Dielli | The Sun

Albanian American Newspaper Devoted to the Intellectual and Cultural Advancement of the Albanians in America | Since 1909

Majlinda Kelmendi, krenaria e Kombit Shqiptar

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Majlinda Kemlendi eshte krenaria jone kombetare. Ajo na nderoi serish duke u ngjitur ne podin e arte. Te lumte Majlina, ne jemi prane teje. Ti na bere krenar per emrin shqiptar! Ti i dhe Kosoves shtet te paren medalje te arte!

Majlinda Kelmendi i dha Kosovës medaljen e parë më të vlefshme në konkurrencën e senioreve, në sportin e xhudos, pasi ajo e fitoi medaljen e artë në kategorinë nën 52 kilogram, në Kampionatin Botëror në Brazil.

Xhudistja 22 vjeçare nga Peja, e ka fituar titullin e kampiones, pasi në finale e mundi brazilianen Erika Miranda, në arenën e quajtur “Marakana e vogël”, ku turma priste sukses të xhudistes vendëse.

Kelmendi, që ishte fituese e kampionatit botëror të junioreve në vitin 2009, arriti triumf kundër brazilianes Miranda, në mënyrë efektive.

“Jam me të vërtetë e entuziazmuar me atë që arrita”, tha Majlind Kelmendi, pas triumfit.

 

 

Abaz Kupi, “Qytetar nderi” i Malësisë së Krujës

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Komuna e Cudhit ne Malesinë e Krujes ka nderuar me titullin “Qytetar Nderi” luftetarin dhe patriotin e njohur Abaz Kupi. Ne kete ceremoni e cila u zhvillua ne nje atmosfere teper modeste, merrnin pjese familjare dhe miq te familjes Kupi, te cilet kane zbuluar edhe pllakaten ne shenje mirenjohje ndaj figures se patriotit te njohur.

Abaz Kupi ka qene nje nga shembelltyrat e rezistences antifashiste njekohesisht dhe komandant me virtyte, ku pikerisht ne kete zone ai ka zhvilluar nja nga betejat me te egra me armiqte, ne te cilen ka arritur te triumfoje.

Titulli i nderit u eshte dorezuar familjareve me motivacionin “per merita te pazevedesueshme te nje patrioti me te cilin nderohet gjithe qyteti i Krujes”. Mbi figuren e Abaz Kupit jane referuar edhe mjaft te pranishem ne kete ceremoni

Fullani: Ekonomia në nivele të dobëta

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Kriza financiare që ka kapur buxhetin e shtetit është konfirmuar edhe prej guvernatorit të Bankës së Shqipërisë. Në konferencën e radhës ku u paraqit ecuria ekonomike e vendit Ardian Fullani deklaroi se janë rritur ndjeshëm shpenzimet, janë ulur të ardhurat dhe është rritur deficiti me 2 herë më shumë. Sipas kreut të Bankës Qendrore kjo situatë do të kufizojë mundësitë e qeverisë së re për të marrë borxh në pjesën e dytë të vitit.

“Sot Këshilli Mbikëqyrës i Bankës së Shqipërisë mori në shqyrtim dhe miratoi raportin mujor të politikës monetare. Këshilli Mbikëqyrës vendosi të mbajë të pandryshuar normën bazë në nivelin 3,5%. Gjatë muajit korrik inflacioni ka qënë 1,6%, duke pësuar rënie në krahasim me muajin e kaluar. Kjo është një rënie e përkohshme, u shkaktua nga çmimet e ulëta të cmimeve të stinës. Rritja ekonomike mbetet e ulët, ndërsa të dobëta janë edhe investimet private.Burimet e rritjes ekonomike janë të dobëta dhe të pasigurta. Kushtet monetare janë të përshtatshme për përmbushjen e objektivit në një periudhë afatmesme” tha ai.

Përsëri guvernatori i Bankës së Shqipërisë përsëriti apelin për uljen e borxhit publik në vend.

Lidhur me të ardhmen, Fullani tha se në hartimin e politikave fiskale duhet të kihet parasysh, ruajtja dhe përmirësimi i qëndrueshmërisë së borxhit publik.

 

Debts Force Albanian Tycoon to Sell Assets

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Burdened by debt, Albania’s controversial oil tycoon, Rezart Taci, has sold most of its assets, which observers say were built up with the support of political ties.

The Albanian government last week said it had approved the sale of 70 per cent of Albania’s sole oil refinery, ARMO, to an Azeri company, Heaney Assets Corporation, registered in the fiscal paradise of the British Virgin Islands.

The Azeri company paid €35 million for Taci’s stake in AMRA Oil, which in turn controled 85 per cent of ARMO’s stock. The rest of the shares remain in the hands of the Albanian government.

Heaney Assets Corporation has also paid almost €15 million for minority stakes in several other companies controlled by the tycoon, including Europetrol, Taci Oil and Kuid.

“His debts had grown so large that even his political connections could not save him,” said Ard Kola, a business editor at the daily newspaper Shqip.

According to Kola, the oil tycoon created an image of making galloping strides in the business world but the whole operation was a bubble.

“Taci built an empire with inflated budgets and debts that were run up to pay off other debts,” he added.

Data from tax authorities show that Taci’s companies had a turnover of €350 million in 2012.

The new owners of ARMO have also agreed to take over the refinery’s debt towards Albania’s state oil producer Albpetrol, believed to be in the tens of millions of euro.

Apart from the debt to Albpetrol, Taci is believed to have had an unpaid loan of €75 million, from the Bank of Azerbaijan. The Azeri bank sued him for the money in August 2012, but withdrew the lawsuit after a few days.

Taci is known as one of the Tirana businessmen who belong to outgoing Prime Minister Sali Berisha’s inner circle.

He spent millions of euro to bring in football clubs like AC Milan and Real Madrid to play charity football games, with the proceeds going to a children’s foundation run by Berisha’s wife.

He also spent sizable sums to fly notables like Mikhail Gorbachev and Cherie Blair, wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, to Tirana in private jets.

In 2009 he bought the Albanian oil refinery ARMO for €128 million.

In November 2009, he was accused of attacking Mero Baze, a local political analyst and publisher, but was cleared of charges a year later. Instead, two of his bodyguards were found guilty of assaulting the journalist and fined 300,000 lek (€2,140) each.

In 2012 he launched a bid to buy the state-owned oil company Albpetrol, but the bid fell through when Taci could not turn-up with the €850 million that he had offered.(Cortezay:Besart Likmeta-Balkaninsight)

 

Hidden Debt Fuels Worries About Albania’s Finances

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A partial audit of Albania’s finances suggests that the country’s public debt is much higher than official figures show./

By Besart Likmeta/

An inspection of finances by the High State Auditing Office at the end of 2012 has uncovered hundreds of millions of euro in unpaid bills owed to public contractors.

“The unpaid obligations for road construction projects amount to at least 43 billion lek (€300 million),” the report, leaked to the daily newspaper Shqip, says.

The Finance Ministry disputes the figure, maintaining that it owes construction companies only 7 billion lek (€50 million).

According to the International Monetary Fund, IMF, Albania’s public debt has now reached 61 per cent of GDP, which is the highest in the Balkan region, though still relatively low by wider European standards.

The Socialist-led coalition, which won the June 23 parliamentary elections, has expressed concern over the state of Albania’s finances, complaining especially of the poor rate of collection of taxes in the first five months of 2013.

Experts suggest that Albania might collect €320 million less in taxes than was planned in 2013, while continuing to run a high budget deficit.

Although economic growth this year is expected to be positive, at 1.8 per cent of GDP, rising public debt and poor tax collection rates are causing concern.

The World Bank has called on the new centre-left government to seek IMF aid in order to consolidate its finances. It also urges the government to curb public investments.

“It’s very important that late payments to the private sector are settled, and… there is no fiscal room for major investments,” the World Bank country manager for Albania, Ksenia Lvovsky, said in July.