Television licence fee to be frozen for next six years

The television licence fee, which funds the BBC, is to be frozen for the next six years at £145.50, it has emerged.

And the BBC will take over the cost of the World Service, currently funded by the Foreign Office, as well as the Welsh language TV channel, S4C.

There was a proposal to make the BBC pay the cost of free TV licences for the over-75s, but the BBC understands this will now not happen.

A formal announcement will be made on Wednesday during the Spending Review.

The BBC is refusing to comment but insiders say that this is a significantly better settlement than the proposal to force the BBC to pay the cost of free TV licences for the elderly.

It will mean a 16% real terms cut in the BBC's funds over the next six years as opposed to a 25% cut over four years if they had been obliged to cover the licence fee costs.

Ministers are expected to present this as "reining in" the corporation's costs.

The BBC Trust earlier warned the government it would fight any move to force the BBC to meet the cost of free television licences for the over-75s.

A trust spokeswoman said it would be "unacceptable" for licence fee payers to foot the bill.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) currently funds S4C.

The government's contribution to the funding of the S4C is currently just under £100m a year.

BBC News

EU proposes new Europe-wide VAT

The European Commission has put forward proposals for direct EU taxes on member states, including a possible EU-wide value-added tax (VAT).

The proposals are part of a package of options for finding new sources of revenue for the European Union budget.

EU Budget Commissioner Janusz Lewandowski first said in August that he wanted member states to consider allowing the EU to levy direct taxes.

The UK, Germany and France have all rejected the idea of direct EU taxes.

Historically, national governments levy taxes in the EU.

The 27 EU member states pay a fixed contribution to the EU budget, based on their gross domestic product and a percentage of their VAT.

In its budget review, the commission put forward "the option of reducing member states' contributions by abolishing the VAT-based own resource and progressively introducing one or several new own resources as a replacement".

It said: "Possible candidates for new own resources could be a share of a financial transaction or financial activities tax, auctioning of greenhouse gas emission allowances, an EU charge related to air transport, a separate EU VAT rate, a share of an EU energy tax or of an EU corporate income tax".

BBC News

Raped women used as pawns in Congo war

Katana, Democratic Republic of Congo (CNN) -- Quiet, remote and beautiful villages have become the scene for unspeakable horror as women are raped as a weapon in war.

Violence in the democratic Republic of Congo is brutal and that includes armed gangs raping and killing.

A United Nations report said that in the last year more than 15,000 women were raped in the east of the Congo, but even the U.N. admits that is a conservative estimate.

Katana village is 30 minutes from Bukavu, the regional capital of South Kivu, just off the main road leading out of town.

It is one of the few "good roads," but turn off it and the track very quickly becomes little more then a footpath.

Poor infrastructure and the ever-present threat of violence have isolated this community, as they have done to rural communities throughout eastern Congo.

Both militias and Congolese troops move through this area.

The U.N. report accused Rwandan and Congolese militias, and the Congolese military, of violence against civilians and mass rape. Congo's defense minister has denied its soldiers were involved.

CNN

Dead Sea Scrolls to be made available online

Jerusalem (CNN) -- In an ambitious application of 21st century technology brought to bear on a first century wonder, the Israel Antiquities Authority and internet search giant Google Tuesday announced a plan to digitize the Dead Sea Scrolls and make the entire collection available to the public online.

Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) General Director Shuka Dorfman called the project a milestone that would enhance the field of biblical studies and people's understanding of Judaism and early Christianity.

"We have succeeded in recruiting the best minds and technological means to preserve this unrivalled cultural heritage treasure, which belongs to all of us, so that the public, with a click of the mouse, will be able to access history in its fullest glamour," Dorfman said.

Made up of 30,000 fragments from 900 manuscripts, the Dead Sea Scrolls are considered by many historians to be one of the most important archaeological finds ever made.

CNN

Tiger 'at peace' after frustrating year

(CNN) -- Tiger Woods has revealed at that he is "more at peace" with his life following a difficult year on and off the golf course, and he is now hoping to re-establish himself as a major force in the sport.

The American faces the prospect of losing the No. 1 ranking he has held for five years before returning to action at the HSBC Champions event in China early next month.

But the 34-year-old, who divorced wife Elin Nordegren in August following his admitted infidelities, is encouraged by his improved form on the final day of the Ryder Cup earlier this month as he implements further changes to his technique.

"I'm a lot more at peace now. Everyone's getting used to the new living conditions. The kids are adjusting. I think everyone's certainly more at peace, and so am I, too," he told reporters on Tuesday at a press conference for December's Chevron World Challenge tournament, which he hosts.

CNN

High-speed rail link for London, Frankfurt

(CNN) -- A German high-speed train which is expected to offer a direct service from London to Frankfurt from 2013 was unveiled Tuesday at London's St. Pancras station following safety tests in the Channel Tunnel.

German rail operator Deutsche Bahn said it also intended to run trains from London to Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The network will also serve Brussels, Belgium, the Dutch port of Rotterdam and Cologne in Germany.

The Siemens-built ICE 3 train, which has a maximum speed of 320 kph (200 miles per hour), will undergo further test runs and approval measures to use the Channel Tunnel, Deutsche Bahn said.

The service uses the UK's first high-speed train line, High Speed 1, which was completed in 2007 and linked London directly to the continental high-speed rail network for the first time.

Speaking at St. Pancras, Deutsche Bank Chairman Rudiger Grube said the service would bring "Germany and the UK closer together in the future," as well as offering customers a "genuine alternative" to air travel.

He said an evacuation test carried out in the Channel Tunnel at the weekend had been "highly successful." The ICE 3 Class 407 was the most modern high-speed train in Europe, satisfying "the highest standards in terms of safety, passenger comfort and efficiency," Grube added.

British rail minister Theresa Villiers said: "For many people high-speed rail is a more convenient alternative to air or road -- allowing them to hop on board in the city center and catch up on some work along the way. I am sure these continental services will prove popular with business travelers and tourists alike".

Eurostar, which is jointly operated by the national rail companies of France and Belgium and a British subsidiary, is currently the only operator to run passenger trains through the tunnel, serving Paris and Brussels directly as well as ski resorts in the French Alps.

Eurotunnel also offers a cross-channel service transporting motorists and their vehicles through the tunnel.

The new route from London to Frankfurt will offer morning, midday and evening services to Germany's business capital in five hours, Deutsche Bahn said.

CNN

Saudi prince found guilty of murdering aide

London, England (CNN) -- A Saudi prince was found guilty Tuesday of murdering an aide at a London hotel in February, in a case which prosecutors said had a sexual element.

Prince Saud Abdulaziz Bin Nasser Al Saud was found guilty of both murder and grievous bodily harm in the killing of Bandar Abdulaziz.

Abdulaziz died after a severe beating left him with swelling and bruising of the brain and fractured ribs and neck. He also had bite marks on his face, ears and arm.

The prince had not denied killing the aide, but said he had not intended to do so. He is due to be sentenced Wednesday.

He did not take the stand in his own defense.

Because the prince did not deny killing Abdulaziz, the jury's job was to determine if he was guilty of murder or manslaughter.

To do that, jurors had to determine the prince's state of mind and his intent at the time he killed Abdulaziz.

The jury took just over an hour and a half Tuesday to reach its verdict.

The prince -- who is both a grandson and a great-nephew of Saudi King Abdullah, since his parents are cousins -- showed no reaction as the jury's unanimous verdict was read in court.

Police said after the verdict that the prince had shown no remorse when he was questioned about his servant's death, instead "concocting a story" about how he died.

"When that was found to be a pack of lies, he tried to claim diplomatic immunity," but did not qualify for it, John McFarlane of London's Metropolitan Police told journalists outside the court Tuesday.

Prosecutors said the prince's systematic mistreatment of the victim had a sexual element.

The bitings suffered by Abdulaziz were not a factor in his death, but had "an obvious sexual connotation," prosecutor Jonathan Laidlaw said in his opening statement two weeks ago.

The two men were in London earlier this year as Al Saud took in Morocco, the Maldives and other European cities on a long global holiday with Abdulaziz as his companion.

Al Saud's lawyer, John Kelsey-Fry, said in his closing argument Monday that Al Saud "must live with the consequences" of having killed Abdulaziz, but he never intended to harm him.

Kelsey-Fry reminded the jury that a pathologist had been unable to determine how Abdulaziz died but that only one of his injuries, by itself, could have killed him -- a compression of the neck, the barrister said, that could have been caused when Al Saud grabbed Abdulaziz briefly by the throat.

CNN

Police: No charges against ex-NFL star for driving car off cliff

(CNN) -- Police do not intend to charge former NFL linebacker Junior Seau for driving his car off a cliff.

Police in Carlsbad, California, said Monday night that drugs or alcohol were not a factor in the incident.

"It appears Mr. Junior Seau was tired and fell asleep at the wheel," said Lt. Bruce May.

Seau, however, still faces a domestic violence charge.

Just hours before he drove his car off the cliff in Carlsbad early Monday morning, he was arrested on a domestic violence charge in Oceanside, California.

The domestic violence incident began when Oceanside police were called to Seau's residence to investigate a report of an assault late Sunday night, police said. The alleged victim is Seau's 25-year-old live-in girlfriend, who had minor injuries that didn't require medical treatment.

CNN

Attackers strike in Iraqi cities; 15 dead

Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) -- Attackers targeting security forces in northern Iraq and religious pilgrims in Baghdad left at least 15 people dead and others wounded, police said Tuesday.

The attacks occurred in Tikrit, Samarra and Baiji in Salaheddin province, farther north in Mosul and in the nation's capital.

The spurt of violence highlights U.S. and Iraqi worries over the tenacity of insurgents and anxieties that the parliament's political impasse is generating insecurity.

In Tikrit, a motorcycle rigged with explosives detonated outside the house of a military commander, Lt. Col. Qais Rashid.

Eleven members of Rashid's family were killed, including his father, three of his sisters and a 1-year old child. Four others were wounded. Rashid was not at home at the time.

In another attack in the city, two family members of Lt. Col. Khalid Akdhair, an Iraqi army officer, were wounded in a bombing. Akdhair was not home at the time.

Three police officers were killed and two others were wounded when insurgents planted a bomb at a police checkpoint in Samarra.

In Baiji, four people were wounded when attackers threw grenades at the houses of a doctor, a former Iraqi army officer and two members of the Sons of Iraq, the pro-government militia group.

CNN

Court in UAE says wife, child beating OK if no marks are left

(CNN) -- A court in the United Arab Emirates says a man is permitted under Islamic law to discipline his wife and children physically as long as he leaves no marks and has tried other methods of punishment, the country's top court ruled.

The ruling came in the case of a man who slapped his wife and slapped and kicked his 23-year-old daughter, the document said.

The daughter had bruises on her right hand and right knee and the wife had injuries to her lower lip and teeth, the ruling said.

The court ruled that a man has the right to punish his wife and children. That includes beating them after he has carried out other options, such as admonition and then abstaining from sleeping with his wife.

However, the court ruled that in this case the man exceeded his authority under sharia, or Islamic law. His wife was beaten too severely and his daughter was ruled to be too old to be disciplined, the ruling said.

CNN

Internet about to hit 2 billion users

(CNN) -- If the internet is feeling a little more crowded these days, there's good reason.

According to a report out Tuesday, there will be 2 billion Web dwellers by the end of this year.

The number of internet users worldwide has doubled in the past five years according to the report, from the International Telecommunication Union.

Much of the big number can be attributed to internet growth in developing countries. The report said 162 million of the 226 million new Internet users in 2010 will live in those countries, where Web access is still growing.

But the gap between access in high-tech countries and those still developing remains big.

About 65 percent of Europeans are in the internet, the report said, compared to less than 10 percent of Africans.

The report also focuses on the growing availability of, and demand for, faster broadband service, which allows users to easily download or share larger files, such as photos and videos.

The ITU, an agency of the United Nations that monitors communication technology issues, said these high-speed internet connections, which are increasingly needed to view modern Web content efficiently, are the key to continued growth.

CNN

Xbox Kinect's game launch lineup revealed

(Mashable) -- Microsoft has just announced the 17 games that will be available on launch day with Kinect for Xbox 360, the tech giant's highly anticipated controller-free gaming system.

Kinect, which launches on November 4, is Microsoft's answer to the Nintendo Wii's motion controllers, which helped turn that console into one of this generation's most popular gaming devices.

Both Sony and Microsoft have been playing catch-up with the PlayStation Move and Kinect, respectively.

Seventeen Kinect-enabled games will be available when the device makes its debut next month. Here's the full list:

Kinect Adventures: This is the game that is included with every Kinect device. It helps introduce gamers to the Kinect interface, letting them transverse the rapids, float around in space and challenge their friends to races, among other minigames.

Kinectimals: Think Nintendogs, but with no controller.

Game Party: In Motion: This includes a collection of party minigames like Darts.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 1 The Videogame:You can now control Harry's magic with your hands.

Your Shape: Fitness Evolved: A fitness game from Ubisoft that is similar to Wii Fit.

Dance Central: This game, made by the creators of Rock Band, tracks your dance moves. We've heard good things about this one.

The Biggest Loser Ultimate Workout: A game from THQ based on the TV show.

DanceMasters: Konami's version of getting your groove down.

EA SPORTS Active 2: A fitness game with body tracking, heart rate data and the ability to share workout data. EA has gone all-out with this game, which sort of explains its $100 price tag.

Zumba Fitness: See a pattern yet? This is a dance fitness game.

Kinect Sports: Microsoft's version of Wii Sports.

MotionSports: This game from Ubisoft includes live in-game commentary and 40+ sports challenges.

DECA SPORTS FREEDOM: While this game only has 10 sporting events, there is a focus on making it feel as real as possible. Figure skating should be interesting.

Kinect Joy Ride: Controller-free kart racing.

ADRENALIN MISFITS: This racing/battle game focuses on fantasy worlds.

Fighters Uncaged: Fulfill your Fight Club fantasy without the bloody concussions and stitches.

SONIC FREE RIDERS: Yup, Sega is bringing Sonic the Hedgehog to Kinect.

What do you think of Kinect's launch day lineup? Let us know in the comments.

CNN