North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for “exponential” growth of the country's nuclear arsenal in a recent ruling party meeting, per the Associated Press, citing state media reports Sunday.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was inaugurated on Sunday, capping a triumphant return to Brazil's presidency 12 years after leaving office and less than two years after the corruption convictions that sent him to prison were annulled.
The big picture: Lula, 77, would ordinarily have received the presidential sash from his predecessor, but outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro skipped the ceremony, telling supporters in a tearful farewell on Friday that"we will not throw in the towel. We may have lost the battle but not the war."
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who died Saturday at the age of 95, asked for forgiveness from those he had "wronged" in his final letter published by the Vatican.
Why it matters: The former pope left a complicated legacy following his resignation in 2005, but his spiritual testament, dated Aug. 29, 2006, also focused on gratitude.
As Americans prepared to celebrate New Year's Eve on Saturday, millions of people in countries where the clock had already struck midnight were ringing in 2023.
Zoom out: Here's a look at celebrations across the globe.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call late Friday asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to vote against a UN General Assembly resolution that calls on the International Court of Justice to issue a legal opinion on the consequences of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories, Ukrainian and Israeli officials told Axios.
The big picture: Ukraine had voted in favor of the resolution during a UN committee vote but did not attend Friday's General Assembly vote "in order to give a chance to the relationship with Netanyahu," the Ukrainian official said.
Driving the news: The Vatican said in a statement that Benedict died in his residence at Mater Ecclesiae Monastery after his condition worsened earlier this month.
