Tetovo

Protestors wearing the movement's signature vibrant clothes threw paint balls at the Justice Ministry and President's contact office in downtown Skopje as they marched along their usual route.

A coalition of 21 environmentalist groups and NGOs from across Macedonia is considering more protest marches as well as possible blockades of institutions and streets during February.

They accuse the authorities of failing to take relevant action against extremely high levels of air pollution in the capital and in several other towns.

Macedonia's opposition Social Democrats, SDSM, have demanded an emergency parliamentary session on the subject of air pollution, calling also for the resignation of the Mayor of Skopje, Koce Trajanovski.

Hundreds of Kosovars in the southern town of Prizren joined the celebration of the Justice and Development (AK) party's victory on Sunday, some carrying banners with Erdogan's picture and chanting his party's slogans, others driving around waving Turkish flags.

Police conf irmed on Thursday that they have arrested nine people suspected of having links with Islamic State during raids in Skopje's districts of Gazi Baba and Cair, as well as in the towns of Tetovo, Struga, Kumanovo and Gostivar.

Macedonia's Interior Ministry has launched a special operation to arrest alleged Islamic State (IS) members.

At least five persons, among them four children, died on Monday during a strong storm in the area of the town of Tetovo in southwestern Macedonia.

Macedonian MIA agency said that a ten-year-old child had died in the flooding, while the lifeless body of a 13-year-old girl "most likely from the village of Shipkovac" was brought to the hospital in Tetovo.

Serbia's Prime Minister says he intends to visit Albania to improve regional relations, frayed by the recent violence in Kumanovo, Macedonia.

"For each of our countries it is important to invest in peace and stability in the region, so that what happened in Kumanovo does not happen again," Vucic said in Sarajevo, where he is participating in a business forum.

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.

Child injured in explosion near Albanian party HQ

TETOVO -- An explosive device activated near the local headquarters of the Albanian Democratic Union for Integration (DUI) in Mala Recica near Tetovo has injured a child.

The DUI, led by Ali Ahmeti, is together with the VMRO DPMNE in power in Macedonia on the state level.