Macedonia Daily.org: June 2010

Thursday, June 24, 2010

GREEK FOOTBALL CLUB TO PLAY IN MACEDONIAN LEAGUE?

National.

Football supporters of Greek first division club Iraklis staged a protest against Greece's FA for taking away Iraklis' license. Iraklis is one of Greece's oldest clubs, founded back in 1908, but will not be allowed to compete in this year's super league.

The protest took an unexpected turn when numerous fans showed up with Macedonian flags. Surprisingly, the flags were not burned rather the fans alluded to Greece's FA it would be better for Iraklis to compete in Macedonian First League, rather than the Greek super league.

Comments posted on Facebook also saw the Macedonian flag as a 'good move' for Iraklis.

"Recently we got a unofficial proposal by one of our neighboring countries. I want to ask you all now, from all of Greece. If Iraklis get's what it got on the field, and will lose on paper, from this country, the country who again dared to do injustice on the cost of Iraklis, and accepts the previous mentioned proposal and compete in Skopje, will the members of parliament of the political world then deal with this for days long, from morning until the evening?", a fan said on a television show.

"Why sir minister, responsible for sport, don't you transfer the historical club Iraklis to compete in the Skopje league? The change the seat of the club to the Boris Trajkovski arena in Skopje. That's what the people want. Because some 'big' Greeks fight for proving that Macedonia is Greek? But, Thyra 10 (the Iraklis fan base) raised Skopje flags in the center of Thessaloniki. Do this favor for them: send them to compete in the Skopje football league, so they can play with FC Vardar, FC Rabotnicki and Teteks from Tetovo. They want it themselves.

Send the application to: www.ffm.com.mk" ,a letter says, sent to the Greek minister of sport.

Iraklis fans have planned for today to stage a protest in Athens as well.

[Mina/Kanal5]

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 10:39 am | Permalink | Comments

OHRID SUMMER FESTIVAL PRESENTS PROGRAM

Culture.

The concert of world-renowned Macedonian pianist Simon Trpceski, accompanied by the Russian National Orchestra, under the baton of Mikhail Pletnev, will open this year's 50th edition of Ohrid Summer festival in the Antique Theatre on July 12.

The festival's jubilee edition will offer numerous events with domestic and foreign artists, ensembles, soloists, chamber structures, theatre and ballet performances.

Up to August 20, visitors will see 25 concerts, 13 theatre plays, one ballet performance and one opera gala-concert.

The music section is comprised of tours by world-renowned names, such as violinist Julian Rachlin, pianists Peter Laul, Nikolai Lugansky, Ramzi Yassa and Denis Matsuev, as well as numerous artists from Switzerland, Serbia, Russia, Austria, Albania, Slovenia, Germany, Egypt, Hungary and Czech Republic.

Domestic musicians will hold eight concerts, including the Macedonian Philharmonic, Youth Chamber Orchestra, Macedonian Opera and Ballet etc.

The dramatic part includes eight Macedonian theatre performances and five tours.

The complete Ohrid summer program can be found at the link below.

[Ohrid Summer Festival]

[Mina/Kanal5]

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 10:00 am | Permalink | Comments

Friday, June 18, 2010

GAZPROM AGREES TO MAKE MACEDONIA PART OF SOUTH STREAM

National.

The Gazprom press service told the ITAR-TASS news agency that the Russian energy holding has agreed to make Macedonia part of the South Stream gas-transporting system.

This will enable Macedonia to buy the fuel more cheaply, said the Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov during his talks with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev in the framework of the ongoing Economic Forum in St. Petersburg on Friday.

South Stream is due to diversify Russia’s gas supplies to Europe, and it will be laid across the Baltic Seabed to Varna, Bulgaria, and then across Serbia, Hungary and Slovenia to Italy and Austria.

The gas pipeline is due to be commissioned in December 2015. Investment in the project is estimated to make up 25 billion Euros.

[ruvr.ru]

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 8:59 pm | Permalink | Comments

CANADIAN PM STEPHEN HARPER'S MESSAGE TO UMD GLOBAL CONFERENCE

Diaspora.

[United Macedonian Diaspora]

[UMD Global Conference Toronto 2010]

[UMD]

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 12:34 am | Permalink | Comments

OVER 1000 GUESTS ATTENDED UMD GLOBAL CONFERENCE IN TORONTO

Diaspora.

The 2nd Annual United Macedonian Diaspora (UMD) Global Conference was a huge success, with over 1,000 Macedonians and friends of Macedonia attending from close to 20 countries from June 3-6, 2010. The closing Gala on Saturday, June 5, 2010 brought together over 500 guests to the Sheraton Centre in downtown Toronto to honor UMD Goce Delchev Award recipient Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, UMD Lifetime Achievement Award recipient and pillar of the Macedonian community John L.N. Bitove, C.M. and UMD Macedonia Friendship Award recipient Canadian Citizenship, Immigration and Multicultural Minister Jason Kenney...

Read more here.

[UMD]

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 12:26 am | Permalink | Comments

UMD BOARD PASSES RESOLUTION ON NAME DISPUTE

Diaspora.

The Board of Directors of the United Macedonian Diaspora (UMD), on the occasion of UMD's Second Annual Global Conference, conducted in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from June 3 – 6, 2010, affirming UMD's unwavering and consistent support for the Republic of Macedonia’s one and only constitutional and rightful name and UMD's rejection of attempts to change or impose any other name on the Republic of Macedonia and the Macedonian people passed a Resolution on June 6, 2010.

Read more here.

[UMD]

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 12:22 am | Permalink | Comments

Monday, June 14, 2010

AUSTRALIANS DISCOVER 45 TONS OF GOLD IN MACEDONIA

National.

Australian experts on mining and geology from the company Genesis Resources have established that some 45 tons of gold, 8,000 tons of silver and large amounts of copper can be found on the location Plavica, which is situated in the area of Macedonian districts Probistip and Kratovo. The Australian company participates in the contract with Kratovo-based company Sileks with 62 percent.

Assessment of economic justifiability of the profitable mining project will start soon. It is worth adding that gold diggers came to Kratovo and Zletovo area already during the Roman times, and the Yugoslav government was interested in the location in the previous century.

[SEEtimes]

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 12:36 pm | Permalink | Comments

Saturday, June 12, 2010

IVANOV: EU WITHOUT MACEDONIA, UNFINISHED STORY

National.

The oldest continent is in dire need of the spirit of the visionaries and fathers of new Europe. We need Robert Schuman, Jean Monnet, Konrad Adenauer and all other creators of the vision for united Europe, said late Thursday President Gjorge Ivanov at the opening of Ohrid conference "20 Years after Germany's Unification: Lessons for United Europe", organized by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation Skopje Office.

"Past experiences show that our region had lived in peace when in open space. Today, more than ever, our region needs what is called Pax Europeana (European Peace), which sees Europe as an open space with freedom of movement of people, ideas, capital and goods. An open space where tolerance and celebration of diversities rule, where all carry within their rights and identity", stressed President Ivanov.

According to him, Macedonia can contribute to the realization of the Pax Europeana vision through building and promoting the Macedonian model of inclusive democracy.

"The inclusive model as way of joint decision-making is a reality in the Republic of Macedonia. Ethnic and national communities in Macedonia have all the rights and freedoms known to the world. This is one of the pillars of our security, stability and economic prosperity, since it creates favorable conditions for internal peace, but also trust with neighbors", said Ivanov.

He emphasized that the European Union without the Balkans and Macedonia is like an unfinished story.

"EU should remain faithful to the great vision for a united and open continent. Therefore, we encourage our European partners to remain consistent to this idea, whereas Macedonia's EU accession should not be prevented", said Ivanov, adding that EU could learn a lot from the German unification, which represented a noble act of an extended arm.

The President stated the veto should not be abused for petty and selfish purposes.

"Each new abuse of the veto as principle of functioning among European, including Balkan states, is an anti-historic and anti-European act. If blockades are accepted as a new practice, they can cause a dangerous chain reaction of vetoes, which can drag us into the whirlpool of political anachronisms from the 19th century", added Ivanov.

He said the positive examples should be followed, such as the recent one between Slovenia and Croatia and the settlement of the bilateral border row.

"We will join the EU as Macedonian citizens, with our tradition, values and dignity", concluded Ivanov.

[Mia]

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 11:29 am | Permalink | Comments

MACEDONIANS ABLE TO WATCH WORLD CUP ON THEIR PHONES

National.

For the first time in Macedonia and in the Deutsche Telekom Group ever, before the beginning of the Football World Cup, in the spirit of the T brand and values, T-Home and T-Mobile are going to introduce the latest innovative solution in the telecommunications area - the 3 Screen offer.

The football fans are going to have an exclusive opportunity to watch the Football World Cup matches live, in high definition on MaxTV, on their mobile phones or via internet any time, any place.

The MaxTV users that have a TV set with HD support, but also via ADSL on web.maxtv.mk, www.idividi.com.mk, www.t-home.mk on their computer can watch the matches with a crystal clear picture that offers utter pleasure and excitement. In order to provide an opportunity to even larger number of citizens to watch the exciting Football World Cup matches in HD, T-Home has extended its promotional offer for all new users - three months MaxTV free-of-charge.

The users of T-Mobile, which is an exclusive partner of FIFA, will have an opportunity to enjoy watching all matches of the Football World Cup on their mobile phone for only MKD 100 by activating the respective package on 1464 or for 1 MKD per minute for standard mobile streaming. The customers will be able to check if their handset supports "life streaming" free of charge on www.t-mobile.mk/tv.

"Today we witness the latest telecommunication innovation launch in Macedonia. Macedonia is the first within the DT group worldwide! We are getting closer and closer to the huge and developed markets each day by bringing the latest innovation and trends to our market. And today we are even leading the international trends by offering a unique and unforgettable experience of the World Cup matches via HD TV, Internet and Mobile. For all who are not able to watch the matches in South Africa, we can bring the South Africa experience to them". - said Nikolai Beckers, CEO of Makedonski Telekom.

To bring the experience to even more fans, T-Home and T-Mobile are organizing the largest football public viewing event in Macedonia ever. It will be a unique experience with lots of entertainment for all who want to enjoy this great open air event in the City Park in Skopje.

[Mina]

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 11:15 am | Permalink | Comments

Thursday, June 10, 2010

MACEDONIA SUBMITTED REPLY TO INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

National.

Ambassador Nikola Dimitrov submitted Wednesday to the Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) Macedonia's reply to the Greek counter-memorial on the lawsuit filed by Macedonia against Greece for breaching the bilateral 1995 Interim Agreement by blocking its NATO membership invitation at the Bucharest summit.

- We appreciate this opportunity in the second stage of written memorials in the proceedings to file our response to the Court, which we highly respect for being the chief judicial organ of the United Nations. Greece should make the next step, which is to submit its written memorial by October 27 2010 at the latest, Dimitrov stressed while handing over the reply.

The team engaged in preparing the reply is made up of local and foreign experts as well as of Foreign Ministry staff.

Greece is set to file a written memorial regarding Macedonia's arguments to ICJ by Oct. 27. It will complete the written phase, after which the Court should decide when to schedule the oral phase of the process. In line with ICJ rules, the content of the written memorials remains confidential until the start of the oral hearing i.e. an appropriate ruling of the Court.

On November 17 2008, the Republic of Macedonia brought a case against Greece in relation to the implementation of Article 11 Paragraph 1 from the Interim Agreement signed on September 13 1995.

[Idividi]

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 12:33 pm | Permalink | Comments

Wednesday, June 09, 2010

ONE COMPUTER FOR EVERY STUDENT

National.

NComputing, the world's largest and fastest growing desktop virtualization company, today announced it has strengthened its partnership with the Macedonian Ministry for the Information Society. NComputing is to provide an additional 60,000 virtual desktops for deployment in Macedonian schools. This brings the total number of NComputing virtual desktops in Macedonian schools to 200,000. The move further delivers against Macedonia's vision of providing One Computer for Every Student.

As a result of the partnership between the Government of Macedonia and NComputing, virtually every elementary and secondary school student in the nation now has access to his or her own classroom computing device. This is made possible by NComputing's multi-user virtual desktop software and low-cost virtual PC terminals.

NComputing Chairman and CEO, Stephen Dukker, officially made the announcement during his presentation to Eastern European ministers and education leaders at the ICT in Education Leaders Conference in Ohrid, Republic of Macedonia. As well as outlining the successful partnership between NComputing and the Macedonian Ministry for the Information Society, Dukker shared his vision of the worldwide impact and ongoing benefit of desktop virtualization.

The One Computer for Every Student initiative is the largest and most important education project undertaken in the 15-year history of the Republic of Macedonia," said Ivo Ivanovsky, Minister of Information Society of the Republic of Macedonia "Our goal is to build a knowledge-based economy in which our entire workforce is educated in using information and communication technology. By adopting NComputing's low-cost virtual PC technology, Macedonia is taking the lead in providing computer-based education for school children."

Said NComputing Chairman and CEO, Stephen Dukker, "Today's PCs are so powerful that even low-end machines are often used at less than 5% of capacity. NComputing takes the 95% unused capacity and transforms it into computing power that is then given to people who otherwise would not have access to a PC. This innovation not only delivers PC type environments at a fraction of the cost, it also massively reduces maintenance and energy costs. We are leading potentially the biggest revolution in PC availability and economics in history; and are able to do this by partnering with visionaries such as the Government of Macedonia."

About NComputing: NComputing, Inc. is the fastest growing desktop virtualization company in the world with over 20 million daily users in 140 countries. The company's award-winning, patented technology lowers desktop computing costs, improves manageability, and reduces both energy consumption and e-waste.

[PRnewswire]

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 12:46 am | Permalink | Comments

HEAT WAVE COMING UP

National.

Weather experts say sunny and very hot weather will prevail in Macedonia in the next coming days, with temperatures as high as 39 degrees.

The heat wave will come from the northern parts of Africa, covering the Balkan Peninsula and Central Europe.

Hot weather and high temperatures will prevail throughout the beginning of next week and mercury will raise up to 39 degrees in southeastern Macedonia.

Direct exposure to sun, any strenuous activities should be avoided, people should stay indoors, while outside they should wear light clothes, hat and sunglasses; less food and more liquids should be taken, while alcohol and beverages with caffeine should be avoided... These are some of the measures recommended for protection from high temperatures, the Ministry of Health announced.

The measures decreasing risks from high temperatures are recommended by the Ministry of Health and the Institute for Public Health in accordance with the Action Plan for Protection of People's Health in Heat Waves.

[Mia]

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

Saturday, June 05, 2010

CHARGES FILED AGAINST OSCE EMPLOYEE FOR CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

National.

The Ministry of Interior Affairs (MoI) filed criminal charges against a 38-year old man on Friday, employed in the OSCE Mission to Macedonia and holder of a diplomatic ID. The man is suspected of possessing child pornography in the computer system.

He left Macedonia on May 16 and has not returned yet. MoI is cooperating with Interpol in order for the suspect to be found and to be investigated whether it is a ring of exchange of child porn materials.

During a raid of his Skopje apartment, 300 videos of child pornography lasting up to eight hours and 30.000 photos have been found, amongst other things.

[Mia]

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 12:05 am | Permalink | Comments

Friday, June 04, 2010

WASHINGTON TIMES: THE IRRESPONSIBLE NEIGHBOR

National.

Whether you are a homeowner or a country, it is better to have responsible rather than irresponsible neighbors. Two of Greece's neighbors are Macedonia and Bulgaria. The Greek financial crisis is causing pain in both neighboring countries, but much more so in Macedonia, the Washington Times reads.

The OHRID Institute, a Macedonian free-market policy organization, and the Vienna, Austria-based Hayek Institute sponsored a conference in Skopje, Macedonia, last week, in which local and international government officials, private business leaders and scholars met to discuss the global financial situation and its impact on the Balkans.

Macedonia was part of Yugoslavia, having achieved its independence in 1991, yet its neighbor Greece continues to punish Macedonia for totally irrelevant historical events. The present land of Macedonia has been occupied by many peoples over the past few thousand years. In the popular mind, it is most often associated with Alexander the Great and his father Philip. The Greeks have an emotional attachment to the name and have a bordering province also named Macedonia, even though Slavic people have been the majority population for the last 1,300 years in the land that is now the country of Macedonia. Despite this, when Macedonia declared its independence from Serbia, the Greeks insisted that it could not be called Macedonia, and thus it was admitted to the United Nations with the name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) - a rather awkward name for a country - which the Macedonians have refused to accept.

Most countries of the world, including the U.S., now recognize Macedonia by its chosen name, the Republic of Macedonia, but the Greeks continue to resist. The Greeks have blocked Macedonia's entrance into NATO and its full membership in the EU. (Any member state can blackball any new potential member in these and some other international organizations.) The "name dispute," however, has not kept Greece and Macedonia from actively trading with each other and engaging in normal commercial relationships, including considerable Greek investment in Macedonia. Yet the Greeks have put Macedonia in a jam because it is landlocked and also locked out of NATO and the EU. And now, the Greek financial crisis has resulted in a major drop in exports (12 percent of its traditional market) from Macedonia to Greece.

Bulgaria, which shares a border with Greece and Macedonia, is faring much better. It is a member of both NATO and the EU. While Greece has allowed its deficit-to-GDP number to rise to an unsustainable 125 percent, Bulgaria's debt-to-GDP ratio is one of the lowest in the world at only 15 percent. Eurozone members are supposed to keep their debt-to-GDP ratios below 60 percent. (Note: France, Germany, Italy, Spain and most of the other countries are in excess of that ratio, and thus are in no position to bail out the others.) Bulgaria is not yet fully on the euro even though its currency is pegged to it. Bulgaria has been running low deficits, but only in recent weeks has it allowed its deficit to rise above 3 percent. It can correct this with modest spending-rate reductions, provided the government shows more firmness and guts on the fiscal front.

In recent years, Bulgaria has achieved (up to this global recession) a very respectable, real per-capita economic growth rate of a bit more than 6 percent. Macedonia has not done as well, but even so has achieved a five-year compound annual growth rate of 4.7 percent. Both Macedonia and Bulgaria have continued economic reforms and are moving towards more economic freedom, unlike Greece. Bulgaria has benefited from having a highly active free-market policy organization - the Institute for Market Economics (IME) - which has been aggressive in promoting free-market reform.

Macedonia has greatly picked up its free-market-oriented reform effort during the last three years and has brought down the size of government to about 33 percent of GDP. A major reason for the faster economic growth rates in Macedonia and Bulgaria, as contrasted with stagnant Greece, is that both countries have adopted flat-rate income-tax regimes of 10 percent on both personal and corporate taxes. Greece, by contrast, has a maximum tax rate of 40 percent, which is now slated to go even higher as part of the international agreement for the financial rescue. Why anyone thinks the Greeks will now pay their taxes when the rate goes above 40 percent, given that they were unwilling to pay taxes at the current rate defies common sense and economic logic.

Both Macedonia and Bulgaria have tolerated too much corruption for many years, but the level of corruption in these countries is modest by Greek standards. Some of this corruption is a legacy of the sanctions placed on Serbia in the mid-1990s, which made it very profitable to smuggle goods through Macedonia and Bulgaria to Serbia - profitable enough to bribe government officials in Macedonia and Bulgaria to look the other way.

Greece, on the other hand, has received a free pass from the major countries of the EU for far too long. Its politicians lied for years about the fiscal health of the country and provided the international community with phony numbers. The taxpayers of Europe and even those in the U.S. will have to pay more, and the people of Macedonia and Bulgaria will face a shrinkage of their markets because of Greek irresponsibility.

It is ironic that the current policies of the U.S. and a number of European governments are the same as those that got Greece in trouble - including higher marginal tax rates. Yet, the U.S. and many Western European policymakers ignore the obvious fact that low-rate, flat-tax countries that have restrained spending are doing relatively better than others with profligate policies. What will it take to wake them up?

[Washington Times]

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 11:58 pm | Permalink | Comments

Tuesday, June 01, 2010

MACEDONIANS ON AID SHIP ALIVE AND TAKEN INTO CUSTODY IN ISRAEL

National.

Jasmin Rexhepi (28) and Sami Emini (57) from Skopje and 50-year old Sead Hasipi from Kumanovo are the three Macedonian nationals, who were on board on one of the ships carrying humanitarian aid attacked by Israeli forces in international waters nearby the Gaza Strip, are alive and are taken into custody in Israel.

Their relatives early Tuesday have been informed from the Macedonian Embassy in Israel that they will be deported to Turkey today or tomorrow together with detained passengers from humanitarian flotilla, and from there they will return to Macedonia. Turkish authorities confirmed the information for the fate of the Macedonian nationals.

On Monday, at least 19 people died and 26 are injured after Israeli commandos stormed a convoy of ships carrying aid to the Gaza Strip.

[Idividi]

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 11:44 am | Permalink | Comments