House of Reps candidate raises the alarm over influx of ex-militants

This week on Talking Europe we take a look at some of the other countries, aside from Ukraine, that are knocking on the EU's door to join the bloc. EU leaders held a summit on Thursday with the Western Balkan states to discuss their accession process. For Albania, that started back in 2008 and still hasn't advanced to the negotiations stage. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama spoke to FRANCE 24’s Luke Brown on the sidelines of the EU-Western Balkans leaders' meeting in Brussels.

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Kenya's Deputy President and presidential hopeful William Ruto cast his ballot early on Tuesday morning (August 9) as Kenyans elect a new president.

Simone Tebet urged her voters to back Lula due to his "commitment to democracy." Former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso also endorsed his leftist former rival.

The EU executive is recommending the bloc's member states give Bosnia-Herzegovina candidacy status, subject to reforms. The Commission said the Western Balkans "belong in our family."

The decision taken by EU general affairs ministers is expected to be endorsed in Brussels on Thursday. The accession of countries from candidate to membership status is a lengthy process that usually takes years.

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Germany's foreign minister says the door to EU candidate status is "wide open" for Georgia. But she stressed the Caucasus country would first need to implement reforms to address concerns over democracy.

Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Tuesday.⁣

Paraguay's decades of relations with Taiwan look set to continue after a conservative and pro-Taipei candidate, Santiago Pena, was declared the winner in the South American country's presidential election.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra is the favorite going into Thailands general election, according to polls. The politician had been campaigning up until Saturday via video link before giving birth.

Thailand's Constitutional Court will temporarily suspend Pita as it hears a case regarding his stake in a now-defunct media company. The announcement came as lawmakers were about to vote for a new prime minister.