Los Angeles, United States | AFP | US federal agents said Friday they arrested 212 people in Los Angeles for violating federal immigration laws. The vast majority — 88 percent — of those arrested “were convicted criminals,” the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency said in a statement. The arrests were …

Cape Town, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s freshly-appointed president, Cyril Ramaphosa, on Friday hailed “a new dawn” for the country in his first policy speech after Jacob Zuma’s bruising nine-year term came to an end. “We should put all the negativity that has dogged our country behind us …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe’s main opposition party is facing the threat of damaging splits just months before a historic election, as feuding erupts after the death on Wednesday of its leader Morgan Tsvangirai. Tsvangirai’s final months were accompanied by increasingly public quarrelling between his three deputies over who would …

Tel Aviv, Israel | AFP | Thousands of Israelis marched against corruption in Tel Aviv on Friday, in the first protest since police recommended that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be indicted for graft. Several thousand people gathered for the protest calling on Netanyahu to step down, carrying banners reading ‘Crime …

New York, United States | AFP | Coca-Cola reported a fourth-quarter loss Friday due to a one-time hit from US tax reform as growth in some non-cola beverages helped offset continued sluggishness in soda sales. The soft drink giant reported a loss of $2.8 billion in the quarter ending December …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn resigned unexpectedly on Thursday, the first leader to do so in the country’s recent history. As Africa’s second most-populous country enters uncharted political territory, here are four questions about what happened — and what comes next. – Why did …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | Ethiopia’s opposition reacted cautiously on Friday a day after the surprise resignation of the prime minister, warning it did not herald real change since the ruling party remains in power. Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn resigned on Thursday after weeks of anti-government demonstrations and growing …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Oxfam unveiled an action plan Friday to tackle sexual misconduct following a prostitution scandal described as “a stain on Oxfam that will shame us for years” by the charity’s global chief. The organisation said it would create a commission which will “operate at arms-length …

Cape Town, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s newly-minted president, Cyril Ramphosa, will deliver his first major policy speech Friday, seizing the chance to offer the country a fresh start after nine bruising years under Jacob Zuma. The State of the Nation address is an annual mix of political …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A one-year microenterprise graduation program targeting the ultra-poor in rural Africa offers a cost-effective way to tackle extreme poverty, according to preliminary results of a new study released in Kampala on Thursday. These preliminary results suggest that Village Enterprise’s integrated “graduation” model—comprised of targeting, training, …