Makedonien|Mazedonien News

LEFT without the use of both legs after a car struck him in 1996, Mile Stojkoski turned to sport as his rehabilitation — table-tennis, target-shooting, kayaking, gymnastics, swimming. But the former administrative clerk’s signature discipline became his long-distance wheelchair "marathons" which he undertakes to raise awareness about the plight of disabled people in the Balkans, where they are marginalised and stigmatised. If all goes to plan, Stojkoski will roll into London on July 27 for the opening of the Olympic Games, at the end of a 3500km trip by wheelchair from his native Macedonia. "At first I was in shock and angry," he said of the day he was confined to a wheelchair. "But then I realised I had to do something to improve the situation." This is the 46-year-old’s 10th long-distance wheelchair journey, although he has never officially raced. Stojkoski and his support team of two will travel through 15 European countries: Macedoni...

Film "Wrath of the Titans", the sequel of 2010 hit "Clash of the Titans", had its premiere in Hollywood over the weekend, with Macedonian studio for visual effects and animation "FX3X" taking part in the blockbuster's creation. "' Wrath of the Titans' is the first in series of blockbusters we have recently worked on. The project comes as a result of our cooperation with Technicolor MPC from London. We were honored to work on this film, which has somewhat greater number and more complex effects compared to the first part. Our team worked for five months on almost 130 shots of the film ", said FX3X executive producer Kristijan Danilovski. "Wrath of the Titans" is a 99-minute action-adventure-fantasy, in which Perseus braves the treacherous underworld to rescue his father, Zeus, captured by his son, Ares, and brother Hades who unleash the ancient Titans upon the world. Jonathan Liebesman is the director, with Sam Worthi...

Information technologies represent the foundation of modern development. They develop our possibilities, help the general development and availability of information, cut costs in means and time, enabling a world full of potential and creation. They are important for democracy, freedom, business and every social field, helping us as a community to change the world for the better, said Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski in the address at the 5. meeting of the Broadband Commission for Digital Development, held Monday in Ohrid. According to Gruevski, ICT development is on the list of the Government's priorities, whereas ambitious goals are successfully implemented by the Ministry of Information Society. "Only one percent of Macedonian households used broadband internet in 2006, with the percentage rising to 46.35 by the end of 2011", said Gruevski. Mexican businessmen Carlos Slim, the Commission's co-chair, stressed the body's commitment to promote broad...

In the early hours of Sunday, strong police presence descended on Kocani and Vinica after months of gathering evidence on two dozen criminals who have wreaked havoc throughout Eastern Macedonia by forcing dozens of shops and businesses to give them racket money, physical attacks, drug and weapons trafficking, money laundering etc. "Police had a search warrant on two disco clubs, but also the homes of the suspects in which we found guns, rifles, baseball bats, swords, large sums of cash etc" says Kotevski, the spokesman for MoI. All of the arrested were transported to Skopje for interrogation.  Citizens of both Kocani and Vinica woke up this morning with a huge sigh of relief, commenting police should have done this long time ago, but were still satisfied the operation was carried out - better late than never. MOI Minister Gordana Jankulovska at a press conference said charges are forthcoming against Kocani's head of police and others. "It has become ap...

The Ministry of Finance has settled the last of a total of 30,744 requests for denationalization of property in a first-instance procedure, Vice-Premier and FinMin Zoran Stavreski said Saturday at a press conference. Resolving of these cases has brought justice to about half a million citizens, who were deprived of their property about 50 years ago, Stavreski said. "The Government has wrapped up yet another historic process for the citizens of Macedonia," Stavreski said. The denationalisation, i.e. returning of property to former owners, is one of the key processes for the development of a democratic society in terms of rule of law, he added. Most of the property restitution settlements are effective, while about 10 percent of them are subject of s complaint procedure before the Constitutional Court. The Law on Denationalisation entered into force in May of 2000.

Macedonia's ambassador to Hungary, Darko Angelov presented his credentials to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, thus becoming the first non-resident Macedonian ambassador to Nigeria, based in Budapest.  The first Macedonian ambassador to Nigeria was accredited following a collaboration between the Macedonian and Nigerian embassies in Budapest.  Angelov at meetings with the Nigerian President, Foreign Minister Viola Onwuliri and other top officials of the ministries of foreign affairs, trade and economy, discussed the dynamic of establishing a basic legal framework on bilateral relations, including agreements on avoiding double taxation and investment protection. Interlocutors also agreed to endorse countries' candidacies for securing membership in international organisation, such as Macedonia's nomination for a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council.  Nigeria's top officials expressed gratitude to the Macedonian...

Ohrid hosts Monday a meeting of the Broadband Commission for Digital Development which is formed by the International Telecommunication Union and UNESCO and will be chaired by world's richest man, the Mexican mogul Carlos Slim. The Ohrid event will be also attended by a top government delegation, led by PM Gruevski, who is scheduled to deliver an address at the conference. The Commission will be convened for the first time outside the UN offices in Geneva, Paris or New York. The meeting will also include co-chair, Rwanda's President Paul Kagame, as well as commission members, including CEOs of world's largest IT companies such as Intel, Ericsson, Telefonica, Cisco, Alcatel-Lucent, Huawei Technologies etc. A visit of Carlos Slim, the richest businessman in the world, to Macedonia once again puts the country on the map of attractive destinations for investments, Vice-Premier and FinMin Zoran Stavreski told reporters Sunday after a meeting of the Mexican telec...