“Goodbye” to the old telephone By the end of 1994 the system for 5,000 subscribers is nearly ready TIRANE — Goodbye to the small device fixed in a corner of the room. Now the telephone can also be carried out into the street, without having to be connected to the usual wire. Albania is thus preparing to make a technical revolution in telecommunications. The first requests have already begun to be submitted for the implementation of a very special communications service: mobile telephony. The tender for selecting partner firms among suppliers of electronic communications equipment, experienced operators in this field, and financial institutions had been announced only a few days earlier by the Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications. One of the most successful telecommunications systems in the world is about to enter Albania: the GSM system, whose number of subscribers throughout Europe is constantly growing because of its advantages compared with the traditional network. The special feature of this system is that by subscribing one is freed from dependence on a fixed telephone set. Through it, anyone can easily connect to the radiotelephone network with a mobile telephone anywhere in Europe. This service is another alternative created for the development of communications in the country. In fact, the technical conditions of the existing telephone network still do not offer free capacity to meet the ever-growing demands of the country's development. According to the plan drawn up by Telecom specialists, the first phase — by the end of this year — aims to connect up to 5,000 subscribers in the country's main cities, located in the coastal area. The aim is for this system to cover around 75 percent of the country's territory in the near future. The mobile phone was first used in the late 1970s in the USA, Japan and Canada. In Europe, the system for this phone was standardized in 1982 and was called the Groupe Special Mobile system, from which the abbreviated name GSM comes. Its installation requires the building of a system with three main parts: a telephone handset, which is of course more sophisticated than the sets we have been used to so far, a system of base stations and a central station that effectively provides the link with the rest of the traditional or mobile network. These three parts are connected to one another by waves assigned a specific frequency. Advantages TIRANE — The mobile phone offers many more and broader possibilities of communication than the usual telephone network. Here are some of the advantages of the old wired phone’s rival: Through it, time and work are used to the maximum. The spectrum can be called upon for every kind of life need, tied to a specific place. From the car, from home or from someone else’s office you can connect to the number you need. The system is especially useful for professions that require constant, fast communication and maximum use of time: businessmen, journalists. Connection to the GSM system will make the mobile phone valid in other European states as well. Thus, businesspeople arriving in Albania or Albanians going abroad can make calls at any time. One rather attractive feature is that the difficulty of radiotelephone waves has been overcome so far. The mobile phone can be used to establish faster connections in tourist areas. These have still not achieved the desired attendance because of the lack of quality telephone connections. Fatos Baxhaku

ELBASAN — Instead of fabulous profits, they ended up in prison. It was the decision of the Elbasan Court that imposed the sentence — 26 months in prison in total — on the defendants Harilla Dhimogjini, Budion Selimllari, Mentor Riza and Skënder Shyqi, who, according to the indictment, had stolen platinum and mercury from the warehouses of the Metalurgical Combine of Elbasan for the purpose of selling them. A heavy sentence — seven months was applied to Dhimogjini, a former warehouseman, because through his negligence 344.083 grams of pure platinum, worth 7,000,883 lek, as well as three kilograms of mercury, had disappeared. While the charge against Dhimogjini was “abuse of office,” the other three defendants, residents respectively of Përrenjas, Pogradec and Korçë, were sentenced because they had agreed to buy the stolen goods, merchandise stemming from a crime. According to the sentences handed down by this court, the quantity of platinum and mercury stolen had been intended for the clandestine foreign market. The very geographical spread of the accomplices suggests that the most likely routes through which the valuable metals could have passed were Macedonia or even Greece. The trial judge, who has now concluded the case, ruled — according to the justice authorities — only on those who had been accused as accomplices in what was perhaps the most sensational theft at the Metalurgical Combine of Elbasan. Mentor Kikia

Sport Italian Serie A championship Napoli’s miracle Milan beaten after 18 matches Sampdoria’s Gullit, author of the second goal, in Foglia’s area, blocked by two defenders Results of other matches on page 4 Results of the Albanian championship on page 3 History of the World Cup on page 5

— Counterfeit 1,000-lek banknotes have also been discovered in Kuçovë. There are three people whom the law-enforcement authorities had caught circulating such notes in the middle of Tuesday. After further checks — in which, a few days earlier, a police officer from Shkodër had also been detained — the person in Kuçovë is suspected to be from Shkodër. F. K., 27, and Skënder Veliu, 55 — both residents of Shkodër — as well as Qemal Kazazi, 33, from Kuçovë, have been detained and criminal proceedings have begun against them. The first alarm about the circulation of counterfeit 1,000-lek banknotes came from the southern districts. (...)

THE BUS FACTORY IN SHKODËR CHANGES ITS DESTINATION — The bus manufacturing plant in Shkodër has already changed its previous destination. From now on, this unit will no longer be devoted only to the production of dashboards and thermal insulation panels. On the basis of the technical-economic study completed by its engineers, the prefabricated elements produced by the factory will be able to be used for building kiosks, beach cabins, or even tourist-type houses. ALBANIAN LAW STUDENTS TAKE PART IN A CONTEST IN CANADA — Four Albanian students from the Faculty of Law left for Quebec, Canada, where they will take part in the international “Jean Pictet” competition. These students — together with 20 Francophone teams from around the world — will compete in international humanitarian law. This is the first time that students from Albania have also taken part in this school competition. DECISIONS OF THE LEZHË COURT ON PROPERTY HEIRS WILL BE RECONSIDERED — Many decisions regarding the return of property in the Lezhë district have already gone to the Court of Cassation. By comparing them with the 1950 map, representative discrepancies and violations in the owners’ claims were found. AT PIER, THE HOTELI I TURIZMIT IS ALSO FOR SALE — It is at 25-p[?]-lekarë. Hashi Mehmeti, who is now the new owner of the Hotel Turizmit in the city of Fier. Mehmeti bought the hotel — put up for auction — for the amount of 52,800 lek. This hotel currently contains 87 rooms, 30 toilets, a bar and parking.

A project by an English company TIRANE — A new textile factory complex will soon be built in Tirana. The National Council for Territorial Planning, in a decision approved these days, has already designated the construction area. About 6 hectares, near the existing textile combine, have been leased to an English company, which has undertaken to build the new factories. According to the project submitted by the English side, the new textile complex will be completed over a three-year period. In the first year, one factory will be built on an area of 12,000 square meters, in the second year another on an area of 20,000 square meters, and in the third year the final factory. The special feature of this project is that in this complex, in addition to the production of various fabrics, cutting, sewing and making textile garments and articles will also take place. It is also positive that, apart from the workforce that will be drawn to this complex, its production activity will have no ecological consequences. The English company has ensured that the technology it will use will not release pollution into the surrounding environment. Ar. Me

INSIDE Mihallaq Andrea prepares the second cassette “The Song That Killed My Body” ON PAGE 2 Popular and classical music will be performed Albanian culture in the Turkish metropolis ON PAGE 2

— A new furniture showroom is opening in Kavajë. It is Ibrahimi Dervishi, from Durrës, who has taken this special and interesting initiative, in cooperation with an Italian firm. In this showroom — called “Dimensione” — you will be able to see a wide range of woodwork and furniture on display, such as furnishings, bedrooms, other household necessities and office equipment. The finely crafted work has already led to the registration of the first requests and orders from customers. In addition to the models displayed in the showroom, customers can also make use of the many catalog models. Qe.Ca.

10-year-old boy kills his 6-year-old friend Pukë, tragedy in the village from an unintended shot EDMOND LAÇI PUKË — The children’s gun game from the village of Deda in Pukë ended in tragedy: the 10-year-old “killer,” Burhan Shkreli, accidentally shot his 6-year-old cousin, Arta Shkreli. The terrible episode had happened around noon last Wednesday — while the police still had not given a clear version of the motives that led to this senseless game. According to the law-enforcement authorities who went immediately to the scene, the initial investigations pointed to negligence, while criminal proceedings have now also been initiated. This is the painful story of a “war” that ended in death: a little life ended, but so did the seizing of the gun. Everything had begun as a children’s game, taking place as if under cover, and as large as on TV — like characters from “war” films.

An Albanian woman in Rimini RIMINI — A young Albanian woman (34 years old) went into a bar in the evening with her husband, was taken by a group of compatriots, raped by some of them, and forced to work as a prostitute. Italian police arrested 4 in Cesenatico, where an order had been issued. The people arrested are: Isak Cobaj, 40 years old, Oger Zenuni, 24, Ardian Kryemadhi, 28, and Edison Benni, 29. They must answer for kidnapping and exploitation of prostitution; Benni and Zenuni are also charged with rape. On the evening of the 26th, the police investigation into the case was requested by the victim’s husband, Arben Kuç, 25 years old, who last Sunday had been abducted together with his wife Eleonora near a station in Rimini by three compatriots. The couple, as the girl’s husband told the police, was forced to get into an old red German BMW 114 parked nearby, without a word being said. The car was driven toward Cesenatico, where she was then forced to begin the trade. [...]

MACEDONIA, FOREIGN MINISTER OF THE E.U. AGAINST GREECE — The foreign minister of the European Union has stated strongly about the blockade of trade with Greece and listed 4-5 points on which the President of Macedonia has told his Greek counterpart that the signatures with him probably need to be made in order to find a solution. RUSSIA: YELTSIN RETURNS TO MOSCOW — Russian President Boris Yeltsin returned to Moscow after a two-week vacation period that fueled speculation about possible coup plans. Before leaving Sochi, Yeltsin himself again asked to unblock the “time off” and said that, despite the rumors, the country remained calm. CROATIA: UN HELICOPTER HIT — A United Nations helicopter carrying international officials has perhaps met with misfortune in the Krajina area, amid Serbian rebels between Krajina and the rest of Croatia. The news was given from Zagreb in a UNPROFOR communiqué and by the military chief that at this moment the helicopter has been forced down in a field. TURKEY: TOURISTS IN THE CROSSHAIRS ON ELECTION DAY — At least 27 German tourists were attacked in the region of Turkey, and in the area of the rival Tansu Ciller. These Kurdish tourists of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) attacked a bus near Istanbul (which caused XIX) and wounded three tourists. A German couple, while other French and Spanish tourists also claim to have been lightly injured.