Grubi calls the ministers, food costs more than the minimum wage, Galičica, ambulances without drivers

Grubi wants every minister in the courtroom

The "State Lottery" trial was supposed to be a fast-track case. Instead it is turning into a witness list. Former Deputy Prime Minister Artan Grubi has named every minister as a witness who sat at the government session of 6 June 2023, when the purchase of video lottery terminals worth 9.7 million euros was approved. The message could not be clearer: if he is guilty, so is the whole cabinet that raised its hands. The prosecution has problems of its own - its first witness turned in favour of the defence, and the third simply didn't show up. And the machines? According to a department head at the Lottery, they are still sitting in a warehouse, unused.

Food now costs more than the entire minimum wage

The minimum wage is 26,046 denars. Food and drink for a family of four cost 26,170 denars in October, according to the trade unions' minimum consumer basket. The full basket has reached 70,358 denars, up 926 denars in a single month, and 911 of that is food. At the same time, the State Statistical Office reported zero percent monthly inflation for September. Who buys bread every day, and who buys theatre tickets? Meanwhile the SSKM union came out against cutting public holidays, but with a proposal to pay workers by the hour worked - a kind of flexibility that raises the question of who gets to decide the hours.

Teen violence in Vlae and at Bit Pazar

Half an hour past midnight, on "Delfina" square in Skopje's Vlae neighbourhood, around 15 minors attacked a 13-year-old child. According to published reports, the boy's teeth were broken, and witnesses say a metal object was used. The Interior Ministry confirmed the mother's report and says "measures are being taken". Separately, at Bit Pazar, police detained a 17-year-old who attacked a 15-year-old with a sharp object. Will we ever find out how many of the Vlae attackers have been identified, and what the social work centre has to say?

The Post Office pays interest on unsigned payment orders

The Financial Police have filed criminal charges against Jani Makraduli, former general manager of the state-owned "Pošta". According to the charges, in 2021 and 2022 he failed to carry out his own management board's decisions to pay off a debt of 19,292,984 denars to two companies, leaving the settlement, the invoices and the payment orders unsigned. The result: lawsuits and penalty interest of 10,968,483 denars, almost 178,000 euros, paid by the state company. A criminal complaint is not a verdict, and Makraduli has the right to a defence. But how many other state companies are paying interest because someone at the top didn't put pen to paper?

A scar on Galičica and complaints sent to four addresses

From Lake Ohrid you can see a mark on the slopes of Galičica. In Lagadin, inside the national park's sustainable-use zone, the park itself recorded in 2024 the illegal seizure of 17,000 square metres of state land, destroyed forest and unauthorised construction: a retaining wall, a concrete slab, a road cut into the hillside. Complaints went to the Prosecutor's Office, the police in Ohrid, the State Inspectorate for Construction and Urban Planning and the State Attorney's Office. According to the civic initiative "Ohrid SOS", photos from 2026 show that nothing on the ground has improved. Four addresses, and the scar is still there.

New vehicles, missing drivers

The emergency medical service is getting 100 new ambulances, growing the fleet from 140 to about 200. The minister himself admits the real bottleneck isn't the equipment but the people behind the wheel. Healthcare also has the Mihajlova case on its desk: the minister says it is a matter of justice, while inspectors found violations in the treatment. Still unanswered is how a defendant whose passports were confiscated manages to cross the border.

Skopje: buses that don't come, cameras that wait

Passengers in Volkovo waited 40 minutes, and line 23 didn't show up for over an hour: Skopje is once again without its private bus operators, and there is no official explanation. Meanwhile the City is announcing more than 200 cameras against illegal dumps and vandalism, but is still waiting for approval from the Personal Data Protection Agency. The new EkoSkopje platform lets residents report a full bin or an illegal dump with a photo. The app was built by young people; the real test is how fast the municipal sanitation company responds.

Soldiers over 45 and the land under apartment blocks

Professional soldiers over 45 will be able to stay in the Army as civilian employees on permanent contracts, instead of severance or a transfer. It fixes a problem more than 15 years old, although the collective agreement is still being negotiated. In Parliament, amendments passed their first reading that will make it easier for residents to take ownership of the land under their buildings: a new one-year deadline and no surveyor's report required. Your flat is yours, but the ground beneath it still belongs to the state.

The region counts money and observers

Bulgaria will not take part in the new 70 billion euros for Ukraine: last year it paid, now Sofia is saying "no" too. In Serbia, Ana Brnabić is disputing the European observers before they have even landed, while seven MEPs are on their way to monitor the elections. If the government picks who gets to watch it, what exactly is being observed? Further afield, the US is holding up the transfer of Patriot missiles that Europe has for Ukraine, and Musk ordered Starlink throttled for Ukrainian drones. Trump denies it, Musk points at the US military.

Vardar in Nantes, PSG over Barcelona

Vardar crushed Butel 38:30 in the Super League, and tonight in Nantes they play for pride in the Champions League. PSG tore Barcelona apart 4:2, while in the NBA LeBron spoiled the Knicks' ring night, and TFT took the court in Tuzla with just six players.

The heavier part of the day shares one thread. The Lottery's machines are in a warehouse, the new ambulances are short of drivers, the cameras are waiting for a permit, and the scar on Galičica is still there. The state knows how to buy and how to announce. Who answers for it when the equipment goes out of date before anyone switches it on?