Republic of Macedonia

A total of 560kg of high-quality marijuana were seized from a Romanian semi-trailer truck at Bulgaria's Ilinden border crossing point.

The inspection was part of a series of joint operations of the Customs Agency and the Interior Ministry conducted in the period March 10-24, according to the press office of the Interior.

Macedonia's ruling VMRO-DPMNE party has slated CIVIL-Center for Freedom, a local NGO monitoring the April presidential and general elections, calling it a “so-called NGO” that “spreads lies” and works for the opposition Social Democrats.

The unusual timing of the round of talks, while Macedonian politicians are focused on the April presidential and general elections and while Greece is gearing up for May local polls, has prompted observers to suspect a link with the crisis in Ukraine.

The DIK has ruled that Ivanov broke the electoral code when he published a report on his presidential work on March 14, ten days before the start of the presidential election campaign on March 24.

Apart from starting his campaign too early, the head of the DIK, Nikola Rilkoski, said Ivanov had misused his office by using state money to finance publication of his report.

Montenegro tops tourism growth list

Tourism revenue in Montenegro is expected to grow more than 17 percent from last year. Also in business news: Turkey will begin to renegotiate its Customs Union Agreement with the EU by June.

Montenegro ranked first on the list of 184 countries expected to show tourism growth. [AFP]

Macedonia's main ethnic Albanian party, the Democratic Union for Integration, DUI, has launched a campaign for a new presidential election model in Macedonia.

The campaign slogan, “No to a One-sided President”, advocates scrapping direct elections for the post of President - and the main Albanian and Macedonian parties in parliament agreeing on a consensus candidate.

The candidate of the main ruling VMRO DPMNE party, incumbent President Gjorge Ivanov, launches his campaign with a rally in the town of Ohrid, the party’s traditional election launch venue.

Ivanov, who is competing for a secound five-year term in office, is running under the election slogan “The State Above All”, positioning himself as a proven defender of the country's interests.

Eighty per cent of journalists in Macedonia think that conditions are worsening, 17 per cent say that they are stagnant and only 3 per cent believe that they are improving, according to new research published by Macedonia’s Independent Journalists' Trade Union, SSNM.

A team of scientists at work on a dig in central Macedonia has attracted unwanted attention after an independent Croatian researcher, who joined the team, said he believed that the spot hides the grave of Alexander the Great.

Envoys from Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) are to meet in New York City next Wednesday with the United Nations mediator in the dispute between the two countries regarding the Balkan nation’s official name.