* The head of the World Trade Organization stressed the importance of reforming the global trade body to prevent further trade wars but warned it would be "very tough" amid high geopolitical tensions.
* The European Union has experienced a "breakthrough year" with the United States even if not all trade irritants are gone and now wants to work with its transatlantic ally to start forging trade rules for the future, the EU trade chief said.
* Russia's foreign ministry has ordered US embassy staff who have been in Moscow for more than three years to leave Russia by Jan. 31, the RIA news agency reported on Wednesday.
* Turkey is in contact with Ukraine and Russia to ease tensions, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday, adding that sanctions on Moscow will not solve the crisis.
* China detected 91 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases with confirmed symptoms for Tuesday, marking the highest daily count since Nov. 2 and a significant jump from 21 cases a day earlier, as the country fights a fresh outbreak in the north.
* Malaysia has temporarily banned the entry of travelers from countries that have reported the Omicron COVID-19 variant or are considered high-risk, its health minister said on Wednesday.
* The Biden administration extended the comment period on its sweeping workplace COVID-19 vaccine rule by 45 days as it seeks feedback from various stakeholders including private employers on whether a recently issued emergency temporary standard should become a permanent rule.
* Japan said it would expand its travel ban on foreigners entering the nation, preventing those with resident status from 10 African nations including South Africa from entering the country "for the time being."
* The EU drug regulator said it could approve vaccines adapted to target the Omicron variant of the coronavirus within three to four months if needed, but that existing shots would continue to provide protection.
* Germany reported the highest number of deaths from coronavirus since mid-February on Wednesday as hospitals warned that the country could have 6,000 people in intensive care by Christmas, above the peak of last winter.
* British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said a new COVID-19 lockdown was unlikely despite worries about the new Omicron coronavirus variant, after eight new cases were identified in England, taking the total number to 13.
* France has registered 47,177 new confirmed COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, health ministry data showed, the highest one-day tally since early April at the height of the third wave of the pandemic.
* Asian stocks rose from a one-year low on Wednesday as US share futures and oil recovered from the previous day's selloff, but uncertainty over the impact of the Omicron variant kept investors on edge.
* Japanese companies raised spending on plant and equipment for the second straight quarter in July-September, but the pace of gains slowed as global supply shortages due to a resurgent coronavirus pandemic hit corporate activity.
* Fiji reopened its border to international travellers for the first time in nearly two years on Wednesday, as the Pacific Island country seeks to revive its dominant tourism industry.
* Air travellers to the United States will face tougher COVID-19 testing rules as several countries moved to seal-off their borders amid growing uncertainty around the virulence of the Omicron variant and its ability to dodge existing vaccines.
* Australian authorities on Wednesday flagged another probable case of the Omicron variant in Sydney as they braced for more infections after at least two international travellers visited several locations in the city while likely infectious.
* Pfizer Inc's Chief Executive Albert Bourla said on Tuesday the company has submitted a request to the US Food and Drug Administration seeking the authorization for its COVID-19 booster doses for use in 16- and 17-year olds.
* A 15-year-old boy opened fire in a Michigan high school on Tuesday with a semi-automatic pistol his father had purchased days earlier, killing three fellow students and wounding eight other people before he was arrested, authorities said.
