently to the Fier hospital where it received the necessary treatment, but its face will probably bear the marks of this event for a long time. Such a story is not unknown here. Such cases also appear at times, especially in the winter, when food for aggressive rodents becomes very scarce; they become bold enough to try to eat even people, the strongest creature on the planet. A cynicism that seems to be true as long as people are also babies. (a. m.)

The fake series was DR 341872, with production year 1992 1,000-lek banknotes seized The fake series was DR 341872, with production year 1992 Stopped by the police with counterfeit money 1,000-lek banknotes seized HAS — Another counterfeit banknote on the Albanian market. After the denunciation — also by specialized banking bodies — of the circulation of forged 1,000-lek notes, it is now revealed that the highest-value banknotes in Albania are also circulating as counterfeits: the 1,000-lek note. For the authorities of public order, even the identification of the person responsible for these acts of false money has been extremely difficult, perhaps even though he had done his work well. Thus, with a considerable quantity of 1,000-lek banknotes, and with the police of the Has district station having stopped a few days earlier the citizen from Vlora E.P., a police employee in Shkodër. According to confirmations that from time to time the series belonged to the year 1992, and the production series DR 341872, while the real series was DR, the same as the living one. For E.P., 30 years old — who was caught at customs after taking ... — the prosecutor’s office was informed, and criminal proceedings were also initiated. However, because of the secrecy of the investigation, it has still not been confirmed whether the initial inquiries have also uncovered the mechanism, the quantity, or even the distribution center of these counterfeit banknotes. Nor the production site of the unauthorized 1,000-lek notes, of which only the serial number is now known. (e. l.)

IN SARANDA, FOOD OUTSIDE STANDARDS IS REPORTED — The Saranda branch of licensing and standards has declared a significant quantity of flour unsuitable for bread production, as well as 8 tons of edible oil in whose composition analyses revealed the presence of acetic acid. The standards branch has intensified work on carrying out chemical and physical analyses of food products produced in the country or imported. In some cases, according to the specialists of this branch, goods of false origin have passed through customs in Saranda. IN KORÇA, AN AFADA SEMINAR WITH MERCHANTS — At the "Vangjush Mio" House of Culture in the city of Korça, a seminar has just been held under the direction of AFADA specialists. Its purpose was to train merchants in bookkeeping and accounting under market-economy conditions. The participants in the seminar — through themes and lectures by AFADA specialists — became acquainted with methods for making trade more effective and with the organization of the documentation needed for the control of state trade. MISMANAGEMENT AND THEFT AT THE SILVER ENTERPRISE — Various measures have been proposed for the managers and employees of the administration, while privatization has been proposed for the Silver Works Enterprise itself. These are some of the solutions proposed by the State Control Service after an inspection at the Silver Works Enterprise in Tirana. As a result of poor management, thefts of materials and quantities of silver have occurred several times in the enterprise’s warehouses. The thefts involved goods worth 14 million lek, carried out last November.

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