A government reshuffle with a deadline, but not a single name

PM Hristijan Mickoski promised the government reshuffle would be done by the end of June, with the new names before MPs by July 1. What exactly changes - which ministries, which ministers, which coalition partners - he doesn't say a word. "In the interest of the process," he says. The deadline is concrete, the substance is missing. In Macedonian politics, that usually means the deadline is the first thing to slip.

A dignified life costs far above the average wage

The Federation of Trade Unions calculated that the minimum union basket for a family of four in June is 68,654 denars. The average net wage in the country is below 49,000. The figure isn't abstract: behind it are families weighing meat by the gram and choosing between the electricity bill and shoes for a child. The basket dropped by a whole 88 denars compared to May - and that's bad news dressed up as good.

The forests fall, the leadership celebrates a birthday

While Lopushnik and Jablanica are left bare from mass logging, the deputy director of Macedonian Forests celebrates his birthday at a party event. The Left demands the dismissal of the entire leadership; audit reports speak of "brutal politicisation." On the Albanian side, Jablanica is a national park; on the Macedonian side, the procedure has been sitting for years. In the meantime - the forest is being cut.

Debreshe with empty buckets, Sveti Nikole with the injured

On the same day the government promises a reshuffle, residents of Debreshe marched with empty buckets outside Gostivar Municipality - no water for decades. Smashed glass at the entrance, and one more promise nobody believes. On the Kumanovo - Sveti Nikole road, meanwhile, a minibus slammed into a truck and ten were injured, two rushed to Skopje. Infrastructure that doesn't work has its own daily price.

Skopje Pride sets off through the centre

Tonight at 6pm, the Skopje Pride march sets off through the central boulevards under the slogan "Let everyone know." A special traffic regime, and the old question that goes unanswered - whether the country really listens.

World: broken alliances and ultimatums

Abroad, two reminders that friendships between states last only as long as the interests. Trump claimed Meloni begged him for a G7 photo, so Italy cancelled its Washington visit - a diplomatic scandal in a few sentences. At the same time, Zelensky gave Lukashenko a week to remove Russian relay equipment from border towers, or Ukraine acts alone. And in tech, OpenAI, ahead of its IPO, recruited both a scientist and a former official - a sign that the future of artificial intelligence is written as much in politics as in code.

The lighter part of the day

To close, something that isn't a battle with institutions. Silvia of Sweden marked 50 years as queen - an interpreter who met the king at the Olympics and became the face of the monarchy. We also said goodbye to James Burrows, the director behind Cheers and Friends, with over 1,000 episodes and eleven Emmy Awards. And on the court, Reggie Brunson finally lifted a ring with the Knicks, while at the World Cup the USA and Brazil moved into the knockout phase.

The day ended the way it began: with institutions promising deadlines and celebrating birthdays, while the water, the forests and the wage stay where they were. The harder part of the day isn't in any press release - it's in the empty bucket outside the town hall.