- Honda and Nissan to launch merger talks
- Police arrest suspect who set woman on fire in New York subway
- China vows 'cooperation' over ship linked to severed Baltic Sea cables
- Australian tennis star Purcell provisionally suspended for doping
- Asian markets track Wall St rally as US inflation eases rate fears
- Luxury Western goods line Russian stores, three years into sanctions
- Wallace and Gromit return with comic warning about AI dystopia
- Philippine military says will acquire US Typhon missile system
- Afghan bread, the humble centrepiece of every meal
- Honda and Nissan expected to begin merger talks
- 'Draconian' Vietnam internet law heightens free speech fears
- Israeli women mobilise against ultra-Orthodox military exemptions
- Asian markets track Wall St rally as US inflation eases rate worries
- Tens of thousands protest in Serbian capital over fatal train station accident
- Trump vows to 'stop transgender lunacy' as a top priority
- Daniels throws five TDs as Commanders down Eagles, Lions and Vikings win
- 'Who's next?': Misinformation and online threats after US CEO slaying
- Only 12 trucks delivered food, water in North Gaza Governorate since October: Oxfam
- InterContinental Hotels Group PLC Announces Transaction in Own Shares - December 23
- Melrose Group Publicly Files Complaint to the Ontario Securities Commission
- Langers edge Tiger and son Charlie in PNC Championship playoff
- Explosive batsman Jacobs gets New Zealand call-up for Sri Lanka series
- Holders PSG edge through on penalties in French Cup
- Slovak PM Fico on surprise visit to Kremlin to talk gas deliveries
- Daniels throw five TDs as Commanders down Eagles
- Atalanta fight back to take top spot in Serie A, Roma hit five
- Mancini admits regrets over leaving Italy for Saudi Arabia
- Run machine Ayub shines as Pakistan sweep South Africa
- Slovak PM Fico on surprise visit to Kremlin
- Gaza rescuers say Israeli strikes kill 35
- 'Incredible' Liverpool must stay focused: Slot
- Maresca 'absolutely happy' as title-chasing Chelsea drop points in Everton draw
- Salah happy wherever career ends after inspiring Liverpool rout
- Three and easy as Dortmund move into Bundesliga top six
- Liverpool hit Spurs for six, Man Utd embarrassed by Bournemouth
- Netanyahu vows to act with 'force, determination' against Yemen's Huthis
- Mbappe back from 'bottom' as Real Madrid down Sevilla
- Ali hat-trick helps champions Ahly crush Belouizdad
- France kept on tenterhooks over new government
- Salah stars as rampant Liverpool hit Spurs for six
- Syria's new leader says all weapons to come under 'state control'
- 'Sonic 3' zips to top of N.America box office
- Rome's Trevi Fountain reopens to limited crowds
- Mbappe strikes as Real Madrid down Sevilla
- 'Nervous' Man Utd humiliated by Bournemouth
- Pope again condemns 'cruelty' of Israeli strikes on Gaza
- Lonely this Christmas: Vendee skippers in low-key celebrations on high seas
- Troubled Man Utd humiliated by Bournemouth
- 2 US pilots shot down over Red Sea in 'friendly fire' incident: military
- Man Utd embarrassed by Bournemouth, Chelsea held at Everton
UK freezes BBC funding for two years
The UK government came under fire on Monday for freezing the BBC licence fee, with critics accusing it of a politically motivated attack to save the prime minister's job.
The Conservatives' Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said the £159 ($217, 190-euro) annual fee would be fixed for two years until 2024, then rise in line with inflation for the next four.
She justified the funding cut, which BBC bosses called "disappointing", as needed to ease cost of living pressures on cash-strapped families and reflect a transformed media landscape.
But opposition parties said the monthly payments for all television set owners -- equivalent to £13.13 a month -- was small change compared to looming tax rises and soaring energy bills totalling thousands of pounds a year.
Labour's media spokeswoman Lucy Powell said the government was seeking to appease critics of Boris Johnson, whose position is in jeopardy due to revelations about lockdown-breaking parties at Downing Street.
- Vendetta? -
"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 in parliament.
"It's at the heart of Operation Red Meat to stop the prime minister becoming dead meat," she added, referring to a reported government fight-back plan of populist measures to boost Johnson's standing.
The BBC, which marks its centenary later this year, has come under increasing claims from right-wingers since the UK's divisive Brexit referendum in 2016 for political bias, and pushing a "woke", London-centric liberal agenda.
But the public service broadcaster, founded by Royal Charter and operating independently of government, has faced similar accusations from the political left.
Critics accused Dorries, a Johnson loyalist who leaked details of the plan on Twitter on Sunday night after a torrid week for the prime minister, of "cultural vandalism" and wrecking a world-renowned British institution.
Dorries has previously accused the BBC of "tokenism" in diversity hiring and elitist "group think" but denied she wanted to dismantle the corporation.
- Grievances -
The licence fee funds BBC television, radio and online services, as well as programming, many of which are exported commercially worldwide.
Supporters maintain it provides excellent value for money, and a range of services from news and current affairs to wildlife documentaries, children's output, drama and music.
But opponents, including rival commercial broadcasters, have long complained that its guaranteed funding model, which criminalises non-payers, is unfair.
Nearly £3.7 billion was raised by the licence fee in 2019, accounting for about three-quarters of the BBC's total income of £4.9 billion.
The remainder came from commercial activities.
Under its Royal Charter, the BBC's mission is "to act in the public interest", providing "impartial, high-quality and distinctive" content, which will "inform, educate and entertain" everyone who pays the flat-rate fee.
Critics accused Dorries of political opportunism, exploiting long-standing government grievances against BBC news reporting -- and failing to suggest an alternative funding model.
Johnson's government initially refused to offer Cabinet ministers for interview on BBC radio's flagship morning programme.
Dorries said discussions about a new future funding model from 2028 will start "shortly" but change was needed because of evolving media consumption and technological advances.
"This is 2022, not 1922," she said, calling for a more representative organisation that is supported countrywide "not just the London bubble", and compete with streaming giants such as Netflix and Amazon Prime.
BBC chairman Richard Sharp and director-general Tim Davie said the two-year freeze means the BBC will now have to "absorb inflation", raising the prospect of cuts to jobs and services.
"That is disappointing –- not just for licence fee payers, but also for the cultural industries who rely on the BBC for the important work they do across the UK.
"The BBC's income for UK services is already 30 percent lower in real terms than it was 10 years ago... it will necessitate tougher choices which will impact licence fee payers.
C.Garcia--AMWN