​ Swiss reject right-wing plan to cut licence fee for public broadcaster. 1 hour ago. Bethany Bell. Reuters. Swiss voters have rejected an initiative to sharply reduce the annual licence fee to the national broadcaster, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), according to initial projections.. The fee, which has already been cut in recent years, currently costs 335 Swiss francs (£320; $435) per household a year.. The initiative, backed by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, had called for the fee to be cut to 200 francs (£190; $260), annually, with businesses exempt.. But the proposal was defeated in Sunday’s referendum, gaining only 38% support, according to the projections; 62% voted to keep the licence fee at the current levels.. The Swiss People’s Party had argued that the fee was too high, given the rise in the cost of living. The licence fee in Switzerland is more than in neighbouring countries such as Austria or Germany.. The government and all other parliamentary parties opposed the move. They argued that the licence fee was key to ensuring that Switzerland’s four languages – French, German, Italian and Romantsch – were properly represented.. There were also concerns that cuts would impact foreign news and sports coverage.. The Swiss government has already decided to reduce the contribution to 300 Swiss francs by 2029. Under the plans, more companies will be exempt from the fee.. In a separate move, the Swiss also voted in favour of having the availability of cash enshrined in the constitution.. Two proposals on the issue were up for consideration: an initiative called “Cash is Freedom” introduced by a citizens movement, MSL, and a counter proposal by the government, which also called for cash to be anchored in the constitution.. Initial projections said around 70% of voters backed the government’s counter proposal, which said that the Swiss National Bank would guarantee the supply of cash.. The MSL, which insisted on “coins and banknotes” in its initiative rather than just “cash” had argued that the government proposal did not go far enough.. Swiss vote on electronic identity cards for second time. Europe. Media. Switzerland  

​ War fuels debate in Cyprus over UK military bases. 7 hours ago. Jessica Parkerin Cyprus. Jessica Parker/BBC. A drone strike on a British airbase in Cyprus has reignited an enduring debate about the UK’s presence on the island.. It’s a week since the drone punched a hole in a hangar at RAF Akrotiri.. That hole, for some in Britain, symbolises embarrassing gaps in UK hard power.. For some in Cyprus, it’s another unwelcome result of British military overreach.. “We just want to have an independent Cyprus,” said local business owner Natasha Theodotou.. She was holding a banner that read “British Bases Out” at a demonstration outside the presidential palace in the capital, Nicosia.. “Just as we’re occupied by the Turkish government,” said Natasha, “we are occupied by the UK.”. She wants to see a unified country where Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots live together.. Britain retained two major sovereign bases in Cyprus’ south and south east, Akrotiri and Dhekelia, as part of a 1960 treaty that established the island’s independence and ended its status as a British colony.. Jessica Parker/BBC. In 1974 Turkey invaded and took control of Cyprus’ northern third in response to a Greece-backed military coup.. Not far from the protest tourists queue up at a checkpoint allowing passage into the Turkish-controlled part of Nicosia.. The city, which sits on the UN-patrolled buffer zone known as the Green Line, is sometimes called the world’s last divided capital.. British military officials’ best assessment is that the drone that hit RAF Akrotiri was launched in Lebanon by the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah.. The UK government has said its bases in Cyprus are not among those that could be utilised by US bombers for “defensive” strikes on Iranian missile sites.. But the reported use of the base by American U-2 spy planes may explain why RAF Akrotiri was a target, as Iran and its proxies retaliated against US-Israeli strikes.. The UK has not taken part in any direct attacks on Iran itself.. Roughly 200 to 300 protesters joined the march on Saturday, carrying signs that were also pro-Palestine and critical of the US and Israel.. Chants included: “Say it loud, say it clear, British bases out of here.”. The territory, kept by the UK, covers about 98 sq miles (254 sq km) and is even patrolled by a separate, special police force.. These Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs) are a lingering point of contention while also being highly interwoven into the island and a source of employment.. They encompass communities well beyond the fenced-off airbase of RAF Akrotiri, on the island’s southern tip.. “I think that we’d be a lot safer without them here,” said Shona Muir, holding up the British Bases Out banner with Natasha.. “Their presence alone here makes us more of a target.”. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence told the BBC: “Our bases in Cyprus play a crucial role in supporting the safety of British citizens and our allies in the Mediterranean and in the Middle East.”.  

​ Rapper-politician Balendra Shah unseats Nepal’s ex-PM as he heads for victory. 10 hours ago. Thomas Mackintoshand. Olivia Ireland. Reuters. Rapper Balendra Shah has defeated the former Nepalese Prime Minister Sharma KP Oli in his parliamentary constituency, as he takes a step closer to becoming Nepal’s next prime minister.. Nepal’s Election Commission confirmed on Saturday that Shah, 35,received 68,348 votes compared to Oli’s 18,734 to unseat the former leader in his constituency.. Thursday’s general election – the first since violent youth-led protests toppled the government in September – pitted the establishment against a new generation of politicians advocating for angry, young Gen Z voters hungry for change.. Shah’s Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) is now seemingly on course to win the general election.. The party has a majority in directly elected seats in the general election counted so far, according to partial official results on Sunday, and could be heading for a landslide, official trends suggest.. The 35-year-old is also leading in the proportional representation vote count so far, according to the election commission.. For more than two decades, Nepal has seen a revolving door of coalition governments, largely dominated by three parties, two of them communist.. Ahead of this election, it looked set to test whether Gen Z voters had succeeded in convincing the rest of the country that it is time for a new, untested generation to shape their future, or whether veteran heavyweights – who have dominated for decades – would keep hold of power.. The country’s youth included 800,000 first-time voters, making them a key voter bloc.. Shah, who is popularly known as Balen, has been a member of the Nepali hip hop scene for several years. One of his songs, Balidan, about sacrifice in the Nepali language has millions of YouTube views.. In September 2025 unrest erupted in Nepal with so-called Gen Z demonstrations, triggered by Oli’s banning of social media platforms.. The demonstrations escalated with protesters criticising Nepal’s political system and the symbolism of class inequality “nepo babies” – children of the country’s politicians.. A total of 77 were killed during the protests, and a BBC investigation revealed the country’s police chief issued an order allowing the use of lethal force against thousands of unarmed protesters.. Shah spoke in support of the protesters and at one stage called Oli a “terrorist” who had betrayed his country.. The rapper typically shuns the media, but told the Financial Times while he was on the campaign trail he would be “the candidate for all of Nepal”.. In February Shah’s RSP released its manifesto which vowed to create 1.2 million jobs and reduce forced migration, in an effort to tap into frustration over unemployment and low wages that has pushed millions of Nepalis to move overseas.. The party has also pledged that within five years it would raise Nepal’s per capital income from $1,447 to $3,000, more than do  

​ Boy, 12, among six dead as tornadoes hit Michigan and Oklahoma. 9 hours ago. Sakshi Venkatraman. At least six people have died and more than a dozen others injured after tornadoes struck Michigan and Oklahoma, in severe storms that swept across parts of the US.. Officials said four people were killed in southern Michigan, including a 12-year-old boy, and two died in Oklahoma on Friday, with rescue workers continuing to assess the damage.. The storms uprooted trees, downed power lines, damaged buildings and ripped the roofs off some houses on Friday.. The National Weather Service (NWS) said the severe weather could continue into the weekend, warning of thunderstorms and flash flooding from the Great Plains to Texas.. Getty Images. In Michigan, the Branch County sheriff’s department said three people were killed and 12 others were injured near Union City after a tornado hit on Friday. Power outages and road closures are expected this weekend, they added.. About 50 miles (80 km) away in Cass County, Michigan, authorities reported one one death and several injuries.. “Multiple large structures – including homes and pole barns – sustained damage ranging from major structural impacts to complete destruction,” they said in a statement.. Hundreds of people were reported to be without power, they added.. Cass County Sheriff Clint Roach announced on Saturday that 12-year-old Silas Anderson died from unspecified weather-related injuries in Edwardsburg, Michigan.. “Silas was surrounded by family at the time of his passing,” the sheriff’s office said in a social media post.. Reuters. Videos shared on social media showed massive whirlwinds sweeping through Union City, and large chunks of debris and dust flying across a car park in the city of Three Rivers.. One local resident described seeing the storm approaching.. “We look out the window and saw the tornado go right down the strip and that’s where my daughter is, where my parents, where I live down the road,” a Three Rivers, Michigan resident told the BBC’s US partner CBS News. “I was just very grateful that God protected my daughter and my mom and sister and my family.”. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said she activated a state emergency for Branch, Cass and St Joseph counties.. “We are working with emergency teams to monitor the situation and coordinate resources for those impacted,” she said.. “My heart is with the families who lost loved ones and the Michiganders who were injured yesterday.”. Emergency management officials said local responders are continuing to search damaged areas and begin recovery efforts.. In Oklahoma, Jeff Moore, the county’s emergency manager, said a tornado cut around a 4-mile (6.4 km) path of damage in Okmulgee county, some 30 miles (48 km) south of Tulsa.. “We’re just getting everywhere as fast as we can, clearing roads as fast we can,” Moore said.. Two deaths were reported in Beggs, Oklahoma, according to the Okmulgee county sheriff’s office.. Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt  

​ Dozens killed as Israeli special forces raid Lebanese village in search of 40-year-old remains. 16 hours ago. Alice CuddySenior international reporter, Nabi Chit. Reuters. Dozens more people have been killed in Lebanon in major Israeli air and ground operations, as the war with the Iran-backed group Hezbollah continues to escalate.. Overnight, one Israeli operation in a town in the eastern Bekaa Valley – a focal point of the rising hostilities – saw at least 41 people killed and 40 injured, according to the Lebanese health ministry.. Three Lebanese soldiers were among the dead, and locals listed the names of civilians, including children, they said had been killed.. The focus of the operation in Nabi Chit was recovering the remains of an Israeli military airman who went missing in Lebanon 40 years ago.. On Saturday, there was a hole in the ground in the corner of the town cemetery where a grave had been dug up.. “They thought he was there but there was nothing,” one local man said, gesturing at the empty grave.. Follow live updates on the conflict in the Middle East. ‘We couldn’t sleep because of fear’: Residents flee as Israel pounds south Beirut. Israeli troops push into Lebanon for yet another war with Iran’s proxy Hezbollah. Elsewhere in the town, bullet holes were scattered across a destroyed car and its seats were stained red with blood.. Around the area, buildings had been reduced to piles of rubble and a huge crater had been blown into the ground, damaging the surrounding houses.. Signs of civilian life, including a children’s colouring book, paintings and cooking utensils, were among the debris.. Hezbollah – which is the main force in the area – allowed journalists into the town to see the scale of the destruction.. The Shia militia and political group is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the UK, US and others.. The Lebanese military said it had observed four Israeli aircraft appear by Lebanon’s border with Syria late on Friday night, with two of them landing and deploying special forces soldiers onto the ground.. A “large-scale aerial bombardment” began at the same time, it said.. The Lebanese military, which has sought to distance itself from the war between Hezbollah and Israel, said its units then carried out “immediate alert and defence measures”, using flare bombs to detect the landing spot.. In Nabi Chit, clashes then broke out on the streets between the Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters, and civilians defending their homes.. Reuters. “At midnight, we felt a strange movement on one side of the village. It turned out to be an Israeli commando unit deployed for some mission,” a local official said at the site of one major explosion.. “The resistance then surrounded them and heavy clashes ensued. Then the air force increased their air strikes to allow the extraction of their unit which caused tremendous damage”.. Hezbollah and local residents said Israel had conducted some 40 airstrikes in the area to give cover to the sp