Detention for a punch to a child, measles, a security law scrapped, Alta Bank

Detention for the attack outside "Jane Sandanski", another fight in Aerodrom

The Criminal Court ordered 30 days of detention for the 20-year-old fan suspected of punching a minor in the head outside the "Jane Sandanski" sports hall. The boy lost consciousness and ended up with a concussion at the "Mother Teresa" Clinical Centre. Detention is the logical step, but the bigger question is still hanging: how did the "Family" fan group walk right up to the entrance where around 50 Rabotnički fans were already waiting, before a game with a scheduled start time?

The same evening, less than three hours later, three minors were attacked by their peers in Aerodrom. Two fights in the same neighbourhood in under three hours, minors hurt in both, and the police say they are "clearing up" the case.

Measles in people who never travelled abroad

Macedonia has four confirmed cases of measles: one imported, in a citizen of Kosovo, and three local ones, from Veles, Štip and Skopje. Two are babies under 12 months, the third patient is over 40, and none of them were vaccinated. Health Minister Sašo Klekovski says there are no grounds to declare an epidemic for now, but the three local patients never travelled abroad - which leaves the obvious question open: where did they catch it? The most useful advice of the day: if you have a fever, a cough and a rash, don't sit in a waiting room - call your doctor.

The government scraps a security law it calls perfectly good

The bill to repeal the Law on Coordination of the Security and Intelligence Community passed its first reading in parliament's Defence and Security Committee, eight votes to two. The interior ministry's own justification says the law is aligned with EU and NATO standards, but isn't applied because of "institutional distrust" between the services. The rules are fine, the services won't cooperate, so the rules get deleted. SDSM asked why the Coordination Council never held a single meeting, even though the law says it must meet at least once every three months. No answer so far.

Alta Bank: a 406-million fund, and no payout while the bank is open

The Deposit Insurance Fund holds around 406.5 million euros and guarantees up to 30,000 euros per depositor, per bank. But for customers of Bitola's Alta Bank, the key point is something else: the Fund pays nothing as long as the bank keeps its operating licence. The National Bank has put the bank under temporary administration and stresses that it is not bankrupt.

In parliament, meanwhile, the oversight hearing on Alta Bank will go ahead without the words "fraud against citizens" in its title. SDSM pointed out that the very same title was copied from VMRO-DPMNE's own initiative on Eurostandard Bank, back when they were in opposition.

A hand grenade in a Skopje home, a marijuana charge ten months late

Among the items in the police bulletins for 1 and 2 November, one isn't marijuana: an "M75" hand grenade, found along with 253 bullets and two pistols at the home of a 33-year-old from Skopje. In Strumica, meanwhile, a charge for marijuana found on 25 December 2025 has only now been filed. The bulletin counts arrests - it doesn't say where a hand grenade in a Skopje home comes from.

Brvenica: 265 votes and a "Trojan horse"

DUI took Brvenica, and VMRO-DPMNE calls the result "more than excellent" - even though its own coalition partner VLEN ended up among those accused of being a "Trojan horse". Everyone has an explanation, except for the 265 votes that were missing.

Mickoski in Germany, without a single figure

The government delegation visited North Rhine-Westphalia and Deutsche Telekom in Bonn and announced "well-paid jobs". The only concrete numbers from the trip concern what German companies have already invested.

Rain, a lake and school uniforms

A Mediterranean cyclone brought yellow and orange weather warnings: over 30 litres of rain per square metre in 24 hours, over 20 in Skopje, and snow in the mountains. It eases off from Wednesday - until then, the question is whether the drains are ready. In Ohrid, divers are pulling coffee cups, tyres and textiles off the bottom of the lake - the clean-up has a budget, the fines for whoever dumps it there are nowhere to be seen. Skopje has started handing out free uniforms for first-year high school students, but how much they cost, the city won't say. Kisela Voda is inviting residents to help shape the 2027 budget - the real test is how many of their proposals make it into the budget the councillors actually vote on.

The world: Qeshm, Abu Dhabi and California

The US quietly struck Iran's Qeshm island, and Trump says this is "not a war". For Ukraine, a new round of talks is set for Abu Dhabi on 10 and 11 November: the dates are agreed, while Moscow and Kyiv still want completely opposite things. In the US, the Supreme Court refused to set aside the ballots of more than 20,000 voters in California, just hours before the election.

Sport: Anfield, Dončić and the eternal derby

Arsenal broke the Anfield curse, and at home Struga beat champions Vardar for the second time. Dončić made NBA history with 45 points, 15 rebounds and five steals, while the EuroLeague fined Crvena Zvezda 115,000 euros. In handball, Vardar flattened Pelister 31:23 and are nine from nine in the league, and the national team now hosts Luxembourg.

The heavier part of the day has one shape: a match schedule, a law and a fund that all exist on paper, and questions whose answers arrive late or not at all. A punch to a child's head is not a natural disaster - it is someone's decision. The same goes for a Coordination Council that has never once met.