Bombs in Bitola, disputed pension numbers, a 45 billion denar deficit, the eye hospital

Bitola is still counting bombs from 1918

In the old barracks below Tumbe Kafe, more than 1,700 hand grenades and rifle grenades have come out of the ground in recent days, taking the count at that one site past 4,000. The nearest houses stand 200 metres away as the crow flies, and Stojanche Angelov, head of the Directorate for Protection and Rescue, expects more than 1,000 more.

The entire country has two professionally employed bomb disposal experts. In the spring operation, Bitola's Gjorgji Stefanov dug the bombs out alone. Now he has help from three pensioners on service contracts. One of the most dangerous trades in the country hangs on a handful of people, above ground where families live today. Why does training new people only start once the old hands are leaving?

Pension funds: whose number is right?

Hristijan Mickoski called the pension companies "weak entrepreneurs" and claims the private funds return 1.5 percent. The MAPAS report for 2018 to 2024 shows 5.03 percent in nominal terms, but only 0.16 percent in real terms, once inflation has eaten almost all of the gain. So people really do get little, yet the prime minister never explained where his number comes from.

The State Audit Office adds a part he left out: transfers of contributions from the state pension fund, PIOM, to the private funds ran two months late on average. Behind all of this sit about 3.5 billion euros in savings belonging to more than 640,000 citizens, and the prime minister also mentioned full nationalisation as one possible scenario. No final decision has been made. Before the public debate, the least the government can do is publish its methodology.

Budget 2027: a 45 billion denar deficit and an old Eurobond coming due

The government adopted the draft budget with revenues of 395.4 billion and spending of 440.4 billion denars, which means a deficit of 45 billion denars, or 3.5 percent of GDP. The gap with this year's 46.3 billion is 1.3 billion denars, and the drop in the percentage depends heavily on projected growth of 3.8 percent. A 500 million euro Eurobond also matures in 2027, so new borrowing will go partly towards repaying old debt.

Last year's statistics show what that kind of growth is made of. GDP rose 3.8 percent in real terms, but imports exceeded exports by 2.1 billion euros, and roughly 54 percent of investment ended up in construction work. Machinery and equipment got 1.56 billion euros. Concrete is growing faster than factories.

Eye hospital: passports taken, patients waiting

The Basic Criminal Court in Skopje ordered precautionary measures against nine people in the case of double billing for eye surgery: their travel documents were seized and they must report to the court. According to the Interior Ministry's suspicions, a single procedure was billed both to the Health Insurance Fund and to the patient, and between 3,000 and 4,000 people may have been harmed.

Those reported, according to the information so far, include former and current employees of the Fund. The European Eye Hospital says it has not harmed a single patient, and guilt is still for the court to establish. There is no special procedure for those who had surgery so far. The court took the passports in a day. How long will patients wait to learn whether anyone owes them anything?

The metropolitan who measures power in Titos

As a guest on Alfa TV, Metropolitan Agatangel of Povardarie declared that VMRO will rule as long as Tito did and that the opposition has no chance. He then accused professor Ljubomir Frchkoski and unnamed journalists of attacking the Church, citing financial interest as the reason. He gave no journalists' names and no evidence. Article 19 of the Constitution separates religious communities from the state. Does a believer who votes for the opposition still see this man as their bishop?

Supreme Court turns down Stojanche Jovanovski

The Supreme Court rejected the request for extraordinary review, so Stojanche Jovanovski's single sentence of 12 years in prison stands. He has a final conviction for the violence he inflicted on his wife, Ivana. She and their six-year-old daughter lost their lives on 2 March. The courts said who is guilty and of what. Whether anyone could have stopped the violence before that day is a question for the institutions that exist precisely for women in that position, and it remains open.

Teferich, Kumanovo, Jurumleri, Butel: from a collapsed road to a new park

The road to Teferich collapsed six months after it was resurfaced, and the trucks arrived eight months later, with a 48.8 million denar contract and a one-year deadline. The Kisela Voda municipality did not answer which firm carried out the previous repair. From 1 January, Kumanovo will have 19 bus lines instead of 26, with tickets up to 140 denars. How often the remaining lines will run has not been said so far.

Jurumleri is starting to get a sewer system for about 144 million denars, with the prime minister standing next to the excavator and no deadline for the first connections. The good news comes from Butel: a former dump, once slated for high-rises, has become a 50,000 square metre park. A park instead of concrete deserves to be said without irony. Only the price is missing from the press releases.

Serbia: Vučić learns to lose

Five days after losing the election, Aleksandar Vučić sat down in a TV studio and opened with "You have to learn to lose". That lasted briefly: next came "pure Hitlerism". The student list won 140 seats in parliament, his won 104. Meanwhile, according to Serbian media, prosecutors ordered a review of why Milan Radoičić, a suspect in the Banjska attack, was never held in custody. There is no official confirmation.

The world: Binance and Iran

In twenty minutes, attackers pulled out most of the 6.3 billion dollars taken from Binance, the biggest crypto theft so far, and the trail leads to Pyongyang. In the White House, meanwhile, Admiral Brad Cooper presented Donald Trump with military options for possible new strikes on Iran. The date behind all of it is 3 November, the congressional elections.

Sport: Vardar seven seconds from a win

Vardar led 26:25 with 25 seconds to go at Jane Sandanski, and Florian Drosten equalised seven seconds before the buzzer. Miloš Valah made 14 saves, Mateo Faduil scored seven, and the team now drops into the EHF European League. On Sunday the derby with Pelister awaits at home.

In the heavier part of the day, from the barracks below Tumbe Kafe to the pension funds and the Health Insurance Fund, the numbers have been spoken. What is missing is someone willing to stand behind them.