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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni says she has separated from her partner Andrea Giambruno who has faced criticism for alleged sexist comments.

Ms Meloni, 46, took to her social media accounts on Friday to say her near decade-long relationship with television journalist Mr Giambruno “ends here”.

“I thank him for the splendid years we spent together, for the difficulties we went through, and for giving me the most important thing in my life, which is our daughter Ginevra,” the post read.

“Our paths have diverged for some time, and the time has come to acknowledge it.

“I will defend what we were, I will defend our friendship, and I will defend, at all costs, a seven-year-old girl who loves her mother and loves her father, as I was unable to love mine.

“I have nothing else to say about this.”

Husband of the newly appointed Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni Andrea Giambruno holds their daughter Ginevra at a ceremony in Rome
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Mr Giambruno holds his daughter at a ceremony in Rome

The announcement comes after Mr Giambruno, the presenter of an Italian news programme on broadcaster Mediaset, was embroiled in controversy for comments that emerged this week.

Another Mediaset show broadcast off-air excerpts on Wednesday, in which Mr Giambruno allegedly uses explicit language before appearing to make advances towards a female colleague, asking her: “Why didn’t I meet you before?”

A day later, another recording was released in which Mr Giambruno is apparently heard boasting about an affair and telling female colleagues they can work for him if they take part in group sex.

According to Sky TG24, the news channel owned by Sky Italia, the presenter is heard asking one colleague: “Can I touch my package while I’m talking to you?”

He then allegedly asks if a colleague knows that he is having an affair with someone else in the workplace, saying “all of Mediaset” already knows about it.

He adds: “We are looking for a third participant. Let’s do threesomes… even foursomes”, according to Sky TG24.

Release of vulgar remarks suggests deeper political matter at play

Like everyone else, Giorgia Meloni is entitled to a private life. But Meloni’s separation from her partner is bound to raise questions that range from annoying to embarrassing – and even politically awkward.

Andrea Giambruno’s comments would be vulgar and unacceptable in any context.

Coming from his nation’s “first gentleman”, they almost defy belief – it’s as if he’s pretending to be some kind of sitcom Italian stereotype from half a century ago. Except this wasn’t an act.

Meloni has been praised for acting quickly and, so it’s claimed, proving that women don’t have to accept being stuck in a bad relationship.

But this is also the prime minister who has claimed that the traditional family unit must be the bedrock of Italian life, despite never marrying her partner.

Her detractors will inevitably ask why it’s okay for her to be a single mother, while telling everyone else that it’s best if they’re married, heterosexual, and settled.

Then there’s the question of the coverage. Giambruno’s humiliation was down to tapes broadcast by Mediaset, the company set up by the late Silvio Berlusconi and now run by his adult children.

Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party is part of the coalition that keeps Meloni in power so the question is – did Mediaset release these videos simply for their news value, or is there a deeper political matter at play?

With Silvio dead, for instance, are the Berlusconi children considering changing their political allegiances?

As ever in Italian politics, the manoeuvring happens in multiple dimensions. But at least Meloni has learnt one thing from previous political scandals – act fast. Giambruno, her partner for a decade, has very quickly been consigned to history.

Andrea Giambruno, partner of Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni watches her speaking in parliament
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Mr Giambruno watches as Ms Meloni speaks in parliament

The TV journalist had already been widely criticised in August for apparent victim-blaming comments following a gang rape case.

“If you go dancing, you have every right to get drunk – there shouldn’t be any kind of misunderstanding and any kind of problem,” he said during a broadcast.

“But if you avoid getting drunk and losing your senses, you might also avoid running into certain problems and coming across a wolf.”

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Mr Giambruno, whose TV career took off after Ms Meloni’s right-wing party took power in Italy in October 2022, denied victim blaming and said his comments had been taken out of context by critics.

He has yet to comment on the latest controversies publicised this week, nor on Ms Meloni’s update.

Ms Meloni said in August that she should not be judged for comments made by her partner, and that in future she would not answer questions about his behaviour.

She did not address any of the criticism levelled at Mr Giambruno in her most recent social media update.

She ended it with the message: “Ps. All those who hoped to weaken me by hitting me at home should know that however much the drop may hope to dig out the stone, the stone remains stone and the drop is only water.”

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Stock markets slump for second day running after Trump announces tariffs – in worst day for indexes since COVID

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Stock markets slump for second day running after Trump announces tariffs - in worst day for indexes since COVID

Worldwide stock markets have plummeted for the second day running as the fallout from Donald Trump’s global tariffs continues.

While European and Asian markets suffered notable falls, American indexes were the worst hit, with Wall Street closing to a sea of red on Friday following Thursday’s rout – the worst day in US markets since the COVID-19 pandemic.

As it happened: Worst week’s trading in five years

All three of the US’s major indexes were down by more than 5% at market close; The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 5.5%, the S&P 500 was 5.97% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 5.82%.

The Nasdaq was also 22% below its record-high set in December, which indicates a bear market.

Read more: What’s a bear market?

Ever since the US president announced the tariffs on Wednesday evening, analysts estimate that around $4.9trn (£3.8trn) has been wiped off the value of the global stock market.

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Mr Trump has remained unapologetic as the markets struggle, posting in all-caps on Truth Social before the markets closed that “only the weak will fail”.

The UK’s leading stock market, the FTSE 100, also suffered its worst daily drop in more than five years, closing 4.95% down, a level not seen since March 2020.

And the Japanese exchange Nikkei 225 dropped by 2.75% at end of trading, down 20% from its recent peak in July last year.

Pic: Reuters
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US indexes had the worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pic: Reuters

Trump holds trade deal talks – reports

It comes as a source told CNN that Mr Trump has been in discussions with Vietnamese, Indian and Israeli representatives to negotiate bespoke trade deals that could alleviate proposed tariffs on those countries before a deadline next week.

The source told the US broadcaster the talks were being held in advance of the reciprocal levies going into effect next week.

Vietnam faced one of the highest reciprocal tariffs announced by the US president this week, with 46% rates on imports. Israeli imports face a 17% rate, and Indian goods will be subject to 26% tariffs.

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Do Trump’s tariffs add up?

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China – hit with 34% tariffs on imported goods – has also announced it will issue its own levy of the same rate on US imports.

Mr Trump said China “played it wrong” and “panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do” in another all-caps Truth Social post earlier on Friday.

Later, on Air Force One, the US president told reporters that “the beauty” of the tariffs is that they allow for negotiations, referencing talks with Chinese company ByteDance on the sale of social media app TikTok.

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Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump

He said: “We have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs?’

“The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. They always have.”

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Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they’re also battling with another problem

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Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they're also battling with another problem

Global financial markets gave a clear vote of no-confidence in President Trump’s economic policy.

The damage it will do is obvious: costs for companies will rise, hitting their earnings.

The consequences will ripple throughout the global economy, with economists now raising their expectations for a recession, not only in the US, but across the world.

Tariffs latest: FTSE 100 suffers biggest daily drop since COVID

Financial investors had been gradually re-calibrating their expectations of Donald Trump over the past few months.

Hopes that his actions may not match his rhetoric were dashed on Wednesday as he imposed sweeping tariffs on the US’ trading partners, ratcheting up protectionism to a level not seen in more than a century.

Markets were always going to respond to that but they are also battling with another problem: the lack of certainty when it comes to Trump.

More on Donald Trump

He is a capricious figure and we can only guess his next move. Will he row back? How far is he willing to negotiate and offer concessions?

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There were no winners from Trump’s tariff gameshow
Trade war sparks ‘$2.2trn’ global market sell-off

These are massive unknowns, which are piled on to uncertainty about how countries will respond.

China has already retaliated and Europe has indicated it will go further.

That will compound the problems for the global economy and undoubtedly send shivers through the markets.

Much is yet to be determined, but if there’s one thing markets hate, it’s uncertainty.

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Court confirms sacking of South Korean president who declared martial law

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Court confirms sacking of South Korean president who declared martial law

South Korea’s constitutional court has confirmed the dismissal of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached in December after declaring martial law.

His decision to send troops onto the streets led to the country’s worst political crisis in decades.

The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.

The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.

Demonstrators who stayed overnight near the constitutional court wait for the start of a rally calling for the president to step down. Pic: AP
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Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP

Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.

The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.

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The Constitutional Court is under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement of the impeachment trial. Pic: AP
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The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP

After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.

He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.

His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.

The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.

South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.

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