Bloomberg Two Balkan states signed an agreement that will allow North Macedonia and Albania to formally start negotiations to join the European Union, a process long-delayed by bilateral quarrels between countries in the volatile region. Bujar Osmani, North Macedonia’s foreign minister, signed the protocol with his Bulgarian counterpart in Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital, on Sunday. The move came a day ...

Bloomberg Hungarians are holding daily protests as a plunging currency and the threat of a Russian cut-off of natural gas shipments to Europe forces Prime Minister Viktor Orban to embrace unpopular austerity measures. A few thousand demonstrators rallied by the Danube river in Budapest on Saturday evening, according to local media reports. Protesters then blocked a bridge for a fifth ...

Bloomberg Jessie Duarte, who served as special assistant to former South African President Nelson Mandela after his release from prison, has died. She was 68. Duarte’s death on Sunday was announced by the South Africa’s ruling party. She had been on medical leave since November undergoing cancer treatment. “It is with profound sadness that the African National Congress has learned ...