South Korea’s president forced from office, fresh blow to Uber and the face of Aleppo

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Protests erupted in the South Korean capital on Friday after President Park Geun-hye became the country’s first democratically elected leader to be forced from office. The landmark decision by the country’s constitutional court came after months of political turmoil. Two people were killed as scores of the toppled president’s conservative supporters rioted violently in the street on hearing the verdict. Acting president Hwang Kyo-ahn appealed for calm. Here is a timeline of Ms Park’s fall from grace.

Ms Park’s ousting — and the related sentencing of Samsung’s vice-chairman — puts South Korea at a historic juncture, with many hoping it will be a harbinger of reform in a nation plagued by graft and cronyism. The country must now hold an election within 60 days. Hotly tipped to win is Moon Jae-in, a former human rights lawyer and veteran politician from the opposition Democratic party. (FT, BBC, WSJ, NYT)

In the news

Buhari returns Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has returned home after six weeks of medical leave in the UK. He returns to a long list of problems, from Boko Haram fighters still on the rampage in the north, militants sabotaging oil production in the south and an economy that has contracted for the first time in 25 years. (Jazeera, FT)

Fresh blow to Uber A court in Hong Kong has found five Uber drivers guilty of illegally offering ride-hailing services. It is the latest case against the company as Asian countries toughen their stance on regulation of the service. It also comes after a series of crises in recent weeks that has let many to question Travis Kalanick, the chief executive. (Reuters, FT)

Euro up after Draghi comments The euro rose in early trading on Friday after the European Central Bank chief declared success in the bank’s battle against deflation. He struck an optimistic tone on the eurozone economy and said that the bank was not planning to unleash another round of cheap bank loans. (FT)

Oil price starts to cracks Oil prices have dropped sharply this week, belying the impression of price stability which had been created by Opec, hedge funds and shale oil producers in the US. Expect further volatility for the industry. (FT)

Thanks but no thanks Tech companies have given a cool reception to the offer by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to work with Silicon Valley after the leak of alleged CIA cyber weapons. The CIA’s response: “As we’ve said previously, Julian Assange is not exactly a bastion of truth and integrity.” (FT)

Test your knowledge with the week in news quiz. Where did North Korea fire four ballistic missiles?

It’s a big day for

US interest rates Strong jobs data could bolster the already strong case for an interest rate rise. (FT)

Food for thought

The problem with facts Tim Harford on how today’s politicians — from the Leave campaign to Team Trump — deal with inconvenient truths. Hint: look to Big Tobacco. (FT)

The consolidation debate Forget glitzy new car launches — the talk at this year’s Geneva Motor Show is Peugeot’s takeover of Opel — and whether the consolidation of European carmakers will help the development of technology that requires investment in electric and self-driving systems, as well as increasing efficiency. (FT)

A brief history of Khan The Khans — Shah Rukh, Aamir and Salman (no relation) — rule Bollywood and are among the most famous people on the planet. But they — along with other famous Khans, including acclaimed directors Sajid and Kabir, cricketer/politician Imran and boxer Amir — are also frequent guests of airport security. A brief history on how no case proves the absurdity of modern profiling more than the name Khan. (NYMag)

The face of Aleppo Seven-year-old Bana al-Abed’s Twitter dispatches from Aleppo showed the world the hardship of living under a brutal siege. Now she is one of 3m Syrian refugees in Turkey and talks about trying to be a normal child again over ice cream in Ankara. (FT)

The wild boars of Fukushima An unexpected nuisance has cropped up for Japanese people returning to towns vacated after the Fukushima nuclear crisis six years ago — wild boars. “If we don’t get rid of them and turn this into a human-led town, the situation will get even wilder and uninhabitable,” one resident said. Here are recent photos of the tsunami-hit region, taken by a drone. (Reuters, NAR)

Video of the day

The battle to list Saudi Aramco Stock exchanges round the world are limbering up to win the multibillion-dollar listing of Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company. (FT)