DUI

North Macedonia's nationalist opposition achieved sweeping gains in parliamentary and presidential elections on Wednesday. Voters expressed their frustration over the country's sluggish advance bid to join the European Union, but also prevailing corruption and the slow pace of reforms.

This was stated by Nikola Gruevski, the former Macedonian prime minister who has received asylum in Hungary.

Police in Tetovo, western Macedonia, on Friday confirmed that Naim Rexhepi, born 1971, died in a shootout that started around 6.20pm on Thursday in Mala Recica, the location of the governing DUI party's headquarters.

One other person with gunshot wounds was brought to the hospital in nearby Tetovo, the hospital said.

The parliament of Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) voted in principle the bill to expand the use of the Albanian language.

In favour of the bill voted 66 MPs (coming from the ruling Social Democratic Union/SDSM of Zoran Zaev and Ali Ahmeti’s DUI) while 41 MPs voted against (coming from VMRO-DPMNE’s main opposition party, Nikola Gruevski).

Zoran Zaev - Photo: AP

Zoran Zaev's statement about his country's "neutrality" if Kosovo's UNESCO bid again comes up for a vote, has caused dissatisfaction of the Albanian community.

Zoran Zaev's statement about his country's "neutrality" if Kosovo's UNESCO bid again comes up for a vote, has caused dissatisfaction of the Albanian community.

The leader of the social democrat SDSM party in Macedonia is to ask the President for a mandate to form a government after shaking hands with ethnic Albanian party DUI, local media report.

At a meeting on Saturday, the SDSM has unanimously picked Zoran Zaev as the mandate bearer candidate.

A spokesperson for Macedonia's main ethnic Albanian party, the DUI, - junior party in government - the said that unless all four main political parties participate in the June elections, the credibility of the vote will be questionable and it will not help solve Macedonia's deep political crisis.

A member of Macedonia's junior ruling ethnic Albanian party, the DUI, was shot dead on Thursday in Kumanovo - scene of a shootout in May between Albanian militants and police.

An explosion took place in front of the DUI party’s HQ last night in FYROM. According to information, the explosion was caused by a grenade thrown by two people on a motorbike.

According to the Tetovo police, the explosion did not cause significant material damage, nor was anyone wounded.