Author: News Desk

«Let’s meet at the Santoro bar – he says on the phone – in a quarter of an hour». Santino Di Matteo, the justice collaborator who first revealed the secrets of the Capaci massacre, avoids staying in one place for too long. He has been out of the protection program for years now, and the State has never forgiven him for returning to Sicily in 1994 to look for his son Giuseppe, who had been kidnapped by the bosses. “I’ll wait for you outside, at the tables – he states again on the phone – in the chaos of Piazza…

Le Monde Front Page 4/12/2024 The front page of Le Monde leads on French political news.  Michel Barnier activated article 49.3 on Monday to try to pass the Social Security budget to the National Assembly  Two motions of censure were tabled immediately by the left and the far right  Marine Le Pen indicated that his troops will vote for that of the New Popular Front, which would have the effect of bringing down the government The Prime Minister tried until the end to negotiate, publishing, on Monday, a press release announcing a concession to Marine Le Pen on drug reimbursement,…

South Korea’s won cut losses against the U.S. dollar after President Yoon Suk Yeol said he would lift the country’s first martial law order in more than four decades. The won was last trading 0.09% lower at 1,416.31 against the greenback, having depreciated to 1,444.93 on Tuesday.

Services sector records strong November growth The service sector saw strong growth during the month of November as demand conditions improved, with new business rising at the fastest rate in eight months, the latest AIB Purchasing Managers Index for the services sector shows.For the month, the services sector had a PMI reading of 58.3 — well ahead of the 53.8 recorded in October. The PMI is derived from questions firms are asked about the volume of activity compared with the prior month, with any number above 50 indicating growth.Senior economist at AIB John Fahey said this latest PMI register showed…

Die Welt front page 4/12/2024 The front page of Die Welt this morning leads with reports there are 200,000 migrants in Germany that are required to leave.  There are well over 200,000 migrants living in Germany who are required to leave the country. The traffic light coalition wants to give some of them a new chance and has been issuing them with probationary residence permits for two years. How many migrants benefit from this? And how many make the leap to regular residency? The German leading index jumps over the magic mark of 20,000 points for the first time -…

South Korea declares martial law – leader urged to resign or face impeachment South Korea’s main opposition party on Wednesday urged president Yoon Suk Yeol to resign immediately or face impeachment, hours after Mr Yoon ended short-lived martial law that prompted troops to encircle parliament before lawmakers voted to lift it. On Tuesday night, Mr Yoon abruptly imposed the emergency martial law, vowing to eliminate “anti-state” forces after he struggled to push forward his agenda in the opposition-dominated parliament. But his martial law was effective for only about six hours, as the National Assembly voted to overrule the president. The…

El Pais Front Page 4/12/2024The front page of the Spanish newspaper El Pais leads with the chaos in South Korea following the president’s decision to declare martial law. South Korea has been tense for hours after its president, Yoon Suk-yeol, declared martial law after accusing the opposition of controlling parliament and sympathising with North Korea.The investigating magistrate Ángel Luis Hurtado, who also summons eight journalists to testify, makes the decision at the request of Álvaro García Ortiz.

Ex-boyfriend sentenced to life in prison in Italian femicide case Ex-boyfriend sentenced to life in prison in Italian femicide case

Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah of the ruling SWAPO party won Namibia’s presidential elections outright in the first round with 57% of the vote, results published by the electoral commission on Tuesday showed.  Clearing half the total votes cast meant no second-round runoff was necessary. 

The Independent front page 4/12/2024 The front page of The Independent leads on the Chancellor backtracking on her pledge not to increase taxes on business.The main image is of the turmoil in South Korea after the President declared martial law and protesters took to the streets.  Fears are growing that Labour could be planning a new tax raid after Rachel Reeves refused to confirm her recent pledge not to repeat her £40bn Budget hikes. South Korea’s opposition lawmakers on Wednesday filed a formal motion for impeachment of president Yoon Suk Yeol following a brief and controversial declaration of martial law.