Skopje

Authorities in North Macedonia are considering reintroducing movement restrictions in parts of the country after registering the highest number of new COVID-19 infections in a day since the first case in late February.

The cover of the popular "Belo Chao" by Macedonian actor Dragan Spasov-Datz and composer Alexander Mitevski was made in one day. From idea to realization. Corona Chao has blown up social media, and even Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has identified himself as a duo fan. In just one day, the video garnered over 372,000 views on youtube.

The European Union could open accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia within weeks as both countries have made good progress in their preparations, the European Commission's enlargement chief, Oliver Varhelyi, said on Thursday.

One of the fake galleons that were one of the most ridiculed features of the former government's faux-historic Skopje 2014 revamp of the capital is to be removed by mid-April on the order of the city authorities.

Small businesses first to suffer

"Today you are only my third customer. I only have made about 300 Denars [five euros]," a taxi driver wearing a face mask and protective gloves, as prescribed by the authorities, told BIRN.

The European Union could open accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia within weeks as both countries have made good progress in their preparations, the European Commission's enlargement chief, Oliver Varhelyi, said on Thursday.

A diplomat couple, both of whom serve as Turkish ambassadors in neighboring Balkan countries, travel 250 kilometers frequently to see each other.

The foreign ministers demanded rapid integration in the Western Balkans.

Within a few days, the EU will decide whether to start membership talks with Northern Macedonia and Albania. This was made clear during a meeting between the foreign ministers of Greece, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia and representatives of the European Commission in Thessaloniki.

Police in North Macedonia have found 53 migrants crammed into a truck in a southeastern border region and arrested the driver on suspicion of belonging to a trafficking gang, officials said Thursday.

A police statement said the vehicle was stopped during a routine check late Wednesday near the town of Valandovo, which is close to North Macedonia's borders with Greece and Bulgaria.

The President of the European Council said on Friday the bloc will be holding intensive discussions in coming weeks on how future enlargement should be managed.

Charles Michel, who was in the Albanian capital, Tirana, to meet with Prime Minister Edi Rama, said all member countries "are unanimous on one point — that the Western Balkans' future should be toward Europe."