Macedonia: What Is in a Name? | Inside Story

A new name was intended to end decades of diplomatic deadlock. But nationalists in both Greece and Macedonia are unhappy at the choice - Republic of North Macedonia.

Thousands of people in both countries took to the streets to protest against a deal they say is tantamount to a humiliating defeat. A far-right Greek newspaper went so far as to run a front-page graphic - showing Greece's prime minister, foreign minister and president being shot by firing squad for treason.

Between the end of World War Two and the early 1990s, Macedonia was one of six republics comprising the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It declared independence in 1991 under the name -- the Republic of Macedonia. Greece immediately opposed it, seeing it as a veiled challenge to Greek sovereignty over its northern province that's also called Macedonia.

Presenter: Elizabeth Puranam | Guests: Borjan Jovanovski, Chief Editor of NOVA TV; Panos Polyzoidis, Political Analyst and Journalist; Dimitar Bechev, Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council

Greece: Refugee Electrocuted to Death on Macedonian Border after Clashes

A refugee was electrocuted to death on the Greek-Macedonian border near the Idomeni crossing, Thursday. Fellow refugees read Muslim prayers for the deceased, who is believed to be of Moroccan origin.

Isis: Threat on Balkans to 'Avenge Muslims'

ANSAMED: 'In Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania we will arrive with explosives'

TIRANA - The Balkans are being threatened by Isis, which has announced it wants ''revenge for the humiliation suffered by Muslims in Kosovo, Albania and Macedonia''. ''We will arrive with explosives'', said the Albanian national Abu Muqatil (Al Kosovi), a Kosovan Islamic militant[s] who claims to represent the jihadist group in the region.

In a long video released by Al Hayat media center, the main 'production house' of the terror organization born in Syria and Iraq, the announcement of future attacks in the Balkan region is entrusted to Albanian-language militants. » | Friday, June 05, 2015

A Surge of Serbs and Macedonians: Germany Seeks to Halt Influx of Balkan Asylum Seekers
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: With a massive surge in asylum applications from people of the Roma minority from Serbia and Macedonia, Germany's interior minister is calling for new rules to expedite processing these cases. Although many come to the EU for better economic opportunities, they also face racial discrimination at home, advocacy groups say.

After observing an extreme rise in the number of asylum seekers from Serbia and Macedonia in recent weeks, Germany's interior minister is calling for tighter rules for processing the applications.

"Those who originate from safe countries, should be provided with reduced cash benefits in the future," Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich, a conservative with Bavaria's Christian Social Union party, told the daily Die Welt.

Two weeks ago, Friedrich advised Germany's federal states that they could better defend themselves against the flood of applicants by providing vouchers for food and services rather than cash benefits to the asylum seekers, many of whom are of the Roma minority. » | dsl -- with wires | Thursday, October 25, 2012