Ohrid Anniversary & Governance: North Macedonia marked the 25th anniversary of the Ohrid Framework Agreement with a government session stressing it as an “institutional responsibility” and a constitutional standard for daily state functioning, while officials pointed to inclusiveness, equitable representation and dialogue as the core legacy. EU & Regional Politics: The debate around Ohrid is again heating up, with DUI warning the current VMRO-DPMNE-led government is undermining the agreement through moves affecting language rules, Albanian-language bar exams, and ethnic representation mechanisms. Human Rights & Media Freedom: EUalive backed journalist Erol Rizaov after death threats and ethnically targeted insults followed his criticism of Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, urging police to identify those behind the posts. Public Health: West Nile virus continues to spread in the region, with Europe reporting 245 human cases so far in 2026, including 13 in North Macedonia and 12 deaths reported in Greece, Italy and Romania. Trade & Food Safety: Bulgaria’s Food Safety Agency ordered the return of an 11.6-ton shipment of peppers from North Macedonia after detecting pesticide residues above permitted levels. Energy Cooperation: North Macedonia’s Rade Koncar delivered power transformers to Ukraine’s Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia regions to help restore infrastructure hit by Russian attacks.