GDOM

VMRO DPMNE leader Nikola Gruevski's New Year "mega interview" for the news portal Republika - in which he accused the Foundation Open Society - Macedonia, FOOM, of plotting to topple his government in the name of "foreign interests", naming US Billionaire George Soros as the alleged mastermind - has heated up Macedonia's media and social networks.

Macedonian police prevented rival rallies in Skopje from coming to blows on Thursday night amid fears that political tensions in the country could spiral out of control.

The anti-government rally was organized by the civil movement "Protestiram" ["I Protest"] and supported by the opposition Social Democrats, SDSM.

Tensions in Macedonia continued to run high on Tuesday, as thousands of pro-opposition protesters gathered in Skopje and other parts of the country, while parallel protests took place in several towns.

Protests were sparked by last week's decision of Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov to pardon 56 political figures for their alleged involvement in last year's wiretapping scandal.