Macedonia

Schools on the northern Aegean island of Thasos opened a week late on Tuesday.

The beginning of the new school year had been delayed because local authorities have been repairing widespread damage caused by a fire that burned for three days earlier this month.

Bulgaria's government has approved a decision to grant financial assistance to Macedonia to help it deal with the aftermath of floods in August.

The BGN 0.3 M worth of funding will be disbursed from the Foreign Ministry's relief budget and comes as an addition to the technical and humanitarian assistance provided so far, the cabinet has said.

BITOLA - A closure of European borders is unacceptable if the borders of Balkan states that are outside the EU are to remain open, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said Friday in a comment on the migrant crisis.

BITOLA - Serbia and Macedonia have a few unsolved issues, which they will solve together to avoid leaving them to their children, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said after a meeting with Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov in Bitola on Friday.

"Those are not big problems and, once we get them off the agenda, we will be able to develop our friendship fully," Nikolic said.

Bulgarian police have arrested 18 migrants trying to cross into Serbia, authorities say.

Border police officers have found 15 men and 3 women moving toward Serbia, around a kilometer before the border itself.

BITOLA - A closure of European borders is unacceptable if the borders of Balkan states that are outside the EU are to remain open, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said Friday in a comment on the migrant crisis.

BITOLA - Serbia and Macedonia have a few unsolved issues, which they will solve together to avoid leaving them to their children, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said after a meeting with Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov in Bitola on Friday.

"Those are not big problems and, once we get them off the agenda, we will be able to develop our friendship fully," Nikolic said.

Municipal authorities on Thasos on Friday started cleaning up the burned trees and debris left by a fire that burned for three days on the northern Aegean island, destroying farmland, forests and homes and injuring five firemen.

Local authorities are keen to complete the cleanup to avoid flooding when it rains.

Eight people from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan are suing Macedonia in Strasbourg, claiming that its forceful expulsion of refugees breached the European Convention on Human Rights.

Assisted by two non-profit groups, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, ECCHR, and Pro Asyl, the two women and six men submitted their complaint to Strasbourg on September 13.

The government is studying the option of opening a new refugee centre and is prepared to send more military forces to defend the border with Turkey, stated Interior Minister Rumyana Bachvarova.