Skopje - At least 15 people have died in an extreme cold spell in the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia, where electricity supplies have been disrupted and 10,000 sheep trapped in isolated areas could die for lack of fodder, according to reports.
Temperatures in some areas have fallen as low as minus 20 degrees while the capital Skopje has been buried in snowfalls up to 25 inches. Meanwhile, five people died and 16 people were injured in a car pile-up yesterday in Sicily.