Mihailova in Sofia, the "Puls" hydrant, a 1,000-euro wage pledge, cold radiators in Skopje

A border that saw nothing

Iva Mihailova (23) from Kočani, on trial over a traffic crash that killed a 33-year-old man, was supposed to report to the police on Monday. Instead, she turned up in Sofia. No passport - both of them, the Macedonian and the Bulgarian, were confiscated last year. A court order banning her from leaving the country. And according to the Macedonian authorities, neither the Macedonian nor the Bulgarian border police recorded her leaving.

The court in Kočani ordered 30 days of detention, to start as soon as she is found. The Interior Ministry issued a warrant, and the Foreign Ministry summoned the Bulgarian ambassador, calling her reception in Sofia a provocation. Summoning the ambassador is justified. But the first question stays at home: how does a person with no documents cross a border without anyone noticing?

"Puls": a hydrant for decoration

At the trial of 13 police officers from Kočani and Štip, charged with failing to follow the action plan on the night of the fire, the defence called its witnesses - two firefighters. They were meant to show that the police did not stand around with folded arms that night. The heaviest sentence of the hearing came from them: the hydrant cabinet at "Puls" had a hose, but no valve.

The prosecutor pointed out that civilians did most of the rescuing. And the parents of the dead are still asking why a nightclub with no paperwork opened its doors at all that night. Who inspected a venue where the hydrant was decoration?

A 1,000-euro wage - a promise Montenegro has already beaten

Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski set the target in Kumanovo: an average wage of 1,000 euros by 2028. Today's average net wage is around 789 euros, so hitting the target takes growth of around 27%. At the current pace of 7.1% a year, wages would reach about 905 euros. In Montenegro the average net wage in August was 1,040 euros, and from 2027 that is the announced level of the lowest minimum wage. Macedonia's minimum wage today is around 423 euros.

Loans and petrol pumps: the maths you don't see at first glance

The National Bank is cutting the loan term for a second home to 25 years, while allowing a 10% down payment on a first home. On a 100,000-euro flat that means 15,000 euros less up front, but around 7,800 euros more in interest over 30 years, at a 3% rate.

At the pumps, meanwhile, petrol and diesel got about 1.5% cheaper on world markets, yet the Energy Regulatory Commission left prices unchanged. The explanation is the dollar, which rose 1.29% against the denar.

Skopje before winter: cold radiators, new bins, the tow truck in Centar

District heating started two days early, but around 170 buildings in Skopje were left with cold radiators, among them schools, kindergartens and hospitals. The heating company ESM greeted day one with leaks and faults in its substations, and heating has been 5.96% more expensive since August.

At the same time the city is replacing its bins: around 200 of 3,300 new ones are in, and in one week 880 cubic metres of dumped bulky and construction waste were collected. Skopje residents are also asking for something no tender can buy - inspectors and cameras. In Centar, the public utility's tow truck lifted 135 illegally parked cars in a single week.

Children at the crossroads in Ohrid and Struga

The association "Gradime idnina" claims that between 20 and 30 children are currently begging in Ohrid and between 15 and 30 in Struga, brought in from all over western Macedonia. According to them, one child collects between 3,000 and 5,000 denars a day and keeps between 10 and 30 denars. The claims of girls being abused have yet to be confirmed by the institutions. If they are, this is not a social problem - it is organised crime.

Vaccines with no sign-up, prosecutors facing a vote

The first 30,000 doses of flu vaccine have arrived, and Health Minister Sašo Klekovski announced a start between 16 and 25 October. The vaccination portal, however, still says registration is closed. On 28 October, 188 prosecutors will vote by secret ballot for Islam Abazi's successor, and the five candidates to head the organised crime and corruption prosecution office are offering similar programmes. The difference will come down to who can withstand pressure.

Beyond the borders

Drones sank a cargo ship some thirty kilometres off the Bulgarian coast, in the waters of a NATO and EU member. Six ballistic missiles hit Kyiv, and the Ukrainian army admits its radars only caught them over the city. Europe wants tougher sanctions on Russia, while Trump is letting 4.8 million tonnes of Russian diesel onto the world market.

Houthi missiles targeted Riyadh airport, with at least 13 dead. In Brussels, in a single night, one person was killed next to the European Parliament and a police officer was shot - 57 shootings in seven months in the capital that lectures us on the rule of law. A Croatian Rafale intercepted a passenger Boeing that was squawking the hijack code, and Pope Leo XIV has had surgery for lung cancer.

Sport

Vardar are in Płock tonight chasing their first points, despite scoring the most goals in their group, while Pelister lost 38:28 away at Gummersbach. In Belgrade, Obradović reportedly turned down Partizan's gift - and then beat them 72:55.

The heavier part of the day turns on rules and checks that exist only on paper: a border that saw nothing, a hydrant with no valve, a portal that says registration is closed before it has even opened. Who answers for it when the paper turns out to be empty?