Dubai has dropped a 30 percent tax on alcohol sales in an apparent bid to lure tourists as competition rises between major cities in the wealthy Gulf.

The cut, announced by distributors but not confirmed by authorities, looks set to slash prices that are among the world's highest, with beer routinely costing more than $15 a pint, or half-litre.

The personal liquor licence, available to non-Muslims aged over 21 and required to buy alcohol at Dubai's small number of licensed shops, is now free, according to distributors MMI and African and Eastern.

Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo arrived in Riyadh ahead of his grand unveiling before thousands of fans at Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr club on Tuesday, after sealing a shock move estimated at more than 200 million euros.

The 37-year-old, a five-time winner of the Ballon d'Or, touched down in the capital late on Monday, according to Al Ekhbariya state run TV, and is staying at a luxury hotel with his entourage.

"He brought a big team of assistants and even a private security firm," an official told AFP.

Tram and bus workers in the Tunisian capital staged a strike over delays in salaries and the lack of an end-of-year bonus Monday, creating traffic jams across Tunis.

The strike is the latest in a string of similar actions as Tunisia grapples with an economic crisis that has led to frequent shortages of basic goods from petrol to cooking oil.

The North African nation is struggling with debts of more than 100 percent of gross domestic product and is in negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for a nearly $2 billion-dollar bailout.

A group of prominent exiled Iranian pro-opposition figures have issued a coordinated message predicting 2023 will be a year of "victory" with the regime shaken by protests.

Those sending the message include leaders from the fields of culture, human rights and sports.

The Iranian diaspora has long been seen as lacking unity, split into different political factions and strategies for dealing with the Islamic republic, that ousted the shah in 1979.

The Israeli army killed two Palestinians in a West Bank raid on Monday as it demolished the homes of two Palestinians accused of killing an Israeli soldier, Palestinian officials said.

The Palestinian health ministry announced the deaths of "Mohammad Samer Hoshieh, 22, after being shot in the chest, and Fuad Mohammad Abed, 25, after being shot in the abdomen and thigh" during a raid by the Israeli army near Jenin.

Tens of thousands of people paid their respects Monday to former pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican, at the start of three days of lying-in-state at St Peter's Basilica before his funeral.

They began queueing before dawn to view the German theologian's body, which was transferred early Monday from the monastery in the Vatican grounds where he died Saturday aged 95.

Around a dozen countries have slapped fresh travel regulations on travellers from China, as the world's most populous nation faces a surge in Covid cases following its decision to relax strict virus restrictions.

Here is a run-down of the countries that have imposed mandatory Covid tests and other rules on arrivals from China:

- United States -

As of January 5, the United States will require negative Covid tests taken within two days of departure -- or documentation proving passengers have recovered from the virus within the last 90 days -- for all entries from China.

Israeli missile strikes on the Syrian capital's airport Monday killed four people including two soldiers and closed the runways for several hours, a rights monitor said.

This is the second time in less than seven months that Israel has hit Damascus International Airport -- where Iranian-backed armed groups and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters are present.

The attack around 2:00 am (2300 GMT) put the airport out of service until 9:00 am, Syria's state news agency SANA and officials said.

Church bells tolled for the death of ex-pope Benedict XVI in Jerusalem's Old City on Sunday, where Catholics revered their "great" former pontiff.

Standing before the ancient stones of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Christians believe Jesus was buried, seminarian Matteo Sassano said he had been praying for the retired pope, who died on Saturday.

"Pope Benedict was a great pope... also, a great companion of Pope Francis," said Sassano, 33, from Italy.

Thousands in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip staged one of the biggest celebrations in years for the rival Fatah movement of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Saturday.

The demonstrators turned Gaza City's Al-Katiba square into a sea of yellow as they waved Fatah flags to mark the 58th anniversary of the party's foundation.

Fatah rallies on this scale have been a rarity in Gaza for the past decade and a half.