The changes come amid a wider BBC shake-up involving as many as 1,000 job losses. PA
The changes come amid a wider BBC shake-up involving as many as 1,000 job losses. PA
The changes come amid a wider BBC shake-up involving as many as 1,000 job losses. PA
The changes come amid a wider BBC shake-up involving as many as 1,000 job losses. PA

BBC launches new 24-hour channel to replace World News


Tim Stickings
  • English
  • Arabic

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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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
What is blockchain?

Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.

The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.

Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.

However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.

Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.

Champions parade (UAE timings)

7pm Gates open

8pm Deansgate stage showing starts

9pm Parade starts at Manchester Cathedral

9.45pm Parade ends at Peter Street

10pm City players on stage

11pm event ends

Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage

Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid 

Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani

Rating: 4/5

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Tributes from the UAE's personal finance community

• Sebastien Aguilar, who heads SimplyFI.org, a non-profit community where people learn to invest Bogleheads’ style

“It is thanks to Jack Bogle’s work that this community exists and thanks to his work that many investors now get the full benefits of long term, buy and hold stock market investing.

Compared to the industry, investing using the common sense approach of a Boglehead saves a lot in costs and guarantees higher returns than the average actively managed fund over the long term. 

From a personal perspective, learning how to invest using Bogle’s approach was a turning point in my life. I quickly realised there was no point chasing returns and paying expensive advisers or platforms. Once money is taken care off, you can work on what truly matters, such as family, relationships or other projects. I owe Jack Bogle for that.”

• Sam Instone, director of financial advisory firm AES International

"Thought to have saved investors over a trillion dollars, Jack Bogle’s ideas truly changed the way the world invests. Shaped by his own personal experiences, his philosophy and basic rules for investors challenged the status quo of a self-interested global industry and eventually prevailed.  Loathed by many big companies and commission-driven salespeople, he has transformed the way well-informed investors and professional advisers make decisions."

• Demos Kyprianou, a board member of SimplyFI.org

"Jack Bogle for me was a rebel, a revolutionary who changed the industry and gave the little guy like me, a chance. He was also a mentor who inspired me to take the leap and take control of my own finances."

• Steve Cronin, founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com

"Obsessed with reducing fees, Jack Bogle structured Vanguard to be owned by its clients – that way the priority would be fee minimisation for clients rather than profit maximisation for the company.

His real gift to us has been the ability to invest in the stock market (buy and hold for the long term) rather than be forced to speculate (try to make profits in the shorter term) or even worse have others speculate on our behalf.

Bogle has given countless investors the ability to get on with their life while growing their wealth in the background as fast as possible. The Financial Independence movement would barely exist without this."

• Zach Holz, who blogs about financial independence at The Happiest Teacher

"Jack Bogle was one of the greatest forces for wealth democratisation the world has ever seen.  He allowed people a way to be free from the parasitical "financial advisers" whose only real concern are the fat fees they get from selling you over-complicated "products" that have caused millions of people all around the world real harm.”

• Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.org

"In an industry that’s synonymous with greed, Jack Bogle was a lone wolf, swimming against the tide. When others were incentivised to enrich themselves, he stood by the ‘fiduciary’ standard – something that is badly needed in the financial industry of the UAE."

Our legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Updated: April 03, 2023, 10:46 AM