Pero Antic agrees to terms at Atlanta Hawks

Antic agrees to terms

Macedonian basketball captain Pero Antic has agreed to terms with the NBA's Atlanta Hawks.

Antic will be paid 1.2 million dollars per season at the Hawks, the lowest among his teammates. If Antic continues his stay at the club, his salary will rise another 250,000 dollars.

Pero Antic became the first Macedonian player in the NBA after announcing the news last wee.

Greek extremists occupy Macedonian border

Greek extremists occupy border

Greek ultra nationalist group "Golden Dawn" gathered at Macedonian border check points yesterday in an effort to deter Macedonians from entering Greece.

They occupied both the Medzitlija and Bogorodica border crossing without the removal of authorities.

Macedonian tourists were "welcomed" with offensive chants like "Weclome to Greek Macedonia", Greeks can pass, Skopyani to be stickered", "Macedonia is Greek".

The gatherings have gone unnoticed by both the Greek government and the international community.

This is the latest in  a spate of incidents at the Macedonian-Greek border. The last few weeks have been littered of abuses by Greek border authorities refusing entry to Macedonian activists, citizens and prominent figures amidst a backdrop of rising extremism in Greece.

Macedonian unemployment rate lowest in 20 years

Macedonian unemployment drops

The unemployment rate ending the first quarter of 2013 stood at 29.9%. This is the first time that the unemployment rate has dropped under 30% in 20 years.

The milestone comes after several consecutive years of jobs growth. The unemployment rate peaked in December 2005 where it stood at 37.3%. Since then, the rate has seen an average drop of 1% a year.

The last time Macedonia's unemployment rate was below 30 was way back in 1993 where the rate stood at 27.7%.

Although still a very large and unacceptable figure, the data over the last few years show a positive and consistent trend.

The fall in Macedonia's unemployed is more remarkable when you consider the fact that Europe (Macedonia's major trading partner) has been in recession and seen unemployment rates shoot up within their own countries, and all of this in the backdrop of a global financial crisis.

Macedonia did not leave completely unscathed, the economic crises in the region did in fact slow its economic growth and the drop in unemployed, but could not manage to stop it.

Macedonia's official unemployment rate now reads at 29.9%, although it is widely accepted that Macedonia has a large grey economy, which could put the real unemployment figure around 15%.

FK Vardar win Macedonian Super Cup

Vardar win Super Cup

FK Vardar have won this years Macedonian Super Cup beating FK Teteks from Tetovo 1-0 last night.

The Super Cup is played between the winners of the Macedonian First League (Vardar) and the winners of the Macedonian Cup (Teteks).

The Super Cup was played in front of an empty stadium last night as a crowd of less than 100 spectators watched the game. More police and security were recorded than patrons.

The shockingly small crowd has been blamed on a boycott of Vardar's support group the "Komiti" who refused to attend the match after their group was locked out of Vardar's Champions League qualifier against Steaua Bucharest last week leading to violent clashes against police and security officials.

The low crowd has also been blamed on high ticket prices and the low quality of Macedonian football.

The Komiti have accused the Vardar committee of discrimination against their group as well as by police who they see as provoking incidents and abusing their powers.

Classical quartet Bond girls to play in Ohrid

Bond girls to play in Ohrid

World famous quartet "Bond" will be playing at this years Ohrid Summer manifestation.

This is the first time that this quartet has played in front of a Macedonian audience, and it will come on the 10th anniversary of the groups formation.

Bond has a piece titled "Alexander the Great" which got its inspiration from Macedonian folklore. The girls say that they have a friend who is married to a Macedonian and that they know much about to country through them.

Interest for their concert in Ohrid has been high as organizers have had to arrange extra seating for their show.

Kisela Voda begins handout of vouchers for newborns

Efforts to boost low birthrate

The Municipality of Kisela Voda has begun handing out the first vouchers for newborns of the city. Mayor Biljana Belichanec Aleksic presented the first 19 vouchers to families today.

They vouchers are worth up to a total of 6000 denars and are intended to help boost the birth rate in the municipality.

Aleksic was quoted as saying "today we live in a time where we have to think about the survival of our nation, to think about how we will overcome the low birthrate".

Macedonia's birthrate has continually fallen over the last 20 years. Efforts to combat the low birthrate are being initiated in a number of areas affected the most.

Macedonian property vandalised in Greece

Vandalized Macedonian property

Macedonian tourists visiting Greece for the summer have had their vehicles damaged by Greek nationalists in the port town of Thessaloniki.

For a number of consecutive years, Macedonian tourists have suffered damage to their property while on vacation in Greece. Reports of damage and graffiti to vehicles continue to rise.

On previous occasions, Macedonian truck drivers have been abused by Greek border authorities on their route to the port town, incidents of being forced to sweep border checkpoints before they can cross have been reported.

The latest incidents come as nationalism in Greece continues to grow with the popularity of extremist political part "Golden Dawn" on the rise.