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Brussels (AFP) – The European Commission says it is recommending that EU countries give Bosnia candidacy status to join the bloc.

Astana (Kazakhstan) (AFP) – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev welcomes his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Astana in an official ceremony.

Berlin (AFP) – As he unveils the official autumn economic forecasts, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck warns that Germans “are currently experiencing a serious energy crisis, which threatens to become an economic and social crisis”, which he blames on “Putin’s war” in Ukraine.

Prague (AFP) – Energy ministers of European Union countries pose for a group photo as they gather in Prague for an informal meeting.

Las Tejerías (Venezuela) (AFP) – Rescue workers look for victims after a devastating landslide swept through the Venezuelan town of Las Tejerias on Saturday. More than 30 have died, and hopes of finding any of the missing people are fading.

Kyoto (Japan) (AFP) – More than a million people aged 15 to 64 in Japan live highly reclusive lives, retreating from social contact for at least six months, according to a 2020 government estimate. Through an experimental theatre project, two French artists are hoping to offer recovering hikikomori, or “shut-ins”, a chance to express themselves and regain self-confidence.

Brussels (AFP) – US defense chief Lloyd Austin arrives for a NATO defence ministers meeting where providing Kyiv with more air defences will be a key topic for Kyiv’s western backers following multiple Russian strikes across the country. IMAGES

Brussels (AFP) – NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg says that Ukraine’s western backers are looking to provide Kyiv with more air defences to protect against Russia’s “indiscriminate” missile attacks across the country. “We will address how to ramp up support for Ukraine and the top priority will be more air defence for Ukraine,” Stoltenberg says at the start of a meeting by Ukraine’s allies on arms supplies to Kyiv. SOUNDBITE

Necoclí (Colombia) (AFP) – At least 10,000 migrants, mostly Venezuelans, are stranded in Necocli, a port city on the Colombian coast near Panama. They wait for boats to take them to the Central American border in the hope of eventually reaching the United States. According to the Colombian Ombudsman, more than 150,000 people have crossed this year, an increase from the 134,000 migrants registered in 2021.

Prague (AFP) – European energy ministers hold a rountable at the beginning of a meeting in Prague. Officials in Ukraine’s western region of Lviv said at least three Russian missiles fired Tuesday targeted energy infrastructure, forcing Kyiv to ask people to cut their electricity usage and switch off appliances at night. IMAGES

Brussels (AFP) – Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov arrives at a meeting of NATO defence minsters, following a rash of deadly Russian aerial attacks which has led to a call from President Volodymyr Zelensky for an air shield. IMAGES

Bakhmut (Ukraine) (AFP) – This week’s Russian missile attacks on power plants threaten cities across Ukraine with blackouts, but many frontline communities have been under shellfire and without power or water for months. The wine-making and salt-mining town of Bakhmut, is still held and grimly defended by Ukrainian forces, but its desperate residents have been under threat of Russian guns since May. One resident, Oleksandra Pylypenko, is tied to her house because her husband, sick with lung cancer, “can’t even make it to the basement” to hide from the shelling, let alone flee the town.