Kumanovo

Ther arrival of a group of Ultra-Orthodox Jews in the northern town of Kumanovo this weekend, wearing traditional clothing that residents never saw before, has raised concerns among some local residents.

"These persons respect the laws of North Macedonia, have a completely legal right to stay here and are here only temporarily," Kumanovo police told the media on Sunday.

Code orange for dangerously hot weather has been issued for 9 districts in Bulgaria for August 9.

As of July 1, 2021, Bulgaria will become the rotating chair of the SEDM process (South East Europe Defence Ministerial). In preparation for the adoption of the mandate, representatives of the current President of the Republic of Albania are visiting Sofia until 18 June.

Some Balkan and Central European countries are facing the risk of a second big wave of COVID-19 cases after lifting restrictive measures imposed to curb the pandemic - some say prematurely.

After another worrying peak in infections over the past few days, North Macedonia has ordered a full 80-hour lockdown of the capital, Skopje, and the towns of Tetovo, Kumanovo and Stip. Curfews there will start at 9 pm on Thursday and last until 5 am on Monday.

With winter on the way, the capitals of Serbia, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Bulgaria, as well as some other industrial centres in these countries, are again suffering alarming levels of air pollution, charts show.

1. The numbers don't add up:

A new railroad in the south of the country. Photo: mtc.gov.mk

From the information made available so far, by the end of this year, or during next year, the government plans to start several big capital investments. But a big question is where the authorities hope to obtain the first 1.4 euros needed for them.

President Stevo Pendarovski defended Erol Musliu on Thursday, calling him a "a top professional", after the Democratic Union for Integration, DUI party, the junior partner in North Macedonia's ruling coalition, criticised his appointment as the new National Intelligence Agency chief.

There were chaotic scenes at Skopje's Appeals Court on Thursday, with the defendants shouting that they do not recognise the court, at the start of a hearing to decide on whether to hold a retrial of 33 ethnic Albanians who were convicted of involvement in a deadly two-day shootout in the town of Kumanovo in May 2015.

Macedonia's Constitutional Court voted by seven to two on Wednesday against an initiative that called for a assessment of the constitutionality and legality of parliament's decision on July 30 to call for a referendum on the Greek-Macedonian "name" deal.