Sports.

Scottish Glasgow Rangers is reportedly interesting in adding Lazio Macedonian striker Goran Pandev to their lines. The 23-year-old Macedonian star has been impressive so far this season for his team, helping them to overcome the point deduction suffered because of the Serie A match fixing scandal.

Last weekend Goran Pandev scored a beautiful goal after a great individual move in the match where Lazio defeated Ascoli 3-1. With that win, Lazio reached the seventh place in the league.

Also, Pandev had been linked to a move to Great Britain last October in which Arsenal was ready to land him on the eve of the Macedonia vs. England match for the Euro 2008 qualifier.

MD: Again some rumours about him, we'll see what will happen. Pandev himself
said that he is satisfied with Lazio at the moment.

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 9:12 am | Permalink | Comments

National.

The Government has supported and initially approved 500,000 euros for the construction of a small floating prehistoric town at the "Bay of Bones" in Lake Ohrid near the Gradiste Trailer camp not far from the Pestani village. The initiator of the project for partial reconstruction of a pre-historical pole-supported settlement is Pasko Kuzman, an archaeologist in Ohrid and Director of the Directorate for Protection of the Cultural Heritage.

“We will use this opportunity to make archaeological digging at Gradiste as well, where there is a fortress, but the public does not know that. A pole-supported settlement will be connected via a path to the Roman site of Gradiste, which we will
examine and partially conserve and restore. This means that suddenly, we will get two archaeological points appealing to visitors. The owners of the camp are willing to assist the effort. Thus, they will get one more destination near the camp. The floating museum will be the first restored pole-supported settlement not only in Macedonia but in the Balkans,” Pasko Kuzman said.

The floating town near Gradiste will be constructed on the foundations of a Bronze Age settlement. The place was settled in 1200 to 800 B.C. The life of those people will be presented in a floating museum that will bring back the visitors to the prehistoric ages.

“Anybody who has a little imagination and fantasy can bring themselves back to the Bronze Age as I do when I make exploration. If you unleash your mind when you are underwater, you are there and live with the people. You see them, hear them and
see calves, pigs and horses passing by,” He added.

MD: Wow that's very interesting, we can't wait to see it finished. Kuzman also said that there is a similar settlement only in Kostur, but it is on dry land and he saw something similar in Poland, a Bronze Age settlement, Biscupin, dated to 500 B.C. The town was erected on water and is visited by tourists from all over the world.

[Culture MK]

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 9:10 am | Permalink | Comments

Culture.

The Macedonians in Adelaide celebrated the 120th anniversary of the Australian state, South-Australia with a big event hosting a Macedonian film festival, a ball and an academy on the human rights of the Macedonians.

Several Macedonian films were shown to the public. One of them was the documentary "The children of 1948" by Suzana Dinevski, about the memories of the Macedonian child refugees, which have settled in Adelaide.

The Macedonian ambassador, Viktor Gaber and House of assembly of South-Australia speaker, Jack Snelling hold speeches at the Formal ball in the Hayat Hotel. Also there were some performances by the Melbourne artistic association "Jane Sandanski", Petre Georgievski from Perth and the "Europa" band from Adelaide.

MD: And Again Macedonian culture events abroad, allways nice to hear!

[Macedonian Embassy Australia]

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 9:07 am | Permalink | Comments

Culture.

Cair mayor Izet Mexhiti and DUI leader Ali Ahmeti unveiled the monument of George Kastrioti - Skanderbeg in front of the Ilinden Mall in Skopje yesterday.

DUI leader Ali Ahmeti expressed his gratitude for the attendance of representatives of state institutions, the international community, as well as guests from Albania and Kosovo, adding that ethnic Albanians throughout Macedonia gathered in Skopje to celebrate the Balkan and European hero.

"This day in November will mark not only the victory for us Albanians, but also for all Macedonian citizens. One should salute the courage and all initiatives undertaken by all institutions, former and present. I salute the courage of Parliament Speaker Ljubisa Georgievski for his attendance, because Skanderbeg belongs to all European values," Ahmeti said.

MD: There is much to do about the monument, many are against it, saying that Skopje isnt the rightplace for such a monument and that the monument is illegal built. But it's standing now.

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 7:28 am | Permalink | Comments

National.

Macedonia, Albania and Croatia will enter NATO in 2008 as full members, if the three countries are ready for the membership. This message was sent by the United States president George Bush at an international conference in the Latvian city of Riga, before the official start of the NATO summit.

"We will make it clear here in Riga that NATO's door remains open, and I believe that at our next summit in 2008 we will send invitations to the countries which will be prepared for membership in the Alliance. Today, Macedonia, Croatia and Albania are all participating in NATO's Membership Action Plan, and the US. supports their aspirations to join the Alliance", said president George Bush.

Macedonian defense minister Lazar Elenovski The Minister expects that the summit, which starts tomorrow, will recognize the progress, made by both Macedonia and the rest of the Adriatic states.

"There will not be any enlargement accomplished in Riga, the meeting
will mostly deal with the reorganization of the Alliance, and I expect
that NATO will re-confirm its line of re-organization, will make certain
issues more precise in order to cope better with security risks in the
future", he added.

MD: Thanx to on of our spotters for this one.

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 7:22 am | Permalink | Comments

National.

Macedonia will urge the European Union to simplify the procedure of issuing visa's for all categories of citizens, including tangible perspectives on a full liberization of the visa regime, reports MakFax.

This is the main position that Macedonia will come up with at the launch of the visa facilitation negotiations with the European Union, scheduled for the 30th of November.

Macedonia has the distinction of being the first western Balkan country to negotiate about the visa facilitation.

[Makfax]

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 7:20 am | Permalink | Comments

Culture.

A Presentation of a Macedonian exhibition, “History and Traits of the Macedonian Language” opened the Days of Macedonian Culture in Bratislava, Slovakia this week.
The exhibition will later be complemented with a media and film presentation on Macedonia.

The first and so far most comprehensive Macedonian library in Slovakia was officially promoted within the event. It was established by Zvonko Taneski, a poet, translator and lector of Macedonian in Slovakia who has organized the event for three years now.

The National and University Library in Skopje, Euro Balkan Institute, Committee on Linguistic Rights and Translations with the Skopje-based International PEN Centre and other institutions have donated books to the new library.

MD: This is just one of the many Macedonian culture events abroad recently!

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 7:17 am | Permalink | Comments

Sports.

Probably many of you allready knew Gheorghe Hagi, the famous Romanian footballer, the "The Maradona of the Carpathians" has Macedonian origins. However there turned up an interesting story on his life at our friends at Jadransport.

[Click here]

and read the interesting article.

For those of you who dont know Hagi, he is, as we allready said, a world famous footballer. Hagi played for some of the best football clubs in the world, like FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. Hagi led the Romanian team to its best ever international performance at the 1994 World Cup, where the team reached the quarterfinals and he is
the current Romanian National team coach. In 2004 he was named among the top 125 living footballers by Pelé.

MD: Superb article, a must read! Some say he is Macedonian and some an Aromanian (Vlach) from Macedonia, a people which are very similar to Romanians.

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 10:52 am | Permalink | Comments

National.

"We urge for introduction of Roma language education in all of the European countries, said one of the paragraphs of the resolution adopted at the European Romas Forum which took place in Strasbourg this month.

The Macedonian deputy, Ljatif Demir, in the European Roma Forum, stated this, explaining that 72 deputies from 42 countries are included in the forum which was founded in the year 2004.

At yesterday's press conference in Skopje, Demir pointed out that Macedonia's six member delegation is the largest represented in the forum, in a Makfax news agency report.

"Forging a partnership relation between the Forum and the Council of Europe is unprecedented case, which will pave way for the Forum to act as a loudspeaker for the interest of Romas in the Council itself and on national level as well", Ljatif Demir said.

The Resolution adopted at the 2nd Plenary Session of the Forum binds the Ministerial Committee of the Council of Europe to acknowledge the Charter of European Romas Rights. It calls for respecting the right of Romas in all European countries, opening of cultural centers and respecting the Roma language as one of the European languages.

MD: Did you know Romas in Macedonia have the most rights and freedom than in any other European country? Also Macedonia is the only country where Romas are represented in politics.

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 10:48 am | Permalink | Comments

National.

An agreement worth 1.5 million euros was signed yesterday in Skopje by the Austrian Ambassador to Macedonia, Philip Hoyos,on behalf of Austria and the Macedonian Minister of Economy, Vera Rafajlovska and Minister of Environment Imer Aliu will sign the agreement on behalf of Macedonia. The project will last for two years and the Austrian company, "Bluewaters" will be the implementator.

The donations will be used for realization of a project in Kocani called "Environmental recovery and energy rationalization of geothermal system geotherman -Kocani".

The main objective of the project is to establish a modern and effective solution to rational utilization of geothermal energy through full balance of under-ground conditions and stable environment. The project will provide a stable operation in the next 25 years through a model that can be applied not only in the Kocani's geothermal system but also in other enterprises dealing with exploitation and distribution of geothermal waters.

The Austrian Development Agency provides the biggest share of the donation contributing totally, 1.440.000 euros while the Macedonian Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning will donate 50.000 euros. The public enterprise, Vodovod Kocani (Kocani Waterworks), will donate 40.000 euros and the Municipality of Kocani will donate 30.000 euros.

MD: This is what the delegation recently was worth for

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 10:46 am | Permalink | Comments

Entertainment

According to the official website of the band “Leb i Sol”, the concert held in Banja Luka on Friday evening has been declared the biggest regional cultural and musical experience in the past 20 years.

After the three hour concert, the band had four encores. The “Leb i Sol” members feel the Banja Luka performance has been their best in the past 30 years.

The tour resumed in Split on Sunday evening, followed by Zagreb on Tuesday, Rijeka on Wednesday, Sarajevo (December 2), Skopje (December 9), Ljubljana (December 12) and Belgrade.

MD: Cool! they are just legends!

[Leb i Sol]

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 10:32 am | Permalink | Comments

Culture.

A presentation of Macedonian culture was opened last week in the municipality of Ivanicna Gorica, Slovenia by the Youth Culture Centre. The event will last untill the 9th of December.

The Youth Cultural Centre is presenting Macedonia with “Bald Singer,” a play by Eszen Ionesco, the production of 007 theatre group in Skopje, directed by Igor Ivkovic, a concert of the Mandolin Orchestra with the Youth Cultural Centre under the baton of Saso Tatarcevski, a performance of folk ensembles and a lecture on Macedonian architecture.

MD: Nice, Nice, Nice!

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 10:02 am | Permalink | Comments

National.

A successful implantation of an artificial ear has been performed today at the
Skopje Clinic Center's Otolaryngology Clinic. The surgical team headed by Dr. Ilija Filipce performed the procedure on a four year old child from Kumanovo.

The first ear implantation procedure was performed in mid 2006, and five more are planned to be carried out until the end of this year.

MD:This is still something new in Macedonia, before going abroad was the only option.

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 9:56 am | Permalink | Comments

Dining.

This is the second recipe on Macedonia Daily, as we promised last week.
We present you "Macedonian pear and fig strudel" ! A honey-thickened dessert that rivals the world-famous baklava. Made with thin, light sheets of filo, this delicate strudel provides an elegant ending to a meal.

Ok, let's get started, you'll need about 4 cups stemmed dried figs, 2/3 cup unsweetened pear juice, 10 ripe pears, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon allspice, 1/2 lb filo dough, 1/2 cup melted butter, 1 cup toasted whole wheat bread crumbs and 1/2 cup honey.

Then cover the figs with pear juice and bring them to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for about 25 minutes, until the figs are tender. In a blender or food processor, puree the figs and their cooling juice to make about 3 1/2 cups of smooth fig paste.

Meanwhile, peel and core the pears and chop them into bite-sized pieces. In a large bowl combine the fig paste, pears, cinnamon, and allspice.

Preheat the oven to 375 F. or about 200 degrees C. To assemble the strudel, butter a 9- X 14-inch baking pan and layer ten sheets of filo, two at a time, brushing butter on every second sheet and sprinkling it with bread crumbs. Spread the pear filling evenly on the top sheet of filo. Cover it with ten more sheets of filo, layered as before with butter and bread crumbs.

Score the top sheets of filo into pieces approximately 3 inches square, this will make it easier to cut the strudel later and will prevent the top layer from crumbling as you cut it. Be careful not to score the top layers all the way through to the filling, however, or the filling juices will bubble up as the strudel bakes.
Bake the strudel for about 35 to 40 minutes, until golden brown and crisp.

Then allow it to cool for 15 minutes. Then heat the honey gently, stirring constantly, until warm and more fluid. Drizzle it evenly over the strudel and top with the nuts. Use a sharp knife to cut the strudel and Voila!

MD: Prijatno! Buon apetito! Velbekomme! Smaklig måltid! Don't mind the pic though if it looks different, you haven't made a mistake! It's our fault we couldnt find a proper one:) More recipes will follow on Macedonia Daily...

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 2:27 pm | Permalink | Comments

Entertainment.

This is actually an article of ours from October, however because of the great interest we got about it, we've posted this article yet again, enjoy!

How many of you know this girl? I bet no one unless you are living in Holland.
Macedonia Daily presents: "Touriya Haoud" This girl, born in the Netherlands to a Macedonian mother and a Moroccan father is an actress, model and singer. Not just an actress, model or singer but a succesfull one too!

A friend of Touriya made her participate in a modeling contest. Touriya not only won, but also from that moment on, she never looked back. She became a model for Tommy Hilfiger, Replay, posed in Playboy, Maxim and made commercials for Campari and TIM, Italy's leading telecom network where Naomi Campbell was her predecessor.

Inbetween her modeling, Touriya took various acting classes and landed a lead role in the popular Dutch television series "Hartslag", the Dutch version of ER, soon followed by her movie debut in the Dutch movie "Shouf Shouf Habibi" wich was not only accepted to the prestigious Berlin Film Festival, but was also honored with the Public Choice Award.

In 2005 she went to Hollywood where she got a role in her first U.S. movie, "Five Fingers" and soon she will be seen in the movie "Prisoners of the Sun".


MD: She is probably the only or one of the few Macedonian(s) in Hollywood and not known at all among our people. And Oh yeah, she is married to American actor Greg Vaughan. :(

[Touriya on IMDB]

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 12:43 am | Permalink | Comments

Entertainment.

Our very own mega star Tose Proeski kicked off a Scandinavian tour yesterday.

Tose’s Manager Ljiljana Perovic said that Tose will have two concerts each in Sweden and Norway. The Irish producer Van Hector also arranged recordings at a studio in Stockholm where Tose will work from the 27th to the 29th November and from the 4th to the 7th of December.

“We are undergoing a very burdening period with a lot of obligations, but we have to make all songs sound perfect. We have recorded in elite studios and each has paid great attention to Tose,” she added.

MD: We wish him luck and a great time for those Macedonians in Norway and Sweden who will visit his concerts.

[Tose Fanclub]

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 12:42 am | Permalink | Comments

National.

A former German minister said on thursday that the USA gave money to Khaled el-Masri to be quiet about the case involving his arrest in Macedonia.

Otto Schily, interior minister at the time, told a parliamentary committee investigating the case of Khaled el-Masri that he was told about the hush money by Daniel Coats, the former U.S. ambassador to Germany.

"Coats told me it had all been a mistake," Schily said under oath, recalling a conversation he had with Coats at the end of May 2004 about the abduction by the CIA of Masri, a German of Lebanese origin.

"The terrorism theory was not confirmed," Schily said. "They (the Americans)apologized, gave him money and he promised to keep quiet."

El-Masri who is a German of Lebanese origin was while going on vacation to Skopje, arrested by the Macedonian border police, because his name was identical to that of Khalid al-Masri,an alleged mentor to the al-Qaeda Hamburg cell who has not been apprehended, and because of suspicion that his German passport was a forgery.

He was held in a motel in Macedonia for over three weeks and questioned about his activities, his associates and the mosque he attended in his hometown Ulm. He was then handed over to the CIA and flown to Afghanistan where he says he was imprisoned, interrogated and tortured, flew him out of Afghanistan and released him at night on a desolate road in Albania, without apology, or funds to return home.

MD: Washington has refused to comment specifically on the Masri affair,
but says it regrets any mistakes it might have made.

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 12:39 am | Permalink | Comments

National.

Macedonia is not considering a pull out of it's troops in Iraq for the time being, said Macedonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman, Spresa Jusufi to Macedonian newspaper, Vreme this week.

the Foreign Ministry is constantly observing the situation in Iraq and analyses the situation in this country in the frames of its regular tasks.

High-standing diplomats announced Vreme newspaper that Macedonia might start to pullout of Iraq before the US authorities do for their contingent.

The Former Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexandar Dimitrov has stated in his turn that Macedonia had made a rash move sending its troops to the Freedom for Iraq mission since there has been no positive result from this regarding Macedonia’s NATO aspirations.

MD: no comment

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 12:38 am | Permalink | Comments

National.

Reuters reported that Macedonia had found a jeep it suspects was stolen from David Beckham in Madrid and they may sell the car if the former England captain does not claim it.

The luxury BMW X5 was stolen in the Spanish capital where Beckham plays for Real Madrid. It was among five vehicles seized on the Macedonia-Albania border in a raid on a human-smuggling gang a year ago.

"We suspect it's Beckham's car," said a police source in Macedonia to Reuters. "We have informed Interpol."

The jeep could be sold at a public auction if Beckham decides not to claim it.

MD: Hehe, we couldn't believe it. Well let's see he claims it! If not, you could be driving it in the streets of Macedonia! ;)

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 9:55 am | Permalink | Comments

National.

Open competitions for designs and tenders inviting subcontractors for several grand projects in the area of cultural infrastructure will be announced next year. On of the announced projects will be the (re)construction of the Old Skopje Theatre which has already been designed and bids by subcontractors that applied for the open tender are currently being evaluated.

"The theatre construction will start next year on the conceptual solution of the
architect Jovan Stefanovski, the winner at the competition announced by the
previous Minister," said Zlatko Jankovski, a spokesman for the Ministry of Culture.

The government also announced the construction of a concert hall for the Macedonian Philharmonic orchestra which should be build in the area between the Macedonian Opera, Ballet and the Faculty of Music Arts and making available a budget for archaeological excavations of the Skopje fortress, upgrading of the Universal Hall, construction of a monument at Makedonija Square, a museum on water in Ohrid, St. Clement university, construction of a library and a professional theatre in Tetovo.

MD: Wow, big plans they got there! Let´s hope they will stick to their promises and maybe build a new football stadium too!

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 8:34 am | Permalink | Comments

Entertainment.

Yes Burekeaters! We would like to present you this Italian blog.

They keep you informed with interesting subjects about Macedonia and the Balkans, serving it on a very humoristic way.

[Burekeaters]

MD: You should all pay a visit to this great site, We just love the name!
Oh yeah...most of the articles are written in Italian though ;)

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 8:33 am | Permalink | Comments

National.

Macedonia's democracy is ranked 68th according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) survey of 167 countries.

The EIU's democracy index, grades countries on a scale of 0-10 based on 60 questions clustered in five categories: free elections, civil liberties, functioning government, political participation, and political culture. The report classifies countries with scores of 8 to 10 as "full democracies;" 6 to 7.9 as "flawed democracies;" 4 to 5.9 as "hybrid regimes;" and below 4 as "authoritarian regimes."

Macedonia finds itself in the "flawed democracies" section just under Colombia and above Honduras. There are 5 European countries behind Macedonia, in the "hybrid democracy"; Albania (83), Bih (87), Turkey (88) and Russia (102) while Belarus is in the "authoritarian regime" section at the 128th place.

Sweden, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway and Denmark have the best democracies with an overall score of 9.5 and above while Chad, Central Africa and North Korea are the least democratic countries.

[Economist Democracy Table]

MD: The other Balkan countries; "full democracies", Greece (22) and Slovenia (27). "flawed democracies" Bulgaria (49),Romania (50), Croatia (51), Serbia (55) and Montenegro (58).

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 8:30 am | Permalink | Comments

Short news flash

We would like to announce that Macedonia Daily's www address is changed into www.macedoniadaily.org since today. Also we would like to thank you all again for visiting the site and the positive feedback.

Everyday is getting better for us, more visitors and more attention for the site.
Keep visiting the site and we want to attent you once again you can become a Macedonia Daily spotter by filling out the form, so you can contribute to Macedonia Daily.

Kind regards,

Macedonia Daily
www.macedoniadaily.org
macedoniadaily@hotmail.com

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 9:54 pm | Permalink | Comments

National.

The Italian Deputy National Anti-Mafia Prosecutor, Francesco Mandoi arrived in Skopje yesterday. Mandoi will have some talks with Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski about the governments effort to fight against organized crime. He will also meet Macedonian Interior Minister Gordana Jankulovska and Minister of Justice, Mihajlo Manevski.

The governing coalition hinted at the possibility of naming a foreign national as public prosecutor, but some experts and opposition parties did not support the idea.
However, the authorities do not exclude the possibility of a foreign national to be chief prosecutor to run the anti-crime programm once the needed legislation alterations are approved.

MD: Dnevnik newspaper also reported that Gruevski and Mandoi allready agreed to co-operate.

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 11:43 am | Permalink | Comments

Sports.

The Macedonian National team ended the Euro 2008 qualifiers for this year, they will continue in March against Croatia. However in February, on the 7th to be precise, there will be a friendly game, who the opponent is? we don't know!

But, several countries are being named; Portugal, Poland, Denmark, United Arab Emirates and a tournament in Cyprus where Hungary, Georgia, Romania and of course host Cyprus might be the opponents.

"We have contact with several selections. But Denmark, Poland and Portugal are the most serious opponents for this term," said Haralampie Hadzi Risteski, the president of the Macedonian Football Federation (FFM).

MD: Cool, all would be nice. They also stated that Macedonia will probably take a role as guest country. Recently there were some rumours about going on a South-American tour, too bad that will not happen!

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 11:41 am | Permalink | Comments

Regional.

A recent opinion poll shows that politicians enjoy the least trust in Greece and Italy, whilst the citizens of Switzerland and Denmark have the highest trust in their politicians and in the USA, one quarter of the Americans said they still trusted their politicians.

The poll was conducted by the market research organization GfK Group, which has over 120 companies located in several countries worldwide.

MD: Macedonia was not in the list, Macedonia wouldn't have been that high ranked either

[GFK Group]

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 11:35 am | Permalink | Comments

Diaspora.

The United Macedonian Diaspora (UMD) calls upon all Macedonians world wide to support the Macedonian minority in Bulgaria.

Over the past 50 years, successive Bulgarian governments have systematically discriminated against the country’s Macedonian minority. Most recently, Bulgarian authorities have demonstrated a blatant disregard for the right to freedom of expression and association, and are once again attempting to refuse to register the Macedonian organization, OMO Ilinden PIRIN as a legal political party.

Recently, several members of the European Parliament proposed amendments to Parliament member, Geoffrey Van Orden’s draft report on Bulgaria, calling for the country to recognize OMO “Ilinden” PIRIN as a legitimate political party of the state. The Parliament has scheduled a debate on the issue for November 29. The 732 members of the legislative body are expected to cast their vote for the inclusion of the amendments on the following day, November 30.

Help UMD to encourage the Members of the European Parliament to support the amendments and vote YES for their inclusion into the country’s report. By doing so you will be urging Bulgaria, an ascending European Union state, to grant its minorities the basic civil liberties guaranteed to them under international law and human rights commitments.

MD: Do you remember the post with the words of the Bulgarian municipal councillor, Veselin Danov when he said that "all Macedonians should be shot dead when walking the streets" ?? Sure you do!! That's why you got to ACT NOW!

You can support by clicking on the link below, filling out the information on the page and sending a letter which will be sent to all 732 members of the European Parliament.

[Act Now!]

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 12:27 am | Permalink | Comments

National.

Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis began a three day visit to Great Britain
this week, accompanied by Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis and others.

Kostas Karamanlis, who delivered a speech at the London School of Economics, said Greece backed Macedonia in its Euro-Atlantic aspirations in the past and now as well, underlining that both countries had enhanced economic, business and touristic relations, which demonstrated Greece's sincerity in backing all western Balkan countries to join the EU, reported a MIA correspondent.

Karamanlis didn't want to answer to the question regarding the "Veto Threat" for Macedonia's accession into the EU unless the dispute was settled. He also avoided the question about the denial of the Macedonian Minority in Greece.

"The issue has historical and emotional feelings from both sides, but Greece demonstrates readiness for its settlement, thus it submitted proposals and waits the neighbour to reply," he said.

MD: He did also say that "Greece is a democratic state with democratic and open society where everyone can express freely." And you have to take such a person serious? What a joke!

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 12:25 am | Permalink | Comments

National.

The Kingdom of Norway will donate 200.000 euros for implementation of the defense reforms in Macedonia. The Macedonian Defense Ministry and the Norwegian Embassy signed a contract for the LEPEZA (spectre) project, which aim is to find alternative careers for surplus officers.

"So far, the Government of Norway has donated 200.000 euros for equipment, and other Nordic countries have donated 300.000 euros. The Kingdom of Norway will allocate additional 200.000 euros for the important defense reforms," said Kai Ede, the Political Director and Councillor of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He added that there is still alot of work to be done, but Macedonia is moving
in the right direction towards NATO membership.

MD: This is a part of a two day visit to Macedonia by High officials of the Swedish and Norwegian Foreign Ministries. They will will attend the openings of the Embassies of their countries in Macedonia and will have several meetings with Macedonian government officials as well as a visit to the UNDP office in Skopje

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 12:23 am | Permalink | Comments

Diaspora.

Today there are about 100,000 Macedonians in the United States of America, with the largest concentration in the city of Detroit. New York City is the home to about 1500 Macedonians, that's not so much and they were never a strong presence in New York City, but the group has made great strides in recent years and is becoming bigger and bigger.

In the year of 2002 the Macedonians of New York opened their first local church "Macedonian Orthodox Church of Saint Clement of Ohrid" in Queens.
The community wanted their own so they didn't have to drive to the churches in the neighbouring New Jersey all the time. It took them nearly ten years to raise the money from donations and even from selling homemade lemonade.

In September 2004, the Macedonian Center of New York and the Macedonian Center gallery were was opened in Manhattan. The Macedonian center is a non-government organization with the goal to promote Macedonian culture and art by informing, advertising, publishing, translating, and organizing cultural events, exhibitions, lectures and seminars.

The MC Gallery exhibits works by Macedonian and international artists in the field of Art, Crafts, cuisine and also presentations of the Macedonian cultural heritage.

MD: We wish the community in NY all the best and hope they can continue their activities in the future!

[Gallery MC NYC]

[Macedonian Arts Council NY]

[St.Clement of Ohrid Church, NY]

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 8:31 am | Permalink | Comments

National.

About 18.000 children in Macedonia don't attend primary school, among them, more than 1.000 live on the street, in severest conditions, reported the Megjasi organisation for the International Children's Day yesterday.

"Children who are excluded from education process are the most frequent victims of sexual abuse, pedophilia, trafficking, and child labour."

"For better protection of children it is necessary to synchronize the action of all
relevant institutions and to assume the obligations and responsibilities envisaged by the Constitution and the World Convention on Child Rights, given the fact that Macedonia is a signatory of the Convention," Megjasi said.

They called upon a better co-operation between the civic organizations and the state institutions whose main task is to take care and protect the children in Macedonia.

MD: Megjasi is the first children's embassy in the world, based in Skopje. And they are doing a great job!There are still many kids in Macedonia living under very difficult circumstances.

[Megjasi Embassy]

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 8:29 am | Permalink | Comments

Culture.

The 10th anniversary of the “Macedonian Days in Paris” manifestation, organized by the French National Institute on Oriental Languages and Cultures, was held in Paris these days.

The three day manifestation included presentations by about 40 scientific workers, experts and specialists on the Republic of Macedonia and the Macedonian language.

The Macedonian primer "Abecedar" which was published again in Greece recently, aroused huge interest. Author Pavle Filipov Voskopoulos, who is a member of the Macedonian “Vinozito” party from Greece, referred to the significance of the primer, as well as the struggle of the Macedonian minority for recognition of their rights in Greece.

MD: It's good to get the world's interest on the Macedonian minority in Greece and also the Macedonian culture.

[des Journées Macédoniennes]

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 8:27 am | Permalink | Comments

Regional.

Fishermen, close to the Albanian harbour of Drac, catched a shark this weekend.
This was allready the second time recently. The shark weighs about 450 kg and is about 5 meters long, according to experts it's a "Tiger Shark" which are dangerous for humans and can only be found in tropical waters.

The experts say the sharks are being found in the Adriatic because of the warmth of the water and spawning sardines.

MD: Very interesting! Another evidence that the climate is changing.

[Tiger Shark]

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 8:23 am | Permalink | Comments

Dining.

Macedonia Daily presents you; "Macedonia con Gelato". Macedonia con gelato is an Italian desert, it bears the name Macedonia because of all the diffirent fruit(tuttifrutti) in the dish.

Some say they named it Macedonia because of the fruits are all growing in Macedonia and others say it's because of Macedonia is the place of many different populations, just like the desert has many different fruits in 1 place. Well we don't know, however we know the desert is very tasty!

Ok Let's get started:

Get some fruits, apples, bananas, peaches, strawberry's, kiwis, pears, grapes, cherries, apricots and oranges(you can use more exotic fruits like mango, pineapple, papaya as well).
Ok, then cut all the fruits into small pieces and put them in a bowl, mix it up and add extra sugar if it's not sweet enough. You could add lemon juice and some walnuts too. If you are ready put the bowl in the refrigerator for about 1 hour.

Serve into smaller bowls and pour some vanilla ice on the top. You could flavor it with sweet wine or some liquor like Cognac, Sherry or others.

MD: Bon appetit! There will follow some more recipes soon on Macedonia Daily

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 5:06 pm | Permalink | Comments

Regional.

The US Senate unanimously endorsed the entrance of Albania, Croatia, Georgia and Macedonia into NATO in a measure passed weeks before a summit of the alliance in Riga.

The Senate foreign relations chairman, Richard Lugar said the body supported "timely admission" into the Atlantic alliance for the four Eastern European states.

"If NATO is to continue to be the preeminent security alliance and serve the defense interests of its membership, it must continue to evolve and that evolution must include enlargement," Lugar said in a statement.

Adding that Washington should urge NATO members, who will meet in a summit in Riga on November 28/29, to consider offering alliance admission to Albania, Croatia, Georgia and Macedonia.

MD: Positive thing and that immediately after the Senate elections. They included nearly 20 million dollars in new security-related assistance for the four countries.

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 8:09 pm | Permalink | Comments

Entertainment.

The famous Macedonian rock band, Leb & Sol kicked off a big Balkan tour Friday, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the founding and the 10th of breaking up of the band, the band was reunited six months ago.

The tour will open with a concert in Novi Sad followed by Belgrade, Banja Luka, Sarajevo and some cities in Croatia.

Leb & Sol is for sure the best Macedonian rock band ever, no doubt about it. "All band members demonstrate a respect of our work in the past," said frontman Vlatko Stefanovski Thursday at a press conference.

MD: And finally the Macedonian fans will have the oppurtunity to enjoy their concert on December 9 at the Skopje fair. They are just legends, if you have the chance, be there!

Look here for all the info you want:

[Leb i Sol]

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 10:25 am | Permalink | Comments

Entertainment.

Macedonian singer, Jasmina Mukaetova will be singing in Zurich, Switzerland this weekend. She has been invited by the Macedonian/Swiss Football club "Vardar".

All winter Jasmina will be giving concerts troughout the world, for the Macedonian Diaspora. After Switzerland she will be heading to Sweden following by a trip to New Jersey, USA where she will stay for the new year holidays.

MD: Nice nice! Oh yeah we also found a Vardar football club in michigan, we don't know wether they have anything to do with Macedonia though. Well here are the links:

[Jasmina Mukaetova]

[Macedonians in CH]

[Vardar stars Michigan]

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 10:22 am | Permalink | Comments

Regional.

Solomon Passy, the President of the Foreign Policy Commission with the Bulgarian Parliament, said in an interview with radio Deutsche Welle that given the fact the registration of the OMO Ilinden-Pirin party is in the focus of all disputes, there is no other alternative but to approve its registration.

"Bulgaria allows for registration of parties representing interest of different groups of citizens", he added, reminding that the Party of the Turkish Minority in Bulgaria, which was registered in 1999, plays an active role in the political life of the country.

MD: That's right, there is no other option. Recently they rejected the party, however after that they've been under pressure of the EU and several human rights watches.

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 10:13 am | Permalink | Comments

Regional.

The Macedonian language primer book "Abecedar" was launched this week in the Aegean Macedonian city of Solun (Thessaloniki).

The book was allready launched in Athens recently. The promotion is organised by the European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages (EBLUL), it's Greek committee and the Rainbow party of the Macedonian minority in Greece. Writers, journalists and several civic organisation representatives who support the establishment of the Macedonian language in the Greek educational system, attended the promotion.

The Greek doctor and intellectual Georgios Nakracos is the publisher of the elementary reading book. It has been indirectly financed by the Greek government by paying the fine after the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg reached a verdict in favour of the Macedonian minority in Greece.

MD: This is just great! Bravo for the initiatives!

[Florina.org]

[EBLUL.org]

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 7:22 am | Permalink | Comments

National.

Russia has shown interest to develop the economic and political relations with Macedonia, especially in the part of investments.

The Russian President Vladimir Putin said this at the meeting with the newly appointed Ambassador of Macedonia to Russia, Zlatko Lechevski, Macedonian Foreign Ministry announced.

The new Macedonian Ambassador handed over the letter of credentials to the Russian President today, when they expressed the content of the good relations between the two countries.

MD: This comes one day after Russia beat us in football :)

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 7:20 am | Permalink | Comments

National.

The Euro-Atlantic Council of Macedonia organizes the CSEE Security Forum Balkan Mosaic Symposium, Young Leaders Network 2006. The Symposium runs from 14 -17 November in Skopje.

The meeting aims to strengthen the Young Leaders Network and instigate Plan for Action for the main security challenges in the region and provide significant contribution to the integration processes of NATO and EU membership.

The three-day Symposium brought together representatives of NATO, European Union, Macedonian Parliament members as well as delegations from Brussels, Norway and Balkan countries.

[Balkan Mosaic.org]

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 7:19 am | Permalink | Comments

Sports.

As you may all have noticed, Macedonia lost yesterday 0-2 in the Euro 2008 qualifying match against Guus Hiddink's Russia.
Russia was too strong for Macedonia, allready in the first 32 minutes Russia leaded with the decisive 2 goals, following by Macedonia's best goal chance in the 34th minute, a header from striker Goran Maznov which fell into the arms of Russian goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev.

After the break Macedonia improved their gameplay however weren't able to score a goal and get even with the Russians.
During the game the Macedonian special police forces clashed with some of the Russian supporters.

MD: Very poor game, we needed this one! Some blaim Srecko, some because of missing Pandev and Naumovski and even some think the match was fixed. Or is it just a matter of weakness? aren't we ready for the big tournament yet?

[FFM]

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 10:04 am | Permalink | Comments

National.

A statue, honoring 54 Macedonian soldiers who had died during the 1991/'92 wars in the former Yugoslavia, was unveiled at the "Sloboda Square" in downtown Skopje this week.

Skopje mayor Trifun Kostovski attended the ceremony, along with the family members of dead servicemen. The families and close relatives of those killed, including fellow citizens, placed wreaths at the site. After that the names of the servicemen were read out during the ceremony.

"From 6 May 1991 to 12 May 1992, a total of 54 soldiers had died in the wars in Slovenia and Croatia. We will remember these soldiers as fighters for freedom of Macedonia," said Skopje mayor, Trifun Kostovski.

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 10:02 am | Permalink | Comments

National.

The Second International Conference "e-Society.Mk" event will take place in Skopje, Macedonia this week.

The main focus of the conference is to create a regional approach to ICT policy.
The conference will gather experts, policymakers, advocacy groups and other stakeholders from Macedonia, the SEE Region and the EU to share knowledge and experiences through series of panel discussions and workshops.

[e-Society.MK]

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 9:11 am | Permalink | Comments

Sports.

The Macedonian national footballteam players will be dressed by "Gruppo Fiori", an Italian fashion label.A contract between the Football Federation of Macedonia and the fashion company was signed yesterday at a press conference in Skopje's Aleksandar Palace hotel.

The players will wear the clothes at all official team commitments, press conferences and other inter/national events untill the contract ends after the Euro 2008 Qualifiers. However both sides had stated that they are looking forward to a much longer cooperation.

MD: Nice! Goce Sedloski and Aleksandar Vasoski were the models and showed the press the garderobe along with singer Karolina Goceva. Oh yeah and Macedonia is again playing tonight!! this time against Russia and it will be a very important game, let's hope victory is on our side!!

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 12:19 pm | Permalink | Comments

Entertainment.

Recently we announced you that the municipality of Bitola was shooting a documentary about interesting Macedonian film locations, with the goal to attract Hollywood and European film makers to shoot their films in Macedonia. So finally Director Darko Mitrevski, completed the filming of a the project bearing the name; “Film Land”.

“If a film production opens an office in Bitola, it will be close to the woods of Pelister, Ohrid and Prespa Lakes, the picturesque villages in Mariovo, the rocks at Markovi Kuli and the Tikves vineyards within an hour of driving”, he said.

Mitrevski will head for the USA at the beginning of 2007, where he wants to present the documentary to his American colleagues and also the Macedonian minister of foreign investments, Gligor Taskovik will contact the American producers.

MD: Let's see what this will bring us, it would be very cool if it succeeds

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 10:38 am | Permalink | Comments

National.

Macedonia expects to become a member of NATO in 2008 and to join the European Union in the year 2013, said Macedonian Foreign Minister Antonio Miloshoski in an interview with Voice of America.

Our ambition is to acquire a date for negotiations in 2007, to launch them in 2008, and to join the European Union in 2012 or 2013" he said adding that the latest European Commission report on Macedonia's progress is "a document of well-intentioned criticism".

"We have been working hard and I think we deserved it. Eight years ago, Macedonia was a recipient of security assistance, whereas nowadays, the country is a provider of the same, by taking part in missions in Iraq, Afghanistan and Bosnia-Herzegovina"

As regards the dispute with Greece over the name of Macedonia, the Foreign Minister said that both countries want to pursue talks under mediation of the UN facilitator Matthew Nimetz, but without rushing to a haste decision at the expense of the quality.

MD: "Don't expect too much" ,the elder say.

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 10:36 am | Permalink | Comments

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 10:34 am | Permalink | Comments

Region.

The United Macedonian Diaspora [UMD] called upon the European Union to ensure that the human rights of the Macedonian minority in Bulgaria are respected by Bulgarian government in accordance to the verdict by the Court on October 25th of 2005.

"The Bulgarian government's latest denial of the Macedonian minority's freedom of association and freedom of expression occurred on November 1 2006, with the rejection of a valid OMO Ilinden PIRIN application for the registration as a political party," said the United Macedonian Diaspora.

MD: It's absurd bulgaria enters the EU in january of 2007 when they don't match the standards to EU has given them to join.

[United Macedonian Diaspora-UMD]

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 9:27 am | Permalink | Comments

Region.

Macedonian President, Branko Crvenkovski is on a three day visit to Turkey which started yesterday. Crvenkovski will meet with the Turkish President, Ahmet Necdet Sezer.

The talks with Turkey's top officials will focus on furthering the bilateral
cooperation in the fields of defense and economy.

Also Crvenkovski will meet representatives of the Macedonian diaspora in Turkey.

MD: There are alot of Macedonians in turkey

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 9:23 am | Permalink | Comments