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TOP STORIES

GLOBAL

NORTHKOREA-MISSILES/

North Korea fires missile amid tension over Russia arms aid

SEOUL, Dec 23 (Reuters) - North Korea fired two ballistic missiles towards the sea off its east coast on Friday, the South Korean military said, the latest in an unprecedented number of missile tests this year.

HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/CHINA

China's stretched health system braces for peak in COVID infections

BEIJING/SHANGHAI, Dec 23 (Reuters) - China is expecting a peak in COVID-19 infections within a week, a health official said, with authorities predicting extra strain on the country's health system even as they downplay the disease's severity and continue to report no new deaths.

U.S.

USA-CAPITOL/SECURITY

Capitol riot panel's final report sets out case to try Trump

WASHINGTON, Dec 22 (Reuters) - The congressional panel probing the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol released its final report late on Thursday, outlining its case that former U.S. President Donald Trump should face criminal charges of inciting the deadly riot.

USA-WEATHER/

Deep freeze grips U.S. as winter 'bomb cyclone' looms ahead of holiday weekend

Dec 23 (Reuters) - A deep freeze enveloping most of the United States early on Friday combined with a massive winter storm brewing in the Midwest to leave two-thirds of the nation under extreme weather alerts, confounding travel plans for millions of Americans.

BUSINESS

FINTECH-CRYPTO/FTX-ARRAIGNMENT

FTX's Bankman-Fried, charged with 'epic' fraud, released on $250 mln bond

NEW YORK, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Sam Bankman-Fried was released on a $250 million bond package on Thursday while he awaits trial over the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange, which a U.S. prosecutor called a "fraud of epic proportions."

TOSHIBA-M&A/

Toshiba's preferred bidder finalising $10.6 bln financing for buyout -sources

TOKYO, Dec 23 (Reuters) - The preferred bidder for Toshiba Corp is finalising 1.4 trillion yen ($10.6 billion) in financing from Japanese lenders to fund its acquisition, according to two sources, a deal that would see one of the country's best known conglomerates taken private.

ENTERTAINMENT

BTS-HYBE/WEVERSE

BTS fandom tech firm Weverse reaches beyond K-Pop

SEOUL, Dec 23 (Reuters) - When Jin became the first member of K-Pop supergroup BTS to enlist for South Korea's mandatory military service this month, he had a special message to fans on Weverse, a fan platform app that commands more than 8 million active users.

CHRISTMAS-SEASON/ROMANIA-DANUBE

Christmas gifts come by boat to isolated Romanian Danube Delta villages

C.A. ROSETTI, Romania, Dec 23 (Reuters) - For the elderly living in remote villages in the Danube Delta, one of the world's largest wetlands, winter is a time of isolation. This year, they are also struggling to cope with a shortage of firewood and rising food prices.

SPORTS

SOCCER-ENGLAND-MCI-LIV/REPORT

Man City edge out Liverpool in League Cup thriller

MANCHESTER, England, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Manchester City beat League Cup holders Liverpool 3-2 in a cracking game on Thursday, taking the lead three times before holding on to reach the quarter-finals.

SOCCER-WORLD CUP/FRANCE-TAUNTS

France may contact Argentina sports minister over fans' World Cup taunts

PARIS, Dec 23 (Reuters) - French sports minister Amelie Oudea-Castera said she may contact her Argentine counterpart over the "vulgar" taunting of France forward Kylian Mbappe by some Argentina fans in Buenos Aires as they celebrated the return of the World Cup winners.

UPCOMING

POLITICS / INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

USA-ELECTION/LAMBERT

The Michigan lawyer pushing Trump’s voter-fraud fictions in U.S. courts

Stefanie Lambert was a defense attorney with financial woes before seizing on the election-denial movement for new business. Now she faces potential disbarment and a criminal investigation into voting-data hacks. Her journey highlights the key role lawyers played in a struggle shaking American democracy.

23 Dec 11:00 ET / 11:00 GMT

CHINA-HONGKONG/

Hong Kong leader visits Beijing Dec 21-24

Hong Kong chief executive John Lee visits Chinese capital Beijing on Dec. 21-24.

24 Dec

INDIA-POLITICS/

Rahul Gandhi's cross-India Congress march reaches Delhi

A cross-India march led by Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi reaches Delhi on the weekend, having received a better-than-expected response from the public in the previous 100 days.

24 Dec

CHINA-MACAU/

Macau leader visits Beijing Dec 21-24

Macau chief executive Ho Iat Seng visits Chinese capital Beijing on Dec. 21-24,

24 Dec

DISASTERS / ACCIDENTS

ETHIOPIA-AIRPLANE/

Ethiopia's transport ministry to present final report on 2019 Boeing 737 Max crash

Ethiopia's transport ministry will present its final report on the March 2019 crash of a Boeing 737 Max passenger plane that killed 157 people and lead regulators to ground the model worldwide.

23 Dec 12:00 ET / 12:00 GMT

BUSINESS / ECONOMICS

MEXICO-ECONOMY/TRADEFIGURES

Mexico-Trade balance

23 Dec 12:00 ET / 12:00 GMT

MEXICO-ECONOMY/GDP

Mexico-IGAE monthly economic activity

23 Dec 12:00 ET / 12:00 GMT

USA-RIGS/BAKERHUGHES

U.S. weekly oil and gas rig count data released by Baker Hughes

Baker Hughes releases weekly data detailing the number of oil and gas rigs deployed in the United States & Canada.

23 Dec 18:00 ET / 18:00 GMT