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  • 14Aug

    WASHINGTON, Aug. 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — If all good things come in
    twos, what can top two mission directors in one family? Roberta Mahoney is
    the new mission director to Albania and her husband, David McCloud, is the new
    mission director to Bosnia and Herzegovina. They received their promotions
    today after being sworn in together by Henrietta Fore, the U.S. Agency for
    International Development’s (USAID) administrator.

    The couple’s lives have followed similar paths before and after they
    married in 1976 after meeting at the University of California, Los Angeles.
    Both were Peace Corps volunteers in Fiji and both joined USAID as
    international development interns in the 1980s — Mahoney in 1984, McCloud in
    1988. Now, they head missions in nearby, almost neighboring nations.

    In Albania, Mahoney will direct a mission in a nation the administrator
    called a valued peacekeeping partner in the war against terrorism that “plays
    a vital role in the Balkans promoting peace, security and ethnic
    reconciliation.” In Bosnia and Herzegovina, said Fore, McCloud takes control
    of a mission where USAID has invested more than $1 billion since 1995,
    restoring that nation’s infrastructure and economy and “strengthening the
    market chain that resulted in more than 1,500 jobs and investments in
    agriculture.”

    During her career, Mahoney served as an economics officer in both
    USAID/Kenya and in USAID/Malawi, as well as an associate mission director in
    USAID’s Egypt mission. In Washington, she served in several positions within
    USAID, including those in its Africa and Europe and Eurasia Bureaus. Her most
    recent position was in USAID’s Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean as
    director of the Office for Resources for Sustainable Development. Mahoney
    earned master’s degrees in regional planning from the University of
    California, Los Angeles and natural resource economics and international trade
    from the University of Wisconsin.

    McCloud was a program officer in Egypt, Malawi and Kenya and held senior
    positions in the Africa and Management Bureaus in Washington. He was most
    recently director of the Middle East Affairs Office before becoming mission
    director. He earned master’s degrees in African studies and public
    administration from the University of California, Los Angeles.

    For more information about USAID and its programs in Albania and Bosnia
    and Herzegovina visit www.usaid.gov.

    The American people through the U.S. Agency for International Development
    have provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for nearly 50
    years.

    Public Information
    202-712-4810

    SOURCE U.S. Agency for International Development

  • 25Mar

    WASHINGTON, March 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The American people, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), provided $50,000 to meet the immediate needs of Albanians affected by the accidental munitions explosions at a military facility near the capital city of Tirana.

    On March 15 and 16, a series of explosions at an Albanian military ammunition storage facility in Gerdec, 10 miles southeast of Tirana, killed 21 people and injured 250 others. According to the Government of Albania (GOA), the accidental explosions destroyed or damaged more than 4,000 houses, numerous public buildings, including schools, and water and power infrastructure. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimated that the explosions affected approximately 10,000 people, including the 4,000 residents of three nearby villages who fled their homes following the blasts. The GOA declared a state of emergency for Gerdec and surrounding areas and set up emergency commissions to respond.

    USAID is continuing to monitor the situation and will provide additional assistance should it be necessary.

    For more information about USAID’s emergency humanitarian assistance programs, please visit: http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/humanitarian_assistance/disaster_assistance/.

    The American people, through the U.S. Agency for International Development, have provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for nearly 50 years.

    CONTACT: USAID Public Information, 202-712-4810

    SOURCE U.S. Agency for International Development

  • 22Feb

    WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — NAAC hails the will of the Albanian people of Kosova for having earned the right to declare itself free and independent! We greatly honor your courage, honor and dignity!

    On Sunday, February 17, 2008, the newly elected government of the Republic of Kosova declared its independence, in full compliance with internationally accepted economic, political and social laws; and subsequently has been recognized by the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and a daily growing list of countries from Europe, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Near and Far Asia.

    On Thursday, February 21, 2008, Serbian authorities organized a rally in the Serbian capital of Belgrade in opposition to Kosova’s independence, having declared all schools closed, and offering free bus and train services to interested demonstrators. A few hours after Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica addressed the crowd, the embassies of the United States, Britain, Germany, Slovenia, and Turkey, were attacked by Serbian mobs, and an unidentified charred body was found inside the United States Embassy. By international Conventions, each Embassy is the legal property of the guest country and the host country is legally obligated to provide necessary protection. The United States, having already removed from its Embassy all personnel deemed non-essential, and along with other states, has notified the Serbian authorities that they are being directly held responsible for the damages.

    Now the Serbian authorities are attempting to incite riots in the northern city of Mitrovica, to spread panic and fear to the Serbs living below the city, so that they will flee across the Ibar river which runs across the middle of the city, to try to partition Kosova. The international community, NATO forces and international police have already made clear that they will not allow that to happen. NAAC calls upon the Serbs from Kosova to distance themselves from those using hatred and violence, tools of the past to create animosity. The politicians of Serbia must now accept what even their own people already know — that Kosova is already independent!

    The Kosova politicians have endorsed the broadest minority rights possible in Europe, and have agreed to provide protection of all ethnic cultural and religious institutions for all its inhabitants; and further agreed to collaborate with a European Union approved monitoring institution, EULEX, comprised mainly of judges and police, to guarantee implementation.

    The Albanian people of Kosova have demonstrated, again and again, through their cultural, spiritual and moral adherence, that they want to live in an independent and free Kosova, which will a multiethnic and multicultural society.

    The National Albanian American Council is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advocating for Albanians and promoting peace and economic development in the Balkans by fostering democratic policy, promoting respect for human rights, and conducting educational and developmental programs. For more information on the National Albanian American Council visit us on the web at www.naac.org.

    SOURCE National Albanian American Council

  • 13Feb

    BARCELONA, Spain and ST. LOUIS, Feb. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Amdocs
    (NYSE: DOX), the leading provider of customer experience systems, today
    announced that Eagle Mobile, Albania’s third mobile service provider, has
    selected the Amdocs Compact Convergence suite. The Amdocs solution enables
    Eagle Mobile to rapidly and cost-effectively introduce innovative, value-added
    services to its growing customer base. The announcement was made today at the
    Mobile World Congress (Amdocs Booth B101, Hall 8).

    “Amdocs Compact Convergence gives us the operational flexibility and
    agility we need to create, deliver and manage new services and address
    convergent real-time charging and business support requirements in order to
    become Albania’s leading cellular carrier,” said Ali Taskin, CEO of Eagle
    Mobile. “With Amdocs’ complete service enablement solution, we are able to
    cost-effectively respond to market demands within days and can offer customers
    a superior experience at a competitive price.”

    With the Amdocs Compact Convergence solution, Eagle Mobile can design and
    create unique network-connected services in hours, not months, or choose from
    over 40 pre-built services that are available out-of-the-box. The integrated
    suite includes real-time convergent charging and customer support
    functionality, enabling Eagle Mobile to launch innovative services with
    attractive and unique pricing plans, accept any payment method and achieve
    true competitive differentiation. With the Amdocs solution, Eagle Mobile can
    support the introduction and management of popular value-added voice, mobile
    data and Short Message Service (SMS) services, as well as enable
    personalization and self-care for these services, both of which help to enrich
    the customer experience and lower support costs. The solution includes Amdocs
    Media Server and a Short Message Service Center (SMSC) which enable a
    consistent customer experience across multiple touch points.

    “The Amdocs Compact Convergence suite is helping Eagle Mobile achieve fast
    and profitable new service introduction and competitive differentiation with a
    single integrated solution that will serve as its convergent service delivery
    platform designed to meet the requirements of today and tomorrow,” said
    Charles Born, vice president of corporate communications for Amdocs. “As a
    relatively new entrant to the Albanian communications market, Eagle Mobile
    needs a significant competitive advantage to gain market share. This proven
    Amdocs solution will help Eagle Mobile gain that competitive edge.”

    The Amdocs Compact Convergence Suite is an integral part of the Amdocs
    Customer Experience Systems (CES) product portfolio. Introduced in January
    2008, the Amdocs CES portfolio enables service providers to make the
    transformation from suppliers of network utilities to purveyors of a digital
    lifestyle.

    Eagle Mobile is owned by the Albanian Government (24%) and by CT Tel
    (76%). CT Tel is owned by the Calik Holdings Group (80%) and Turk Telecom
    (20%). Eagle Mobile plans to launch its service in early March 2008, in the
    rapidly growing Albanian cellular market. BenTek Technologies, a regional
    partner to Amdocs, will provide Eagle with local consulting services for the
    launch of its new operations.

    About the Amdocs CES Blueprint

    The Amdocs CES Blueprint is the first visionary outline of the operating
    environment service providers need to establish in order to transform from
    providers of utility voice, data and video services into purveyors of the
    digital lifestyle. The blueprint allows providers to deliver a seamless
    customer experience-personalized, participatory and timely across any service,
    location and device. The Amdocs CES Blueprint leverages Amdocs comprehensive
    business process best practices based on real-world scenarios, and transcends
    traditional business support systems (BSS), operations support systems (OSS)
    and service delivery platforms (SDPs) to encompass all current and emerging
    customer experience business processes. For more information, go to
    http://www.amdocs.com/Site/Vision/ces.htm.

    About Amdocs

    Amdocs is the market leader in customer experience systems innovation,
    enabling world-leading service providers to deliver an integrated, innovative
    and the intentional customer experience(TM) - at every point of service.
    Amdocs provides solutions that deliver customer experience excellence,
    combining the software, service and expertise to help our customers execute
    their strategies and achieve service, operational & financial excellence. A
    global company with revenue of $2.84 billion in fiscal 2007, Amdocs has over
    16,000 employees and serves customers in more than 50 countries around the
    world. For more information, visit Amdocs at www.amdocs.com.

    Amdocs Forward-Looking Statement

    This press release includes information that constitutes forward-looking
    statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private
    Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements about Amdocs’
    growth and business results in future quarters. Although we believe the
    expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon
    reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that our expectations will be
    obtained or that any deviations will not be material. Such statements involve
    risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ from those
    anticipated. These risks include, but are not limited to, the effects of
    general economic conditions, Amdocs’ ability to grow in the business segments
    it serves, adverse effects of market competition, rapid technological shifts
    that may render the Company’s products and services obsolete, potential loss
    of a major customer, our ability to develop long-term relationships with our
    customers, and risks associated with operating businesses in the international
    market. Amdocs may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some
    point in the future, however the Company specifically disclaims any obligation
    to do so. These and other risks are discussed at greater length in the
    Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in
    our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2007,
    filed on December 3, 2007, and in our quarterly 6-K furnished on February 11,
    2008.

    SOURCE Amdocs