South Korea's Lee calls for improving security at national data centre after fire
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has vowed a “significant improvement” in the security of government administrative systems after a major fire...
Italy’s ruling League party has said domestic banks should contribute around €5 billion ($5.85 billion) towards the 2026 budget.
The proposal, the party explained in a statement, draws on windfall tax measures already implemented in several European countries. The League, led by Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini and counting Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti among its senior figures, said the aim was “to intervene on the excess profits of the major credit institutions.”
According to a source familiar with the matter, the League is considering a Spanish-style levy on banks, taxing net interest income and commissions with bands ranging from 1% to 7%.
Giorgetti said last week that Italy’s banking sector had recorded “stratospheric profits” over the past five years and should now contribute more to public finances.
The plan is expected to face opposition within the governing coalition, particularly from Forza Italia, which has voiced strong resistance to windfall taxation of banks.
“Banks can and must do their duty, but ‘extra profit’ is something that doesn’t exist,” said Forza Italia leader Antonio Tajani, who also serves as deputy prime minister and foreign minister. “Taxing extra profits and continuing to threaten the banks risks destabilising our entire financial system, alarming the markets and driving investors away.”
Italy previously attempted to impose a 40% windfall tax on banks in 2023, but the measure triggered a sharp sell-off in banking shares, forcing the government to scale back the plan. A package of measures introduced at the end of 2024 eventually raised €4 billion from the sector to help finance this year’s budget.
Other options currently under discussion include tightening the rules on how banks use deferred tax assets to reduce their tax liabilities, following last year’s precedent, or introducing a levy on share buybacks designed to reward shareholders, the source added.
AnewZ has learned that India has once again blocked Azerbaijan’s application for full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, while Pakistan’s recent decision to consider diplomatic relations with Armenia has been coordinated with Baku as part of Azerbaijan’s peace agenda.
A day of mourning has been declared in Portugal to pay respect to victims who lost their lives in the Lisbon Funicular crash which happened on Wednesday evening.
Video from the USGS (United States Geological Survey) showed on Friday (19 September) the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupting and spewing lava.
At least eight people have died and more than 90 others were injured following a catastrophic gas tanker explosion on a major highway in Mexico City’s Iztapalapa district on Wednesday, authorities confirmed.
A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on 13 September with no tsunami threat, coming just weeks after the region endured a devastating 8.8-magnitude quake — the strongest since 1952.
U.S. stock markets ended higher on Friday, following largely in-line inflation figures, although indices recorded losses over the week.
Inflation expectations for the next 12 months in the eurozone rose to 2.8% in August, up from 2.6% in July, according to the results of a consumer survey published by the European Central Bank (ECB) on Friday.
Miniso announced on Friday that it will spin off its brand Top Toy and list it in Hong Kong, capitalising on the growing investor interest in Chinese toymakers and highlighting the city’s renewed position as a global fundraising hub.
The U.S. envoy to Türkiye has confirmed that a Turkish Airlines’ Boeing aircraft deal has been finalised, marking a significant step in expanding the carrier’s fleet.
Since the end of 2024, the price of cocoa has fallen below $7,000 per tonne, as expectations of increased supply and weakening demand triggered a sharp market decline.
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