BBC News

Warner Bros Discovery has told its shareholders to reject Paramount Skydance's $108.4bn (£80.75bn) takeover bid.

Paramount had said its offer was "superior" to a $72bn deal that Warner Bros struck with Netflix for its film and streaming businesses.

But Hollywood's oldest and most famous movie studio’s board "unanimously" recommended rejecting the offer and agreed the deal with Netflix was in the firm's best interests.

The media giant put itself up for sale after receiving "multiple" expressions of interest from potential buyers, including approaches from Paramount Skydance.

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NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said US President Donald Trump is “good news for collective defence, for NATO and for Ukraine”.

Speaking to the PM programme on BBC Radio 4, Rutte said he believes “fundamentally, thanks to Donald Trump, NATO is stronger than it ever was.”

The US leader has harshly criticised European allies for spending very little on defence - even threatening to withdraw US protection if they fail to do so.

The Nato chief also said the current peace deal being discussed for Ukraine wouldn’t embolden Russia, due to the security guarantees.

He said: "Russia will see that, with the security guarantees in place, he should never ever try again to attack Ukraine because our reaction will be devastating and that's exactly what we are now discussing".

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Police have released new footage of a person of interest in the deadly mass shooting at Brown University in the US state of Rhode Island.

Four days after the gunman killed two people and injured nine others, a suspect is yet to be identified.

Officials are appealing for patience as the investigation proceeds, and have asked local residents to check security cameras to see if they have any footage of the suspicious "person of interest".

The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for information on the suspect.

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US President Donald Trump has ordered "a total and complete" blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela - a move that Caracas has denounced as "warmongering threats".

Trump wrote that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's government had been designated a foreign terrorist organisation, which had also engaged in "Drug Smuggling, and Human Trafficking".

His remarks come after the US seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela last week - a move that was seen as significant given Venezuela's reliance on oil.

Venezuela - home to the world's largest proven oil reserves - has, in turn, accused Washington of seeking to steal its resources.

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The first of the funerals for victims of the Bondi Beach shooting has taken place in Sydney, with thousands gathering to mourn Rabbi Eli Schlanger.

He was among 15 people killed when two gunmen opened fire on a festival marking the first day of Hanukkah. Australia's prime minister said that the attackers appear to have been inspired by Islamic State group.

Rabbi Schlanger, who was known as the "Bondi Rabbi" and had helped organise Sunday's event, was born in the UK. His wife gave birth to their fifth child just two months ago.

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Naveed Akram, the surviving suspect in the mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, has been charged with 59 offences - including 15 counts of murder and one of committing a terrorist act, the New South Wales police said.

His father Sajid Akram, 50, was killed in an exchange of fire with police at the scene.

Fifteen people were killed and dozens of others were injured in the attack, which targeted Australia's Jewish community at an event celebrating the first night of Hanukkah.

It was the country's deadliest shooting since 1996.

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Today, the government has ordered an independent review into foreign financial interference in UK politics.

The government say this is in response to what it called the “shocking” case of Nathan Gill, the former leader of Reform UK in Wales. Gill was jailed in November, after admitting to taking bribes for pro-Russian interviews and speeches when he was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP).

Announcing the review, Communities Secretary Steve Reed said the government must "learn the lessons" from the case so "this can never happen again". Responding to Reed's statement in the Commons, Reform UK's deputy leader Richard Tice said his party welcomed the review but called on the government to also make sure it looked into the influence of China on the Labour Party. Victoria and Chris discuss what the review could mean

Plus, President Donald Trump has filed, what is being reported as, a $5 billion dollar lawsuit against the BBC. Caitríona Perry and the FT’s global media editor Daniel Thomas explain what’s in the lawsuit and why the BBC has said it plans to fight it.

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President Donald Trump has filed a multi-billion dollar lawsuit in Florida, accusing the BBC of defamation and of violating a trade practices law.

The BBC apologised to him last month, but rejected his demands for compensation and disagreed there was a "basis for a defamation claim".

We speak to our North America correspondent, Nomia Iqbal and UK political correspondent, Rob Watson.

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The EU has confirmed it will water down its landmark 2035 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars.

The decision came after lobbying by carmakers and several EU leaders.

Under current legislation, manufacturers were forced to ensure that 100% of cars and van production had zero emissions up to 2035.

The European Commission is now confirming this will be reduced to 90%, allowing the manufacturer of hybrid electric cars and combustion engines beyond 2035.

Seen by some as a victory for the European car industry, the Green party in the European parliament have been quick to denounce the decision.

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The Lithuanian government has declared a "nationwide emergency situation" in response to a series of weather balloon incursions carrying smuggled cigarettes from Belarus.

Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene condemned the balloons as a "hybrid attack" by Belarus that posed a real risk to national security and civil aviation.

This year alone, officials said about 600 balloons linked to smuggling and almost 200 drones have entered Lithuanian airspace, leading to the repeated closure of Vilnius airport.

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko denied being behind the incursions, alleging the issue has been "politicised" by Lithuania, which is a member of both the EU and Nato.

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