* China may be struggling to keep a tally of COVID-19 infections as the country experiences a big spike in cases, a senior World Health Organization official said on Wednesday.
* The Japanese government on Thursday revised upward its economic growth forecast for fiscal 2023 to a real 1.5 percent on expectations for increased capital spending and private consumption.
* A rail-sea intermodal train, carrying 265 tonnes of raw sugar from India, on Wednesday arrived in Lanzhou New Area, northwest China's Gansu Province. It is the first time raw sugar from India has entered Gansu through the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor.
* Indonesia's Second-Home Visa allowing foreigners to stay in the Southeast Asian country for either five or 10 years began to take effect on Wednesday.
* US President Joe Biden pledged visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday to offer military aid, mentioning in particular the Patriot surface-to-air missile battery he just approved for Ukraine in a new tranche of security assistance totaling 1.85 billion USD.
* The Kremlin on Thursday said that US supplies of Patriot missile systems to Ukraine, announced during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's visit to Washington on Wednesday, would not contribute to settling the conflict between Moscow and Kyiv, and would not prevent Russia from achieving its goals.
* The combat capability of the Russian armed forces is "increasing day by day" and Russia will certainly step up this process, President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.
* Ukraine's Economy Ministry will focus on supporting business and developing export opportunities in 2023, the government press service reported on Tuesday.
* Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Wednesday that if the red lines of the Islamic Republic are respected, Iran is ready to take final steps to reach an agreement on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal.
* King Abdullah II of Jordan on Wednesday discussed with visiting French President Emmanuel Macron ways to strengthen bilateral ties in various fields and the latest developments in the Middle East.
* The European Union's 27 heads of state and government and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will hold a summit on Feb. 3 next year, an EU spokesman said on Thursday, but the location has not been determined.
* Israel's longest-serving prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Wednesday he had secured a deal to form a new government after weeks of unexpectedly tough negotiations with religious and far-right coalition partners.
* Peru's President Dina Boluarte promoted the country's defense chief to the prime minister's job as part of a shuffle of her 11-day-old Cabinet on Wednesday, a move that followed protests this month that have left roughly two dozen people dead.
* Russia's Gazprom said it will ship 41.6 million cubic metres of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Thursday, a volume broadly in line with recent days.
* Denmark will donate 300 million Danish crowns ($42.8 million) in military aid to Ukraine, the country's Defence Ministry said on Wednesday.
* Somalia has begun repatriating troops it said it sent for training in neighbouring Eritrea, after protests in several Somali cities over accusations that they had been recruited under false pretences and held captive.
* Bulgaria's state-owned nuclear power plant Kozloduy on Thursday signed a deal with Westinghouse Electric Sweden to supply it with nuclear fuel for its 1,000 megawatt Russian-built Unit 5, a first step to diversify away from Russian supplies.
* The Gambian government said Wednesday that it foiled an attempted coup on Tuesday and that four soldiers have been arrested.
* The Security Council on Wednesday adopted a resolution to delay the drawdown of 2,000 personnel of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) for six months.
* UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous on Wednesday called for the restoration of Afghan women's right to higher education after the Taliban-run administration barred them from university.
* El Salvador will receive a $150 million loan from Latin American development bank CAF to strengthen its education system, the lender said in a Wednesday statement.
* Britain's economy contracted more than first thought in the third quarter of this year, putting it bottom among the Group of Seven major advanced nations ahead of what is shaping up to be a dismal 2023, data showed on Thursday.
* Argentina's economic activity expanded 4.5% in October from a year earlier, the country's official statistics agency said on Wednesday, in line with a 4.5% increase forecast by analysts polled by Reuters.
* The Czech National Bank (CNB) held interest rates steady on Wednesday, as expected amid signs of peaking inflation, staying on hold for a fourth straight meeting while not giving up the option of further tightening.
* Micron Technology, one of the largest chipmakers in the world, said on Wednesday that the company will cut its workforce by 10 percent in 2023, reporting a fiscal first-quater loss and foreseeing more headwinds across the semiconductor industry.
* Italy's greenhouse gas emissions are rising despite lower energy consumption, reflecting a move toward high-emissions energy sources.
* Brazil's tax revenue reached over 2 trillion reals (about 385 billion USD) in the 11-month period from January to November 2022, a record high since record keeping began in 1995, according to data released Wednesday by the Federal Revenue Secretariat.
* 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.
* The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has expressed concern over the reported mobilization of armed Nuer youth in the Greater Jonglei area which it said could undermine recent peace gains.
* Ghana and Burkina Faso have reaffirmed their commitment to deepen their collaboration in the fight against terrorism, said a release by Ghana's Ministry of Information Thursday.
* Tunisia's Maritime Guard rescued about 1,200 irregular migrants off the country's eastern coast in the past 48 hours, Tunisian National Guard announced on Wednesday.
* The value of coffee Kenya exported between January and October rose 49 percent, boosted by increased shipments, the government statistics agency said on Wednesday.
* The World Bank on Wednesday announced the release of 100 million USD to support Zambia to stabilize its economy.
