VMRO DPMNE-led government

Macedonia's main ruling party, the Social Democrats, and the ethnic Albanian BESA party have exchanged a series of mutual accusations and warnings.

The dispute erupted after the Social Democrats, the SDSM, decided to openly support BESA's bitter Albanian rivals in the Democratic Union for Integration, DUI, in the October 15 local elections.

A coalition of rights NGOs, the Platform for Gender Equality, has urged Macedonia's new government, elected in May, to scrap changes made to the Abortion Law in 2013 by their conservative predecessors, which they insist undermined women's rights.

With 64 votes for the dismissal and none against in Macedonia's 120-seat parliament, the majority led by the Social Democrats, SDSM, dismissed the controversial Public Prosecutor, Marko Zvrlevski, a key ally of the now ousted VMRO DPMNE-led government.

The vote took place after MPs from the opposition VMRO DPMNE party left the chamber in protest.

Macedonia's Social Policy Ministry has denounced as lies claims by the opposition right-wing VMRO DPNNE party that the country is considering building permanent housing and issuing citizenship to migrants from the war-torn Middle-Eastern countries who are traversing its territory.

The budget rebalance, approved by MPs late on Sunday, reallocated a total of 47 million euros from the 2017 budget in order to help to support farmers, small businesses and workers at companies that have gone bankrupt.

In one what some might see as an apt symbol of Macedonia's current difficulties, over a hundred palm trees planted in Skopje two years ago - and designed to bring a touch of tropical warmth to the city -  have perished in the harsh winter cold.

An increase in official inspections in municipalities led by mayors from the Democratic Union for Integration, DUI has raised suspicions after the party on Sunday declined to support a renewed governing alliance with former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.

The legal changes failed to pass on Tuesday after only about 30 MPs in the 123-seat parliament, mainly from the opposition Social Democrats, SDSM, voted in favour.

After Macedonia's main opposition party, the Social Democrats, SDSM hinted that it will discuss at its October 2 party congress ways of combining all opposition forces into one united front against Gruevski's ruling VMRO DPMNE, several smaller parties have said they are interested in the idea of collaboration.

Work on reforming the media in Macedonia in time for June's early elections appears to have halted, as the EU mediator in the talks on the crisis in Macedonia, Peter Vanhoutte, confirmed that some political parties were uninterested in continuing talks.