* China will seize the time window to implement policy measures to support the economy, aiming for an improvement in growth in early 2023, state media on Wednesday quoted the cabinet as saying.
* The World Bank has approved a 274 million USD credit to Cambodia to help support boost the country's economic recovery and long-term resilience, said its press release on Wednesday.
* Indonesia plans to ban bauxite ore exports starting from June 2023 "to create more jobs in the country, increase our foreign exchange and more equitable economic growth," said Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Wednesday.
* Fiji's parliament has delayed its first sitting, where it had been expected a new prime minister would be sworn in to the Pacific islands nation for the first time in 16 years.
* China hopes all parties in the Ukraine crisis will maintain restraint and resolve security concerns through political means, President Xi Jinping told Dmitry Medvedev, chairman of the United Russia party, during a meeting in Beijing on Wednesday, Chinese state media Xinhua reported.
* China's foreign minister Wang Yi told his Australian counterpart Penny Wong that China and Australia should and can become partners who are mutually in need of each other during bilateral talks in Beijing on Wednesday, China's foreign ministry said in a statement.
* The Kremlin said that it sees no chance of peace talks with Ukraine after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced a visit to Washington on Wednesday.
* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday visited the frontline city of Bakhmut in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, the presidential press service reported.
* The Republic of Korea on Wednesday revised down its 2023 economic growth outlook amid rising worries about a global economic downturn.
* The New Zealand government has worked alongside farming leaders to adapt the proposed system for reducing agricultural emissions, which will protect future export growth, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Wednesday.
* Russian President Vladimir Putin presided over the launch of a major new Siberian gas field on Wednesday to help drive a planned surge in supply to China.
* An Omani delegation arrived in Sanaa on Wednesday to hold a meeting with leaders of the Houthi rebels on the UN-brokered nationwide ceasefire in Yemen, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported.
* Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday announced that a broad campaign to provide international protection for "the defenseless Palestinian people is about to launch."
* Mexico will focus on the fight against poverty and inequality in the Americas during a leaders' meeting with the United States and Canada in January 2023, Mexico said Tuesday.
* The Security Council on Tuesday expressed deep concern over the persistent political deadlock in Libya almost one year after elections scheduled for Dec. 24, 2021, failed to materialize, and more than two years after the agreement of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum roadmap.
* A humanitarian response plan worth 1.7 billion USD for South Sudan was launched on Tuesday to help 6.8 million of the most vulnerable people in the next year, a UN spokesman said.
* The European Commission and New Zealand's government have concluded the negotiations for the association of New Zealand to the Horizon Europe program in Wellington, which further enhances the bilateral scientific cooperation, the New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment announced on Wednesday.
* The total number of COVID-19 cases in the United States topped 100 million on Tuesday, according to data from the Johns Hopkins University. US COVID-19 case count rose to 100,002,248, with a total of 1,088,218 deaths, as of 5:21 p.m. Eastern Time (2221 GMT), showed the data.
* India's federal government has asked its states to increase genome sequencing of positive samples amid a rise in COVID-19 cases in different countries, officials said Wednesday.
* US housing starts sank for the third month in a row in November amid record high mortgage rates and the worst inflation in 40 years.
* Japan's benchmark Nikkei stocks index closed at a two-month low on Wednesday, following the new policy move of the Bank of Japan (BOJ) sending the yen higher against the USD and underscoring concerns over the domestic economy.
* The General Assembly on Tuesday adopted a resolution to designate Feb. 12 each year as the International Day for the Prevention of Violent Extremism as and when Conducive to Terrorism.
* US sanctions against Iran are contributing to environmental harm and preventing people from fully enjoying their right to health and life in the country, a group of United Nations (UN) human rights experts said Tuesday in a joint statement.
* Gambian authorities have foiled a military coup attempt and arrested four soldiers "plotting to overthrow" President Adama Barrow's administration, the government said on Wednesday.
* The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has allocated over 281 million USD for Pakistan to combat the diseases for the next three years, a spokesperson for the country's health ministry told Xinhua on Wednesday.
* The European Commission said on Wednesday it had approved the German government's 28 billion euro ($29.69 billion) support scheme for renewable energy, which is aimed at rapidly expanding use of wind and solar power.
* Thousands of ambulance workers in England and Wales walked out over pay on Wednesday, increasing the strain on a state-funded health service a day after nurses went on strike, as the government advised the public to avoid taking risks.
* Italy's post-pandemic economic recovery is likely to grind to a halt in 2023 due in large part to high inflation, the country's business sector association Confcommercio said Tuesday.
* Sentiment in Germany's export industry has improved slightly, with the indicator of export expectations rising from 0.9 points in November to 1.6 points in December, the ifo Institute for economic research said on Tuesday.
* Finland's Ministry of Finance on Tuesday marked down its economic prognosis for 2023. It now predicts a 0.2 percent gross domestic product (GDP) decline. Back in September, it projected growth of 0.5 percent.
* Spanish Senate late on Tuesday approved the minority leftist ruling coalition's 2023 budget bill in its final reading without making any change.
* Ghana's economic growth slowed to 2.9% year-on-year in the third quarter this year compared with 6.6% in the same period last year, the statistics service said on Wednesday, its worst performance since the first quarter of 2021.
* Ukraine will reduce the grain planting areas by 22 percent next year to 8.7 million hectares, the UBN media outlet reported Monday, citing a recent forecast by an industry body.
* Iranian Petroleum Minister Javad Owji said on Wednesday that his country's crude oil output has been increased by 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) to nearly 3 million bpd.
* Hungary must avoid recession next year and curb inflation to single digits by the end of 2023, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Wednesday, adding that surging inflation put "huge pressure" on the central bank's governor.
* Morocco's central bank raised its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to 2.5 percent on Tuesday.
* Japan's weather agency on Wednesday warned that heavy snowfall could once again hit the Sea of Japan side of northern to western Japan in the coming days and has urged caution.
* Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has rallied citizens to step up the fight against HIV/AIDS to cut down the number of deaths associated with the virus.
* The Botswana government and Africa50, the pan-African infrastructure investment platform, signed a share subscription agreement amounting to 2.667 million USD on Tuesday.
* South African farmers are expected to harvest 1.6% less wheat in the 2022 season compared with the previous season, the government's Crop Estimates Committee (CEC) said on Wednesday.
* Pakistan's security forces killed 25 of 35 Islamist militants holed up in a counter-terrorism centre in the northwestern city of Bannu, while one hostage and two commandos died in the operation to retake the compound, the army said.
