Macedonians

Migrants prevented from illegally crossing border

BELGRADE -- Ten migrants from Afghanistan and Syria were on Wednesday prevented from crossing into Serbia illegally, it has been announced.

The migrants were discovered on the Preševo border crossing between Serbia and Macedonia, and in the customs terminal in the town of Kruševac.

Macedonian police have discovered a record number of refugees from Syria trying to illegally cross the country on their way towards Western Europe in the past two weeks.

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Serbian FM on two-day visit to Skopje

BELGRADE -- Serbian Foreign Minister and First Deputy Prime Minister Ivica Dačić will be on an official visit to Macedonia on September 14 and 15.

The Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Friday that this will be Dačić's first official visit to the neighboring country since he took office.

Twenty-three-year-old Xhelal Samakova from Skopje has reportedly been killed while fighting in Syria, increasing the number of Macedonian citizens who have died in the violence there to at least ten, Albanian-language media have reported.

He was fighting with a rebel group against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Another Macedonian citizen reportedly dies in Middle East

SKOPJE -- A 23-year-old Macedonian citizen identified as Dzelal S. has died in the war in Syria, according to reports.

His photograph has been posted on social networks along with a caption reading that he died "a shaheed."

The head of the Lustration Commission, Tome Adziev, said he hoped that an agreement on the exchange of classified files with Serbia will allow access to the secret files of some prominent Macedonians which are now believed to be stored in Belgrade.

The agreement on data exchange was signed in February and is awaiting ratification in the Macedonian parliament this month.

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The newly-published Global Competitiveness Report 2014-2015 said that Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia and Serbia had moved up in the world competitive rankings, while Croatia and Albania dropped a few positions.

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Moves by the Serbian Orthodox Church to put the head of the Church in Macedonia on "trial" before an ecclesiastical court in Serbia will set back recent attempts to renew dialogue between the churches, observers say.

BELGRADE - Serbian Minister without portfolio in charge of European integration Jadranka Joksimovic and Macedonian Ambassador in Serbia Vera Jovanovska-Tipko conferred on Wednesday concerning the possibilities for improvement of regional and international cooperation which would be funded through IPA 2 European projects.

SPC in "ecclesiastical charges" against Macedonia archbishop

BELGRADE -- The Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) announced Tuesday its decision to bring ecclesiastical charges against Archbishop Stefan.

He is the head of the canonically unrecognized Macedonian Orthodox Church (MPC).