Briefly

CANADA

COVID-19 tests dropped for travelers from China

Canada will remove mandatory COVID-19 testing requirements for travelers arriving from China from Friday. Travelers arriving in Canada from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong or Macao will no longer have to provide evidence of a negative COVID-19 test result taken before their departure, said an announcement from the Public Health Agency of Canada, or PHAC, on Thursday. The move comes after the United States lifted similar requirements a week ago. "Since Canada and other countries put in place temporary border measures in January 2023, data from China, the international community and wastewater sampling conducted in Canada have not detected any new variants of concern," a statement from PHAC said.

DPRK

ICBM launched to warn US, ROK over drills

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile on Thursday, saying it was fired in response to "frantic" US-ROK joint military drills, state media Korean Central News Agency reported. Photos released on Friday by state media showed the DPRK's top leader Kim Jong-un watching the launch with his daughter, Agence France-Presse reported. "The launching drill of the strategic weapon serves as an occasion to give a stronger warning to the enemies intentionally escalating the tension in the Korean Peninsula while persistently resorting to irresponsible and reckless military threats," KCNA reported. ROK and US forces began 11 days of joint drills, dubbed "Freedom Shield", on Monday.

OECD

Better outlook forecast, but recovery fragile

The global economic outlook has improved from a few months ago as the inflation shock eases but rising interest rates will keep risks high, the OECD said on Friday, hiking its growth forecasts for major economies. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said it now expects the global economy to grow by 2.6 percent this year compared to 2.2 percent in its previous forecast in November. But it remains under the 3.2-percent expansion seen in 2022, the OECD said in its updated economic outlook titled "A Fragile Recovery". It also warned that "the improvement in the outlook is still fragile. Risks have become somewhat better balanced, but remain tilted to the downside".

Agencies - China Daily