UNITED STATES: Two men who served nearly 17 years in prison after wrongful conviction for attempted murder following a 2004 shooting were declared innocent Thursday by a California judge. 

Under state law California is required to pay Dupree Glass and Juan Rayford $140 each for every day they spent behind bars — roughly $900,000 (£725,000).

The verdict followed a new trial that began in October after their original convictions were vacated in 2020.

CHILE: President Gabriel Boric announced a plan on Thursday to require private companies to partner with the government when extracting lithium, which is in high demand for use in electric batteries.

Mr Boric said: “Any private company, whether foreign or local, that wants to exploit lithium in Chile must partner with the state.”

SOUTH AFRICA: The African National Congress national executive committee is set to consider a draft paper this weekend on possible coalition models.

ANC veteran Mac Maharaj said the party was very confident of getting more than 50 per cent of the vote in next year’s national elections.  

SWITZERLAND: A group of Credit Suisse investors have sued Swiss financial regulators after a government-engineered takeover of the struggling bank by rival UBS left them with billions in losses.

The investors are contesting an order by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority that wiped out about 16 billion Swiss francs (£14.4bn) in higher-risk Credit Suisse bonds as part of an emergency rescue last month, lawyers said on Friday.