Paris, France | AFP | Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal secured top spot in Europa League Group H on Thursday despite slumping to a 1-0 defeat at struggling German side Cologne. The Frenchman made 11 changes to the team that beat Tottenham Hotspur in last weekend’s north London derby, with starts handed …

Sydney, Australia | AFP | Papua New Guinea police raided a shuttered Australian detention camp Thursday, removing dozens of refugees in an effort to end a stand-off that has drawn global attention to Canberra’s tough asylum-seeker policies. Hundreds of men sent to the remote camp on PNG’s Manus Island have refused …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Emmerson Mnangagwa, who will be inaugurated on Friday as Zimbabwe’s next president, is a political veteran and party hardliner who for decades worked closely with Robert Mugabe. Here are key dates in his career: – September 15, 1942: Born in the British colony of Southern Rhodesia …

Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Two female-led investor groups are interested in taking over The Weinstein Company, which is on the verge of bankruptcy after the sexual misconduct allegations that have poured in against co-founder Harvey Weinstein, said US media and a source close to the issue. One is …

Yangon, Myanmar | AFP | Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi met with Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Thursday to hammer out a deal to return hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who have fled violence in Rakhine state, as global pressure mounts over the refugee crisis. More than 620,000 people have poured into …

Beijing, China | AFP | A Chinese metal trading firm said Thursday it is investigating whether children are toiling in Congolese mines that supply it with cobalt, a key resource for mobile phones and electric cars. Yantai Cash, a cobalt exporter based in eastern Shandong province, told AFP that it is …

New York, United States | AFP | The photo op with Santa Claus has long been a holiday mainstay for American children. But this year, shopping malls in several states are scheduling glamour shots for man’s best friend. As the Christmas shopping season kicks into high gear on Black Friday, the …

San Francisco, United States | AFP | Two US states said Wednesday they are investigating Uber’s cover-up of a hack at the ride-sharing giant that compromised the personal information of 57 million users and drivers. Uber purportedly paid data thieves $100,000 to destroy the swiped information — and remained quiet …

Governments issue orders to cut off Internet but telecoms reserve ability to hit the `kill switch’ COMMENT | KIZITO BYENKYA & ALEX HUMPHREY | Much to the dismay of the government in Addis Ababa, “Zone 9” has become a household name in Ethiopia. Since 2012, this small group of journalists-turned-online activists …

By ignoring poor people’s needs, financial institutions are overlooking a massive potential market COMMENT | REETA ROY | In a sea of gloomy news, one bright headline appears on the horizon. The World Bank’s latest figures on individuals’ bank accounts, to be released early next year, are expected to show that …