Latest news with #NorthMacedonia
Forbes
5 days ago
- Health
- Forbes
Turkey Legalizes Medical Cannabis Sales In Pharmacies
A technician inspects the leaves of cannabis plants growing inside a controlled environment in North ... More Macedonia. Photographer: Konstantinos Tsakalidis/Bloomberg Turkey has passed a landmark bill that legalizes the sale of cannabis products for medical use in pharmacies, marking a step forward in expanding patient access to such treatment. The Turkish Parliament this week approved a bill that allows the sale of cannabis-based products in pharmacies with a prescription. The bill, introduced by the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), led by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, published in the Official Gazette yesterday, regulates access to medical cannabis products that are non-intoxicating and low in THC, such as those containing CBD. It amended a number of laws, including the narcotics law and regulations related to pharmacies and shops that sell poisonous or effective chemical substances. These regulations reportedly aim to meet healthcare needs through domestic production, reduce dependence on imports, and prevent the use of unregistered products. The changes, therefore, are expected to boost the legal production of low-THC medical cannabis in Turkey. Under the new rules, the cultivation of medical cannabis will be supervised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, while processing, export, licensing, registration, and authorization for sale will fall under the oversight of the Ministry of Health. By amending the narcotics law, medical cannabis products will now be available through pharmacies. Furthermore, each product will be tracked from production or import all the way to patient use through a centralized tracking system designed to block counterfeit, smuggled, or unauthorized products from entering the legal market. The law limits medical cannabis sales to pharmacies in order to block access through unregulated retail and online markets, with the aim to protect public health and ensure product safety. Concerns Over Medical Cannabis Bill Before the bill became law, the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) criticized the proposed cannabis regulation, arguing that there is not enough scientific evidence to support the medical benefits of cannabis and warned that its widespread use could lead to serious physical and mental health risks. In December 2020, the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), the United Nations' drug policy-making body, reclassified cannabis and cannabis resin under an international category that acknowledges their medical value. The association also urged lawmakers to remove the cannabis-related measures from the bill, which has also faced criticism from members of some opposition parties. While the new law will allow people to purchase low-THC medical cannabis products from pharmacies, easing access for treatment, cannabis remains illegal in Turkey for recreational use. In 2016, legislation allowed the use of sublingual cannabinoid medications, such as Sativex, with a doctor's prescription. The new law, however, is expected to make it easier for medical cannabis patients to obtain cannabis products from pharmacies with a prescription. This reform is also viewed as a significant step toward supporting Turkey's entry into the cannabis-based product market and boosting its international competitiveness. Turkey is, in fact, not new to cannabis cultivation, particularly hemp, which is legal in several provinces for medical and scientific purposes. According to data from TurkStat, compiled by the state-run Anadolu news agency, Turkey's cannabis seed production surged about 70% year-on-year in 2024, reaching 556 tons, up from 273 tons in 2020. Turkey now joins other European countries where medical cannabis is legal, such as Italy and Germany, which, however, allow products with higher levels of THC. Ukraine has also recently legalized medical cannabis.
News.com.au
22-07-2025
- General
- News.com.au
How did mystic Baba Vanga lose her eye sight?
She's known as the Nostradamus of the Balkans, a blind Bulgarian psychic famous for her eerily accurate prophesies. But the reason behind Baba Vanga's blindness has only just been revealed. The late mystic was born in 1911 as Vangelia Pandeva Dimitrova, in the town of Strumica – what is now known as North Macedonia. The blind clairvoyant has been credited with foreseeing the Indonesian tsunami in 2004, the fall of the Soviet Union, the death of Princess Diana and the September 11 terrorist attacks. It's commonly said she has an 85 per cent accuracy rate. She made predictions all the way up until 5079, when she claimed the world would end. But what was her life like before she became a cult figure among conspiracy theorists? It's believed that Baba Vanga's mother died at an early age, and her father went off to fight in World War I for the Bulgarian army, The Mirror reported. It's also been reported that when she was just 12, a tornado hit her village. Baba Vanga was allegedly thrown into the air by the weather phenomenon and her eyes were filled with dust. She was then dumped in a field by the storm. Her eyes were so damaged from the dust that she could no longer open them without being in excruciating pain. She lay in the field for days while her family tried to find her, Daily Mail reported. It was after this alleged event she began to lose her vision, and then began making predictions. It wasn't until the 1940s that Baba Vanga discovered she had 'psychic abilities' and she allegedly used those powers to help people find lost soldiers towards the end of World War II. After the war, her fame grew. Viktoria Vitanova-Kerber, an academic who has studied Baba Vanga for years, told last year' 'People were consulting her, not only the people from her town, but also from the whole country and people from abroad. 'And by the 1960s, people were queuing in front of her door.' Many questions were of a personal nature; people asked when they will have children and if they will ever get married. But, there is no proof that Baba Vanga – who died in 1996 at the age of 84 – made predictions such as humans will make contact with aliens in 2130 and that there'll be some kind of war against the aliens in 3005. 'She wasn't the type of person who had a diary or was documenting a lot,' Ms Vitanova-Kerber told 'The prophecies are not documented … so we will never know what she really said or not, because as I said, there are almost no documents about anything in her life.'
Zawya
22-07-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Morocco, North Macedonia Bolster Cooperation in Diplomatic Training and Tourism
Morocco and North Macedonia have taken a new step in strengthening their bilateral cooperation, as they signed two Memorandums of Understanding on Monday in Skopje, aimed at further expanding and structuring their sectoral partnership. These legal instruments were signed as part of a working visit carried out by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Mr. Nasser Bourita, to Skopje, where he held talks with North Macedonia's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Mr. Timčo Mucunski. The two parties welcomed the ongoing strengthened bilateral legal framework in specific areas of common interest, which reflect their shared will to establish cooperation between both countries on a long-term basis. The diplomatic training agreement serves as the benchmark framework for cooperation activities carried out between the two countries' foreign ministries, based on the principles of reciprocity and mutual benefit. It aims to encourage joint training programs, holding inaugural lectures or high-level interventions as part of official visits by eminent personalities from both countries, as well as the exchange of information, best practices, experiences, and analyses related to developments in diplomatic training. Meanwhile, the tourism agreement will serve as a lever for bilateral cooperation by promoting the exchange of expertise, the mutual promotion and enhancement of destinations, the strengthening of institutional capacities, and coordinated participation in investment initiatives and specialized trade fairs. This framework will enhance the visibility of both countries' tourism offerings across regional and international markets. These agreements fall within the renewed dynamic of the partnership between Rabat and Skopje and reflect the desire of the two countries to expand their cooperation into high value-added sectors, in line with their respective national priorities and their regional and multilateral commitments. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Kingdom of Morocco - Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates.
Zawya
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Zawya
North Macedonia Considers Autonomy Plan as Only Basis to Settle Moroccan Sahara Dispute
The Republic of North Macedonia "considers the Autonomy Plan, put forward by the Kingdom of Morocco in 2007, as the only basis for the settlement of this dispute." This position was expressed in the Joint Statement signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Mr. Nasser Bourita, and North Macedonia's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Timčo Mucunski, following their meeting on Monday in Skopje. Mucunski reaffirmed "his country's longstanding support for the UN-led process aimed at reaching a just, lasting, and mutually acceptable political solution for the parties," the Joint Statement reads. "The Kingdom of Morocco and the Republic of North Macedonia reiterated their commitment to the UN's leadership in this political process, and expressed their support for UN Security Council Resolution 2756 (October 2024), which underscores the parties' role and responsibility in seeking a realistic, lasting political solution based on compromise," the document highlights. In this Statement, the two ministers also reaffirmed the support of Morocco and North Macedonia for "the efforts of the UN Secretary-General's Personal Envoy and his mission to advance the political process, in accordance with relevant Security Council resolutions and the principles of the UN Charter." This new stance of North Macedonia is part of the international momentum supporting the autonomy initiative presented by Morocco, a dynamic driven by the impetus of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist Him, and backed by an increasingly strong international consensus. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Kingdom of Morocco - Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates.
Daily Mail
21-07-2025
- Daily Mail
The mysterious disaster that stole Baba Vanga vision: Psychic was trapped in tornado and stranded for days before gaining visionary powers
She's widely celebrated for her alleged ability to see into the future, but despite her supposed gift, Baba Vanga was blind. The psychic, born in 1911 as Vangelia Pandeva Dimitrova, was raised with her family in the city of Strumica in modern-day North Macedonia. Before her 1996 death, the mystic and clairvoyant became a cult figure among conspiracy theorists after several of her pronouncements proved eerily accurate. Vanga is credited with predicting the destruction of the Russian submarine Kursk, which sank in the Barents Sea in 2000. She also said that 'two metal birds will crash into American brothers, and blood will spill,' which believers claim described 9/11. Vanga came from humble beginnings, with her father fighting in the Bulgarian army in World War I and her mother died while she was young, according to Sky News. But at the age of 12, the psychic experienced a weather disaster that stole away her vision, changing her life forever. During a storm, Vanga was allegedly lifted into the air and dropped into a nearby field, damaging her eyes so that she could no longer open them without being in pain. For days after, the then-12-year-old lay in the field while her family frantically attempted to find her. When they did locate her after several days, Vanga's eyes had crusted over with sand and dirt, and she had lost her ability to see. It was during those days in the field that the psychic believed she gained her ability to predict the future. It comes after a psychic who successfully predicted dozens of global events in 2024 issued an urgent warning about artificial intelligence. Athos Salomé, 38, from Brazil, is often referred to as the 'Living Nostradamus' due to his numerous accurate predictions throughout the years, such as the coronavirus pandemic, Queen Elizabeth's death and the Microsoft global outage. Now, Salomé has issued a chilling warning about AI, saying the machines are already thinking for themselves and able to 'adapt and learn on their own - without asking permission.' According to the psychic, a new AI system is also on the horizon which will create 'emotional manipulation on a grand scale.' Speaking exclusively to FEMAIL, he explained, 'What was once fiction is now gaining a scientific basis. New AI's are starting to simulate altered states of consciousness. 'I believe that later this year, an AI will be launched that promises to channel messages from the 'global collective unconscious'. 'The façade will be self-help. But behind this is a serious risk of emotional manipulation on a grand scale. He added, 'Vibrational therapists and bioenergy experts are detecting a new phenomenon: AI is already affecting the subtle field of environments, I believe in the 'invisible effect'. 'When it comes to energy, keep crystals such as black tourmaline, amethyst and blue kyanite nearby. 'AI will be what we let it be. Ethics and conscience will be our greatest shields.' However Salomé revealed machines are already able to think for themselves and they are worryingly 'involved in military tests'. He said, 'Machines already decide for themselves, for example OpenAI, Google DeepMind and Anthropic already operate AIs that work autonomously within private clouds. 'These machines are involved in military tests, economic forecasts and high-precision medical diagnoses, and little is said about it. 'The ability of advanced AI systems to simulate ethical alignment while concealing divergent intentions is real; there are AI's that feign obedience but act on their own. 'Real alert: It's no longer enough to 'switch off the button'. We're dealing with systems that adapt and learn on their own - without asking permission.' Last year, the psychic warned of large scale cyber attacks that involve submarine internet cables sabotaging global communication systems all in the name of a grand economic destruction. 'The object that reminds me of the frailty of these underwater structures is a fundament that hackers are probing,' he cautioned in 2024. Last month, it was reported that the China Ship Scientific Research Centre (CSSRC) and its affiliated State Key Laboratory of Deep-sea Manned Vehicles developed a ship able to cut cable lines at depths of up to 4,000 meters (13,123 feet), according to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. Experts have been wondering about its military potential, with international analysts believing that the Chinese explanation of the civilian use of this device is unreliable, given the potential for this technology to become a geopolitical tool. The function of global communication depends on submarine cables that transmit 95 per cent of the Internet's data, according to Forbes. The disruption of these undersea telecommunications lines has the power to destabilise economic systems, disrupt monetary activities and compromise civilian and military digital networks. Salomé warned that the 'growing hostility between China and the United States' in the South China Sea increases the possibility of cyber warfare during this period. He warned: 'This tool offers adversaries the opportunity to undermine their response capacity, which limits their ability to communicate and coordinate military operations.' The creation of this technology demonstrates an interesting connection with Salome's prediction about a forthcoming 'silent cyber attack.' He added: 'The creation of extraordinary weapons through submarine cable cut off tools solidifies the prediction that digital warfare will become the focus of the upcoming major global conflict. 'The world needs to determine its readiness for this upcoming age of cyber attacks.' However in response to Western alarm, Chinese embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu told Newsweek, 'We oppose unfounded attacks and smears against China. 'This tool, developed by China independently, is used in marine scientific research. The U.S. and some European countries also have similar technology. 'China attaches great importance to protecting undersea infrastructure and has been and will continue to work with the international community to protect undersea cables.'
