Dutch regulator grants Russian independent TV Rain five-year broadcasting license

(Reuters) - The Dutch Media Authority issued a five-year broadcasting permit for the Russian independent television station TV Rain after its license had been cancelled in Latvia, according to a statement on the regulator's website.

The permit, dated Dec. 22, will "provide a commercial television broadcasting service as a commercial media institution," the regulator said. It was not immediately clear when the statement was published.

Latvia cancelled the licence of TV Rain in early December after the company was branded a threat to national security.

The liberal-leaning TV Rain, or Dozhd, shifted to broadcasting from Latvia and other countries in July, after being forced to shut its Moscow studio following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

(Reporting by Lidia Kelly and Elaine Monagham; Writing by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Michael Perry)