Karposh's Rebellion

Bosniaks in the Balkans want a monument built to commemorate their ancestors who fought on the side of Ottoman forces in World War One. But the design has led to disappointment.

"I don't want to risk going to my doctor and I need therapy. Please go to my doctor so she can prescribe my medication, because I only have pills left for three days."

This was one of the calls that the Red Cross's municipal HQ in the Skopje municipality of Karposh received on Wednesday morning.

The mayors of Macedonia's 80 municipalities, plus the capital, Skopje, over the last four years delivered less than half the capital projects they promised, a new BIRN database, "Municipalities Uncovered," shows.

The database analyzes the municipal budgets for capital investments as well as their overall budgets from 2013 to 2016.

After receiving significant numbers of complaints from angry residents, traffic police in Skopje say they have already started arresting street racers who breach the peace and cause potential dangers at night-time and weekends.

"We are determined to establish traffic order and that's that," said Biljana Milevska from the Skopje police force.

Based on public procurement contracts, the City of Skopje is expected to spend at least ?430,000 on festive glitter for the New Year holidays, of a total sum of ?720,000 spent by all of Macedonia's municipalities together.