Skopje

Officials at the Greek Foreign Ministry were enraged yesterday at reports in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) that ex-US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright had suggested Greece may have been involved in deadly incidents last weekend in the town of Kumanovo.

Eighteen people ? 10 Albanian militants and eight policemen ? died after gunmen raided in the town.

Macedonia and Kosovo have established exchanges of information on verifying the identities of the victims and those who were arrested in Kumanovo last weekend during the Macedonian police action.

The Macedonian Interior Ministry has established that a number of those involved in the fighting were citizens of Kosovo.

The former Director of Macedonia's Administration for Security and Counterintelligence (UBK) Saso Mijalkov was actively involved in the staging of the terrorist attack in Kumanovo.

This is claimed by the Serbian daily Blic, based on information of the Serbian security services, BGNES news agency reports.

The Macedonian Parliament approved on Wednesday the reshuffles in the government of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, which were necessitated after the resignations of the interior and transport ministers.

Macedonian ministers, head of intelligence service resign

SKOPJE -- Macedonian Interior Minister Gordana Jankulovska, Minister of Transport Mile Janasijeski, and head of the intelligence service Saso Mijalkov have resigned.

Bulgaria's two biggest opposition parties, have demanded a more rapid accession of Macedonia and other Western Balkan nations into the EU to boost "Europeanization" there.

Positions of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) largely overlapped during a debate in Parliament while lawmakers were holding a regular sitting on Wednesday.

Albanian prime minister cancels visit to Macedonia

TIRANA, BERLIN -- Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has canceled his official visit to Macedonia, planned for May 14, Albanian language media in Pristina are reporting.

Rama was to visit Skopje and Tetovo, the website Albeu said on Tuesday, quoting sources from the Albanian Foreign Ministry.

Terrorists "planned to blow up bridge in Skopje"

SKOPJE -- The terrorist group that last weekend carried out an attack in Kumanovo, northern Macedonia, "planned to blow up one of the main bridges in Skopje."

This was reported on Tuesday by the Macedonian website vecer.mk, which said the information was revealed by one of the captured terrorists.

Skopje is in turmoil after the Kumanovo clashes which cost the lives of 22 people. Political analysts express fears of a resurgence of violence in view of the 17th of May march which the opposition party has organized.

Macedonian police release video of anti-terrorist operation

SKOPJE -- The Macedonian police have published video footage of the operation they carried out in Kumanovo over the weekend when they "neutralized" a terrorist group.