Bitola macedonia

SOFIA: Bulgaria plans to voice its opposition on Tuesday (Nov 15) to starting European Union accession talks with neighbouring North Macedonia as the two countries have yet to settle disputes over history and language, Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva said. The EU's European Affairs ministers are expected to discuss launching accession negotiations with North Macedonia on Nov 17. If any country votes against the framework for negotiations, accession talks cannot be formally launched. "Bulgaria is saying 'No' to the start of negotiations, we are not saying 'No' to North Macedonia's accession to the EU," Zaharieva told private broadcaster BTV on Sunday. She said North Macedonia is not delivering on the friendship treaty between the two Balkan neighbours signed in 2017 and has policies based on hatred towards Bulgaria. Sofia wants its neighbour to recognise that its nation and language have Bulgarian roots and it wants it to put an end to anti-Bulgarian rhetoric. Skopje … [Read more...] about Bulgaria says to block EU accession talks with North Macedonia

REUTERS: Goran Pandev has been spearheading North Macedonia's attack for the best part of two decades and, though it seemed he was chasing a lost cause for much of that time, his persistence has been rewarded with their qualification for Euro 2020. The 37-year-old, scorer of the winning goal against Georgia on Thursday which took North Macedonia to their first major tournament, has played under 14 different coaches, made 114 appearances and scored 36 goals since his debut against Turkey in 2001. Pandev, who has a first division club named after him in the Macedonian league, summed up his national team career in an Instagram post several days before Thursday's match. "More than 19 years with this jersey, the most beautiful in the world. Defeats, victories, joys, humiliations," said Pandev, who put off his retirement for a shot at playing at a major tournament. For most of their history, North Macedonia have routinely finished one or two places off the bottom of their European … [Read more...] about After 19 years and 14 coaches, Pandev’s persistence rewarded with North Macedonia

ZURICH: England were pitted against old rivals Poland in their World Cup qualifying group on Monday after a draw which left Europe's top sides with apparently straightforward routes to the 2022 tournament in Qatar. Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Croatia and England all avoided each other thanks to the seeding system and, barring major upsets, should qualify comfortably for the tournament in Qatar. Instead, the main excitement is likely to be the scramble among the middle-ranking teams to finish second in their groups and qualify for the play-offs. Under a revised format, the 10 group winners qualify directly for Qatar while the runners-up go into a play-off system along with the best two teams from the Nations League, a separate competition. Those 12 teams will be divided into three paths of four, with the winners of each also going to Qatar. The group stage will be played between March and November next year with the play-offs in March … [Read more...] about Europe’s top sides handed straightforward routes to Qatar

ROME: Serie A club Udinese have blamed a sudden outbreak of COVID-19 infections at the club on this month's international break, saying it began with a player returning from a national team match. Udinese were without Stefano Okaka, Ilija Nestorovski, Sebastien De Maio, Thomas Ouwejan, Rolando Mandragora and Kevin Lasagna, as well as coach Luca Gotti when they faced Lazio on Sunday - though they still pulled off a shock 3-1 away win. "In the midst of this epidemic Udinese was a happy island because thanks to the organisation of the club we had established protocols that had helped us to avoid contagion," sporting director Pierpaolo Marino told broadcast DAZN. "Then a player who came back from the national team matches tested positive and new infections arose from there. Obviously it is not his fault, but the FIFA system is not working at the moment and we are the ones paying the consequences." Marino did not name the player and, although he referred to the "FIFA system", … [Read more...] about Udinese blame COVID-19 outbreak on international break

A poster hangs above the dean's office at Aristotle University in Thessaloniki. Several hundred students have occupied the building on what would otherwise be a pretty empty campus these days, if it weren't for the students and an equal number of police facing off against them. The students are protesting a recent law that would see police stationed on university campuses. The government says the move is necessary to fight crime, but students and professors say essential freedoms are at stake in a country where universities have been an important part of Greek history. Fotini Tsibiridou is a professor at the University of Macedonia, the city's second largest university, and one of more than a thousand academics protesting the new law. "I'm afraid that a militaristic culture will be heading to campus," she said. "This doesn't fit with an environment based on liberal freedoms, open dialogue and critical thinking. When people think about police, they think about oppression and not about … [Read more...] about Police officers at Greek universities: The culture clash continues