All News on Social Issues in Macedonia

Ex PM Samaras says name deal an 'unnecessary and humiliating compromise'

Greece's former conservative prime minister Antonis Samaras on Wednesday slammed an agreement reached between Athens and Skopje on the name issue, describing it as an "unnecessary and humiliating compromise."

"Republic of North Macedonia"

And the new name of the Republic of Macedonia will be - the Republic of North Macedonia.

Macedonian PM Zoran Zaev announced this at a news conference late on Tuesday, which he attended with his entire cabinet, and added that the solution "guarantees the country's national identity and progress."

Macedonia to Ease Restrictions on Abortions

The new law on abortion, whose draft version is nearly complete, will put an emphasis on women's right to choose, health minister Venko Filipce pledged.

The law will allow women to choose to have an abortion until the 12th week of pregnancy after consultation with their gynaecologist.

Macedonia: Thousands Protest Against the Government and Country's Name Change

A thousand-hour protest against the change of the Macedonian name occurred on the streets of Skopje. The strike also demanded early elections because of the state of the economy.

Thousands of Macedonian flags and flags of the opposition gathered outside the building of the Council of Ministers in Skopje

Some of the protesters wore posters saying "Macedonia will win".

Macedonians' roots are Slavic and Albanian, says Greek PM

According to him, it would be a "great victory" for Greece if a qualifier were to be added in front of the name "Macedonia."

"We are defending the national position," Tsipras said after a meeting with Mayor of Thessaloniki Yiannis Boutaris, to whom he expressed his support.

Another Macedonian citizen killed in Syria fighting

According to this, he is "E. Iseni" from Skopje's Aracinovo settlement, who went to Syria when he was 19 years old.

The information about his death, the agency said, was obtained from the family - but the report not specify under whose command Iseni was fighting when he was killed.

Croatia worried as "120,000 migrants move toward Bosnia"

A means of defense is being sought, Croatian daily Jutarnji List writes.

Namely, Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) is merely on the path of migrants, who, fleeing from their mostly war-affected countries, want to reach the EU. One of their routes goes through BiH, via which they enter Croatia and then Slovenia.

Stoltenberg: FYROM will be invited to join NATO if name issue is solved

The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) will be formally invited to join the NATO alliance if Athens and Skopje reach a settlement on the name dispute, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said.

Macedonian citizens arrested with 9.3 kilos of drugs

The suspects were caught as they attempted to smuggle 9.3 kilograms of marijuana across Serbia's northern border with Hungary.

32-year-old I.M. and 37-year-old A.A. had hidden the drugs in the tanks of their Macedonian license plates cars.

They will be held in police custody for up to 48 hours and then charged and taken before a prosecutor in Subotica.

I want to highlight the urgency in solving this matter, Juncker told a special session of the Greek parliament on Thursday, which he attended after a meeting with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

He also said that two Greek soldiers detained in Turkey in March must be released, Reuters is reporting.

Greece, Macedonia See Progress at Name Change Talks

The foreign ministers of Macedonia and Greece say they have achieved progress in talks aimed at resolving a name dispute between the two countries by the end of June.

Nikola Dimitrov of Macedonia and Greece's Nikos Kotzias met Thursday at the lakeside resort of Ohrid in southwestern Macedonia as part of U.N.-assisted negotiations.

Macedonia Leaders 'Wasted Cash on Census', SJO Says

Macedonia's SJO on Wednesday said it suspects the leader of the largest ethnic Albanian party in Macedonia, the junior ruling Democratic Union for Integration, DUI, Ali Ahmeti, as well as former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, of spending 2.8 million euros on a census in 2011 which they later deliberately scrapped.