Financial operations are not slowing the devaluation of the "lek" Banks “feed” the currency? Exchange dealers: “Give traders dollars” TIRANA - Is the banking system in Albania capable of protecting the devalued "lek" from the sharp movement of currencies in recent months? The higher the curve of foreign currencies rises in the market, the more often this concern circulates, along with the inevitable sums of currency held by exchange dealers. And it is a question that has arisen for two reasons: not only because of the passive stance, but also because of the unavoidable financial operations of the Trade Bank. The sale of foreign banknotes from this bank's counters is producing the opposite result to the one intended: instead of saying "stop" to the frightening advance of the dollar, it seems to be feeding it. What is the source of this paradox - the exchange dealers asked. And they are the same ones who try to explain it... Yesterday was evidence, even more so, of the Trade Bank's attempt to curb the dollar's crescendo at the start of this week. Through its counters, sums of dollars were released at a much more favorable exchange rate than the one offered by the free market. Andrea Stefani On page 3

Serreqi signs agreement with Athens Albanians in Greece now with documents Seasonal employment signed TIRANA Illegal for emigrants in Greece. An agreement signed yesterday in Athens between Serreqi and Pangallos has legalized seasonal employment for Albanians. From 2 to 6 months you can work in agriculture while being fully documented. At the same time, it will also be easier to obtain a visa. The opening of a new consulate in Korçë and another in Thessaloniki was the second document on which Tirana and Athens have agreed. On page 3

FIER - Childhood quarrels are rarely “settled” within the “nice” walls with knives and blood. A twelve-year-old strikes and seriously injures a peer with a knife and then, as in the movies, chooses to flee. But for only two hours he managed to hide from the police, who together with the neighborhood commissioners handcuffed him. His tiredness and remorse are very little compared with the anxiety of what awaits him after the “face” - he has been admitted to intensive care - his condition may suddenly worsen. The घटना happened yesterday at noon in the city of Fier. Two classmates, immediately after leaving school, continue the argument they had started during a lesson. They throw books and roll up their sleeves. But very quickly everything moved toward tragedy: Visar Rushani, 12, pulls out a bread knife on his “enemy,” B. S., 13. And he immediately runs away from the scene, perhaps without realizing that his action was that of a criminal. Shocked, B. S. ends up in the hospital, in shock. Visar goes to inquire about his health. Then he is also sought for revenge by the injured boy's friends. After two hours the police obtain the first statement from Visar. "I didn't want to kill him, only to scare him." An incident that more than the blue uniforms of the police needs educators, psychologists and a healthy family, violence among minors is becoming a significant current today. Theft, beatings, injuries and even murders by young people, often children, are becoming more frequent. For many of them, horror scenes on TV may also be an incitement to the streets of the cities. Hurma Rredhi

The opposition on alert: “They have been modified” TIRANA - A puzzle over the polling-station minutes. The question mark and doubts arose yesterday, and it was opposition representatives in the Central Commission who raised the alarm. "We implemented the new minutes of the Voting Centers, in which there were no spaces where the names of the members of these commissions were to be entered. They showed only two blank spaces: one for the chairman of the Voting Center Commission and one for the secretary of this center." On page 3 Election Commission

Fier, the miller ends up in handcuffs: “He has poisoned more than 50 people” Lead flour is sold as clean It had been blocked, but villagers sold it in the city FIER - To make a profit by selling poison, while you yourself seem to be at risk from it. Yesterday in Fier, two villagers from Seman, who were trading flour with a lead content in the city, were denounced to the Fier prosecutor's office. Around four tons of flour, blocked in conditions dangerous to human health, were nevertheless taken out to be sold. The Albanian state had kept it, had taken it to destroy it, when this amount of flour and had sent the villagers of Seman along with flour, even with seven tons of it. On page 5

The legend that continues ... Russia, a mine of talent From Lev Yashin to Onopko MOSCOW - To say "Spartak" or Russia is the same thing. This is because the Moscow team, together with Dinamo, has always shaped the name and history of Russian football. But everything linked to the name and glory of this club is tied to one name, that of Nikolai Starostin, nicknamed "Gospodin Spartak". In 1922 he was one of the founders of the club. Playing for 14 years with the Russian team, he became a myth for the fans. But the anger of the KGB led to his imprisonment and exile in Siberia for ten years. On page 7

“I do not want my image to be exploited by politics” PS spot, the Miss is against it Sako protests: “They did not ask my permission” TIRANA - "They stole my beauty to win votes with it." The reaction comes from the Albanian beauty queen of '96, who found herself at the center of the Socialist television spot. A shockingly quick and very upsetting blow to the 19-year-old from Durrës. These were the artistic elements of the Socialist political ad broadcast during the Albanian viewer's prime time. Still indignant, Hygerta Sako seems not to want her poetic beauty to be 'given' to Albanian politics, according to a rather prosaic logic. "I do not want my image to be used by the PS, the PD or other Albanian parties." Thus spoke the first Albanian beauty queen of '95, seeking to keep the charm that lifted her onto the Miss podium depoliticized. Indifferent to politics, the girl wants her beauty to be put in its proper place. The Albanian Socialists could not resist Sako's protest, and yesterday they removed from their spot the part with which they could have won votes - at least among her fans. R.Xha Hygerta Sako

TIRANA - "Do not buy any livestock in Korçë. If you have any right to the local food market forever, no; nonetheless, you must temporarily stop all dealings you have with its villagers." The warning was given at a meeting with representatives of the Municipality. In the presence of the villagers themselves. Since the alarm over the disease has spread, drinking water has been denounced, or most of it has been affected. The meat issue will continue to trouble Tirana, since only yesterday the veterinary clinic announced that around 50 private butchers of the New Bazaar market. After the disease alarm that had affected livestock in the southeast of the country at the sales center, all the rules that traders must follow were set out. "For every animal bought, from any corner of Albania, you must obtain the veterinarian's report," said the head of Veterinary Services at the Municipality, Suljandri. They prepared themselves with words and permits. Since it has been confirmed that the disease does not spread to humans, it can cause anomalies in water near homes because of it, and mortality in animals reaches a very high level and this should not be underestimated. It was reported in the first weeks in Albania. To see whether it appeared in 1969, when the disease disappeared within a very short time. But accumulation, diagnosis and these [?] prevent it, because the results of analyses carried out in Italy have still not been completed. (Ar. Ça.) Yesterday the butchers at the meeting with representatives of the Municipality (photo: H. Pustina)

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SKRAPAR The Municipal Treasury is stolen On page 5 DURRES The businessman’s fraud: more than two million? On page 5 BERAT They set out for gold but found brass On page 5

Last night Shehu hosts a banquet for Pëllumb On page 7

TURKISH COLLEGE "Mehmet Akif Ersoy" organizes an entrance exam for student admissions for the 1996 - 1997 school year, which will be held on Sunday, 2 June 1996 at 10:00. Students wishing to take part in the exam should appear in person together with the following documents in order to register. - 2 photographs - Birth certificate accompanied by a photograph - Grade report for the eighth grade or a certificate of the average for the trimester from the school principal Registration will continue until 30 May 1996 at the address: Turkish College "Mehmet Akif Ersoy" (former electrical high school) Tirana, Tel: 042 348 95.