Stray Dogs at Cementara, Diesel at 99 Denars, Dismissals for Civil Servants, a Runoff in Brvenica

Dogs on the pavement, and nobody in charge

A mother and her seven-year-old daughter near Cementara in Skopje's Kisela Voda escaped from three dogs that came at them the only way they could - onto the road, between moving cars. The police told her they aren't responsible for stray dogs, and the public company "Lajka" says its shelter, built for about 180 dogs, is full. About 30 percent more dogs have been treated this year than last, but the "catch - neuter - return" principle means many of them end up right where they were caught. So who answers for the pavement?

Diesel overtakes petrol

Since midnight a litre of diesel costs 99 denars, more than both 95 and 98 octane petrol, which dropped by 2.50 denars. Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski says citizens have the lowest prices compared to Europe and that the government is "close" to a deal with OKTA for another two denars off per litre. But a comparison in euros doesn't tell you how much fuel a Macedonian salary buys. That number comes from our analysis of purchasing power: wages rose 7.1 percent, petrol 31.5 percent, and an average salary today buys 490 litres of diesel. Measured in litres of diesel, purchasing power is down by around 27.5 percent in a single year.

Two failing grades and you're out - but who holds the pen?

Parliament fast-tracked amendments to the law on administrative civil servants: two consecutive years with the lowest grade, a 1, now mean dismissal by force of law, with no new procedure. The changes passed with 65 votes for and one against, without the opposition's support. The law requires a written warning before the failing grade, but it doesn't answer the key question - who writes the grade, and what happens if they write it selectively?

Breathalysers on the roads, an assault rifle in Kumanovo

In a single night-time operation the Interior Ministry tested 772 drivers, and the device showed alcohol in 61 of them. Fourteen were over 1.50 per mille and will face criminal charges, and 58 lost their driving licences. That's roughly one in every thirteen drivers stopped - which raises the question of how many are out there on the nights when there's no checkpoint.

In Kumanovo, meanwhile, police searched the home of an 18-year-old on a court order and found an assault rifle, 44 bullets and a device with a timer. What the device was for, nobody is saying yet.

A health system that keeps people waiting

Patients with rare diseases go without therapy for anywhere from a few days to a month, while the National Strategy, according to patient associations, has been sent to the government in its final version. With muscular dystrophy every delay means a loss that doesn't come back, and the youngest member of the association is a six-month-old baby.

While municipalities tie pink ribbons, according to the state audit breast cancer screening covers only 0.8 to 5.4 percent of women, and a third of them waited more than three months for a follow-up exam. Awareness matters, but you don't shorten waiting lists with ribbons.

Skopje waits for a bus, Bitola writes its budget

In Skopje bus line 23 didn't show up for an hour, and at the Railway Station stop passengers couldn't squeeze onto the packed buses of the city transport company JSP, because the private operators have vanished. There's no official explanation so far.

In Bitola, for the fifth year running, the municipality asked residents what they need: an overpass by a school, water for Nizhepole and a day centre for children with autism. The list is clear; the real test comes later - how much of it makes it into the 2027 budget.

Brvenica heads to a runoff

Brvenica will hold a second round on November 1 between Radicheski and Jahij. VMRO-DPMNE came first, but with 445 fewer votes than last year, NAI almost doubled its votes, and VLEN lost nearly a quarter. Every party found its own victory in the results, and things are quietest where the loss is biggest.

Beyond the borders

In the Kharkiv region a Russian drone struck a park next to a café and killed six people, among them a little girl just over a year old, in her pram. Kyiv is asking for air defence, while Washington keeps postponing new sanctions on Moscow.

At the same time, Trump is offering Europe Russian gas as part of a peace deal for Ukraine - Berlin says no, Moscow celebrates. In France more than half a million people took to the streets, and Macron is threatening to ban protests. In Serbia, six days before the election, Vučić has already "calculated" the votes: he expects 2,050,000 and at least 400,000 more than his opponent.

And one story with a Macedonian thread: 34 people who were promised salaries of up to 10,000 euros ended up in a windowless hall in Slovenia, working 12-hour shifts without pay. The Macedonian police are also part of the investigation.

Sport

Vardar heads to Nantes with seven wins from seven, and France is where we'll see what they're really worth. In Bitola, Rabotnichki came back from minus 14 in a game decided in the final minute.

One thread runs through the heavier part of the day: rules and prices arrive right on time, while the answer runs late whenever someone asks who is responsible for the dogs on the pavement, the medicine that doesn't arrive or the bus that never came.