Skopje

Bulgaria is committed to building its part of the railroad between its capital Sofia and Macedonia's Skopje, Deputy Transport Minister Petar Kirov said on Tuesday.

The OSCE/ODIHR monitoring mission to Skopje said on Monday that the polls were well-administered and fundamental freedoms were respected but there were a number of serious faults during the run-up to Sunday’s second-round presidential vote and simultaneous parliamentary elections.

Two Serb parties to have seats in parliament in Skopje

SKOPJE -- Two parties representing ethnic Serbs in Macedonia will have deputies in the country's new parliament, elected on Sunday.

One of them - the Democratic Party of Serbs in Macedonia - "will almost certainly join the ruling majority," the Beta news agency is reporting.

Bulgaria's capital Sofia is among the 19 bidders to host the EURO 2020 football championship, placed on the official UEFA list. 

The tournament will take place in 13 cities, of which one will host the semifinals and the final and the reaming 12 will host the group phase of the tournament. 

The Greek railway company OSE restores the passenger trains between Sofia and Thessaloniki from May 10, reports Bulgaria's public broadcaster BNR. 

The train connection was terminated three years ago by OSE for economic reasons. Now the company renews it, along with the lines from Thessaloniki to Skopje and Belgrade. 

Trainose, the operating arm of the Hellenic Railways Organization (OSE), is to resume services linking northern Greece to the country’s Balkan neighbors after a three-year hiatus in a bid to profits from rising tourism.

A daily service linking Thessaloniki to Skopje, Belgrade and Sofia is to start operating from May 10.

Days before Sunday’s early general and presidential elections in Macedonia, the opposition Social Democratic Party, the SDSM, has presented documents from the land registry that it says show the ruling party recently purchased over 20 apartments, office spaces and building lots worth some €1.6 million.

Macedonia promotes education for Roma population

The government and civil society are funding and implementing programmes for young Roma to attend school and improve their social integration.

Roma community leaders tour the new Roma high school in Suto Orizari. [Miki Trajkovski/SETimes]

Macedonia's opposition Social Democratic Party, SDSM, has accused Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski of selling Makedonska Banka AD to a controversial Serbian businessman, Jovica Stefanovic, known as “Gazda Nini” ["Boss Nini"] for a bribe.

Macedonian police said they would charge six people over a brawl that took place on Tuesday in Skopje’s Lisice district between supporters of the main ruling VMRO DPMNE party and the opposition Social Democrats, SDSM.

The affray erupted moments after the opposition Social Democrat presidential candidate, Stevo Pendarovski, left the area.