International

BBC World Service to cut 130 roles to save £6m in 2025/26

As part of the changes the BBC would decommission eight podcasts and radio programmes: Africa Daily, The Forum, The Cultural Frontline, The Explanation, Business Matters… and Over to You.

Published

12 months ago

January 30, 2025

OCHEFA

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BBC World Service will cut a net 130 jobs, including in the UK, as it battles to save £6m in the year ahead.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced an extra £32.6m for the BBC World Service for 2025/26 in November.

But the BBC said that despite this “welcome uplift”, previous licence-fee freezes, global inflation “and the need for ongoing digital and technological upkeep have meant savings are necessary”.

It added that it is competing against international news organisations with much bigger budgets meaning “increased competition for staff, platforms and frequencies, and audiences”.

The £6m savings needed for the next financial year will largely be met by the net reduction of 130 roles.

The BBC said these will include closing posts across the BBC World Service in the UK and internationally and in BBC Monitoring, which reports and analyses news from around the world and will also see a reinvestment “in strategically important skills”.

There will also be “changes to the commissioning mix” on World Service English and a reshaping of some World Service Language teams to become more digitally-focused.

According to the National Union of Journalists, the BBC aims to meet its targets for the cuts through voluntary redundancies wherever possible.

BBC World Service English controller John Zilkha wrote in an email to staff that as part of the changes the BBC would decommission eight podcasts and radio programmes: Africa Daily, The Forum, The Cultural Frontline, The Explanation, Business Matters, the 1530 World Business Report, Pick of The World and Over to You.

Another show, Science in Action, will be closed and replaced with Inside Science. Zilkha said a new monthly audience feedback programme will be commissioned.

Jonathan Munro, global director and deputy chief executive of BBC News, said: “While the result of the latest grant-in-aid funding settlement means we are able to maintain all of our existing language services, we were clear it would not stave off difficult decisions in order to remain globally competitive and meet our savings requirements.

“These changes will ensure we operate effectively with the resource we have, creating the most impact for audiences internationally.”

The BBC said its commitment to high-quality journalism across its 42 language services is “undiminished”.

NUJ general secretary Laura Davison said the plans are “yet another blow to journalists at the BBC.

Proposals will see the loss of talented and experienced journalists committed to the unrivalled journalism produced by the World Service and relied upon by countries globally.

“The freezing of the licence fee has had a profound impact still felt acutely today; we need a commitment from government to provide long-term sustainable funding that allows the provision by teams including over 40 language services to thrive.

“It is wrong journalists are once more bearing the brunt of changes at a time when the BBC’s journalism and soft power is needed more than ever. As we support members impacted by cuts, we urge the BBC to engage meaningfully with us to do all it can to protect jobs.”

The BBC joins several UK and US broadcasters announcing job cuts in January including CNN, NBC News and London Live. Other news organisations cutting roles include the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Dotdash Meredith, Huffpost and DC Thomson.

The last round of cuts affecting journalists at the BBC was announced in October, with 185 jobs expected to go across the news and current affairs department including through the end of the interview programme Hardtalk, tech show Click and the Asian Network’s bespoke news service.

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International

News Analysis: Is Trump’s Board of Peace Replacing United Nations?

A leaked document says the Board of Peace’s charter will enter into force once three states formally agree to be bound by it, with member states given renewable three-year terms and permanent seats available to those contributing $1bn (£740m)

Published

2 days ago

January 23, 2026

OCHEFA

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By OCHEFA, with agency reports

The UN was formed on October 24, 1945, after World War II, with 51 founding members.

Currently, there are 193 member countries in the United Nations (UN), representing nearly every sovereign state in the world.

Its main goals are to:- Maintain international peace and security- Promote human rights- Deliver humanitarian aid- Support sustainable development- Uphold international law .

However, 80 years after, US President Donald Trump launched on January 22, 2026, in Davos, Switzerland’ what he called “Trump’s Board of Peace ” – an international organisation aimed at resolving global conflicts.

The board’s primary goal is to promote peace, stability, and governance in areas affected by conflict, with an initial focus on the Gaza Strip.

Memberships:

Around 35 countries have joined, including Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Argentina, with permanent seats available for $1 billion.

Leadership:

Donald Trump serves as chairman, with powers to veto decisions and remove members.-

Executive Board: Includes Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Steve Witkoff, Tony Blair, and Jared Kushner.

Concerns: Critics worry about Trump’s indefinite chairmanship, potential UN competition, and lack of Western allies’ participation.

The board’s formation is part of Trump’s Gaza peace plan, endorsed by the UN Security Council.

The charter declared the body as an international organisation mandated to carry out peace-building functions under international law, with Trump serving as chairman – and separately as the US representative – and holding authority to appoint executive board members and create or dissolve subsidiary bodies.

BBC reported that on Wednesday evening of January 22, Trump said that Vladimir Putin had also agreed to join – but the Russian president said his country was still studying the invitation.

The board was originally thought to be aimed at helping end the two-year war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and oversee reconstruction.

But its proposed charter does not mention the Palestinian territory and appears to be designed to supplant functions of the UN.

However, Saudi Arabia said that the group of Muslim-majority countries – Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan and Qatar – endorsed the aim of consolidating a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, supporting reconstruction and advancing what they described as a “just and lasting peace”.

At the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, Trump told reporters that Putin had accepted his invitation to join. “He was invited, he’s accepted. Many people have accepted,” Trump said.

Putin responded quickly, saying the invitation was under consideration, Reuters reported. He said Russia was prepared to provide $1bn from frozen Russian assets and that he viewed the board as primarily relevant to the Middle East.It is not clear how many countries have been invited to join Trump’s new body – Canada and the UK are among them, but have not yet publicly responded.

The UAE, Bahrain, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Morocco and Vietnam have already signed up.

On Wednesday the Vatican also confirmed Pope Leo has received an invitation.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said the Pope would need time to consider whether to take part.

However Slovenia’s Prime Minister Robert Golob said he had declined the invitation because the body “dangerously interferes with the broader international order”.

The charter declared the body as an international organisation mandated to carry out peace-building functions under international law, with Trump serving as chairman – and separately as the US representative – and holding authority to appoint executive board members and create or dissolve subsidiary bodies.

Last Friday, the White House named seven members of the founding Executive Board, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and former UK prime minister Tony Blair.

International

TikTok establishes joint venture to end US ban threat

The new structure responds to a law passed under US President Donald Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden that forced Chinese-owned ByteDance to sell TikTok’s US operations or face a ban in its biggest market.

Published

2 days ago

January 23, 2026

OCHEFA

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TikTok has announced it has established a majority American-owned joint venture to operate its US business, allowing the company to avoid a ban over its Chinese ownership.

The video-sharing app is a global digital entertainment powerhouse but its mass appeal and links to China have raised concerns over privacy and national security.

The TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC will serve more than 200 million users and 7.5 million businesses while implementing strict safeguards for data protection and content moderation, the company said.

AFP reported that the new structure responds to a law passed under US President Donald Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden that forced Chinese-owned ByteDance to sell TikTok’s US operations or face a ban in its biggest market.

Trump welcomed and claimed credit for the deal, but also thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping for approving it.

“I am so happy to have helped in saving TikTok!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social late Thursday.

“It will now be owned by a group of Great American Patriots and Investors, the Biggest in the World, and will be an important Voice.”

“I would also like to thank President Xi, of China, for working with us and, ultimately, approving the Deal,” he added.

International

US vice president’s wife, Usha Vance, announces fourth pregnancy

The couple, who married in 2014, already have three children — Ewan, Vivek, and Mirabel.

Published

4 days ago

January 21, 2026

OCHEFA

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FILE – Vice President JD Vance, right, and second lady Usha Vance.

Usha Vance, the wife of United States Vice President JD Vance, has announced that she is pregnant with her fourth child.

In a post on X on Tuesday, the second lady said she is expecting a baby boy in late July.

“Usha and the baby are doing well,” a statement posted on Tuesday to the second lady’s social media account read.

The couple, who married in 2014, already have three children — Ewan, Vivek, and Mirabel.

Usha Vance, née Chilukuri, was born and raised in the working-class suburbs of San Diego, California, to a mechanical engineer father and a molecular biologist mother who moved to the US from Andhra Pradesh, India.