* Cubans celebrated on Sunday the 64th anniversary of the country's socialist revolution with a ballet performance in Havana at the National Theater of Cuba.
* Sweden on Sunday took over from the Czech Republic at the helm of the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU). Sweden will hold the presidency for six months until June 30, 2023.
* Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of the Workers' Party (PT) was sworn in as president of Brazil for a four-year term on Sunday.
* Alain Berset from the Social Democrat party of Switzerland on Sunday took office as President of the Swiss Confederation for the second time.
* US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he spoke on Sunday with incoming Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, appointed last week to the post following his role as ambassador to the United States. On Twitter, Blinken said he discussed the US-China relationship and efforts to maintain open lines of communication in a telephone call with Qin.
* UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday welcomed the announcement of a six-month cease-fire between the Colombian government and five armed groups.
* Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, visited Croatia on New Year's day to mark the country's entry into the eurozone and the border-free Schengen area.
* The Ukrainian capital came under air attacks carried out by the Russian forces overnight Sunday, with explosions being reported in several districts of the city, local authorities said.
* The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) calls for an exponential increase in its nuclear arsenal, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Sunday.
* The Republic of Korea and the United States are discussing possible joint planning and exercises using US nuclear assets in the face of growing nuclear and missile threats in Korea Peninsula, the RoK President Yoon Suk-yeol said in a newspaper interview.
* For much of the global economy, 2023 is going to be a tough year as the main engines of global growth - the United States, Europe and China - all experience weakening activity, the head of the International Monetary Fund said on Sunday.
* The Philippines' main gateway scrambled to resume full services on Monday after a New Year power outage jolted its air traffic control and disrupted 300 flights, prompting calls from business leaders and a top senator for urgent action.
* Some people in China's key cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Wuhan braved the cold and a spike in COVID-19 infections to return to regular activity on Monday, confident of a boost to the economy as more recover from infections.
* The new Israeli government will soon abolish taxation on disposable plastic utensils, the Finance Ministry said Sunday, despite public health concerns.
* India's unemployment rate spiked to 8.3 percent in December 2022, data released by the economic research house Center for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) showed Sunday. The unemployment rate is the highest in 16 months.
* Steps will be taken in 2023 to reduce key interest rates in Sri Lanka, said Governor of Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Nandalal Weerasinghe on Sunday.
* The Taliban administration will encourage self-sufficiency and wants international trade and investment, the acting commerce minister said, as Afghanistan faces isolation and suspension of some humanitarian operations over restrictions on women.
* The 27th edition of the Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF), the largest annual commercial and trade event in Bangladesh, kicked off Sunday at the mega Chinese-built venue the Bangabandhu Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Center (BBCFEC).
* Israel launched a missile strike on Damascus International airport on Monday, killing two soldiers.
* Ten guards and four inmates died after an attack on a prison Sunday in the northern Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez, the Chihuahua state prosecutor's office reported.
