Macedonia reforms reach parliament

The Macedonian parliament has opened a session aimed at debating constitutional reforms that improve the position of the country's Albanian minority.

The debate has been delayed numerous times, and the start of today's session was again dominated by a discussion on the agenda.

The constitutional measures were a key feature of the Western-brokered peace deal agreed between the Macedonian Government and ethnic-Albanian rebels in August.

Correspondents say there is growing international pressure on the parliament to approve the reforms, but some nationalist Macedonian deputies still oppose the measures, saying they reward an armed rebellion.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service