Skopje – As part of the celebration marking 15 years since Macedonia established diplomatic relations with 13 European countries, the embassies of several nations are opening their doors to visitors. This will be a rare occasion for the Macedonians to catch a glimpse of the Norwegian, Swedish and the United …

Grain farmers from all over Bulgaria took part in protests amid concern that fraudulent practices by some farmers would cause the EU to cut further aid to Sofia. Hundreds of farmers took to the roads in tractors and other vehicles in the countryside near the southern town of Stara Zagora, …

The Bulgarian parliament has approved the government’s 2009 budget based on expected economic growth of 4.7 percent, a rate widely criticised as unrealistic amid the global economic slowdown. The budget plans a surplus of 3 percent of gross domestic product, but also raises social and capital spending which analysts have …

Bulgaria is not preventing an association of Macedonians in Bulgaria from registering as a political party but they instead are refusing to do so, Bulgaria’s Prime Minister claims. Sergey Stanishev was referring to the OMO Ilinden Pirin organisation and made the comments during an official visit to Macedonia in which …

JENIN, West Bank (Reuters) – Israel killed a Palestinian militant Tuesday in the occupied West Bank and launched at least one air strike against rocket-launching crews in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. A six-month-old ceasefire between Hamas and the Jewish state expires Friday, and tension along Israel’s border with the Gaza …

JERUSALEM/GAZA (Reuters) – Hamas has approved for the first time the establishment of a new bank in the Gaza Strip under its authority, a move that could open a door to bypass a financial blockade imposed by Israel and its Western allies. Islamic National Bank chairman Ala al-Rafati said the …

TRIPOLI (Reuters) – The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at U.S. President George W. Bush was given a bravery award Monday by a Libyan charity group chaired by leader Muammar Gaddafi’s daughter. The charity group Wa Attassimou also urged the Iraqi government to release television reporter Muntazer al-Zaidi after …

DAMASCUS (Reuters) – Syria has drafted a document defining the boundaries of the occupied Golan Heights and was waiting for an Israeli reply through Turkish mediators, sources familiar with the talks said this week. President Bashar al-Assad recently told Western officials that Damascus wants Israel to take a clear position …

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – Israel released 224 prisoners in a goodwill gesture to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday, prompting joyous family reunions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Families sang and danced as prison buses rolled up full of newly freed men, shouting and waving from the …

EILAT, Israel (Reuters) – A bus full of Russian tourists veered off a desert road in Israel and plunged down a ravine on Tuesday, killing up to 30 people and seriously injuring about a dozen more. The crash, near the Sinai Desert border to the north of the Red Sea …