Independent Macedonia

A damning report from the US State Department has unveiled a troubling reality of systematic racial and ethnic violence and discrimination against Bulgarians in the Republic of North Macedonia. The document, part of the State Department's 2023 report on human rights, sheds light on concerning incidents of violence and oppression targeting Bulgarians in the country.

For the first two months of the winter season, the tourism sector in Bulgaria reports a growth of over 5% compared to the same period last year. There is a significant increase in visits from Italy, while tourists from Israel are about 70% fewer. Bulgarian tourists have increased by 8% during the same period.

The chairman and secretary of the "Ivan Mihailov" Bulgarian cultural center in Bitola, closed by the authorities in North Macedonia, will receive Bulgarian citizenship. President Rumen Radev will present Bulgarian passports to Lyubcho Georgievski and Blagoi Shatorov at a ceremony in the "Coat of Arms" Hall of "Dondukov" 2 street.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) defined as unprincipled and tendentious the decision of the authorities in North Macedonia to erase from the central register the Bulgarian association "Ivan Mihailov" Cultural Center in Bitola.

Sofia has expressed "concern" after North Macedonia's Justice Minister, Krenar Loga, on Thursday banned a Bulgarian club from being named after a Bulgarian nationalist who became a Nazi collaborator, after a state commission in charge of advising on such issues recommended the move.

The secretary of the Bulgarian cultural club "Tsar Boris III" in Ohrid was beaten, the MEP Andrey Kovachev announced on his Facebook profile.

According to her, the European Union has prepared a support package for the entire Western Balkans to help it deal with the energy crisis.

"I think that this is a provocation that does no good," said the Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Dimitar Kovachevski, on the occasion of the protests yesterday at the opening of the Bulgarian club "Tsar Boris III" in Ohrid.

The court in Bitola has ordered 8 days of arrest for the Macedonian singer Lambe Alabakovski, who was detained yesterday for setting fire to the front door of the Bulgarian Cultural Center "Ivan Mihailov" in Bitola. The attack took place in the early hours of June 4.

The perpetrator, who set fire to the front door of the "Ivan Mihailov" Cultural Center in Bitola, North Macedonia, was caught. This was announced by the Macedonian Minister of Interior Oliver Spasovski on his Facebook account.

The 34-year-old singer Lambe Alabakovski has been arrested. He works and lives in America, but returned to Bitola a few weeks ago.