
-
Liverpool's Slot happy to let Premier League title bid take its course
-
USA sole bidder for 2031 Women's World Cup, UK set to host in 2035
-
Tesla sales fall again in Germany amid Musk backlash
-
Italy's skiing champion Brignone air-lifted to hospital after crash
-
US trade partners eye talks after Trump tariff blitz
-
Evenepoel adds Tour de Romandie to comeback programme
-
Defending champion I Am Maximus heads final field for Grand National
-
Rubio says US committed to NATO - but tells allies to spend more
-
Dollar, stocks sink as gold hits high on Trump tariffs
-
India eyes opportunity despite Trump tariffs hit
-
UK show reveals tawdry tale of Shakespeare folio theft
-
Top Russian official in Washington for talks on improving ties
-
Sinner's former physio to blame for failed dope tests, says ex-physical trainer
-
Germany slams Trump tariffs, US tech titans in crosshairs
-
Trump tariff blitz sparks retaliation threats, economic fears
-
Search for Malaysia's long missing MH370 suspended
-
Hungary announces ICC withdrawal as Israel's Netanyahu visits
-
Trump's tariffs sting Asian giants, including US allies
-
India says 'examining the implications' of US tariffs
-
Evenepoel set to make injury return at Tour de Romandie
-
USA sole bidder for 2031 Women's World Cup, UK set to host in 2035 - Infantino
-
McLaren's Norris says it's 'our turn' for success
-
Lessons and liquids: buried alive in Myanmar's earthquake
-
Trump tariffs spark fears for Asian jobs, exporting sectors
-
Stocks and dollar sink, havens rally as Trump tariffs fan trade war
-
Runners fly to North Korea for first post-Covid Pyongyang Marathon
-
Hamilton rubbishes claims he's lost faith in Ferrari
-
Nintendo Switch 2 sparks excitement despite high price
-
Sri Lanka's crackdown on dogs for India PM's visit sparks protest
-
S Korea police raise security levels ahead of impeachment verdict
-
China vows 'countermeasures' to sweeping new US tariffs
-
Trump jolts allies, foes and markets with tariff blitz
-
France says EU to target US online services after Trump tariffs
-
Tsunoda vows to bring 'something different' after Red Bull promotion
-
Verstappen not happy with Tsunoda-Lawson Red Bull swap
-
Experts accuse 54 top Nicaragua officials of grave abuses
-
Remains of 30th victim of Los Angeles fires found
-
EU to target US online services after Trump tariffs: France
-
How Trump's 'liberation day' tariffs will impact China
-
Malaysia suspends search for long-missing flight MH370
-
Search for long-missing flight MH370 suspended: Malaysia minister
-
Europe hits out at Trump tariffs, keeps door open for talks
-
Myanmar's junta chief to head to Bangkok summit as quake toll surpasses 3,000
-
Lawson vows to prove he belongs in F1 after shock of Red Bull axing
-
Australia sweats through hottest 12 months on record: official data
-
Livestock theft is central to jihadist economy in west Africa
-
South African artist champions hyenas in 'eco-queer' quest
-
Danish PM in 'unity' Greenland visit amid US takeover threats
-
Taiwan says US tariffs 'highly unreasonable'
-
Lawson says ruthless Red Bull axing was 'tough to hear'

UK govt freezes BBC funding for two years
The UK government on Monday announced a freeze of the BBC licence fee, arguing a new funding model was needed to ease cost of living pressures and reflect a transformed media landscape.
Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries told parliament the £159 ($217, 190 euros) annual fee, paid by every television set owner in the country, would be fixed for the next two years.
After that it will rise in line with inflation for four years, she said, saying the rising annual cost of the compulsory charge was hurting cash-strapped families.
The long-term future of the corporation should not depend on a system which criminalises non-payers, she added.
But opposition parties linked the move to efforts to keep Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a job, by offering "red meat" to BBC critics, due to anger at lockdown-breaking parties at Downing Street.
Labour media spokeswoman Lucy Powell said monthly payments for the licence fee were small change compared to proposed Tory annual tax increases and soaring energy bills totalling thousands of pounds.
"Is the licence fee really at the heart of the cost of living crisis or is this really about their long-term vendetta against the BBC?" she asked
"It's at the heart of Operation Red Meat to stop the prime minister becoming dead meat," she added, referring to a proposed government fight-back plan of populist measures to boost Johnson's standing.
The BBC has come under increasing criticism from right-wingers since Britain's divisive Brexit referendum in 2016 for alleged political bias, and pushing a "woke", London-centric liberal agenda.
But the public service broadcaster, which this year marks its 100th anniversary and has editorial independence from government, has faced similar accusations from the political left.
Critics accused Johnson loyalist Dorries, who leaked details of the plan on Twitter on Sunday night after a torrid week for the prime minister, of "cultural vandalism", wrecking a world-renowned British institution.
The licence fee funds television, radio and online services, including its popular iPlayer on-demand platform, as well as programming, many of which are exported commercially worldwide.
Dorries said discussions about the future of the funding model from 2028 will start "shortly" but change was needed because of evolving media consumption and technological advances.
"This is 2022, not 1922. We need a BBC that is ready to take the challenges of modern broadcasting, a BBC that will continue to engage the British public and that commands support from across the breadth of the UK, not just the London bubble, a BBC that can thrive alongside Netflix and Amazon Prime and all of its other challenges which attract younger viewers."
BBC chairman Richard Sharp and director-general Tim Davie said they were disappointed at the move, warning it would hit British cultural industries and "necessitate tougher choices which will impact licence fee payers".
Y.Baker--AT