Air India chief executive officer (CEO) Campbell Wilson has resigned from his position, sources told ANI.The airline has been grappling with persistent losses and increased regulatory scrutiny following a crash last year that killed 260 people.Campbell Wilson took over as Air India’s chief executive and managing director in July 2022, joining the airline after a 26-year career with Singapore Airlines, where he held several senior roles across the mainline carrier and its wholly owned low-cost subsidiary, Scoot.During his tenure, one of the most complex aspects of Air India’s transformation, the integration of Vistara into the airline, was completed without disruption. The carrier also pursued an ambitious fleet expansion and, on several high-traffic metro routes, managed to surpass market leader IndiGo.However, progress on the broader overhaul was significantly slowed by persistent global supply chain disruptions. These challenges delayed the delivery of new aircraft and postponed the refurbishment of older planes, limiting the pace of the airline’s transformation.The setbacks also weighed on operational performance, with service quality and punctuality coming under increasing pressure.
TORONTO/SAN FRANCISCO, April 6 : A niche acquisition by Nvidia has raised concerns among artificial-intelligence and supercomputer specialists who see the move as a test of the biggest AI chip company’s commitment to maintaining a fair playing field for chip rivals and AI data center builders.
Nvidia last December announced it would acquire SchedMD, giving it control of open-source software called Slurm, which schedules computing tasks and is critical for training large language models that power chatbots such as Anthropic’s Claude. Slurm also runs on government supercomputers which help forecast the weather and develop nuclear weapons.
The Slurm software helps power about 60 per cent of supercomputers worldwide, according to SchedMD. Some of the engineers and executives who use those systems fear that Nvidia will subtly favor itself, five people say, such as by writing software updates for its own chips before those of rivals like Advanced Micro Devices. Slurm is used to manage Nvidia chips operating in supercomputers or AI-focused data centers.
There also is a hope among some users that Nvidia, the world’s most valuable publicly traded company, will reinvigorate development, pouring some of its staggering resources into long-awaited updates of a system built years ago for government supercomputers and now spreading from national labs into frontier AI companies.
The conversations among AI industry executives and supercomputer experts, and the concerns about Nvidia’s actions, were previously unreported. In a statement last week, Nvidia said: “Customers everywhere benefit from our open source and free software. Slurm is open-source and we continue to provide enhancements for everyone.” When announcing the SchedMD acquisition, Nvidia also said it was committed to developing and widely distributing the “open-source, vendor-neutral software.”
NVIDIA’S COMMITMENT QUESTIONED
Nvidia has positioned the acquisition as a way to expand its investment in open-source technology that helps with AI’s development. Nvidia could help SchedMD users – particularly government labs – embrace newer techniques in AI alongside more traditional supercomputer work, said Addison Snell, CEO of chip consultancy Intersect360 Research.
At the same time, Snell said concern remained that Nvidia in the long run “could take what’s a common open-source tool and make it so that it works better or exclusively for its own parts, versus competing technologies such as those from Intel or AMD or any other AI processing company.”
Early tests could be how quickly Nvidia integrates new chips from AMD due later this year into Slurm’s computer code compared with how quickly Nvidia integrates the software with its own technologies such as InfiniBand networking chips, said one of the sources, an engineer who has worked with Slurm extensively on supercomputing systems.
Three of the sources who expressed concern with Nvidia’s SchedMD acquisition work in the AI industry and two have knowledge of supercomputer operations. All have used or developed systems that include non-Nvidia hardware.
Several other experts using SchedMD’s software did not express immediate concern about Nvidia’s acquisition, but said they were aware of such worries and that they were watching closely what the chip giant does with Slurm. Many of the supercomputer and AI industry people saw the acquisition as a test of Nvidia’s intentions.
SLURM’S WIDESPREAD ADOPTION
The software from SchedMD, pronounced, “sked-em-dee,” has been adopted by AI labs. Meta Platforms, French AI startup Mistral and Anthropic use it for some specific tasks, including elements of AI training. OpenAI uses another method based on technology developed by Alphabet’s Google, a spokesperson said.
Anthropic, Mistral and Meta did not respond to requests for comment.
The AI industry sources point to a previous acquisition by Nvidia as part of the basis for concern.
Nvidia bought Bright Computing in 2022. Bright Computing’s software is usable with non-Nvidia hardware, but it has been optimized for Nvidia, creating a performance penalty for users of other chips without additional work, the AI industry sources said.
Nvidia dismissed those claims, saying that Bright Computing technology supports “nearly any CPU or GPU-accelerated cluster,” referring to central and graphics processing units that form the backbone of data centers.
Anyone can take open-source code although it takes effort to produce fully working software.
“We encourage others to join us in contributing to the growing ecosystem of free and open source software,” Nvidia said, adding that it has a track record of continuing to provide free and improved offerings after acquiring open-source software firms.
Nvidia said it will “continue to offer open-source software support, training and development for Slurm to SchedMD’s hundreds of customers.”
The numbers are enough to make your eyes water.
They are the salaries, prizemoney winnings and sponsorship returns of Australia’s top-earning athletes.
It was a tough list to build, and an even tougher one to get onto – the cut-off is about $2 million at the bottom end, and tops out at almost $60 million.
This masthead spoke to dozens of international and Australian industry experts across various sports and leant on reliable sports data sources, such as Forbes, Sportico and Spotrac, to collate a list of Australian sport’s 50 top earners.
Not all salaries are public, and exact terms for commercial deals are mostly not shared, so any list such as this one involves an element of estimating. But after months of detailed research and investigation, we have landed on a format that shows a range for each athlete’s salary.
Below are the parameters we set to construct the list – which explains why some names you might expect to see are not included. Click to expand for the answers.
In this, part one of our series, we reveal the athletes in spots 50 to 26. Scroll down for a searchable version of the first half of the list.
Come back on Wednesday, when we’ll reveal the top 25. Then return each day for more on the AFL’s top earners, the athletes aged 23 and under who are making big bucks and the highest-paid women in Australian sport.
The Tasmanian point guard spent the previous two NBL seasons with the Cairns Taipans – including a breakout 2024-25 campaign – before a stint as an NBA two-way player with the Golden State Warriors and their G-League affiliate, Santa Cruz. However, Armstrong’s appearance on this list owes to him signing in October with EuroLeague newcomers Dubai. He is playing on a $US1.25 million ($1.8 million) annual contract, an after-tax figure that is closer to $2.5 million before tax, according to a source familiar with the deal.
The Indonesian-born Australian golfer known as “Koala Karl” was the Korn Ferry Tour’s rookie of the year in 2024, including earning his PGA Tour card. Vilips followed that effort by winning almost $US1.5 million (more than $2 million) in prizemoney in the US last year. In between, Tiger Woods asked the Stanford University standout to become his apparel brand Sun Day Red’s first ambassador after treading a similar path to the American legend from child prodigy to the world’s best tour. Sun Day Red has a partnership with TaylorMade, which Vilips already used for his equipment.
The man known as Alexander “the Great” defied history at age 36, after coming off successive losses and a 14-month break to defeat Diego Lopes and reclaim the UFC featherweight title in UFC 314 in April last year. Volkanovski repeated the dose in a February rematch. Volkanovski received an estimated payout of almost $US1.5 million (more than $2 million) from the 2025 fight, including his promotional guidelines compliance pay, but the UFC no longer confirms overall purses. Volkanovski has sponsorship deals with the likes of Lotus Caravans, Sportsbet, Tyro Payments and energy drink Prime, while he co-founded apparel brand Engage.
Kyriacou is one of a number of Australian women making their mark in golf. She earned almost $US1 million ($1.45 million) on the LPGA Tour and another €388,416 ($648,000) in Europe for a total of more than $2 million in prizemoney. That figure does not include the $US125,000 ($175,000) she scored as her share for Australia’s International Crown team win. Kyriacou also has commercial partnerships with Titleist (equipment), Walker Golf (apparel), SParms (sun protection apparel) and sports technology company Rapsodo.
The Russian-born player switched her allegiance to Australia 12 months ago. Kasatkina still earned almost $US1.5 million (more than $2 million) prizemoney last year despite ending her season in September. She has a long-term apparel and footwear deal with Adidas, although the brand’s athletes are unable to wear patches on their clothing, which removes a common revenue stream for tennis players. The former world No.8 has also used Artengo racquets for the past four years. These partnerships typically come with tournament and ranking bonuses.
Carey received a Cricket Australia contract of up to $1.5 million last year, with match payments and prizemoney on top, and remains one of the strongest commercial performers among his peers. The gloveman is an ambassador for Woolworths, sustainable energy company GoodWe, and Oat Milk Goodness, while he has a bat contract with Kookaburra and footwear arrangement with ASICS. Another of Carey’s sponsorship deals is with Blue Dinosaur Nutrition (and a new one with Apple for 2026). He earned about $1 million commercially.
Stoinis was a T20 gun for hire – a lucrative pursuit if you are in demand, as he is – without a state or national contract, until he played enough internationals to score an upgraded Cricket Australia deal. That was worth about $350,000, plus match payments and prizemoney, but pales in comparison to his IPL auction price, which converts to about $1.7 million. Stoinis was paid $380,000 to play in The Hundred in England and a similar figure for Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League. He has a bat contract with Gray-Nicolls and footwear deal with ASICS.
Kim won her maiden major title in miraculous fashion at last year’s Amundi Evian Championship, which delivered the lion’s share of her $US1.7 million (about $2.4 million) in prizemoney for the season. That victory should pay commercial dividends as well, but she already has a gear partnership with Srixon and Cleveland Golf, an apparel deal with Adidas, and is a global ambassador for lawnmower brand Husqvarna. Kim’s individual prizemoney tally for 2025 did not include Australia’s International Crown triumph in Seoul, where she partnered Minjee Lee, Hannah Green and Stephanie Kyriacou. They received $US125,000 ($175,000) each.
No Australian in US college hoops is earning more than the Florida big man. The name, image and likeness (NIL) era has transformed college sports and contributed to athletes such as Condon delaying trying to get drafted. The 211-centimetre power forward/centre earns between $US2 million and $2.5 million ($2.9 to $3.6 million) on his NIL deal, according to a well-placed source, after winning the National Collegiate Athletic Association title with the Gators before withdrawing from last year’s NBA draft. Condon, who could have joined AFL team Collingwood as a category B rookie, averaged 15 points and eight rebounds a game.
Popyrin reached the top 20 for the first time last year – owing mostly to his 2024 Canadian Open title and two round-of-16 grand slam runs – and made $US1.8 million ($2.6 million) in prizemoney. He signed a multi-year apparel deal to become Psycho Bunny’s first athlete brand ambassador in January last year when he was the world No.23 – after previously wearing Fila – so the terms would have been significant. He is also part of Team Dunlop, partnered UKG Asia Pacific during 2025, and Blue Owl Capital was another of his patch partners. Popyrin also pocketed money from exhibitions, including UTS Nimes, and appearance fees.
Furphy signed a four-year, $US8.6 million ($12.3 million) contract with Indiana after San Antonio drafted him in the second round in 2024, and earned $US1.96 million ($2.8 million) in the 2025-26 season. The athletic guard unfortunately sustained an ACL rupture in his right knee in February. Furphy’s contract for 2026-27 is fully guaranteed, but the fourth season is a team option. His remaining income came from image rights (trading cards and 2K video game), his multi-year Puma shoe deal, and appearances.
Kerr’s £449,000 salary ($859,000) with Women’s Super League club Chelsea in 2024 was behind only two female footballers on the planet, and she is reportedly now in fifth position at £466,000 (about $890,000). A new collective bargaining agreement meant Matildas stars such as Kerr, captain since 2019, could earn up to $200,000 annually for representing Australia. But where she really cashes in is off the field, including a reported $1 million-a-year deal with Nike. Among Kerr’s other sponsors are Mastercard and telco company MATE. She is also an ambassador for EA Sports, and Commonwealth Bank is the Matildas’ naming rights partner. More deals have rolled in for 2026.
The Matildas sensation has arguably overtaken Sam Kerr as the country’s most marketable footballer. Fowler, who made the Women’s Super League team of the year for the 2024-25 season, also out-earns her partner, NRL star Nathan Cleary. Fowler has just signed a record-breaking five-year, $10 million deal with Adidas despite intense interest from Nike and New Balance. Sanitarium, L’Oréal Paris, Samsung, NIB Insurance, Penguin Random House, Rebel Sport, Rise & Shine Kindergarten, the Commonwealth Bank and Cupra are among Fowler’s commercial partners. She extended her Manchester City contract until 2027 – worth almost $300,000 per season – and collects up to $200,000 annually to represent Australia.
Davis pocketed $US2.1 million (almost $3 million) in prizemoney on the PGA Tour last year, plus some relative loose change in Australia. The Sydneysider and 2017 Australian Open champion was particularly good early in 2025, collecting $US1.29 million ($1.8 million) by the end of January, including a top-five finish at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California. Davis has an apparel deal with Nike and plays with a full bag of Titleist gear, which typically earns golfers a higher return. Image rights and appearance fees round out his earnings.
There is doubt about what UFC fighters earn given purse payouts are estimated figures that are often bloated. Della Maddalena reportedly received $US582,000 (about $832,500) for upsetting titleholder Belal Muhammad at UFC 315, then just short of $US2 million (about $2.85 million) for fighting Islam Makhachev at UFC 322. Both figures are likely above what he actually earned. The Perth mixed martial artist, represented by Chosen Advisory Group’s Tim Simpson, has deals with True Protein, StreetX and SafeStyle Eyewear. Simpson did not respond to inquiries from this masthead. Della Maddalena will headline the UFC event in Perth in May.
No active Australian jockey’s bank balance is healthier than that of Purton, the leading rider in the lucrative Hong Kong racing scene. This figure does not include Purton’s triumph in The Everest, and is instead based on the 2024-25 season, to ensure he had a full campaign of results. He won an incredible 138 of his 593 starts in Hong Kong in that period, and jockeys there typically get 10 per cent of prizemoney for victories and 5 per cent for finishing from second to sixth. Purton also collects a fee per ride ($200 in Hong Kong and $274.25 in Australia).
Reath had season-ending surgery on a stress fracture in his right foot in late January. His old team, Portland, bundled him into a trade with Atlanta only days later, and the Hawks subsequently waived him. However, the Trail Blazers fully guaranteed Reath’s 2025-26 contract in August, so he will receive all the $US2.2 million ($3.2 million) he was owed for the third and final season of his deal. Reath has worn Nike shoes in his NBA career, and receives money from image rights (trading cards and 2K video game) and appearances.
O’Connor’s high-profile move from Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale to Australia’s GreenEDGE Cycling – on a two-year contract – ahead of the 2025 season did nothing to halt his ascension. He secured a brilliant victory in stage 18 of last year’s Tour de France, finishing ahead of four-time champion Tadej Pogačar, and placed 11th overall in the general classification. Cycling contracts are not public, and there is a wide variance with estimates on O’Connor’s deal: from $3.3 million annually to almost $5 million, which was the educated, but lofty, guess of Johan Bruyneel, Lance Armstrong’s ex-team director. That factors performance bonuses and prizemoney into O’Connor’s salary.
The triple Olympic medal-winning snowboarder is one of the highest-profile and best remunerated competitors in winter sports – but the vast majority of his wealth comes off the slopes. Commercial partners include Red Bull, Oakley, apparel companies Volcom and K-WAY, Thredbo Resort and blockchain technology company OKX. James has also joined fellow Winter Olympians Chloe Kim and Eileen Gu as founder athletes and investors in the X Games League, which they will advise on competition formats and athletes’ experience.
Landale is on a more modest salary this NBA season, playing on a one-year, $US2.5 million ($3.5 million) contract that he initially signed with Memphis. That follows his four-year, $US32 million ($45.5 million) deal with the Houston Rockets. Landale was enjoying a productive stint with the Grizzlies, including starting 25 games, before being traded to Atlanta, where he is still plays about 20 minutes per game. His other key earnings come from image rights (trading cards and 2K video game), his Nike shoe deal and appearances.
The legendary batter is closer to the end than the start of his career, but continues to be paid well. Smith earns about $2.4 million on his Cricket Australia contract once match payments and prizemoney are included. He also received about $400,000 in salary in both the Big Bash League and England’s equivalent, The Hundred, but was overlooked in the IPL auction. Smith even squeezed in a stint in Major League Cricket in the US. He has a bat and apparel contract with New Balance worth up to $300,000. He partners with furniture company Koala, including a 10 per cent equity stake, and is an ambassador for crypto app Bamboo and cashback platform Cashrewards.
The all-rounder fetched a record IPL auction price of INR25.20 crore (about $3.64 million), which trumped compatriot Mitchell Starc’s 2023 mark of about $3.58 million. However, tournament rules for overseas players mean Green can receive only a maximum of INR18 crore (about $2.6 million). His Cricket Australia contract retainer is believed to be less than $1.5 million, but match payments and prizemoney would bolster that. The West Australian is popular with major brands and has partnerships with Gray-Nicolls, ASICS, Rado and Toyota Australia, and is also an ambassador for Kidney Health Australia.
The No.5 pick in the 2014 NBA draft, who was courtside at South East Melbourne Phoenix NBL games recently as a part-owner, does not have a team after suffering a season-ending knee injury in November. But Exum signed a fully guaranteed $US3.3 million ($4.6 million) contract for the 2025-26 season. He started the campaign with Dallas before being traded to Washington post-injury, but the Wizards waived him. Exum also received earnings from image rights (trading cards, 2K video game), his Nike shoe deal, and appearances.
Faalele was on the receiving end of some brutal criticism of his play at right guard during a tough past season for Baltimore, but he at least pocketed $US3.6 million (more than $5 million) for his troubles. That was the final season of his four-year rookie deal, and reporting in the US suggests he is unlikely to continue at the Ravens, so he will hope to latch on elsewhere. NFL players also receive income for the commercial use of their name, image and likeness on merchandise, video games (Madden) and trading cards.
Tszyu is on the comeback trail after a series of high-profile defeats, including a second loss to American Sebastian Fundora in Las Vegas in July. Boxing purses, including his Fundora rematch, are rarely made public, but a boxing source told this masthead that the son of Kostya received roughly $1.5 million for the fight, including his pay-per-view share. Promoted by No Limit Boxing, Tszyu’s two Australian fights – against Joey Spencer and Anthony Velazquez – returned no more than $300,000 each. Three of his biggest sponsorships last year were with Everlast, JD Sports and Carbiz.
Reporters Dan Walsh, Roy Ward, Vince Rugari and Andrew Wu contributed to this project.
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LOS ANGELES, April 6 : A union representing about 2,000 food service workers at SoFi Stadium said on Monday it was demanding that FIFA keep U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement away from World Cup operations in Los Angeles and warned workers could strike if their concerns are not addressed.
Unite Here Local 11, which represents cooks, servers and bartenders at the Inglewood venue, said the workers remain without a labour contract as the World Cup approaches.
The union laid out three main demands to FIFA and stadium owner Kroenke Sports & Entertainment: a public commitment that ICE and Border Patrol will play no role in the tournament, protections for union jobs and working conditions, and support for affordable housing for hospitality workers.
Acting Department of Homeland Security Director Todd Lyons has said that ICE would play a “key part” in the World Cup, a prospect the union said threatened worker and guest safety in Los Angeles.
FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Representatives from SoFi Stadium declined to comment.
Local 11 said it also wanted assurances that artificial intelligence and automation would not be used during the tournament to eliminate union jobs.
The union linked its labour demands to broader concerns over housing costs in the Los Angeles area, particularly in Inglewood, and called for support for a workforce housing fund, restrictions on short-term rentals and tax measures aimed at funding affordable housing and immigrant family protections.
“FIFA and its corporate sponsors will pocket billions from Los Angeles while refusing to even acknowledge the cooks, servers, and stand attendants who make this event possible,” Kurt Petersen, co-president of Local 11, said in a statement.
The union said it had repeatedly sought meetings with FIFA since Los Angeles was chosen as a host city, but had been ignored. Los Angeles is set to host eight World Cup matches at SoFi Stadium, the first being the U.S. against Paraguay on June 12.
AUGUSTA, Georgia, April 6 : Chris Gotterup has been one of the hottest players on the PGA Tour this season, and as he prepares to make his Masters debut this week he’s not losing any sleep over the challenges Augusta National presents.
When asked during his pre-tournament press conference on Monday what about the course makes him nervous, the 26-year-old’s answer was simple: nothing.
Not the treacherous slopes of the putting surfaces or the popular three-hole stretch known as Amen Corner that tends to be a pivotal spot in deciding the Masters tournament each year.
“I don’t think anything about the course makes me nervous. I think I’m going to be nervous on the first tee for sure,” said Gotterup, bidding to become the first Masters rookie to win a Green Jacket since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979.
“It’s more the excitement and getting ready to play in the Masters more than – at the end of the day, every tournament you go out and you try to perform your best. So I think it’s more of just trying to settle down the nerves of playing.”
WELL-EARNED CONFIDENCE AFTER FOUR WINS
The distinction matters. It’s not the course that gives him pause – it’s the occasion. Given what he’s accomplished, that confidence is well-earned.
Gotterup won the inaugural Myrtle Beach Classic in 2024 for his first PGA Tour title, broke through internationally with a win at the Scottish Open last year, followed by a third-place finish at the British Open. He’s carried that momentum into 2026 with victories in Honolulu and Phoenix and is 11th in the world rankings.
He joins Dave Hill (1968) and Mark Wilson (2011) as the only players since World War Two to make their Masters debut with at least four official PGA Tour wins.
That helped propel him to a career-high fifth in the world rankings in February.
AVOIDED MASTERS UNTIL GETTING PLAYER INVITE
Yet for all his success, what may say the most about Gotterup is why he’d never set foot at Augusta until now. He had chances to visit as a spectator but said no every time.
“I have gotten offered to come watch the tournament from sponsors or from whoever it may be, and I said I can’t go over there until I play, or else if I’m retired, then I can go over,” he said after a practice round with 2025 Masters runner-up Justin Rose.
It’s a stubbornness rooted in respect for the event – and for himself.
“I don’t know, it’s just something that I think this is such a special event, and it’s something that I wanted to experience playing rather than watching,” he said.
“I get a little stubborn, and I don’t want to – it would be not an enjoyable experience for me. Even though it would be bucket list for a lot of people, I want to play, and I want to be a part of it how I see fit.”
WASHINGTON, April 6 : Amazon.com on Monday announced it reached a new agreement with the U.S. Postal Service on package deliveries, and sources said the cash-strapped mail system would retain about 80 per cent of its existing deliveries from its biggest customer.
That 20 per cent cut is a dramatically better outcome for the postal agency than the two-thirds or larger reduction that Reuters reported last month Amazon had threatened.
USPS warned last month it could run out of cash as soon as October, and the risk that Amazon would replace the carrier by expanding its own delivery network or using rivals was an existential peril.
Amazon will continue its delivery expansion but short of growth that would rival USPS’s address-by-address reach, the sources said.
Reuters first reported the deal.
USPS has a roughly $80 billion budget, and Amazon represented $6 billion in annual revenue to the agency, according to two people familiar with the business arrangement.
“We’re pleased to have reached a new agreement with USPS that furthers our longstanding partnership and will let us continue supporting our customers and communities together,” Amazon said in a statement.
USPS did not immediately comment. U.S. Postmaster General David Steiner told Reuters in December that USPS delivered about 1.7 billion packages annually for Amazon.
Amazon had criticized USPS plans to auction off access to its last‑mile delivery network. In April 2025, Amazon said it would spend more than $4 billion to expand its U.S. rural delivery network by the end of 2026.
USPS said last month that it was seeking approval for a temporary 8 per cent price hike for priority mail and package deliveries, effective April 26, to deal with rising transportation and fuel costs.
Steiner said in March hiking the price of a first-class stamp to 95 cents from the current 78 cents would help USPS cut losses.
USPS has reported net losses of $118 billion since 2007 as first-class mail, its most profitable product, has fallen to its lowest volume since the late 1960s.
WASHINGTON, April 6 : Amazon.com said Monday it has reached a new agreement with the U.S. Postal Service on package deliveries.
Sources told Reuters the deal will result in Amazon, which is USPS’s largest single customer, retaining around 80 per cent of its existing deliveries with USPS, or more than 1 billion packages per year.
Amazon’s plan to replace the Postal Service with its own nationwide delivery service posed an existential threat to the mail agency, which has a roughly $80 billion budget. Amazon represented $6 billion in annual revenue, according to two people familiar with the business arrangement.
“We’re pleased to have reached a new agreement with USPS that furthers our longstanding partnership and will let us continue supporting our customers and communities together,” Amazon said in a statement.
Amazon earlier had criticized USPS plans to auction off access to its last‑mile delivery network. The retailer had threatened to cut its delivery business at the cash-strapped Postal Service by at least two thirds, Reuters reported last month.
USPS did not immediately comment.
Restaurants in a Dorset seaside town have been overcharged for outdoor seating for more than a decade, with some establishments paying up to £4,500.
Businesses operating along Marine Parade in Lyme Regis were hit with bills charging £600 per table over a 14 year period, despite a national cap limiting new pavement licence fees to £500 and renewals to £350.
The town council has now been ordered to reimburse tens of thousands of pounds to affected eateries after it emerged the authority had wrongly assumed ownership of the pavements.
Eleven businesses are entitled to refunds, with some payments already processed from council reserves while others remain outstanding.
The overcharging stemmed from Lyme Regis Town Council’s mistaken belief that it held ownership of the Marine Parade pavements, entitling it to set its own commercial rates for outdoor seating.
However, Dorset Council has now confirmed that Marine Parade constitutes a public highway in its entirety, meaning it falls under national pavement licence regulations.
The revelation came following research conducted by Dorset Council in late 2025, with a director informing the town council just before Christmas that the charges were unlawful.
Fees should have been payable to Dorset Council rather than the town authority throughout this period.
Marine Parade in Lyme Regis is a popular spot for tourists
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WIKICOMMONS
The confusion originated from a 2011 agreement between the town council and Dorset Council’s predecessor authorities, which was intended to formalise management arrangements for Marine Parade but was subsequently found to have been incorrectly interpreted.
Larry Gibbons, proprietor of Largigi Cafe, remains without his refund despite claiming he is owed in excess of £50,000, reports MailOnline.
The 72-year-old has operated seven outdoor tables and 30 chairs at his Marine Parade establishment since opening in 2009, paying up to £4,500 annually throughout that period.
While smaller claims have been settled, Mr Gibbons said the council has demanded bank statements stretching back 15 years before processing his payment.
The Dorset seafront council has apologised
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GETTY
“I believe the refund for the chairs and tables alone should be in the fifties of thousands, but the council expect me to go through all my bank statements over the period,” he said.
“Surely they know how much I have paid them over the years.”
He accused the authority of believing the law did not apply to them, noting that even Westminster City Council adheres to the national cap.
Town clerk John Wright acknowledged the situation was “embarrassing” but maintained the authority had acted in good faith throughout.
The council has maintained it acted in good faith
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“We realise now there was an error, we put our hands up to it and what we are trying to do is remedy it as quickly as we can,” he said.
The refunds will be drawn from the council’s £1million reserve fund, which is designated for material and unplanned expenditure.
A council spokesman apologised to affected proprietors, describing the situation as “unfortunate” and confirming that agreements had been reached with the majority of the 11 businesses for payments dating back to 2012.
Mr Gibbons’s claim is being handled separately due to its complexity, with the council hoping to resolve remaining cases shortly.
The council has apologised to businesses on the beachfront road
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WIKICOMMONS
The spokesman said: “The complex situation with outside seating on Marine Parade is unfortunate and we apologise to the affected proprietors. Lyme Regis Town Council has acted in good faith but it has now been determined that Marine Parade is a highway in its entirety.
“This follows research undertaken by Dorset Council in late 2025. This position was informed by an agreement entered into by Dorset Council’s predecessors, West Dorset District Council, Dorset County Council, and Lyme Regis Town Council in 2011, and which the town council relied on.
“The purpose of the 2011 agreement was to formalise arrangements for the management of Marine Parade and we have since acted in accordance with that agreement.
“This allowed Lyme Regis Town Council to charge a commercial rate for outside seating, which has in turn supported the maintenance and upkeep of the Marine Parade.
“There are 11 proprietors affected and Lyme Regis Town Council has agreed refunds with the majority of those for payments dating back to 2012. We hope to complete the remainder shortly. As the highway authority, Dorset Council will be dealing with outside seating licences going forward.”
LISBON, April 6 : Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said the pain of back‑to‑back cup defeats must be used as motivation as his team turn their focus to the first leg of their Champions League quarter‑final against Sporting on Tuesday.
The London club arrived in Lisbon on the heels of their first back-to-back losses this season, a 2-0 defeat by Manchester City in the League Cup final and a 2-1 upset by Championship side Southampton in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
“We have to have some perspective on how difficult what we have done up until now has been,” Arteta told reporters on Monday. “Feel the pain, use it to improve.
“We are very clear what happened and why it happened. This is football.”
With Arsenal reduced from four competitions to two, Arteta said calm thinking rather than panic was key as his players look to respond on the European stage.
“I think what you have to be is clear, understand why it happened,” he said. “And when you understand that, be better, and that is what we have to do.”
Neither Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze nor Jurrien Timber will be available for the first leg after the trio did not travel to Portugal due to injuries, although Arteta said he was hopeful they could return at the weekend.
There was better news elsewhere, with Gabriel Magalhaes, Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard all available after being spotted in training.
Arsenal face a Sporting side unbeaten at home in Europe this season, with the Portuguese champions looking to seize the initiative in the two-legged tie.
Sporting midfielder Maxi Araujo shrugged off suggestions Arsenal are favourites on Tuesday.
“There are no favourites in this play-off,” he told reporters. “They are playing well, we are too.”
Sporting manager Rui Borges said the fact Arsenal have lost successive games means little.
“No, I don’t believe in that and great teams always want to win,” Borges told reporters. “They will be more focused, willing to show their collective individual capacity and so I think it will make it more difficult for us.”
The second leg is April 15 at the Emirates Stadium.
In between the two legs, Arsenal return to their Premier League title quest when the league leaders host Bournemouth on Saturday.
