Alta Banka counters, "no progress" from Brussels, e-transcripts in Shtip, measles

Alta Banka: the counters open, the cap stays

From today, customers of "Alta Banka" Bitola who have no payment card can withdraw cash at the counter - but no more than 20,000 denars every two weeks, and only in a time slot booked by SMS. The measure is meant for pensioners and people on social assistance. Everyone else stays on 10,000 denars a week by card, and the farmers of the "Pelagonisko Pole" association call that discrimination: by their count, 85 percent of livestock breeders and farmers keep their money in exactly this bank - and it is sowing season.

The bank is under a three-month administration by the National Bank, and 95.336% of it is owned by Belgrade's "Alta Banka", which has lost its operating licence. In Bitola, mayor Toni Konjanovski published the balances of the city's public enterprises - around 8.85 million denars in total, taken on different dates - and called the request for an emergency council session populist. If the numbers are that calm, why not say them in a session too?

Brussels: "no progress" more than 30 times

The European Commission's new report on Macedonia writes "no progress" on electoral reform, on the fight against corruption, on freedom of expression and on the constitutional amendments. Corruption, according to the document, remains widespread and a serious concern. And yet the Commission found room to note that members of the government do not use the constitutional name. Technically, the process moves. Politically, it is standing still.

The economic chapter is softer, but not free of questions: growth of 3.5 percent in wages, pensions and loans, capital investment only 64.6 percent executed, the deficit raised to 4.1 percent and 33.9 percent of tenders drawing a single bid. Brussels asks what will be left once the spending stops.

Bogdanci: the violence was reported, the measures were issued

The violence against the 17-year-old girl from Bogdanci was no secret. The man was detained on 1 October, a criminal complaint for bodily harm followed, then a second one for endangering the safety of the minor, and in civil proceedings he was placed under protection measures against domestic violence. On 3 November a burnt-out car with two bodies was found near Bogdanci, and the prosecution says initial indications point to a murder and suicide. The National Network to End Violence against Women and Domestic Violence has demanded an urgent and independent investigation. The question is a simple one: who was checking whether the measures were being respected?

Measles and a law that was being dodged

So far five cases of measles have been registered, and vaccination coverage stands at 62 percent. In 2018, with coverage at 74.8 percent, an epidemic left 800 people in hospital and four dead, recalls the director of the Institute of Public Health, Marija Andonovska. Health minister Sasho Klekovski says there will be no coercive measures, and when reminded that barring unvaccinated children from kindergarten is a legal obligation, he answered: "You know that was being circumvented." A minister publicly admitting the law was dodged, without saying who did it or how it will be stopped - that is the hardest sentence in the story.

E-transcripts in Shtip "fixed" for cash

The Basic Court in Shtip ordered eight days of detention for two employees of Goce Delchev University, suspected of abuse of office and computer fraud. According to the interior ministry, the head of the e-transcript department took money from students so they could register for exams after the deadlines had passed, and he is also suspected of deleting grades and credits. The illegal gain is estimated at 21,000 euros so far, over five years. The more expensive question is how many passed exams rest on "adjusted" data, and who at the university was supposed to check.

Inflation: the "zero" that isn't zero

In the eurozone inflation jumped to 4 percent, and in Croatia to 4.9 percent, with energy a fifth more expensive than a year ago. Here, the statistics show zero on a monthly basis - but on an annual basis it is 2.7 percent.

Skopje: rubbish, trees and "Vardarishte"

The Young Lawyers are collecting photos, locations and dates of uncollected rubbish so they can demand an inspection - work that someone else was supposed to be doing. Gjorgjievski announced 6,000 new trees in Skopje and planting of the first 3,500 saplings has begun, without saying which species or at what price. And "Vardarishte" is being cleaned up by March, with 2.5 million euros for decontamination, while the waste goes to "Drisla", which is asking for another eight million denars in subsidies.

The lake, the hospital and the roads

Lake Ohrid is just five centimetres above its natural minimum, 14 centimetres below the November average. In Bitola, the Clinical Hospital has had no sperm analysis for five years, so the test costs around 150 euros privately, warns Levica. On the roads there have been 84 deaths in ten months, 33 fewer than last year. Interior minister Toshkovski admits drivers have learned where the cameras are, so from next year police vehicles will measure speed too.

The region and the world

In Serbia, the commander of the SAJ special unit has been arrested over the torture of students in the government garage - after a whole year in which the interior ministry insisted there had been no abuse, and only once the SNS lost the election. In the US, the Democrats won both houses of Congress, and Trump responded with a cap that reads "Veto".

Handball: Luxembourg as a warm-up

Macedonia's handball team crushed Luxembourg 41:23 at the start of qualifying for EHF EURO 2028. Goriga sang the anthem and scored three goals, but the real test comes on Sunday, in Greece.

The heavier part of the day shares one thread: rules, measures and systems that exist on paper. A cap instead of money, a law that was being dodged, protection measures nobody supervised, an electronic system in which someone spent five years deleting grades. The question is not whether the rules exist - it is who checks whether they work.