REK Bitola pollutes more than four countries - and there's no penalty

The day opened with a number that's hard to swallow: according to the Bankwatch report "Comply or Close," the REK Bitola power plant released 7,675 tonnes of dust in a single year - more than the thermal plants of four neighbouring countries combined, and double last year's figure. The silence around penalties is even bigger: since 2018, not a single fine has been issued for these violations. A plant nearly half a century old keeps poisoning the air, and the only deadline that counts is the compliance one - somewhere in 2027.

Titan USJE says it's "within the law"

The same sentence came from another address. The Titan USJE cement plant claims it invested 29 million euros and operates to standard, while "Stop USJE" has been warning of the opposite for years. When a permit on paper and the air in the yard tell two different stories, the question isn't whether the law was obeyed - it's whether that law protects anyone other than the one obeying it.

After 19 years, the Constitutional Court voids Tetovo's street names

The same pattern, only with a court's signature. The Constitutional Court annulled the 2007 decision by which Tetovo renamed its streets, because the Council did it without the government's consent. The result: for nearly two decades, Tetovo residents lived with one set of names on their ID cards and another in municipal documents. Someone skipped the procedure, and the bill - nineteen years of administrative chaos - was paid by the citizens.

The Vodno cable car: the bill for neglect arrives all at once

And when an institution doesn't skip the rules but simply fails to maintain, the cost comes at the end, all at once. The Vodno cable car will be repaired for 350,000 euros, shut for two months over the risk of the gondolas failing. Built with fanfare, left to rot - routine maintenance was always cheaper than the big repair, except nobody worries while things somehow keep turning.

SDSM demands a probe into Janušev - if there even is one

On the political field, SDSM is demanding an investigation into government secretary-general Igor Janušev over an alleged link to a transport firm in Kyustendil and an undeclared business interest. The anti-corruption declaration exists precisely so there is no doubt; when something is missing from it, suspicion is legitimate no matter who is accusing whom. But the biggest problem isn't the affair - it's that "if" in front of the word "investigation." The same day, the Left filed its third interpellation in two years against Minister Toškovski, who talks about manufactured crises instead of answers.

When the keeper of the secret starts selling it

The most direct blow to public trust came from Prilep: a police officer was selling investigation secrets to a suspect's lawyer, via a mobile app. Custody statements and arrest warrants ended up with the other side. When the people meant to guard justice trade it away, the whole process becomes a game with marked cards.

Bitola under water, and a trade that's dying out

Nature added its share. Over 40 litres of rain in three hours tore up Bitola's streets - but when an average storm wrecks the asphalt, the problem isn't the rain, it's what's underneath it. And in the same city, only three students want to study agriculture: there's land, but nobody wants to work a trade the state has treated as second-rate for years. Among these stories, one name deserves a pause - historian Nade Proeva was awarded posthumously, a recognition that, as so often, comes too late.

The world: Orbán uses our name, Gates finds the words too late

Beyond the borders, Viktor Orbán blocked Ukraine before the EU and used the Balkans' name as his excuse - claiming fast membership for Kyiv would send the wrong message to Serbia and the region. That the concern is dubious was confirmed by a transcript showing Orbán's minister offering personal help to Lavrov. In Washington, Bill Gates told Congress he may have been in the company of Epstein's victims - an admission that, for the victims, comes too late. On the front, Ukraine released footage of a destroyed railway bridge in Crimea, proof the war long ago moved into logistics.

A lighter note: the Balkans watch the World Cup

To close, something that needs no culprit. The 2026 World Cup - 48 teams and 104 matches - Metla gathered into a single video. On the pitch, England again opened with a draw, Ronaldo made history, and Modrić hits 200 caps for Croatia, while in basketball Antetokounmpo is leaving Milwaukee after 13 years, and Jokić takes over Serbia.

If the day has a common thread in its heavier half, it's simple: everywhere, someone was "within the law" or skipped the procedure, and the bill - the air, the lost years, the missed maintenance, the sold secret - always landed at the same address. With the citizen.