23 August 2021 Skopje — As of today, some 40,000 citizens waiting for their new national identity cards for months because the opposition had blocked the Law on the Personal Identification Card in Parliament, which prevented the Ministry of Interior from printing the personal documents, can pick up their new IDs bearing the new name of the country, Republic of North Macedonia. Skopje – President Stevo Pendarovski is paying a visit August 23-24 to Ukraine to attend events marking the 30th anniversary of country’s declaration of independence. Skopje – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has allocated about 133 million new Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), or about EUR 161 million to our country, which today will be incorporated in the official foreign exchange reserves, according to the National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia. Skopje – As of Monday midnight, the prices of gasoline and diesel fuels are to decrease by Mden 1.5 per liter, while that of extra light household fuel is to reduce by Mden 1 per liter, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has said. Skopje — The Rapid Deployment Unit of the police is an essential link in protecting citizens’ safety, security, freedoms, rights, property as well as law and order, Interior Minister Oliver Spasovski said at Monday’s celebration of the police unit’s 20th anniversary, also attended by Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and the unit’s commander Vice Stoleski. Skopje – Over five million written documents, collected for decades by professionals from all over the country that are preserved in cardboard boxes at the Krste Misirkov Institute for Macedonian Language, will be digitized as part of a joint project of the Culture Ministry and the Fund for Innovations and Technology Development (FITR). Skopje — To save lives, to bring back smiles, to let health workers rest, to go to cultural events again, to watch sports matches from the bleachers – these are the government’s messages in its new public awareness campaign to promote vaccination and dispel confusion and vaccine misinformation, according to Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and Health Minister Venko Filipche at the “Get Vaccinated!” campaign launch on Monday. Skopje – Minister of Health Venko Filipche told a press conference on Monday that approximately 700 patients are hospitalized nationwide due to coronavirus-related complications. Skopje – The Afghan civilians we said we are prepared to offer refuge to will be issued 90-day visa for temporary stay, even though some have already announced they will leave the country in 10-15 days after arriving, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said Monday when asked what will be the legal status of the Afghans that are set to arrive in the coming days. Skopje – Minister of Foreign Affairs Bujar Osmani took part on Monday in the inaugural Crimea Platform Summit taking place in Kyiv, Ukraine. Skopje — The state has no plan or recommendation to test students for Covid-19 ahead of Sept. 1 when schools open or during the new school year, the way some countries are introducing free PCR tests for children. Health authorities have been “gathering experiences from European countries and will review them this week,” Heath Minister Venko Filipche said at the government’s “Get Vaccinated!” campaign launch Monday. Nicosia – Starting Thursday, Cyprus will move North Macedonia and other three countries from Orange into the Red Category. Macedonian nationals who want to travel to the island must submit to another PCR test on arrival, in addition to one 72 hours prior to departure, MIA’s Athens correspondent reports on Monday. Beijing — About a month after the start of the worst outbreak of the coronavirus in China in a year, no more local transmissions were reported for the first time on Monday.