Latest News from Macedonia
Macedonia Ministers Warned Sex Lives are on Tapes
Macedonia's opposition said it had audio tapes revealing a minister's sex life, but did not wish to publish them in order to play fair.
The Social Democrats' vice president Radmila Shekerinska said her party has obtained many details about the private life of a minister and other ruling party officials, contained in the tapes it has collected on illegal surveillance.
Georgiadis joins fray in ND leadership race
Outspoken conservative New Democracy deputy and former minister Adonis Georgiadis is the third contender for the party’s helm, announcing his candidacy on Monday evening.
Georgiadis is a relative newcomer to ND, arriving from the rightist-populist LA.OS party before it collapsed in the 2012 election. He represents the right-wing of the party.
EU Adopts First Balkan-Mediterranean Cooperation Programme
The first EU programme for transnational cooperation covering the Balkan Peninsula and the Eastern Mediterranean region has been adopted, the European Commission announced on Monday.
The programme brings together EU member states Greece, Bulgaria and Cyprus and membership candidates Albania and Macedonia, the EU Commission said on its website.
Trips Abroad by Bulgarians Rise 11% in August, Foreign Visitors Up 2.3%
The number of trips of Bulgarian residents abroad rose by 11.3% on the year in August, reaching 512,000, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) said on Monday.
Last month, trips by Bulgarian residents to Turkey increased by 35.2% compared with August 2014, trips to Greece rose by 23.3% and those to Italy increased by 8.9%, the NSI said in a statement.
Bulgarian Police Detain 50 Migrants near Pernik
Fifty migrants have been detained near the southwestern town of Pernik, not far from Bulgaria's capital Sofia, local officials say.
District governor Irena Sokolova told Focus News Agency the migrants were found traveling in the carriage of a truck with a Pernik license plate en route to Kyustendil, another town located close to Bulgaria's borders with both Macedonia and Serbia.
EU's Hahn Praises Serbia's Efforts to Tackle Refugee Crisis
No country can be left to solve the refugee problem alone, EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn said during a visit to Serbia on Friday.
This problem can only be solved if we all work together in the spirit of solidarity and sharing the burden, said Hahn, who is in charge of EU's neighborhood policy and enlargement negotiations.
Macedonia Launches Ohrid Film Academy, Classes Start in November
A newly-opened film institute in Macedonia's city of Ohrid will start teaching master classes in the academic year 2015/2016 starting in November, independent.mk has reported.
The Institute of Film-Film Academy Ohrid will offer three-year master programmes in English in two departments: screenplay writing and dramaturgy, and creative production.
PM: Bulgaria Provides Reliable Border Guard Against Refugee Wave
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov assured on Friday that both the incumbent and the previous governments have guarded the country's borders reliably against the refugee influx.
According to him, this has led to redirection of the refugee route through Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, Austria, Germany and Sweden.
Macedonia Opposition Seeks Media Reform Deal
Macedonia's opposition Social Democrats, SDMS, want a deal reached on media reforms by October 15, saying fast changes are needed to leave time for media coverage to improve by the April snap elections.
"This is a key issue if we want free and fair elections," Robert Popovski, the head of the SDSM working group on the media, said.
PM’s companion to teach computer class at provincial uni
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ companion and the mother of his two young sons, Peristera “Betty” Baziana, continued her academic ascent this week in Greece’s state-only higher education system, with the University of Western Macedonia announcing that Baziana was hired to teach a once-a-week computer course at the provincial school.
Commissioner Hahn to Discuss Refugee Crisis in Europe on Serbia Visit
European Commissioner Johannes Hahn will visit Serbia on Friday to discuss the current refugee crisis in Europe.
Hahn, the Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, will meet members of the Serbian government including Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic and will visit the Refugee Aid Centre in Sid.