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China reported 74 new confirmed coronavirus cases for Dec. 7, down from 94 a day earlier, its health authority said on Wednesday.

British foreign minister Liz Truss said on Wednesday she did not know the details of what happened when asked about reports of a Christmas party at Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Downing Street office during lockdown.

The European Commission set out plans on Wednesday to retaliate against countries that put economic pressure on EU members to change their policies, while stressing the main purpose was deterrent.

British foreign minister Liz Truss urged Iran on Wednesday to sign up to the 2015 nuclear deal, saying it was "the last chance" to do, just a day before talks were expected to resume.

Britain does not rule out the possibility of invoking Article 16 of the Northern Ireland protocol if a disagreement with the European Union over how trade with the province operates cannot be resolved, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday.

Britain will not require stricter domestic COVID restrictions in the run-up to Christmas because vaccines had put the country into a more resilient position than a year ago, Justice Secretary Dominic Raab said on Tuesday.

China's exports growth lost steam in November, pressured by a strong yuan, weakening demand and higher costs, but imports unexpectedly accelerated as the country scrambled to restock depleted commodities like coal.

Early indications suggest that the Omicron coronavirus variant is more transmissible than the earlier Delta variant, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told his top team of cabinet ministers on Tuesday.

Proposals made by Iran on its nuclear programme are not acceptable, a German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said on Monday, adding that Berlin is still willing to follow a diplomatic path on the issue but time is running out.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday ahead of President Joe Biden's call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, during which he is expected to warn Russia of severe economic consequences should Russia go ahead with a invasion of Ukraine.