DEFENCE CIA personnel, equipment and radar systems will come directly from Germany. This is how the forces will be monitored DEFENCE CIA personnel, equipment and radar systems will come directly from Germany. This is how the forces will be monitored The spy plane plan Albania becomes the eyes of the USA TIRANË — No more than a week ago, the American delegation that visited Tirana announced Washington’s decision to liberalize the import into Albania of "strategic materials for defense." Two weeks later, the Americans of "Aviation Week and Space Technology" clarified what this meant: within the month of February, twelve CIA experts, a radar station and two "Gnat 750" spy planes will arrive in Albania from a German base, with which military movements in what is known as Bosnia will be monitored. The news was confirmed to the American agency AP by military sources at the Pentagon. There has been no confirmation in Albania. The story of the spy planes that could be "deployed" at an air base in northern Albania began several months ago, when American experts — who were involved in the military deployment in Bosnia requested by the UN — studied a plan to monitor the military movements of the Serbian army. The "Gnat 750" aircraft can operate within a radius of 800 kilometers from the airport from which they take off, so they could be based in Italy. But Italy — for reasons that even today have not been clarified — refused. "The news of the Italian refusal," explains American journalist John Morrocco, the author of the revelation, "was kept secret for many weeks and I had to work for a long time before I could verify it. I simply could not find the reason for the obstacle set by Rome." Then — writes the American weekly — "A call, addressed to the highest Albanian leaders, allowed the intervention that made possible the replacement of aircraft movements from Albania." The plan costs around 6 million dollars. According to the CIA, it was supposed to start in the first days of February, but a series of technical delays have pushed it back to the end of the month. What role does Albania play in all this? The "Gnat 750" aircraft are built by General Atomics of San Diego. They fly without a pilot, can remain in the air for 24 hours and at an altitude of about 8,000 meters they photograph and capture everything that happens on the ground. The information gathered can be transmitted directly via satellite. The aircraft are absolutely incapable of firing, and their only function is limited to surveillance. The bases in Albania will serve to receive and turn around the planes (which need technical assistance every 24 hours), then, through the radar station that will be installed, the aircraft will be tracked from Albania and directed toward the assigned targets. The "Gnat 750" will fly especially over the skies of Montenegro, Kosovo and Macedonia, but it can also operate as far as Belgrade. «Blackbird», one of the most famous American spy planes: it is the manned type (there are no photos of unmanned aircraft)

Northern Border MALËSI E MADHE — The first balance sheet of the fight against smuggling has been announced. During 1993 alone in Malësia e Madhe, 670 cases of smuggling were caught while entering the embargo imposed by the UN on the former Yugoslav countries. In most of these cases — identified by the Financial Police — it involved fuel intended for trade with Montenegro. Smuggling was carried out mainly across Lake Shkodër. In all the cases intercepted, the Financial Police took various measures, issuing more than 1,000 fines. The smuggling problem — especially that involving fuel — continues to be a worrying issue. Recently, to eliminate this phenomenon, increased police checks on vehicles traveling toward Shkodër or Malësia e Madhe have been necessary. It was in these same areas that in January 1994 pipelines were also discovered that stored fuel in Montenegro. Mysterious pipes ran under the waters of the Buna from one bank to the other and transported the fuel through a powerful motor pump. This discovery — considered a scandal — had a major echo not only in the press. One of the consequences was also the resignation of the head of the Financial Police of Shkodër. (p. re)

Sport Serie A / Italian championship Inter equalizes in the last minute An image from the thrilling Inter-Cagliari match, which ended 3-3. Ruben Sosa scores Inter’s second goal. Behind him the referee On page 4 the results of the other matches On page 3 the results of the Albanian Cup On page 5 the history of the World Cup

Illegal houses above the deposit Serious situation in 100 plants KUÇOVË — Illegal construction continues to be a serious obstacle. This time it has even managed to block oil production. More than 100 wells in the Kuçovë oil field have long been completely out of operation. The entire area around them has been taken over by houses that are being built. The Kuçovë oil field now seriously risks being taken out of use. The number of homes being built in this area — instead of decreasing — is increasing. According to the management of the Oil Enterprise near the Municipality, this phenomenon is not stopping. But what is even more worrying is that, according to the Albanian Telegraphic Agency, the newcomers to this area are also damaging existing wells. In many cases they have thrown stones into the wellheads, making further operation impossible. The Kuçovë oil field is still considered an oil-bearing area. So far only 15 percent of this resource has been exploited. Now this rich basin is at risk of being completely taken out of use

TIRANË — Tirana’s flower gardens are threatened by kiosks. Out of 3,000 kiosks installed in Tirana over the last two years, 320 of them have been built on park roots. As a result, residents have fewer and fewer green spaces for relaxation from day to day. The presence of kiosks has also become worrying because of the unnecessary waste they accumulate and the lack of sewage systems. According to their buyers, these types of units make it almost impossible to equip them with "toilets"

Cold, but the weather will improve DURRËS — The sea is stormy and connections with Italy have been suspended; the storm that has covered the entire Mediterranean, at the end of the week, caused heavier seas and ferry connections were suspended from Sunday noon, while flights — on Sunday, the departures of ferries and of altikaf[?] from Italy to Durrës; the sea has remained rough for longer on its own capsized sailing ferry, as well as entry into the port. Air connections, fortunately only on Saturday, also suffered a disruption. The Tirana-Bari flights were heavily delayed. Ada Air from the 10th airport and recently scheduled for Brindisi were definitively cancelled. The same happened with Bari-Tirana. In some places the wind reaches a speed of 100 kilometers per hour. On Sunday the weather improved slightly, making it possible to resume the main air connections. But in the lowlands, temperatures have dropped, reaching zero in many areas of the country. According to meteorologists, in the coming hours the weather changes brought by a strong wind should cross the Balkans and move eastward. So better weather, but still cold. (p. re) Rough seas in Bari

INSIDE Discover the present The importance of a survey The president of the «Eureka» Center speaks ON PAGE 2 Siena, the beautiful fairy tale of the violinist girl The extraordinary story of Valbona ON PAGE 2

TRADE UNIONISTS MEET THE IMF PRESIDENT IN ALBANIA — A group of representatives of the Independent Trade Unions, led by their president Valer Xheka, met with Wël Ding, president of the IMF in Albania, and strongly expressed during a meeting their concerns about the closure of workers’ lives during the transition period. The representatives that Albania is going through — Ding said, among other things — are typically transitional and for some time will weigh on the level of social welfare. "IN THE PERMET NORTH TIME, FINANCIAL OFFENCES IN VERY LARGE AMOUNTS" — There are 78 people in the district of Përmet who have committed financial offences with a planned value of 1.5 million lekë. This situation was identified as the result of a control carried out in the area, by the financial police and local government bodies. For the offences — according to the degree of damage — measures have been taken to file a complaint or to have a complaint filed with the competent authorities. IN FIER, HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS INTERPRET WORKS BY ENGLISH AUTHORS — "A parade of English culture" is the name of the event organized in the city of Fier by the students of the "Rinia" secondary school. Eighteen literary evening performances were held in all the halls of the city teachers’ association — the students recited in English poems by renowned British authors such as Burns, Dylan, and told anecdotes from subtle English humor. Cuisine was also mentioned, and the book "Brenga e Ballkanit" by Edith Durham was presented, with discussions in Albania

HORSE STOLEN AND KILLED — Sherif is the name of the racehorse, stolen by the kidnappers from Iraq, found earlier and killed because no one wanted to pay for his release. Now an unknown figure has come forward and has demanded a reward for his head. U.S. TRYING TO KEEP ALBANIANS IN THE USA, THREE REMAIN UNDER THEM — In a cabin, among them five children, five others have been found missing as a result of the sinking of a small boat on which Albanians were trying to leave their country for the United States. The group of refugees, 19 people in all, were trying to leave their first state in the ocean. Several of them drowned, including a 15-year-old, while the survivors were rescued. GERMANS CRASH ON THE MOTORWAY FOR A FEW minutes a section of the motorway near Hamburg was torn apart, due to a slippery patch of road. This happened after the car of one of them crashed into the road barrier. In the accident, the police intervened, the vehicle’s occupants were pulled out of the car and opened with "FRANC", SKIERS DIE IN SAVOIE FROM TWO AVALANCHES — The English ski delegation, where eight skiers lost their lives due to powerful avalanches. A delegate from Chambéry quickly moved on to search for a group of English people, whose whereabouts had long been unknown, and found the bodies in the snow of five of them and the French companion who was with them. One skier from the group survived and was later admitted to the critical care unit of the Chambéry hospital. The other two victims died in another mountainous region.

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