Macedonia premier in surprise Rome visit

(ANSA) - Skopje, May 22 - Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski will have an audience with the pope during his unannounced visit to Italy, Macedonian media reported Friday.
    Gruevski arrived in Italy from Zurich, where his plane made an emergency landing after an engine failure.
    He had been on a flight from Strasbourg, where he held EU-brokered talks with political opponents in an effort to defuse a domestic crisis.
    Thousands of Macedonians converged on the capital Skopje on May 17 to protest against the government and back opposition demands for the conservative premier's resignation.