The BBC on Monday launched its new 24-hour news channel, bringing together its UK and global coverage.
It brings an end to the BBC World News channel after 28 years.
The merged channel is called BBC News.
There was no fanfare on the channel as presenter Lewis Vaughan-Jones hosted the final seconds of BBC World News.
After updating viewers on the death of a pro-Kremlin blogger in Russia, he signed off: “This is BBC News, bye-bye.”
Taking over on the new channel, presenter Ben Thompson began with the words: “Live from London, this is BBC News.”
The first report was a 10-minute segment on the Russian Wagner Group’s apparent capture of Bakhmut from Ukraine.
The BBC said changes to the rolling news channel would be made gradually.
Viewers should not expect any kind of “big bang”, said its digital director Naja Nielsen.
She said there would be more live reporting by journalists and more efforts to show how stories are sourced.
“We’re going to make sure we tell audiences the most important thing that’s happening in the world at any time,” she said.
The single channel will, at times, have different feeds which mean UK and international viewers see different content.
Viewers outside the UK will see commercial adverts during breaks.
The changes come amid a wider BBC shake-up involving as many as 1,000 job losses.
Funding cuts have forced the closure of foreign-language radio stations such as BBC Arabic.
The BBC’s World Service Television launched in 1991 and was renamed BBC World in 1996, then BBC World News in 2008.
The news segment Outside Source is being retired as part of the merger.
Presenter Ros Atkins said its work would continue despite the title being dropped.
“We’re not disappearing, I promise,” he said.
The new channel will be broadcast from London during UK daytime hours and otherwise from Washington or Singapore.
Media regulator Ofcom said last year it would ask the BBC to ensure it “continues to provide high-quality UK news”.
It said it could impose conditions on the BBC’s operating licence if it had “concerns” about UK news provision.
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Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
The Gentlemen
Director: Guy Ritchie
Stars: Colin Farrell, Hugh Grant
Three out of five stars
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
The Little Things
Directed by: John Lee Hancock
Starring: Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, Jared Leto
Four stars
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