Briefly

NAMIBIA

President unveils new Cabinet

Namibian President Hage Geingob on Sunday appointed eight members of parliament and unveiled his new Cabinet, local media reported citing a statement from the presidency. Additionally, 11 officials were given new positions, including former minister of finance Calle Schlettwein, who is appointed to lead the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, and former Bank of Namibia governor Ipumbu Shiimi, who has taken over the Ministry of Finance.

BELGIUM

EU to start talks with Albania, N. Macedonia

The European Union will start membership negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia, according to a draft unanimous decision by the bloc's 27 member states, which is expected to be finalized this week, Reuters reported. If approved as expected, the agreement would end two years of delays and signal new momentum for all six Western Balkan countries－Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Albania, Bosnia and North Macedonia－seeking to join the EU.

LEBANON

Country to stop eurobond payments

Lebanon's finance ministry said on Monday it will "discontinue" payments on all dollar-denominated eurobonds due in the next 15 years to safeguard dwindling foreign currency reserves. Lebanon, hit by a grinding dollar liquidity crunch amid its worst economic recession in decades, had already set the stage for a default on its outstanding $30 billion eurobonds.

Agencies via Xinhua