Brands
Broadcasting body blasts Trump as US pulls plug on Voice of America
MUMBAI: In a move that has sent shockwaves through international media circles, the US administration yesterday effectively turned off the tap for its global broadcasting entities, leaving hundreds of Voice of America (VoA) staff high and dry on administrative leave.
The Association for International Broadcasting (AIB) has condemned the 15 March decision, warning that silencing these influential voices could embolden dictators and deprive millions worldwide of trustworthy information in an era awash with fake news.
“At a time when the world is looking to the US to be a global player for peace and freedom, cutting funding for US international media – one of the main instruments underpinning this goal – seems the wrong direction to take,” fumed AIB chief executive Simon Spanswick.
For over 80 years, organisations like VoA and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty have served as America’s informational arsenal, piercing through censorship and state propaganda in the world’s most restrictive regimes.
These broadcasters have been the ears and eyes for countless people living under the thumb of authoritarian rule.
The AIB warns this budgetary bombshell could trigger a domino effect of devastating consequences:
* Authoritarian regimes may feel emboldened to tighten their grip on local media
* Millions who rely on American broadcasts for unvarnished news may be left in the dark
* America’s self-proclaimed commitment to press freedom risks appearing hollow on the global stage
The timing couldn’t be worse, with disinformation campaigns running rampant across social media platforms and state-sponsored propaganda machines working overtime in numerous countries.
The AIB is demanding an immediate U-turn on the decision, urging the US administration to restore funding and allow journalists to continue their critical work without political meddling.
Brands
Dunkin’ Donuts to exit India as Jubilant FoodWorks ends 15-year franchise deal
The quick service restaurant giant is ending a 15-year franchise partnership with the American doughnut chain, even as it renews its Domino’s agreement for another 15 years
NOIDA: Dunkin’ is done in India. Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd, the country’s leading quick service restaurant operator, has decided not to renew its franchise agreement with the American coffee and doughnut chain, and will wind down its Indian stores in a phased manner before December 31, 2026, bringing a 15-year partnership to a quiet, loss-laden close.
The decision, approved by JFL’s board on March 30, 2026, ends a relationship that began with a Multiple Unit Development Franchise Agreement signed on February 24, 2011. JFL will now evaluate and undertake what it described in a regulatory filing as the “rationalisation and/or cessation of certain operations and/or sale, transfer or disposal of assets and/or assignment or transfer of franchise rights,” all in consultation with Dunkin’s brand owners and strictly within the terms of the original agreement.
The numbers tell the story bluntly. In the financial year 2024-25, Dunkin’ India posted a revenue of Rs 37 crore against a loss of Rs 19 crore — a haemorrhage that was always going to test the patience of a parent company recording revenues of Rs 6,104 crore and a profit of Rs 194 crore in the same period. Doughnuts, it turns out, were never going to move the needle.
The contrast with JFL’s handling of its other marquee franchise could hardly be sharper. Even as it walks away from Dunkin’, the company has just doubled down on Domino’s, signing a fresh Master Franchise Agreement on March 31, 2026, granting it exclusive rights to develop and operate Domino’s Pizza stores in India for 15 years, with an option to renew for a further 10.
JFL, incorporated in 1995 and promoted by the Bharatia family, operates a network of more than 3,500 stores across six markets — India, Turkey, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Its portfolio includes Domino’s and Popeyes on the global side, and two home-grown brands: Hong’s Kitchen and COFFY, a café brand in Turkey.
For Dunkin’, India was always a stretch. The brand never quite cracked the cultural code in a market where filter coffee and chai command fierce loyalty and where the doughnut remains, at best, an occasional indulgence rather than a daily habit. Fifteen years, mounting losses and a parent with better things to spend its capital on was always going to be a difficult equation to solve.
The doughnut has had its last day. The pizza, however, is staying.
