Pakistan lifts ban on Indian shows – UK PM ‘welcomes’ BBC move to publish top earners’ salaries

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LONDON, July 19, (Agencies): British Prime Minister Theresa May is pleased the national broadcaster has published the salaries of its top earners and agrees that a pay gap between male and female workers must be tackled, her spokesman said on Wednesday.

Her spokesman told reporters that the prime minister wanted the BBC to continue to publish the salary information after the broadcaster came under pressure to show how it uses funds provided by a licence fee on TV-watching households.

“We are very pleased that the BBC have published this information today,” he said.

“As (BBC Director General) Tony Hall has said, it has thrown up some interesting information with regards to the gender pay cap that he wants to see tackled, we agree we also want to see it tackled and we think that in order for that to happen this is a very important tool in being able to do that.”

The BBC revealed the salaries of its top stars Wednesday, with presenters Chris Evans and Gary Lineker among the highest earners. The public broadcaster was forced by the British government to publish the names and numbers in its annual report, and as expected, the data showed that most of the big earners are men, fueling a debate on the gender gap at the BBC.

Evans, who has worked across radio and TV for the BBC, was the highest-earning star and the only one in the £2,220,000 to £2,249,999 bracket. (The figures are banded in £50,000 increments.) Evans placed above talk-show host Graham Norton, who earned between £850,000 and £899,999.

The top-earning woman at the BBC was presenter Claudia Winkleman, in the £450,000 to £499,999 bracket, significantly behind a number of male stars; Evans’ salary is at least four times that of Winkleman’s. Her “Strictly Come Dancing” co-host, Tess Daly, was in the £350,000 to £399,999 bracket.

The figures cover what talent was paid during the 2016-17 financial year out of the ?3.8 billion that the BBC received in license fees. Not covered are those who work for independent producers that make such BBC shows as “Sherlock” or those working at BBC Worldwide, the broadcaster’s commercial arm.

Lineker, the former soccer player and presenter of “Match of the Day,” was by some distance the top earner in the sports category, making between £1,750,000 and £1,799,999. Wimbledon presenter Sue Barker was the top-earning woman in sports, earning between £300,000 and £349,999.

In entertainment, Alex Jones, presenter of “The One Show,” earned the most, pulling in between £400,000 and £449,999. The highest-earning actor was Derek Thompson in the £350,000 to £399,999 bracket, ahead of Amanda Mealing, who was paid between £250,000 and £299,999. Both star on long-running BBC medical drama “Casualty.”

In news and current affairs, Radio 4 journalist and presenter Eddie Mair topped the list as the only entrant in the £300,000 to £349,000 bracket. Political editor Laura Kuenssberg and presenters Victoria Derbyshire, Martha Kearney, and Mishal Husain were the top women earners in a well-populated £200,000 to £249,999 bracket.

In today’s roundup, Zoe McLellan has joined into Season 2 of the ABC’s drama series “Designated Survivor,” while “Shark Week” is returning but with a slew of new guest stars

Zoe McLellan has joined Season 2 of the ABC drama series “Designated Survivor.” McLellan will play Kendra Daynes, a wise and brilliant attorney that has to navigate through the legal and personal issues of everyday life as well as in the White House. Kiefer Sutherland returns as presidential cabinet member Tom Kirkman who is forced to take control of the Oval Office when the President and the rest of the cabinet are killed. Created and executive produced by David Guggenheim, the series is produced under The Mark Gordon Company and ABC Studios.

Michelle Hurd will be joining cast of “Lethal Weapon” as a recurring guest star. Hurd will play Gina Santos, the new chief who tries to change up the flow of the Los Angeles police department. Also starring Damon Wayans (Murtaugh) and Kevin Rahm (Avery), “Lethal Weapon” is scheduled to return on Tuesday, Sept 26 at 8/7 CT on FOX.

In the eagerly-awaited season 7 premiere of HBO’s hit TV series, “Game of Thrones,” Jon Snow and Cersei Lannister each learned some tough lessons about having scarce resources.

At least, that is what intrigued us as economics writers for The Associated Press. We’re watching how economic issues affect the characters’ schemes for power, and finding parallels with our own world. The latest episode of our audio show, the “Wealth of Westeros,” can be found here .

Snow, the brooding “King of the North” who faces an impending invasion by ice zombies, needs more dragonglass, which we call obsidian. It can kill the zombies, but he doesn’t know where one of the biggest stockpiles is.

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ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani court on Tuesday lifted a ban on TV channels airing Indian shows, which had been imposed by media regulators, lawyers said.

The state-run media authority imposed the ban on radio and television networks airing Indian content last October amid heightened tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours over the disputed Kashmir region.

Lahore High Court chief justice Mansoor Ali Shah set aside the ban, calling it “unreasonable restrictions,” Asma Jehangir, a lawyer who challenged the ban, told AFP.

Jehangir, acting for petitioner Leo Communication, the parent organisation of TV channel Filmazia, had requested the court to set aside the ban as in violation of the rules and beyond the powers of the regulatory authority.

An official from the regulatory authority confirmed to AFP that the court “set aside the ban” and allowed the channels to air Indian TV shows.

In a series of tit-for-tat moves in the entertainment industry, Pakistan last year suspended screening of all Indian movies until tensions calmed, while Hindu nationalists in India have threatened violence at cinemas showing films with Pakistani actors.

Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since the end of British colonial rule in 1947. Both claim the Himalayan territory in full and the countries have fought two wars over the region.

Tensions reached dangerous levels last September, with both sides blaming one another for cross-border raids.

There have since been repeated outbreaks of firing across the frontier, with both sides reporting deaths and injuries including among civilians.

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