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Beijing (AFP) – China condemns fresh Covid test requirements for travellers coming from its territory, as close to a dozen countries put the regulation in place. “Some countries have taken entry restrictions targeting only China. This lacks scientific basis and some practices are unacceptable,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning tells a regular briefing, warning China could “take countermeasures based on the principle of reciprocity”.

Riyadh (AFP) – Billboards in the Saudi Arabia capital of Riyadh show photos of Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of the Portuguese superstar’s presentation by his new club Al-Nassr. The 37-year-old football player left Manchester United after he conducted an explosive interview in which he criticized manager Erik ten Hag and the club’s owners.

Santos (Brazil) (AFP) – Thousands of Brazilians gather at the Vila Belmiro Stadium in Santos to pay their last respects to “King” Pele, who died at the age of 82, after a fight with cancer. IMAGES

Rome (AFP) – “Now I can go home peacefully,” says a mourner after seeing the body of Benedict XVI at the Vatican. Thousands of people have been queuing since dawn to pay their respects to the former pope, at the start of three days of lying-in-state at St Peter’s Basilica ahead of his funeral.

Santos (Brazil) (AFP) – People form a line stretching two kilometres outside the Vila Belmiro stadium, home to Santos FC, the club where Pele played most of his storied career — and which is holding a 24-hour wake for him after his death at age 82. “People don’t mind waiting here in the sun, in this very long queue, to pay tribute to him,” says one Brazilian.

Izyum (Ukraine) (AFP) – During the long months of Russian occupation in Izyum, up to sixty people lived in Andriy Pleshan’s cellar. Izyum, a town in eastern Ukraine, and home to 45,000 inhabitants before the war, was retaken by Ukrainian forces in mid-September, and has lived in relative peace since, unlike other liberated towns closer to the front line.

Brasília (AFP) – Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva holds a bilateral meeting with King Felipe VI of Spain, a day after the veteran leftist took office for a third term.

Vatican City (AFP) – Thousands of people queue early in the morning around Vatican City to pay their respects to former pope Benedict XVI, whose body will lie in state for three days at St Peter’s Basilica before his funeral. IMAGES

Moscow (AFP) – 63 Russian troops have been killed in eastern Ukraine as Kyiv forces struck a camp using US-supplied Himars systems, Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov announces. Ukraine has claimed responsibility for the strike.

Brasília (AFP) – Brazil’s newly re-elected leftist President Lula da Silva promises to rebuild Brazil and reconcile his compatriots as he becomes president for the third time, an inauguration marked by the absence of his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro. “I will govern for all 215 million Brazilians, and not only for those who voted for me”, Lula says.

Vatican City (AFP) – Thousands of people, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, pay their respects to former pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican, at the start of three days of lying-in-state at St Peter’s Basilica ahead of his funeral. They began queueing before dawn to view the former pope’s body, which was transferred from the monastery to St.Peter’s Basilica. This video contains images of former pope Benedict XVI’s body, which some viewers may find disturbing.

Uppsala (Sweden) (AFP) – Under the Instagram handle ‘crossfitpriest’, Swedish hospital chaplain Oskar Arngarden shares fitness and spiritual guidance with his 30,000 followers, with a view of helping them heal body, mind and soul. While the negative effects of social media are well documented, Arngarden says social media can also be a good place to talk about “faith and health, and… our existential, mental health.”