LONDON: Britain’s BBC apologised to Donald Trump on Thursday for editing a speech to make it look like he had advocated violence, seeking to ward off the US president’s threat of legal action, but the broadcaster rejected the basis for a defamation claim.

In a statement, the BBC said its chair Samir Shah sent a personal letter to the White House making clear to Trump that he and the corporation were “sorry” for the edit, adding that the broadcaster has no plans to rebroadcast the Panorama documentary on any of its platforms.

“While the BBC sincerely regrets the manner in which the video clip was edited, we strongly disagree there is a basis for a defamation claim,” the BBC said.

The leaking of internal accusations of bias at the BBC, including in the way it edited a 2021 speech by Trump on the day his supporters overran the Capitol, has forced its top two leaders to quit and for Trump to threaten a $1 billion lawsuit.

That puts the BBC at risk of having to use money paid by its viewers to compensate the US president for an error of its own making, handing more ammunition to critics at a time when growing numbers are cancelling their annual licence fee payment.

Trump’s lawyers had told the BBC to withdraw the Panorama programme, apologise to the president and appropriately compensate him for the harm caused, or face a lawsuit seeking damages of at least $1 billion.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Thursday she only sleeps for between two and four hours every night, while she also faces criticism for encouraging people to overwork.

The revelation about how little she sleeps came after Takaichi raised eyebrows last week by arranging a 3am staff meeting in her office to prepare for a parliamentary session.

“I sleep about two hours now, four hours at the longest. I feel it’s bad for my skin,” she told a legislative committee, where she had been asked about the importance of reducing Japan’s notoriously long work hours.

Japan has long struggled to strike a healthy work-life balance, with many workers facing heavy pressure at the office.

It even has a word— “karoshi” — for people who die from overwork.

Takaichi was also asked to explain her government’s discussions about possibly extending the upper limit on overtime work in order to encourage economic growth.

She defended the discussion, saying that workers and employers have different needs. Some people choose to work two jobs to make ends meet, she said, while businesses impose strict limits on overtime.

Takaichi stressed that any change would ensure that workers’ health would be protected.

“Indeed, if we can create a situation where people can properly balance childcare and caregiving responsibilities according to their wishes, and also being able to work, enjoy leisure time, and relax — that would be ideal,” she said.

Takaichi came to power last month as Japan’s first woman prime minister.

She pledged after her election as the head of the Liberal Democratic Party to “discard the term ‘work-life balance’ for myself. I will work, work, work, work, and work”.

She has since kept a busy calendar, attending regional meetings as well as holding bilateral talks with US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung.

• Bangladesh interim govt approved July National Charter.
• Charter seeks to reshape politics, constitution, institutions.
• Yunus says political parties will accept it in interest of nation.
  

Bangladesh will hold a national referendum on implementing its ‘July Charter’ for state reform, drafted after last year’s deadly student-led uprising, Muhammad Yunus, the head of the country’s interim government, said on Thursday.

He also reiterated that parliamentary elections will be held in the first half of February and that they would be free and fair.

The interim government approved the July National Charter (Constitution Reform) Implementation Order 2025 on Thursday, and it will be implemented depending on the outcome of the referendum.

“We have decided that the referendum will be held on the same day as the national parliamentary election — meaning, in the first half of February,” Nobel laureate Yunus said in a televised address to the nation.

“This will not hinder the reform process. Rather, it will make the election more festive and cost-efficient,” he said.

The July Charter seeks to reshape the country’s politics and institutions and give constitutional recognition to the 2024 uprising that forced Sheikh Hasina, a long-time prime minister, to flee to India.

It includes increased representation of women, limiting the prime minister’s term, strengthening presidential powers, expanding fundamental rights and ensuring judicial independence.

A majority of political parties had signed the charter in October but the National Citizens Party, formed by the leaders of last year’s movement and four left-leaning parties, had boycotted it.

The NCP said it stayed away due to the lack of a legal framework or binding guarantee for implementing the commitments made in the charter.

Supporters see the charter as a foundation for institutional reform. Critics say its impact could be largely symbolic without a legal framework or parliamentary consensus.

“I hope political parties will accept our decision in the greater interest of the nation,” Yunus said.

“The country will move toward a festive national election and step into a ‘New Bangladesh’.”