26 Companies want Macedonian PayToll Roads

26 companies and consortiums from Europe, Great Britain and India expressed interest in participation in the tender for the right of toll collection in five tollbooths. This was informed by the Macedonian Ministry of Transport on Monday, October 26.
The tollbooths in question are Romanovce in the section Kumanovo-Miladinovci, Petrovci in the section Skople-Petrovec, Sopot and Otovica in the section Petrovec-Veles and Gradsko in the section Veles-Gradsko. The expected benefits from this project are the increase in efficiency of the system of collection, reduction of the waiting time and introduction of modern solutions for collection.

Skywings airlines unveiled a EUR 500.000 investment in the construction of a hotel near Skopje's Alexander the Great Airport. The Chairman of the Skywings Board of Directors, Ajan Dzaferoski, announced the ambitious plan on Monday, during the inaugural flight Skopje-Brussels. Dzaferoski stressed that the construction of the hotel is set to begin in March next year. Constructions works are scheduled for completion by June 2010. The project envisages a 20-room hotel, which is to accommodate the Skywings crews. The airline's headquarters will move into the hotel. On Monday, Skywings in cooperation with Air Lift Service launched new flight Skopje-Brussels. On Sunday, the airline is expected to launch another flight Skopje-Rome. A new flight Skopje-Bergamo (near Milan) will be launched on November 10. The Skopje-registered airline Skywings is also operating flights to Istanbul, Zurich and Dusseldorf from Skopje. Skywings initially operates with one Boeing 737-300 aircraft. The airline with operate with two Boeing 737-300 as of December

Skywings airlines unveiled a EUR 500.000 investment in the construction of a hotel near Skopje's Alexander the Great Airport. The Chairman of the Skywings Board of Directors, Ajan Dzaferoski, announced the ambitious plan on Monday, during the inaugural flight Skopje-Brussels.
Dzaferoski stressed that the construction of the hotel is set to begin in March next year. Constructions works are scheduled for completion by June 2010. The project envisages a 20-room hotel, which is to accommodate the Skywings crews.
The airline's headquarters will move into the hotel. On Monday, Skywings in cooperation with Air Lift Service launched new flight Skopje-Brussels. On Sunday, the airline is expected to launch another flight Skopje-Rome. A new flight Skopje-Bergamo (near Milan) will be launched on November 10.
The Skopje-registered airline Skywings is also operating flights to Istanbul, Zurich and Dusseldorf from Skopje. Skywings initially operates with one Boeing 737-300 aircraft. The airline with operate with two Boeing 737-300 as of December.

SKOPJE JAZZ FESTIVAL KICKS OFF

The 28th edition of the Skopje Jazz Festival opens Thursday with the live promotion of the project “Hammam” of the Macedonian-Italian trio Skopje Connection in the Army’s Club. This year, the Festival’s events will take place at four different venues – the Army’s Club, Universal Hall, Macedonian Opera and Ballet House and Hard Rock Club.
The musicians comprising Skopje Connection tri are Dzijan Emin, Georgi Sareski and Luca Aquino. The promotion of their project “Hammam” will be followed by another promotion – the latest edition of the Skopje Jazz Festival label entitled “Jazz from Macedonia”, intended above all for the music markets abroad. The programme of the following night – 23 October, is dubbed “Women in Jazz”. German.
Piano player Aki Takase will play pieces of the jazz piano legend Fats Waller, before Marilyn Mazur Group takes the stage at the Universal Hall. On 24th October, also in Universal Hall, Brad Mehldau Trio and James Carter Quintet will give their performances.
The night before the last is dedicated to marking of the 40th birthday of the cult jazz label ECM with two special concerts of the truly original Norwegian duo Arve Henriksen & Jan Bang, and of the jazz innovator Jon Hassels wit his project Maarifa Street.
The Festival will wrap up with the real treat for all jazz lovers – the super group Power of Three, whose members are jazz legends in the literal sense of the word - Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Lenny White. In addition to the regular programme, Skopje Jazz Festival offers also some exciting afterhours concerts of contemporary jazz artists: the rising US singing star Jose James, the quartet of the Italian saxophone player Chico Pinheiro and his “Banda” and the Italian saxophone player Michele Ponga.
Macedonian designer Neda Firfova is the author of this year’s poster for the Jazz Festival.

President Ivanov visiting Turkey

Citizens of Macedonia will never forget the consistent and constructive support, as well as Turkey's solidarity since the first days of Macedonia's independence. The use of Macedonia's constitutional name, support to the sovereignty and territorial integrity, strong support to the country's NATO integration can be expected only from sincere friends, said President Gjorge Ivanov after Friday's meeting with Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul, MIA reports from Ankara.
President Ivanov stressed that his first official visit to Turkey is exceptionally significant, representing an expression of strong friendship between the two nations, but also contribution to the further successful development of mutual relations.
"I believe that relations and cooperation with the Republic of Turkey, which are characterized by the spirit of friendship, mutual understanding, trust and support, are issues of highest state interest for Macedonia", stated Ivanov.
He once again voiced satisfaction from the fair evaluation of Macedonia's progress in the recently published EC Progress Report. "The commitment and achieved results should be acknowledged through an appropriate decision by the EU Council.
The beginning of EU accession talks would represent a clear and positive signal for our country, but also for the region. I am convinced that the Republic of Macedonia has the political, administrative and institutional capacity to start EU accession talks", emphasized President Ivanov. "Turkey will resume to defend Macedonia's interests and positions in NATO, for the purpose of Balkan and European stability. This is possible only when the entire region is united under the umbrella of the European Union and NATO", said Turkish President Abdullah Gul.
He stressed the significance of bilateral relations, voicing the need for further enhancement of economic and commercial relations through encouragement of Turkish businessmen to invest in Macedonia, as well as strengthening of ties in the culture and education sectors.
Earlier, President Ivanov laid flowers at the mausoleum of the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. President Ivanov is scheduled to meet later today with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, followed by a lecture at TOBB-ETU University, where he will be proclaimed an honorary PhD.

Salvador Dali's Exhibition In Skopje

An exhibition of pieces of art created by famous Spanish painter Salvador Dali, one of the most brilliant artists known to mankind, opened Monday at the Museum of Contemporary Arts in Skopje. The exposition will include about 100 watercolor drawings and lithographs interpreting Dante Alighieri’s Devine Comedy, 15 graphics in various techniques, 15 ceramics and six small bronze sculptures.
Czech art dealer Zdenek Kocik whose gallery is based in Prague has provided his private collection to the museum to hold this event.
The display will also contain a series of 20 photographs created by Czech photographer Vaclav Chochola in painter’s studio in Paris.
The Museum of Contemporary Arts Director Eliza Sulevska and Culture Minister Elizabeta Kanceska-Milevska made address to guests at the opening ceremony on Monday evening. Among those attending the ceremony was Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, Deputy Prime Minister Vasko Naumovski, foreign ambassadors and a number of domestic artists.
The Salvador Dali’s exhibition at Skopje Museum of Contemporary Arts will be open until December 19. The museum will work each day, except for Monday, from 10 a.m. to 17 p.m.

EU Ambassadors urge name row settlement, though it is not part of membership criteria

The name dispute settlemnt is not one of the criteria for Macedonia's accession to the European Union, but it will however create more favorable climate for the resumption of the country's integration process, said Swedish, EU Ambassadors Lars Freden and Erwan Fouere respectively.
- This is a golden opportunity for boosting the efforts towards settling the name row. It seems that the picture is clearer now. Now (the country) should only focus on name talks, not those related to the benchmarks, Freden said Thursday, presenting the European Commission (EC) report on Macedonia's progress towards the EU membership to relevant parliamentary committees. Fouere quoted yesterday's statement of the Union's Enlargement Commissioner, Olli Rehn, who said that the EC report should be a strong incentive and encouragement for country leaders to seriously engage in the negotiating process under the UN auspices and achieve results.
Freden welcomed the positive EC report on Macedonia and the recommendation for launching of the country's entry talks on behalf of the Sweden's EU Presidency. He reminded that the final decision in this respect was to be made by the Union's Council with consensus. He also expressed hope for the decision on abolishing the EU visa regime for the citizens of Macedonia to be confirmed on December 1, considering the ongoing activities of Union's institutions in this respect. Meanwhile Greece had sent a protest letter to the EU for their decision to begin accession talks with Macedonia.

MANU: Encyclopedia will Not be Withdrawn

The Macedonian Encyclopedia will not be withdrawn, but only corrected in the points that caused a stir last month, decided late Tuesday the Assembly of the Macedonian Academy of Science and Arts (MANU).
Academician Georgi Stardelov said after the session that the discussion was constructive, aimed at finding the path towards a solution, "which will be autonomous". "The public is engulfed in lots of politics regarding assessments for our encyclopedia. We are trying to work autonomously without any political pressure", stated Stardelov.
The session, which is to resume next week, will also debate on the final conclusions of the MANU Presidency regarding the possible replacement of the editorial board. The first national encyclopedia was formally promoted last month, resulting in reactions mainly among the country's Albanian political parties, which disputed certain points and asked for their correction, as well as the edition's withdrawal.

Estonian president visits Macedonia

Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves pays October 13-14 a visit to the Republic of Macedonia. President Ilves is to meet later today with counterpart Gjorge Ivanov, followed by plenary talks of the two delegations.

Macedonia marks 68th anniversary of People’s Uprising and National Liberation War

The Republic of Macedonia Sunday marks the 68th anniversary since the start of the Day of People's Uprising against Fascism and National Liberation War. The Macedonian people responded to the fascist occupation by organizing an insurrection. At that time the first sabotage units were created. Kumanovo and Prilep detachments were founded, their actions started on October 11 being the beginning of the Macedonian people uprising.
During 1942 the partisan movement were also in ascent. Nine detachments were founded acting on a large territory. During the winter and the spring in 1944, the Macedonian Army has taken important military actions (the February march, the Spring offensive), causing great damage to the Bulgarian occupiers.
During the period of 1944 the network of governmental organs in Macedonia has been spread, over 800 in number. The preparations for convocation of the ASNOM have been taken by the Headquarters General and the Initiative Board.
Thus, by the end of the war, the Macedonian National Liberation Army numbered over 56,000 soldiers, and this part of Macedonia alone provided about 25,000 victims.
The liberation of Macedonia by its own forces was an outstanding military and political accomplishment of the Macedonian people and at the same time it was a significant contribution by a small people to the anti-fascist struggle in the Balkans and Europe.
In the past 18 years overcoming the conflict in 2001 and the Framework Agreement that emerged from it, Macedonia, which is full-fledged member of the United Nations, now walks on the road to Euro-Atlantic integration. On holiday's occasion, October 11 Award for special and eminent achievements in the areas of science, culture, art and journalism was presented Sunday at the Macedonian Parliament.
This year's award recipient is Momir Polenakovic, internist and nephrologist. PM Nikola Gruevski will address the formal academy Sunday evening. Deputy PMs Vladimir Pesevski and Abdilakim Ademi and Education Minister Nikola Todorov laid fresh flowers at partisan graves and tomb of General Apostolski.

Surge of Donations for St Jovan Bigorski Monastery

Aid for the reconstruction of incinerated "St. Jovan Bigorski" monastery is arriving from everywhere, however the funds collected so far are not sufficient because large-scale overhaul is necessary, father Dositej of the St. Jovan Bigorski monastery tells media.
Damaged parts of the monastery, as well as waste are at the moment being cleared by local firms, but father Dositej deems more assistance with better equipment is needed.
As donations are being collected, relevant institutions coordinate on future actions after the site is cleared. A coordination body on the monastery's reconstruction met yesterday and reached a conclusion experts from the Seismology Institution, Faculty of Construction and National Conservation Center to examine the stability of existing walls and to decide on what can be preserved.
According to initial findings, the fire which broke out as a result of failure in power and gas installation caused a damage worth at EUR 5,5 million and destroyed items of priceless historic, cultural value. St. Jovan Bigorski monastery is dedicated to St. Jovan Krstitel (Saint John the Baptist). It is located on the road between Gostivar and Debar, at a the beautiful valley of the river Radika among the villages of Rostushe, Velebrdo, Bitushe and Trebishta. The monastery is named Bigorski, because it is made of tufa (tufa in Macedonian is called Bigor).

Donations for Bigorski monastery

Mancevski to make final clip of Macedonia Timeless

The shooting of the sixth and final clip for Macedonia's tourism promotion, written and directed by Milco Mancevski, has started in Skopje. The clip, which focuses on archaeology in Macedonia, will be shot at several locations in Skopje and throughout the country.
The crew involves domestic and foreign professionals. This is the third clip directed by Mancevski within Government-led cycle Macedonia-Timeless, aimed at promoting country tourism.
The campaign is supported by website www.macedonia-timeless.com, which presents all information related to Macedonia.

200 most successful companies in Macedonia for 2008

Telecommunications are the most profitable sector in Macedonia, while the energy sector employs the biggest workforce, a study of the 200 biggest and most successful companies in Macedonia showed. The study was conducted by the Euro-business Center for the 5th year in a row.
The top 200 list of most successful companies is headed by Macedonian Telecom, followed by Kameni Most komunikacii, T-Mobile Macedonia, the mine SASA and Usje.
Biggest employers in Macedonia are OKTA, Makpetrol and EVN-Macedonia. Due to the crisis, one half of the ten biggest Macedonian companies closed 2008 in the red. Also, Macedonian Telecom and Usje saw their profit before taxation slide in 2008 compared to 2007 by nearly 27 percent.

Icons safe after monastery fire

Monks rescued the valuable icons at the St. Jovan Bigorski monastery's gallery after big fire that broke out at the monastery shortly before daybreak Wednesday. The blaze engulfed the old mansions (night-quarters). Bishop Timotey of Debar-Kicevo Diocese said in a statement that flames had caused a major loss and extensive damage to the monastery's brotherhood of monks.
The fire scorched two dining rooms, one guest mansion, the kitchen, the library and the monks' homes, the bishop said in the statement. The church said it opened bank account at Stopanska Banka Bitola, number 500-000000-3835-65, to raise donations for monks who lost their homes. The cause of the fire is not clear yet.

Monastery Jovan Bigorski in flames, damages 5.5m EUR

Saint John the Forerunner Bigorski monastery.

Initial reports say that a failure of power, gas installation is the cause for the fire that broke out early Wednesday in 'St. Jovan Bigorski' Monastery. Blazes started with the kitchen spreading to the dining room and the library. There are no casualties or injured people. The investigation is underway, the Interior Ministry say, excluding human error as a cause of the fire. The National Conservation Center estimates the damage to be at EUR 5,5 million plus items of priceless historic, cultural value. There are announcements for setting up a special body that will coordinate activities for the monastery's restoration. The Government will discuss on this matter at its next session and earmark funds to that effect, said Valentina Bozinovska, chairperson of the Commission for Relations with the Religious Communities and Groups. Head of the Macedonian Orthodox Church (MPC) HH Stefan, President Gjorge Ivanov and governmental officials visited Wednesday the monastery "St.Jovan Bigorski", which suffered serious damage as the old part of the construction has burnt to the ground in a fire that broke out early today. They expressed deep regret over the wasted historic and cultural treasury, saying that the monastery complex would be soon restored.
Fortunately none of the monks and guests present in the monastery in the time of the accident were not hurt, HH Stefan said. It also refers to the iconostasis and monastery church, which were rescued from blazes thanking to monks and villagers who along with firefighters arrived to the accident venue on time, the MPC Head said. He expects for the monastery's restoration to commence soon, saying than now efforts should be invested in preserving of the building's authenticity, not in debates on the accident's cause. Nevertheless, this accident is a serious warning to all about how much we care for everything that predecessors made and left us with a lot of faith and love, HH Stefan said.
The monastery is under state's aegis and it will its best for restoring "St. Jovan Bigorski". - Unfortunately, the blaze burnt down valuable books of the monastery's library, but thanking to monks all icons are preserved - a treasury that will remain for future generations. The damage is estimated at EUR 5,5 million. The loss of archives and documents is however immeasurable, President Ivanov said.
The monastery is of great significance for the country and the Government, as ever, will grant support for its reconstruction, Culture Minister Elizabeta Kanceska Milevska said. Labor, Social Policy Minister Xhelal Bajrami called on all citizens of Macedonia, regardless of their religious affiliation, to join the monastery's reconstruction.
St. Jovan Bigorski monastery is dedicated to St. Jovan Krstitel (Saint John the Baptist). It is located on the road between Gostivar and Debar, at a the beautiful valley of the river Radika among the villages of Rostushe, Velebrdo, Bitushe and Trebishta. The monastery is named Bigorski, because it is made of tufa (tufa in Macedonian is called Bigor). The monastery complex is comprised of church, ossuary located next to the church, seymen defense tower, mansions complex, as well as a newly built guest mansion. It is mentioned in the monastery files that the Monarch Jovan started building it in the year of 1020 and when the monastery was attacked by the Turks in the XVIth century, only a small church remained. The rebuilding of the Monastery started in year of 1743 by monk Ilarion who is the first igumen at the 'Bigorski Monastery'.
The monastery is also famous for the iconostasis - the most beautiful one in Macedonia. It is done in tiny woodcarving by the magic hands of Petre Filipov - Garkata from the village of Gari. Petre Filipov - Garkata, his brother Marko, Makrarij Frckovski from the village of Galicnik and Avram Dicov with his sons Vasil and Filip from the village Osoj, in 1829 to 1835 managed to create an extraordinary work of art.
The iconostasis is divided into six horizontal belts. The first one's base is comprised of rectangular fields on which there are ornaments of flora and fauna. The second belt, where throne (big and non-movable) icons are placed, finishes with a figure of an eagle with spread wings. The third belt is divided into three smaller horizontal compartments where symmetrically distributed angels, grapes and vineyard sprouts are presented.
There are two rows of icons- festive (icons that are being taken out for festivities) and icons with presentation of angels above them. In the central part there is the large cross with the Crucifixion of Christ. From both sides of the cross there are figures of dragon from whose mouth the icons of St. Jovan and Holy Mother of God are lifted. The presentation of the dancer Salome is particularly interesting, she is dressed in a traditional Miyak costume.
The monastery is also famous for the icon of 'St. Jovan Bigorski', which is believed to have a mysterious power. The icon was found by the monarch Jovan in the year of 1020, on the same place where the monastery was built later on, and it was floating over the river Radika. In the XVIth century, under the Turkish ruler Selim II, Turks burned the monastery and the icon mysteriously disappeared and returned later, again un-harmed, to the same place.
The Icon of St. Jovan Bigorski had not been protected for 35 years and finally in the year of 1885 it was framed in silver (it is written in the monastery record files). Jovan Krstitel (John the Baptist) is represented in the icon as a three- handed Saint. It is believed that the third hand is blessed, and also helps families who can't have children.
There is a story about this legend, saying that a Beg (Bey) from Albania who couldn't have children, came to the monastery in the XVIth century to worship the Icon. Next Year he had a son, and he donated all his property to "Sv. Jovan" (St. John). He promised that he would send olive oil to the monastery (he was producing olive oil). The old mansions with the spacious wooden balconies and the dining room furnished as in the time of the construction, late XVIIth and early XlXth century, add to the monastery's ambient. Today four monks and three novices are forming the brotherhood of this monastery. Their abbot, Archmandrite Parthenius, has learnt the basics of the monastic life at the Holy Mount of Athos.