- Israel warns south Lebanon residents to 'not return'
- Sinner tames Machac to reach Shanghai Masters final
- Buried Nazi past haunts Athens on liberation anniversary
- Harris to release medical report confirming fitness for presidency: campaign
- Nobel prize a timely reminder, Hiroshima locals say
- Hezbollah fires at Israel as wars rage on Yom Kippur
- Analysts warn more detail needed on new China economic measures
- China tees up fresh spending to boost ailing economy
- China says will issue special bonds to boost ailing economy
- China offers $325 bn in fiscal stimulus for ailing economy
- Dodgers drop Padres 2-0 to advance in MLB playoffs
- Alexei Navalny wrote he knew he would die in prison in new memoir
- Last-minute legal ruling allows betting on US election
- Despite hurricanes, Floridians refuse to leave 'paradise'
- Israel observes Yom Kippur amid firestorm over Lebanon strikes
- Trump demonizes migrants in dark, misleading speech
- X says 'alert' to manipulation efforts after pro-Russia bots report
- US, European markets rise before Boeing unveils sweeping job cuts
- Small Quebec company dominates one part of NHL hockey: jerseys
- Comoros shock Tunisia, Salah, Mbeumo strike in AFCON qualifiers
- Boeing to cut 10% of workforce as it sees big Q3 loss
- Germany win in Nations League as 10-man Dutch rescue point
- Undav brace sends Germany to victory against Bosnia
- Israel says fired at 'threat' near UN position in Lebanon
- Want to film in Paris? No sexism allowed
- Ecuador's last mountain iceman dies at 80
- Milton leaves at least 16 dead, millions without power in Florida
- Senegal set to announce breakaway development agenda: PM
- UN says 2 peacekeepers wounded in south Lebanon explosions
- Injury-hit Australia thrash 'embarrassing' Pakistan at Women's T20 World Cup
- Internal TikTok documents show prioritization of traffic over well-being
- Israel says fired at 'immediate threat' near UN position in Lebanon
- New US coach Pochettino hails Pulisic but worries over workload
- Brazil orders closure of 2,000 betting sites
- UK govt urged to raise pro-democracy tycoon's case with China
- Sculptor Lalanne's animal creations sell for $59 mn
- From Tesla to Trump: Behind Musk's giant leap into politics
- US, European markets rise as investors weigh rates, earnings
- In Colombia, children trade plastic waste for school supplies
- Supercharged hurricanes trigger 'perfect storm' for disinformation
- JPMorgan Chase profits top estimates, bank sees 'resilient' US economy
- Djokovic proves staying power as he progresses to Shanghai semi-finals
- Sheffield Utd boss Wilder 'numb' after Baldock death
- Little progress at key meet ahead of COP29 climate summit
- Fans immerse themselves in Marina Abramovic's first China exhibition
- Israel says conducting review after UN peacekeepers wounded in Lebanon
- 'Party atmosphere': Skygazers treated to another aurora show
- Djokovic 'overwhelmed' after 'greatest rival' Nadal's retirement
- Zelensky in Berlin says hopes war with Russia will end next year
- Kyrgyzstan opens rare probe into glacier destruction
From insurgent to premier, N Macedonia's PM bridges ethnic divide
Former guerrilla commander Talat Xhaferi became the first ethnic Albanian to lead North Macedonia after being elected as caretaker prime minister late last month, highlighting strides in ethnic relations.
Around a quarter of North Macedonia's 1.8 million inhabitants are ethnic Albanians.
But ever since the Balkan country's 1991 declaration of independence from the former Yugoslavia, tensions persisted between the majority Macedonian population and the ethnic Albanian minority.
In January Xhaferi was sworn in without major protests -- a sea change from the demonstrations and complaints which marred his career as defence minister in 2013 and parliamentary speaker in 2017.
"I will advocate for ethnic balance and harmony between the communities," the bespectacled 61-year-old told MPs after being elected, as he spoke in both Macedonian and Albanian.
Xhaferi served as an Albanian insurgent commander when bloody conflict erupted due to ongoing discrimination, a decade after the country's independence.
He abandoned his post in North Macedonia's security forces to take up arms, having previously served in the Yugoslav army.
Thousands of rebel fighters, including Xhaferi, were later amnestied in accordance with a peace deal in 2001.
His ascent to the prime minister's office represents an unlikely rise for the politician born in the tiny village of Forino in what was then the Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
The premier is due to lead the government for 100 days until the general elections scheduled for May 8.
- 'Symbolic act' -
The views of analysts and communities, however, remain mixed.
For political analyst Sefer Tahiri, Xhaferi's election is a largely "symbolic political act" aiming to promote "good inter-ethnic relations".
"It will increase Albanian loyalty to the state, which remains minimal due to systematic discriminatory and undemocratic practices regarding their constitutional status and rights," Tahiri added.
North Macedonia's diversity has forced the country to work together.
For the past two decades, government after government has relied on fractious coalitions that have included ethnic minority parties to form a majority.
Others remain sceptical as they wait to see how his brief tenure will play out.
"It is important for the prime minister to work for the good of Macedonia, no matter who he is," said Fejzulai Nedzip, 77, a shop owner in the ethnically mixed Old Bazaar of Skopje.
Despite diverse coalitions, communities are often segregated along ethnic lines in reality.
Mixed marriages between ethnic Albanians and Macedonians remain rare with religious and linguistic differences creating further barriers.
Communal violence is rare but cracks do persist.
The European Alliance for Changes -- a coalition of three opposition Albanian parties -- panned Xhaferi's election as a "self-praise" ceremony.
"On the day of his election in a banal ceremony, we still have children in North Macedonia who are not allowed to learn in their mother tongue," the EAC said.
Xhaferi, however, has largely dismissed the criticism.
"I don't think I have done anything special," he told reporters.
"I have just fulfilled the assignment according to the obligations set by the law."
F.Dubois--AMWN