Forms of government

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited a ballistic missile factory in Pyongyang. He was accompanied by his daughter Ju Ae. This is her first official appearance at the Ordnance Factory Inspection.

The toll from a Ukrainian New Year strike in Makiivka has risen to 89, Moscow said Wednesday, after Russians gathered to mourn the troops in a rare public display of anger and grief.

Russia said in the early hours of Wednesday that more bodies had been found under the rubble in the town of Makiivka in the Russian-controlled region of Donetsk and the toll had risen to 89.

China Evergrande has pledged to repay its debt this year, as the property giant faces a restructuring following Beijing's crackdown on excessive borrowing and rampant speculation in the real estate sector.

South Korea reconfirmed Tuesday that Seoul and Washington are discussing its involvement in U.S. nuclear asset management in the face of intensifying North Korean nuclear threats, after President Joe Biden denied that the allies were discussing joint nuclear exercises.

China's manufacturing activity contracted sharply in December for the third month in a row, according to official figures released on Dec. 31, despite Beijing's loosening of Covid restrictions at the beginning of the month.    

Travellers from China now face restrictions when entering more than a dozen countries as concern grows over its surge in Covid-19 cases, with Australia the latest to demand a negative test before arrival.

More than six million people have returned home to Ukraine despite the war raging on

In order to stabilize the operation of the energy system, the Ukrenergo Dispatch Center was forced to implement schedules to limit the consumption of electricity and power for industrial consumers in all regions of Ukraine, reports Ukrinform.

China's economic growth accelerated in the latest quarter but still was among the weakest in decades as the ruling Communist Party tries to reverse a downturn while enforcing anti-virus controls and a crackdown on debt in its vast real estate industry.

In order to ensure that its economic and political interests in the Korean Peninsula region are not threatened by the West, China wants North Korea to avoid sabre-rattling, especially during the National Congress, where Chinese President Xi Jinping will be declared President for an unprecedented third term, media reports said.