MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s government is pouring resources into detecting what it suggests are “fake” missing people — cases reported by political opponents to embarrass the government, or kidnapped people who return home but don’t notify authorities.

Yet officials make no significant effort to find actual missing people, angering the families of Mexico’s estimated 113,000 “disappeared.”

MOSCOW, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Russia's success in evading a Western oil price cap is helping drive a recovery in economic growth as President Vladimir Putin prepares to run for re-election, despite the problems caused by labour shortages, inflation and high interest rates.

Russia's parliament has formally set next year's presidential election date for March 17. Putin, who on Thursday said the economy was set to grow 3.5% this year, is widely expected to run for a new six-year term.

HELSINKI, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Finnish Transport Workers' Union (AKT) announced on Thursday that it would join strikes of Nordic transport unions in support of demands on U.S. automaker Tesla's operations in Sweden.

According to their statement, Finnish dockworkers will cease loading Tesla equipment on their way to Sweden from Dec. 20. Announcements of support were given by Danish and Norwegian unions earlier this week while dockers and postal workers in Sweden have already begun supportive actions.

Dec 8 (Reuters) - Thailand and conflict-torn Myanmar will create a task force to boost humanitarian assistance to people displaced by fighting and could expand that to include other aid agencies, Thailand's foreign ministry said on Friday.

Thailand hopes the plan will lead to constructive engagement between military-ruled Myanmar, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional bloc, and the international community, it said in a statement.

KIEV, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said Thursday that Kiev signed a memorandum with the United States to boost Ukraine's military production.

"There will be more weapons! Ukraine and the U.S. signed the memorandum on joint production and exchange of technical data," Umerov wrote on Facebook.

The document was signed during the Defense Industries Conference DFNC1: U.S. Edition in Washington, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

8 December 2023; MEMO: Iranian judicial authorities, on Thursday, announced the seizure of two vessels over alleged smuggling of fuel in the Persian Gulf, Anadolu Agency reports.

Mojtaba Ghahrami, Chief Justice of the southern Hormozgan province, said two vessels carrying 210,000 litres of “smuggled fuel” were seized in the waters of Qeshm Island, as reported by state media.

He said Iranian naval forces seized the two ships after identifying them and took 14 people on board into custody.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United Nations climate conference on Friday began its final week with negotiators expected to zoom in on the future of fossil fuels on a dangerously warming planet.

Reopening COP28 after a rest day, President Sultan al-Jaber described what he saw as an “unprecedented level of momentum” for the summit.

The climate summit is “sending a clear signal that all of us — small and large – can make a difference,” al-Jaber said. “Let us build on that success for an unprecedented outcome.”

ULAN BATOR, Dec 8 (NNN-APA) – Mongolia’s central bank said today, it has purchased a total of 16.1 tonnes of gold in the first 11 months of this year from legal entities and individuals.

As of Nov, the Bank of Mongolia’s average gold purchase price had been 219,514.35 Mongolian tugriks (64 U.S. dollars) per gram, the bank said in a statement.

Purchasing gold is one of the key ways for the central bank to ensure the country’s economic stability, it said.

8 December 2023; MEMO: The Al-Qassam Brigades said an Israeli soldier who had been held as a prisoner of war in Gaza was killed early today after an Israeli special forces unit struck the area he was being held, Reuters reports.

Al-Qassam identified the prisoner of war as 25-year-old Sa’ar Baruch and gave an identification number for him.

JUBA, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) on Thursday called on the government of South Sudan to quickly address issues related to elections, security concerns and humanitarian crises in 2024.

The government should fully fund and operationalize the elections and constitution-making bodies, said Guang Cong, the deputy special representative of the Secretary-General for South Sudan and Officer-in-Charge of UNMISS.

KARACHI, Dec 08 (APP): Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on Friday said that the investors had regained confidence after the successful signing of a standby agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the execution of the annual budget 2023-24 and improvement in the fiscal and external accounts.

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- A trial of a new drug regimen to treat tuberculous meningitis (TBM) has started enrolling adults and adolescents in several countries where tuberculosis is prevalent, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) said on Thursday.

The trial, sponsored by the NIH, will compare a six-month regimen of four drugs with the nine-month, standard-of-care regimen for TBM.

The study aims to generate evidence that could improve treatment for people with TBM.