Nikola Gruevski

The IPI report, titled "Hungarian Capital in Foreign Media. Three Strategic Models of Influencing the Neighbourhood", includes articles examining how, where and why Hungary has invested in foreign media in recent years.

All of this while back in Gruevski's home country, things are in flux as well. Gruevski's conservative VMRO DPMNE party, which under his rule was widely accused of "capturing the state institutions" including the judiciary, is now in a serious position to take on the pro-European Social Democratic leader Zoran Zaev, who toppled Gruevski back in 2017.

After the fact, one could argue that his ill-thought-out bet that people would flock to support him is a good illustration of how he and particularly the people around him have lost touch with reality and to what extent his inner circle is packed with yes-men who are totally ignorant of the true sentiments in society.

The results of the municipal polls have brought the governing Social Democrats' arch-rivals in the right-wing VMRO DPMNE party back into the game - and closer to possibly forming a new government.

Local elections will be held today in the neighboring Republic of North Macedonia, a BGNES reported.

1,824,864 people have the right to vote. 301 candidates are running for mayor and 10,600 for municipal councilors. Twelve candidates are running for mayor of the capital, Skopje. The second round of elections will take place on October 31.

North Macedonia's fugitive former prime minister Nikola Gruevski could face a fresh money laundering probe following reports that he used money transferred from his home country to start new business ventures in Hungary, the former prosecutor of the now defunct North Macedonia's Special Prosecution, SJO, Lence Ristovka, said.

The Criminal Court in Skopje on Monday in a first instance verdict sentenced former speaker of parliament Trajko Veljanoski to six years and six months in jail and former transport and former labour ministers, Mile Janakieski and Spiro Ristovski, to six years and three months in jail each.

The former head of the secret police, Vladimir Atanasovski, was jailed for six years .

American football stars Lance Briggs, Turk McBride, and Donnie Caldwell, backed by the founder and director of the famed Exit music festival in Serbia, Dusan Kovacevic, have told BIRN that they have already picked a location for growing medicinal marijuana in North Macedonia.

Marred by controversy from the start, partly because of its steep price, and partly for its dubious artistic choice, drawing inspiration from Classical antiquity, the brainchild project of former PM Nikola Gruevski was originally promoted as giving a brand-new look to the shabby-looking City of Skopje.

North Macedonia's largest opposition party, VMRO-DPMNE, has set up roadblocks in Skopje and about 10 other cities across the country, demanding the government release details of a roadmap being negotiated between Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and Bulgaria, Skopje Diem reported.