Indian and Chinese troops have clashed on their disputed Himalayan border, the first known incident between the two nuclear-armed Asian powers in nearly two years.

Many people in China are excited about traveling abroad as COVID restrictions are eased and borders are set to reopen on January 8. Others remain cautious, with more countries imposing restrictions for Chinese visitors.

On Sunday, tens of thousands of travelers flew in and out of China without having to submit to stringent centralised quarantine requirements. The change in policy is raising hope in neighboring countries that this will signal the return of Chinese tourists. Holiday bookings have already increased and markets are trading higher on the news, but as we explain, it will take some time for travel to return to what it was before the pandemic.

Africa's pre-COVID-19 top five performing economies are projected to grow by more than 5.5% on average in 2023-2024 and to reclaim their position among the world's 10 fastest-growing economies. These countries are Rwanda (7.9%), Côte d'Ivoire (7.1%), Benin (6.4%), Ethiopia (6.0%) and Tanzania (5.6%).

The International Monetary Fund has raised its forecasts for the global economy for 2023, stating that growth has been “surprisingly resilient". However, it also said the UK is likely to be the only leading economy to head into recession in 2023.

Economic output grew by 0.1% in the last quarter of 2022 compared with the previous quarter, according to an early estimate.

The second "surveillance balloon" announcement comes after the first sighting prompted the top US diplomat to postpone a trip to Beijing. China claims the balloons are used for scientific purposes.

China said the device deviated from its route, and "accidentally strayed over Latin America and the Caribbean." This comes even as the US is seaching for the remains of the suspected surveillence balloon it shot down.

The US has shot down a Chinese balloon that had been floating over the mainland for days. China has claimed the US overreacted by downing what it said was a civilian aircraft and threatened repercussions.

After a Chinese "spy balloon" was sighted over the United States, another was spotted over Latin America. DW sums up what know about them so far.

The operation to gather pieces of the balloon comes as US officials reportedly said the device was part of a vast spy program. The incident has brought increased strain on US-China ties.

A series of raids have resulted in the arrest of 25 alleged members of a trafficking ring that forced Chinese women into sex work in Europe.