British Parliament rejects Brexit deal and China accuses Canada of double standards after it asks for clemency for convicted national.
With largest hike in its history, Netflix subscription costlier in US now
Netflix is now costlier for its US subscribers as the company is increasing its prices by up to 18 per cent, the largest hike in its history yet.
The move comes as the video streaming company looks for more finances to pay for its content bills as subscription growth begins to slow down.
The rate hike will also be applicable to Netflix subscribers in Latin America and the Caribbean where the company bills in US dollars, reported The Washington Post.
The online streaming site’s most popular plan in the US has been priced $13, up from $11. The price for the lowest subscription plan, allowing streaming on a single device at a time, has been increased by $1 to $8.99.
The escalated prices took effect Tuesday.
CNN reported that Netflix spent at least $8 last year on new content alone which was as per the company’s own expectations in 2017. Last year in October, the agency announced that it planned to take on $2 billion in new debt.
According to a report in The New York Times, Netflix’s new members will be charged on the basis of the new prices with immediate effect and for the existing customers, the hike will start in a period of three months.
“We change pricing from time to time as we continue investing in great entertainment and improving the overall Netflix experience for the benefit of our members,” The Wall Street Journal quoted a Netflix spokesperson as saying.
The report added, “Industry analysts expect Netflix this year will spend $12 billion on licensing and creating content, more than double what it spent just two years ago.”
Theresa May’s Brexit deal rejected, faces no confidence motion in the parliament
Britain’s exit from the European Union (EU) seemed surer to miss its 29 March date as Prime Minister Theresa May’s unpopular deal was defeated in Parliament by an unexpectedly big margin Tuesday.
While 202 House of Commons members voted in its favour, over double that number, 432, opposed it. A no-confidence motion moved against the government by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn Tuesday threatened to propel the country into an early general election.
The motion is up for debate Wednesday, while the government has time till Monday to come up with an alternative Brexit plan.
Labour Party lawmaker Chuka Umunna, supporting a second referendum, was quoted as saying, “If you can’t resolve the impasse here in Westminster, than you have to refer it back to the people.”
The British media has crushed May for her ‘humiliating loss’. In its live blog The Guardian reported, “The Sun has gone all-out, delivering a classic Sun front page. ‘Brextinct’, is their headline, as they paste May’s face onto a dodo.”
The EU expressing regret over the outcome has urged the UK government to clarify its intentions.
Anne Applebaum, a Washington Post columnist, wrote, “This messy, unpopular deal, the most unpopular government policy that anybody can remember, was produced by a political class that turned out to be ignorant – about Europe, Europeans, trade arrangements, institutions – and arrogant, disdaining knowledge and expertise.”
China accuses Canada of ‘double standards’ after Trudeau’s statement
China has accused Canada of “double standards” and “white supremacy” after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a strongly worded statement for Beijing’s “arbitrary” death sentence to Canadian citizen Robert Lloyd Schellenberg.
“The reason why some people are used to arrogantly adopting double standards is due to Western egotism and white supremacy,” Lu Shaye, the Chinese ambassador to Canada, wrote in The Hill Times,
He added, “It seems that, to some people, only Canadian citizens should be treated in a humanitarian manner and their freedom deemed valuable, while Chinese people do not deserve that.”
Denying that Beijing politicised Schellenberg’s case in response to Canada’s arrest of Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of Huawei’s founder, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying urged Canada to “respect China’s judicial sovereignty”, said a BBC report.
The diplomatic row between China and Canada seems to be escalating after the Chinese government Monday awarded a death sentence to Schellenberg, who was initially given a 15-year prison sentence for drug trafficking.
On Monday, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland issued a statement that she met the Chinese ambassador to Canada and made a formal request for clemency for Schellenberg.
Iran’s satellite fails to reach orbit despite US criticism of its space programme
Despite US criticisms and warnings, Iran Tuesday conducted one of at least two planned satellite launches, but it failed to reach orbit, reported Al Jazeera.
“The Payam satellite was successfully launched this morning with the Basir satellite carrier. But the satellite, unfortunately, failed to be placed in orbit in the final stage,” Telecommunications Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi was quoted as telling state television.
The rocket carrying the Payam satellite could not pass the third stage as it lacked the “necessary speed”.
Jahromi wrote on Twitter that the other satellite, Doosti, is “waiting for orbit.”
After the launch, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo repeated his allegation that Iran’s space program could help it develop a missile capable of carrying a nuclear weapon to the mainland US, reported The Washington Post.
Pompeo’s criticism comes “amid the Trump administration’s maximalist approach against Tehran after withdrawing from the nuclear deal”.
The report added that Iran maintains its satellite launches and rocket tests don’t have a military component.