UN Security Council meets on Friday after North Korean missile launch

North Korea's state-run KCNA agency confirmed Friday morning that Thursday's firing of "a new type" of ICBM, dubbed Hwasong-17, was personally ordered by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and that he had perfectly hit his target in the Sea of Japan. The UN Security Council is due to meet on Friday the day after North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile, Pyongyang breaking a moratorium it had observed since 2017 on this type of weapon test. The United Nations, through the voice of Secretary General Antonio Guterres' spokesman, "forcefully condemned" this shooting on Thursday, pushing the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Albania, Ireland and Norway to request a meeting of the Security Council, which will be held on Friday from 3:00 p.m. (7:00 p.m. GMT).

"The launch of a long-range missile runs the risk of a significant escalation of tensions in the region. The Secretary-General urges the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) not to take further counterproductive actions" , warned the spokesperson for Mr. Guterres, Stephane Dujarric.

Competition: EU finds agreement to regulate digital giants

EU member states, the Commission and the European Parliament reached an agreement on Thursday on new legislation that should put an end to the abuse of a dominant position by digital giants. After several months of negotiations, a compromise has been sealed between the European institutions on the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which should impose on Gafam - Google, Apple, Meta (Facebook), Amazon and Microsoft - a series of obligations and prohibitions to curb anti-competitive practices. For the French Secretary of State for Digital, Cédric O, it is "the most important economic regulation of recent decades".

Italy will not go to the World Cup, Uruguay and Ecuador qualified

Thunderbolt in Palermo, a goal from North Macedonia in added time eliminated Italy (1-0) and canceled the long-awaited play-off final against Portugal, which ruled it against Turkey (3 -1), Thursday. In South America, Ecuador and Uruguay clinched their ticket to the World Cup on the penultimate day of South American qualifying, taking the last two places in the single group directly qualifying. Wales, thanks to a double from Gareth Bale against Austria (2-1), will play in June against the winner of Scotland-Ukraine, a match postponed due to the war. Finally Sweden's victory in extra time against the Czech Republic (1-0 ap) promises a sumptuous duel between Zlatan Ibrahimovic, suspended Thursday, and Robert Lewandowski for the third play-off final.

IN SHORT

A shooting at an outdoor party left one dead and at least three injured on Thursday in Guadeloupe, the public prosecutor told AFP, confirming information from local media.

"Fed up with being mistreated": several thousand retirees demonstrated Thursday in twenty major French cities to demand an increase in pensions, in the midst of soaring inflation and two weeks before the presidential election.