4 October 2021 (MIA) Skopje – Over the past 24 hours, North Macedonia registered 185 new COVID-19 cases from 1,876 tests done in the country, 523 patients recovered and 12 people died from coronavirus-related complications, the Ministry of Health said on Monday. Skopje – Besides those over the age of 60, all citizens can now get a third, booster dose regardless of age and underlying illnesses, while having significant risk of COVID-19 infection due to frequent contacts, type of work or job position, said the Immunization Committee on Monday. Skopje – Students in primary and secondary schools are to be tested for Covid-19 with consent from their parents. The methodology includes about 8,200 children, proportionally distributed by municipalities according to number of students. The screening is planned to last for five days, with about 1600 children tested daily by teams visiting the schools to perform the testing during classes, Health Minister Venko Filipche said Monday. Skopje – We do not plan to impose new COVID-19 restrictive measures for the time being, as currently the number of patients does not burden the hospitals, but on the contrary they are empty and fewer patients are hospitalized, Health Minister Venko Filipche told reporters on Monday. Skopje – I expect a clear message from the EU-Western Balkans Summit that the region belongs to the European Union and that the Union is prepared for this, while considering all the steps that each individual country has to make, said Prime Minister Zoran Zaev on Monday. Athens – As responsible leaders of two neighboring countries, it is our duty to create conditions for even greater rapprochement of our people. For these reasons I travel to Athens, and I’ll be more than glad to repay the hospitality here with even more generous hospitality in my country, North Macedonia’s President Stevo Pendarovski told Greek news portal Newsbomb ahead of his official two-day visit to Greece, MIA’s Athens correspondent reports. Skopje – Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani met Monday with German Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and Minister of State for Europe Michael Roth during his visit to Berlin on Monday. FMs Osmani and Maas discussed the preparations ahead of the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Slovenia, overcoming of differences with Bulgaria and developments in North Macedonia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release. Skopje – The EU-Western Balkans Summit in Slovenia is taking place amid a period when the credibility of the European promise over the future of the region is in question. Therefore, a clear political signal needs to be sent and both sides should assume responsibility in making progress, Deputy PM for European Affairs Nikola Dimitrov told panel “EU-Western Balkans: What can we expect from the EU meeting in Slovenia?” within the Belgrade Economic Forum (BEF) on Monday. Skopje — Ahead of the third EU–Western Balkans Summit on Oct. 6, the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (WIIW) has released a study saying the EU’s new EUR 9bn economic and investment plan for the Western Balkans supposed to attract billions of euros in private investment is ‘more of the same’ instead of a paradigm shift. Closer EU ties are necessary for the region to catch up, according to the WIIW on Monday. Belgrade – If the EU cannot improve things on the Balkans then it cannot do anything anywhere – not in Syria, not in relations with other states – since it has the largest influence in this area in geographic, political and economic terms, Deputy PM for European Affairs Nikola Dimitrov told panel “EU-Western Balkans: What can we expect from the EU meeting in Slovenia?” within the Belgrade Economic Forum (BEF) on Monday, MIA reports from the Serbian capital. Skopje – Prime Minister Zoran Zaev expects the Ministry of Interior (MoI) to publish in the coming days the report on the causes of the fire that broke out in the modular hospital in Tetovo, so that he can also reach a decision over the resignations offered by the Health Minister and the Deputy Health Minister. Skopje – Deputy PM for Economic Affairs Fatmir Bytyqi says it is necessary to restructure the Macedonian economy. According to Bytyqi, the country is too vulnerable with the current structure of economy, in which two-thirds of GDP relies on private consumption, 15 percent on public consumption, and only a small part on exports and production. Skopje – The Parliament recently adopted the four remaining laws in the field of waste management – Law on Waste Management, Law on Management of Packaging and Packaging Waste, Law on Management of Specific Waste Streams and Law on Extended Producer Responsibility in Management of Specific Waste Streams, which has completed the legislation required for Europeanization of the waste management field, said Prime Minister Zoran Zaev on Monday. Skopje – As of Monday midnight, the price of gasoline fuels increases by Mden 1.5, while that of diesel fuels increases by Mden 2, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said. Skopje – The state is keeping the electricity prices for households stable. At the moment, the state is obliged to provide about 60-70 percent of the electricity, and rest is subsidized, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev told reporters at the joint press conference with Minister of Environment and Physical Planning on Monday. Skopje – The State Election Commission (SEC) today received more than 1,000 fingerprint scanners that are set to be used for the October 17 local elections, whereas the entire quantity of 4,000 devices is to be delivered by the end of the week, said SEC President Aleksandar Dashtevski on Monday. Skopje  – Prime Minister Zoran Zaev held Monday a farewell meeting with the outgoing UNDP Resident Representative to North Macedonia, Narine Sahakyan. Skopje — To address barriers to the transition to a circular economy, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is launching a new program, called the “Circular Economy Regional Initiative”, in Turkey and the Western Balkans. Moscow – The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday invited North Macedonia’s Charge d’Affaires in Russia to hand her a note declaring an official of the Embassy of North Macedonia in Moscow ‘persona non grata’. Skopje – Chargé d’affaires at the Embassy of the Republic of North Macedonia in Moscow, Olivera Chaushevska Dimovska, was summoned at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, where she was handed a Note declaring a diplomat-second secretary a ‘persona non grata’. Skopje – North Macedonia’s passport is ranked 31st at Arton Capital’s Global Passport Power Rank, compiled according to the number of countries they can be used for travel. The list ranks 193 countries and six territories, with the North Macedonia passport eligible for travel in 108 countries, 66 of which visa-free. Kriva Palanka – The famous actor Djokica Lukarevski is the winner of award for outstanding contribution to theatre and culture at this year’s 13th International Theatre Festival “St. Joakim Osogovski” which is taking place in Kriva Palanka. Rome – Almost 40 religious leaders, including Pope Francis, have called on the international community to do more to fight climate change, in an appeal signed on Monday ahead of this year’s COP26 climate summit in Glasgow. Stockholm – Two molecular biologists, David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian, have won the 2021 Nobel Prize in Medicine for their work on how heat, cold and mechanical force can initiate nerve impulses in the human body.