Albanian party in Macedonia

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.

Macedonia's new reformist government faces it first big test after a small coalition partner, the DPA - Movement for Reforms, said it would quit the Social Democrat-led government if it fails to adopt a law extending the official use of Albanian by early September.

The parties making up the new majority in the Macedonian parliament have agreed that they may override the President, convene parliament on their own and elect a new speaker and possibly a new government.

The media in Serbia are following the crisis in Macedonia with intense interest, training their fire aggressively on the so-called "Albanian Platform" - a set of Albanian conditions for their participation in any new Macedonian government. 

One of the key points of the platform concerns extending the official use of the Albanian language.

The main ethnic Albanian party in Macedonia, the Democratic Union for Integration, DUI, has formally decided to participate in a future government led by the opposition leader Zoran Zaev, and has urged the country's President to revoke his veto on the Social Democrats leading a new administration.

A group of protesters on Thursday occupied a location in the Skopje municipality of Butel, where a metal 55 meter-tall cross was to be installed.

The protesters were led by officials of the largest ethnic Albanian party in Macedonia, the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI).