Macedonia deal signed, protests in Skopje

Seven police officers have been injured, and 25 demonstrators arrested late on Sunday during violent protests in front of the Macedonian Assembly in Skopje.

The Macedonian Interior Ministry said the demonstrators - opposed to the deal reached by Athens and Skopje to end a dispute over the country's name - used pyrotechnics and tried to force their way into the Assembly, to which the police responded by using tear gas.

MIA news agency said the protesters - described as football hooligans who organized on social media - threw stun grenades, flares and rocks at the police, who used tear gas.

Greece and Macedonia on Sunday signed the agreement, renaming the latter, officially "the Republic of Macedonia" into "the Republic of North Macedonia."

Present at the signing were Greek and Macedonian prime ministers, EU commissioners Federica Mogherini and Johannes Hahn, and UN officials.

The agreement now needs to be confirmed by both countries' parliaments, and in Macedonia, by citizens in a referendum.