132-500: Newshour is BBC World Service 's flagship international news and current affairs radio programme, which is broadcast twice daily: weekdays at 1400, weekends at 1300 and nightly at 2100 (UK time). There is also an additional online programme at 20:00 on weekdays. Occasionally the programme can run for three hours during major breaking stories such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine . Each edition lasts one hour. It consists of news bulletins on
264-572: A world financial crisis , George encouraged the formation of a National Government in 1931 led by MacDonald and Baldwin, and volunteered to reduce the civil list to help balance the budget. He was concerned by the rise to power in Germany of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party . In 1934, George bluntly told the German ambassador Leopold von Hoesch that Germany was now the peril of the world, and that there
396-505: A "balanced British view" of international developments. Former director Peter Horrocks visualised the organisation as fighting an " information war " of soft power against Russian and Chinese international state media , including RT . As such, the BBC has been banned in both Russia and China, the former following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine . The director of the BBC World Service
528-520: A "terrible father" in later years. They lived mainly at York Cottage , a relatively small house in Sandringham, Norfolk , where their way of life mirrored that of a comfortable middle-class family rather than royalty. George preferred a simple, almost quiet, life, in marked contrast to the lively social life pursued by his father. His official biographer, Harold Nicolson , later despaired of George's time as Duke of York, writing: "He may be all right as
660-759: A 1919 Order in Council under the provisions of the Titles Deprivation Act 1917 . Under pressure from his mother, George also removed the Garter flags of his German relations from St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle . When Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, George's first cousin, was overthrown in the Russian Revolution of 1917, the British government offered political asylum to the Tsar and his family, but worsening conditions for
792-506: A Kyrgyz radio station under a pseudonym with a disguised voice. One of the leaders of the revolution, Aliyasbek Alymkulov, named the producer as his mentor and claimed that they had discussed preparations for the revolution. According to London newspaper the Evening Standard , "Mr Alymkulov claimed that Koichiev arranged secret meetings "through the BBC" and organised the march at the presidential palace on 7 April 2010" In October 2010,
924-551: A brief final scene. Hours of waiting just for the mechanical end when all that is really life has departed only exhausts the onlookers & keeps them so strained that they cannot avail themselves of the solace of thought, communion or prayer. I therefore decided to determine the end and injected (myself) morphia gr.3/4 [grains] and shortly afterwards cocaine gr.1 [grains] into the distended jugular vein ... In about 1/4 an hour – breathing quieter – appearance more placid – physical struggle gone. Dawson wrote that he acted to preserve
1056-534: A descendant of the German Dukes of Württemberg . George had brothers-in-law and cousins who were British subjects but who bore German titles such as Duke and Duchess of Teck, Prince and Princess of Battenberg, and Prince and Princess of Schleswig-Holstein. When H. G. Wells wrote about Britain's "alien and uninspiring court", George replied: "I may be uninspiring, but I'll be damned if I'm alien." On 17 July 1917, George appeased British nationalist feelings by issuing
1188-555: A little too far" that day. George inherited the throne at a politically turbulent time. Lloyd George 's People's Budget had been rejected the previous year by the Conservative and Unionist -dominated House of Lords , contrary to the normal convention that the Lords did not veto money bills . Liberal Prime Minister H. H. Asquith had asked the previous king to give an undertaking that he would create sufficient Liberal peers to allow
1320-576: A mixture of the United Kingdom's television licence fee , limited advertising profits of BBC Studios , and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office funding. From 2014, the service was guaranteed £289 million (allocated over a five-year period ending in 2020) from the UK government. In 2016, the government announced that the licence fee funding for the World Service would be £254 million/year for
1452-537: A mumbled "God damn you!", were addressed to his nurse, Catherine Black , when she gave him a sedative that night. Dawson, who supported the "gentle growth of euthanasia ", admitted in the diary that he ended the King's life: At about 11 o'clock it was evident that the last stage might endure for many hours, unknown to the Patient but little comporting with that dignity and serenity which he so richly merited and which demanded
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#17329054638011584-474: A radio reception guide; and The Merchant Navy Programme , a show for seafarers presented by Malcolm Billings; The Morning Show , Good Morning Africa and PM , all presented by Pete Myers in the 1960s and 1970s. Since the late 1990s, the station has focused more on news, with bulletins added every half-hour following the outbreak of the Iraq War . News is at the core of the scheduling . A five-minute bulletin
1716-658: A relay in Malaya and of the Limassol relay in Cyprus in 1957. Also in 1957, a number of foreign language services were discontinued, or reduced. In 1962, the Foreign Office argued that the VOA 's philosophy, as presented to it by its then director Henry Loomis , not to broadcast to fully-developed allied countries in their respective languages should be adopted by the BBC. The reluctance of
1848-565: A royal proclamation that changed the name of the British royal house from the German-sounding House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to the House of Windsor . He and all his British relatives relinquished their German titles and styles and adopted British-sounding surnames. George compensated his male relatives by giving them British peerages. His cousin Prince Louis of Battenberg , who earlier in
1980-554: A sighting of the Flying Dutchman , a mythical ghost ship. When they returned to Britain, the Queen complained that her grandsons could not speak French or German, and so they spent six months in Lausanne in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to learn another language. After Lausanne, the brothers were separated; Albert Victor attended Trinity College, Cambridge , while George continued in
2112-582: A wide variety of public duties. On the death of Queen Victoria on 22 January 1901, George's father ascended the throne as King Edward VII . George inherited the title of Duke of Cornwall , and for much of the rest of that year, he was known as the Duke of Cornwall and York. In 1901, the Duke and Duchess toured the British Empire . Their tour included Gibraltar, Malta, Port Said, Aden , Ceylon, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Mauritius, South Africa, Canada, and
2244-610: A young midshipman and a wise old king, but when he was Duke of York ... he did nothing at all but kill [ i.e. shoot] animals and stick in stamps." George was an avid stamp collector , which Nicolson disparaged, but George played a large role in building the Royal Philatelic Collection into the most comprehensive collection of United Kingdom and Commonwealth stamps in the world, in some cases setting record purchase prices for items. In October 1894, George's maternal uncle-by-marriage, Alexander III of Russia , died. At
2376-516: Is Jonathan Munro . The controller of the BBC World Service in English is Jon Zilkha. The BBC World Service began on 19 December 1932 as the BBC Empire Service , broadcasting on shortwave and aimed principally at English speakers across the British Empire . In his first Christmas Message (1932), King George V characterised the service as intended for "men and women, so cut off by the snow,
2508-478: Is an international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC . It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcasts radio news , speech and discussions in more than 40 languages to many parts of the world on analogue and digital shortwave platforms, internet streaming , podcasting , satellite , DAB , FM , LW and MW relays. In 2024,
2640-749: Is available up to eighteen hours a day in English across most parts of Asia, and in Arabic for the Middle East. With the addition of relays in Afghanistan and Iraq these services are accessible in most of the Middle and Near East in the evening. In Singapore, the BBC World Service in English is essentially treated as a domestic broadcaster, easily available 24/7 through long-term agreement with MediaCorp Radio . For many years Radio Television Hong Kong broadcast BBC World Service 24/7 but as of 12 February 2021, Hong Kong has banned
2772-604: Is broadcast at weekends. Other weekend sport shows include The Sports Hour and Stumped , a cricket programme co-produced with All India Radio and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation . On Sundays the international, interdisciplinary discussion programme The Forum is broadcast. Outlook is a human interest programme which was first broadcast in July 1966 and presented for more than thirty years by John Tidmarsh . Trending describes itself as "explaining
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#17329054638012904-497: Is generally transmitted at 01 past the hour, with a two-minute summary at 30 past the hour. Sometimes these are separate from other programming, or alternatively made integral to the programme (such as with The Newsroom , Newshour or Newsday ). In October 2024, it was announced that the bulletins would be broadcast on domestic BBC radio stations during the night. During such time slots as weeknights 11pm-12am GMT and that of Sportsworld , no news summaries are broadcast. As part of
3036-513: Is located in the newer parts of the building, which contains radio and television studios for use by the overseas language services. The building also contains an integrated newsroom used by the international World Service, the international television channel BBC World News , the domestic television and radio BBC News bulletins, the BBC News Channel and BBC Online . At its launch, the Service
3168-524: Is the Empire?" An unusual phrase in that form, and the secretary said: "All is well, sir, with the Empire", and the King gave him a smile and relapsed once more into unconsciousness. By 20 January, George was close to death. His physicians, led by Lord Dawson of Penn , issued a bulletin with the words "The King's life is moving peacefully towards its close." Dawson's private diary, unearthed after his death and made public in 1986, reveals that George's last words,
3300-570: The 1931 Statute of Westminster recognised the Empire's Dominions as separate, independent states within the British Commonwealth of Nations . George suffered from smoking-related health problems during his later reign. On his death in January 1936, he was succeeded by his eldest son, Edward VIII . Edward abdicated in December of that year and was succeeded by his younger brother Albert, who took
3432-566: The 2008 Russian presidential election . Reporters Without Borders condemned the move as censorship. In 2011, BBC Kyrgyz service newsreader and producer Arslan Koichiev [ ky ] resigned from his BBC post after revelations and claims of involvement in the Kyrgyzstan revolution of April 2010 . He had been based in London, but often travelled to Kyrgyzstan and used BBC resources to agitate against President Kurmanbek Bakiyev , appearing on
3564-528: The Americas and Caribbean ; East Asia ; South Asia ; Australasia ; and the United Kingdom . There are also two separate online-only streams, a general one and the other being more news-oriented, known as News Internet . The service broadcasts 24 hours a day. The World Service states that its aim is to be "the world's best-known and most-respected voice in international broadcasting", while retaining
3696-600: The Archbishop of Canterbury , Charles Longley . As a younger son of the Prince of Wales, there was little expectation that George would become king. He was third in line to the throne, after his father and elder brother, Prince Albert Victor . George was only 17 months younger than Albert Victor, and the two princes were educated together. John Neale Dalton was appointed as their tutor in 1871. Neither Albert Victor nor George excelled intellectually. As their father thought that
3828-536: The Black September incidents of September 1970. These facilities were privatised in 1997 as Merlin Communications, and later acquired and operated as part of a wider network for multiple broadcasters by VT Communications (now part of Babcock International Group ). It is also common for BBC programmes to air on Voice of America or ORF transmitters, while their programming is relayed by a station located inside
3960-591: The British government 's decision to ban a documentary featuring an interview with Martin McGuinness of Sinn Féin . Subsequently, financial pressures decreased the number and the types of services offered by the BBC. Audiences in countries with wide access to Internet services have less need for terrestrial radio. Broadcasts in German ended in March 1999, after research showed that the majority of German listeners tuned into
4092-581: The Colony of Newfoundland . The tour was designed by Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain with the support of Prime Minister Lord Salisbury to reward the Dominions for their participation in the South African War of 1899–1902. George presented thousands of specially designed South African War medals to colonial troops. In South Africa, the royal party met civic leaders, African leaders, and Boer prisoners, and
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4224-532: The Earl of Derby : "My father was frightened of his mother, I was frightened of my father, and I am damned well going to see to it that my children are frightened of me." In reality, there is no direct source for the quotation and it is likely that George's parenting style was little different from that adopted by most people at the time. Whether this was the case or not, his children did seem to resent his strict nature, his son Prince Henry going as far as to describe him as
4356-699: The Eastern Service during the Second World War. The Belgian government in exile broadcast from Radio Belgique . The 1956 Hungarian uprising held enormous implications for international radio broadcasting as it related to western foreign policy during the Cold War. Western broadcasts (especially the US's RFE ) incited an expectation of support that had already been decided against by President Eisenhower. The BBC, unlike other broadcasters, did not lose credibility in
4488-535: The First World War (1914–1918), the empires of his first cousins Nicholas II of Russia and Wilhelm II of Germany fell, while the British Empire expanded to its greatest effective extent. In 1917, George became the first monarch of the House of Windsor , which he renamed from the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha as a result of anti-German public sentiment . He appointed the first Labour ministry in 1924, and
4620-525: The Mediterranean , Egypt, and East Asia. In 1881 on a visit to Japan, George had a local artist tattoo a blue and red dragon on his arm, and was received in an audience by the Emperor Meiji ; George and his brother presented Empress Haruko with two wallabies from Australia. Dalton wrote an account of their journey entitled The Cruise of HMS Bacchante . Between Melbourne and Sydney , Dalton recorded
4752-499: The Royal Navy , until his elder brother's unexpected death in January 1892 put him directly in line for the throne. The next year George married his brother's former fiancée, Princess Victoria Mary of Teck , and they had six children. When Queen Victoria died in 1901, George's father ascended the throne as Edward VII, and George was created Prince of Wales . He became king-emperor on his father's death in 1910. George's reign saw
4884-498: The Royal Navy . He travelled the world, visiting many areas of the British Empire. During his naval career he commanded Torpedo Boat 79 in home waters, then HMS Thrush on the North America and West Indies Station . His last active service was in command of HMS Melampus in 1891–1892. From then on, his naval rank was largely honorary. As a young man destined to serve in the navy, Prince George served for many years under
5016-540: The Silver Jubilee of his reign in 1935, he had become a well-loved king, saying in response to the crowd's adulation, "I cannot understand it, after all I am only a very ordinary sort of fellow." George's relationship with his eldest son and heir, Edward , deteriorated in these later years. George was disappointed in Edward's failure to settle down in life and appalled by his many affairs with married women. In contrast, he
5148-502: The coronation of King Haakon VII , George's cousin and brother-in-law, and Queen Maud , George's sister. On 6 May 1910, Edward VII died , and George became king. He wrote in his diary: I have lost my best friend and the best of fathers ... I never had a [cross] word with him in my life. I am heart-broken and overwhelmed with grief but God will help me in my responsibilities and darling May will be my comfort as she has always been. May God give me strength and guidance in
5280-677: The Atlantic Relay Station and the Caribbean Relay Company, a station in Antigua run jointly with Deutsche Welle . In addition, an exchange agreement with Radio Canada International gave access to their station in New Brunswick . However, "changing listening habits" led the World Service to end shortwave radio transmission directed to North America and Australasia on 1 July 2001. A shortwave listener coalition formed to oppose
5412-640: The BBC in the past. Mandarin was heavily jammed by the People's Republic of China until shortwave transmissions for that service ceased but China continues to jam transmissions in Uzbek and has since started to jam transmissions in English throughout Asia. The BBC World Service is broadcast in Berlin on 94.8 MHz. FM relays are also available in Ceske Budjovice, Karlovy Vary, Plzen, Usti nad Labem, Zlin and Prague in
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5544-598: The BBC to drop those services was predicted also. On 1 May 1965, the service took its current name of BBC World Service . It expanded its reach with the opening of the Ascension Island relay in 1966, serving African audiences with a stronger signal and better reception, and with the later relay on the Island of Masirah in Oman. In August 1985, the service went off-air for the first time when workers went on strike in protest at
5676-507: The BBC's World Service radio from its airwaves, following swiftly on the heels of China's decision to bar its World News television channels, seemingly in retaliation for Ofcom revoking the UK broadcasting licence of China Global Television Network. In the Philippines , DZRJ 810 AM and its FM sister station RJFM 100.3 broadcasts the BBC World Service in English from 06:00 to 20:00 PHT from Mondays to Saturdays. Although this region has seen
5808-644: The BBC's policy for breaking news, the Service is the first to receive a full report for foreign news. BBC World Service is available by subscription to Sirius XM's satellite radio service in the United States. Its Canadian affiliate, Sirius XM Canada , does the same in Canada. More than 300 public radio stations across the US carry World Service news broadcasts—mostly during the overnight and early-morning hours—over AM and FM radio, distributed by American Public Media (APM). Some public radio stations also carry
5940-712: The British Foreign Secretary in a document named the BBC World Service Licence. The Chair of the BBC Board and the Foreign Secretary (or representatives) meet at least annually to review performance against these objectives, priorities and targets. The World Service was funded for decades by grant-in-aid through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office until 1 April 2014. Since then it has been funded by
6072-556: The British people, and fears that revolution might come to the British Isles, led George to think that the presence of the Romanovs would be seen as inappropriate. Despite the later claims of Lord Mountbatten of Burma that Prime Minister David Lloyd George was opposed to the rescue of the Russian imperial family, the letters of Lord Stamfordham suggest that it was George V who opposed
6204-401: The British public came to symbolise all the horrors of the war, was the King's first cousin. George's paternal grandfather was Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha ; consequently, the King and his children bore the German titles Prince and Princess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Duke and Duchess of Saxony. Queen Mary, although born in England like her mother, was the daughter of the Duke of Teck,
6336-422: The Church of St. Martin in the Fields , weekly drama, English-language lessons, and comedy including Just A Minute . Other notable previous programmes include Letter from America by Alistair Cooke , which was broadcast for over fifty years; Off the Shelf with its daily reading from a novel, biography or history book; A Jolly Good Show , a music request programme presented by Dave Lee Travis ; Waveguide ,
6468-500: The Czech Republic, Pristina, Riga, Tallinn, Tirana and Vilnius. The station is also available in Reykjavík, Iceland on 94.5 MHz FM. A BBC World Service channel is available on DAB+ in Brussels and Flanders and Amsterdam, the Hague, Utrecht and Rotterdam. Following a national reorganisation of DAB multiplexes in October 2017, the station is available on DAB+ across the whole of Denmark . King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936)
6600-405: The Dominions' legislative independence and established that the succession to the throne could not be changed unless all the Parliaments of the Dominions as well as the Parliament at Westminster agreed. The Statute's preamble described the monarch as "the symbol of the free association of the members of the British Commonwealth of Nations", who were "united by a common allegiance". In the wake of
6732-476: The English service, 18 of the language services broadcast a radio service using the short wave , AM or FM bands. These are also available to listen live or can be listened to later (usually for seven days) over the Internet and, in the case of seven language services, can be downloaded as podcasts . News is also available from the BBC News 'app', which is available from both iTunes and the Google Play Store . In recent years, video content has also been used by
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#17329054638016864-486: The English-language service. Broadcasts in Dutch , Finnish , French, Hebrew , Italian, Japanese and Malay stopped for similar reasons. On 25 October 2005, the BBC announced that broadcasts in Bulgarian , Croatian , Czech , Greek , Hungarian, Kazakh , Polish, Slovak , Slovene and Thai would end by March 2006, to finance the launch in 2007 of television news services in Arabic and Persian . Additionally, Romanian broadcasts ceased on 1 August 2008. In 2007,
6996-421: The Foreign Office budget). The External Services broadcast propaganda during the Second World War , on the German-language service Londoner Rundfunk [ de ] especially against Nazi rule, believed in the early days of the war at least to have weak support. Its French service Radio Londres also sent coded messages to the French Resistance . George Orwell broadcast many news bulletins on
7128-466: The King and Queen travelled to India for the Delhi Durbar , where they were presented to an assembled audience of Indian dignitaries and princes as the Emperor and Empress of India on 12 December 1911. George wore the newly created Imperial Crown of India at the ceremony and declared the shifting of the Indian capital from Calcutta to Delhi. He was the only Emperor of India to be present at his own Delhi Durbar. As he and Mary travelled throughout
7260-556: The King's dignity, to prevent further strain on the family, and so that George's death at 11:55 pm could be announced in the morning edition of The Times newspaper rather than "less appropriate ... evening journals". Neither Queen Mary, who was intensely religious and might not have sanctioned euthanasia, nor the Prince of Wales were consulted. The royal family did not want the King to endure pain and suffering and did not want his life prolonged artificially but neither did they approve Dawson's actions. British Pathé announced
7392-484: The Parliament Act, relations between the elderly Knollys and the Conservatives became poor, and he was pushed into retirement. Desperate to avoid the prospect of civil war in Ireland between Unionists and Nationalists, George called a meeting of all parties at Buckingham Palace in July 1914 in an attempt to negotiate a settlement. After four days the conference ended without an agreement. Political developments in Britain and Ireland were overtaken by events in Europe, and
7524-635: The Service from the Foreign Office, so that it would in future have been funded from within licence-fee income. The Russian, Ukrainian, Mandarin Chinese, Turkish, Vietnamese and Spanish for Cuba services ceased radio broadcasting, and the Hindi, Indonesian, Kyrgyz, Nepali, Swahili, Kinyarwanda and Kirundi services ceased shortwave transmissions. As part of the 16% budget cut, 650 jobs were eliminated. In 2012, London staff moved from Bush House to Broadcasting House , so co-located with other BBC News departments. About 35% of its 1,518 full-time equivalent staff in 2014 were based overseas at 115 locations. From 2014
7656-437: The Service relied on shortwave broadcasts, because of their ability to overcome barriers of censorship, distance, and spectrum scarcity. The BBC has maintained a worldwide network of shortwave relay stations since the 1940s, mainly in former British colonies. These cross-border broadcasts have also been used in special circumstances for emergency messages to British subjects abroad, such as the advice to evacuate Jordan during
7788-421: The UK government announced that it was reducing the service’s revenue funding by 16% and its capital funding by 52% by 2017. This necessitated over 650 staff leaving. Funding from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office would end in April 2014, when funding would mainly be from the television licence fee. From 2010, the service started transforming from a mainly radio-based operation to multi-media. In January 2011,
7920-428: The UK. However, since the 1980s, satellite distribution has made it possible for local stations to relay BBC programmes. BBC World Service is not regulated by Ofcom as the BBC generally is. Instead, the BBC is responsible for editorial independence and setting strategic direction. It defines the remit, scope, annual budget and main commitments of the World Service, and agrees "objectives, targets and priorities" with
8052-420: The Upper House. A constitutional conference on the reforms broke down in November 1910 after 21 meetings. Asquith and Lord Crewe , Liberal leader in the Lords, asked George to grant a dissolution, leading to a second general election, and to promise to create sufficient Liberal peers if the Lords blocked the legislation again. If George refused, the Liberal government would otherwise resign, which would have given
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#17329054638018184-467: The World Service in its entirety via HD Radio . The BBC and Public Radio International (PRI) co-produce the programme The World with WGBH Radio Boston , and the BBC was previously involved with The Takeaway morning news programme based at WNYC in New York City . BBC World Service programming also airs as part of CBC Radio One 's CBC Radio Overnight schedule in Canada. BBC shortwave broadcasts to this region were traditionally enhanced by
8316-474: The World Service reached an average of 450 million people a week (via TV, radio and online). In November 2016, the BBC announced that it would start broadcasting in additional languages including Amharic and Igbo , in its biggest expansion since the 1940s. BBC World Service English maintains eight regional feeds with several programme variations, covering, respectively, East and Southern Africa ; West and Central Africa ; Europe and Middle East ;
8448-430: The World Service's largest audiences have been in Asia, the Middle East, Near East and South Asia. Transmission facilities in the UK and Cyprus were supplemented by the former BBC Eastern Relay Station in Oman and the Far Eastern Relay Station in Singapore, formerly in Malaysia. The East Asian Relay Station moved to Thailand in 1997 when Hong Kong was handed over to Chinese sovereignty. The relay station in Thailand
8580-484: The World Service. This table lists the various language services operated by the BBC World Service with start and closure dates, where known/applicable. The World Service in English mainly broadcasts news and analysis. The mainstays of the current schedule are Newsday , Newshour and The Newsroom . Daily science programmes include: Health Check , and Science in Action . Sportsworld , which often includes live commentary of Premier League football matches
8712-424: The World Service: 16 language services show video reports on the website, and the Arabic and Persian services have their own television channels. TV is also used to broadcast the radio service, with local cable and satellite operators providing the English network (and occasionally some local language services) free to air. The English service is also available on digital radio in the UK and Europe. Traditionally,
8844-399: The ages of twelve and thirteen, and receiving the same education, whatever their class and eventual assignments. The reforms were implemented by the then Second (later First) Sea Lord, Sir John Fisher . From November 1905 to March 1906, George and May toured British India , where he was disgusted by racial discrimination and campaigned for greater involvement of Indians in the government of
8976-405: The appearance that the monarch was taking sides – with "the peers against the people" – in party politics. The King's two private secretaries, the Liberal Lord Knollys and the Unionist Lord Stamfordham , gave George conflicting advice. Knollys advised George to accept the Cabinet's demands, while Stamfordham advised George to accept the resignation. Like his father, George reluctantly agreed to
9108-445: The change. The BBC broadcasts to Central America and South America in several languages. It is possible to receive the Western African shortwave radio broadcasts from eastern North America, but the BBC does not guarantee reception in this area. It has ended its specialist programming to the Falkland Islands but continues to provide a stream of World Service programming to the Falkland Islands Radio Service . For several decades,
9240-551: The children of the Sovereign, the children of the sons of the Sovereign and the eldest living son of the eldest son of a Prince of Wales. The letters patent also stated that "the titles of Royal Highness, Highness or Serene Highness, and the titular dignity of Prince and Princess shall cease except those titles already granted and remaining unrevoked". George's relatives who fought on the German side, such as Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover , and Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , had their British peerages suspended by
9372-431: The closure of the Albanian, Macedonian, and Serbian, as well as English for the Caribbean and Portuguese for Africa, services was announced. The British government announced that the three Balkan countries had wide access to international information, and so broadcasts in the local languages had become unnecessary. This decision reflected the financial situation the Corporation faced following transfer of responsibility for
9504-562: The command of his uncle Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh , who was stationed in Malta . There, he grew close to and fell in love with his cousin Princess Marie of Edinburgh . His grandmother, father and uncle all approved the match, but his own mother and Marie's mother opposed it. The Princess of Wales thought the family was too pro-German, and the Duchess of Edinburgh disliked England. The Duchess,
9636-484: The country. The tour was almost immediately followed by a trip to Spain for the wedding of King Alfonso XIII to George's cousin Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg , at which the bride and groom narrowly avoided assassination when the driver of their coach and more than a dozen spectators were killed by a bomb thrown by an anarchist, Mateu Morral . A week after returning to Britain, George and May travelled to Norway for
9768-456: The crisis. It showed sensitivity and acted as its own censor when diplomacy may have been jeopardised otherwise. In stark contrast stood the BBC's reporting on the Suez Crisis of the same year. Although the British government tried to censor the BBC, it continued its even-handed reporting to both home as well as all foreign audiences. The row had the government seriously consider taking over
9900-472: The desert, or the sea, that only voices out of the air can reach them". First hopes for the Empire Service were low. The Director-General , Sir John Reith , said in the opening programme: Don't expect too much in the early days; for some time we shall transmit comparatively simple programmes, to give the best chance of intelligible reception and provide evidence as to the type of material most suitable for
10032-510: The dissolution and creation of peers, although he felt his ministers had taken advantage of his inexperience to browbeat him. After the December 1910 general election , the Lords let the bill pass on hearing of the threat to swamp the house with new peers. The subsequent Parliament Act 1911 permanently removed – with a few exceptions – the power of the Lords to veto bills. George later came to feel that Knollys had withheld information from him about
10164-532: The end of 1940, completing the move in 1941, with the Overseas services joining them in 1958. Bush House subsequently became the home of the BBC World Service and the building itself has gained a global reputation with the audience of the service. However, the building was vacated in 2012 as a result of the Broadcasting House redevelopment and the end of the building's lease that year; the first service to move
10296-574: The end of 1942, the BBC had started broadcasts in all major European languages. The Empire Service was renamed the BBC Overseas Service in November 1939, supplemented by the addition of a dedicated BBC European Service from 1941. Funding for these services—known administratively as the External Services of the BBC —came not from the domestic licence fee but from government grant-in-aid (from
10428-456: The evening of 15 January 1936, George took to his bedroom at Sandringham House complaining of a cold; he remained in the room until his death. He became gradually weaker, drifting in and out of consciousness. Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin later said: ... each time he became conscious it was some kind inquiry or kind observation of someone, some words of gratitude for kindness shown. But he did say to his secretary when he sent for him: "How
10560-416: The family. Her parents were Francis, Duke of Teck (a member of a morganatic , cadet branch of the House of Württemberg ), and Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge , a male-line granddaughter of George III and a first cousin of Queen Victoria. On 14 January 1892, six weeks after the formal engagement, Albert Victor died of pneumonia during an influenza pandemic , leaving George second in line to
10692-545: The first Labour Prime Minister, Ramsay MacDonald , in the absence of a clear majority for any one of the three major parties. George's tact in appointing the first Labour government (which lasted less than a year) allayed the suspicions of the party's sympathisers that he would work against their interests. During the General Strike of 1926 , George advised the government of Conservative Stanley Baldwin against taking inflammatory action, and took exception to suggestions that
10824-517: The first session of the Australian Parliament on the creation of the Commonwealth of Australia . In New Zealand, he praised the military values, bravery, loyalty, and obedience to duty of New Zealanders, and the tour gave New Zealand a chance to show off its progress, especially in its adoption of up-to-date British standards in communications and the processing industries. The implicit goal
10956-489: The five years from 2017. From 2016 to 2022, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office contributed over £470 million to the World Service via its World 2020 Programme, about 80% of which is categorised as Overseas Development Assistance, amounting to about a quarter of the World Service budget. In November 2022, the government confirmed the continuing involvement of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in funding
11088-502: The heavy task which has fallen on me. George had never liked his wife's habit of signing official documents and letters as "Victoria Mary" and insisted she drop one of those names. They both thought she should not be called Queen Victoria, and so she became Queen Mary. Later that year, a radical propagandist, Edward Mylius , published a lie that George had secretly married in Malta as a young man, and that consequently his marriage to Queen Mary
11220-407: The hour and half hour, international interviews and in-depth reports of world news. The BBC World Service considers it one of their most important programmes. In 2011, it was kept as one of four key outlets, despite severe cutbacks. It is also broadcast in the United States on various American Public Media stations. Most prominently, WNYC simulcasts the programme's afternoon edition on weekdays, and
11352-602: The idea against the advice of the government. Advance planning for a rescue was undertaken by MI1 , a branch of the British secret service, but because of the strengthening position of the Bolshevik revolutionaries and wider difficulties with the conduct of the war, the plan was never put into operation. Nicholas and his immediate family remained in Russia, where they were killed by the Bolsheviks in 1918 . George wrote in his diary: "It
11484-538: The issue of Irish Home Rule was suspended for the duration of the war. On 4 August 1914, George wrote in his diary, "I held a council at 10:45 to declare war with Germany. It is a terrible catastrophe but it is not our fault. ... Please to God it may soon be over." From 1914 to 1918, Britain and its allies were at war with the Central Powers , led by the German Empire . German Kaiser Wilhelm II , who for
11616-498: The last FM broadcast of BBC News Russian was discontinued at the order of the Russian government. Finam owned Bolshoye Radio, the last of three services to drop the BBC Russia broadcasts. A spokesman for the organization claimed that 'any media which is government-financed is propaganda – it's a fact, it's not negative'. Reports put the development in the context of criticism of the Russian government for curbing media freedom ahead of
11748-451: The launch of the only two foreign language television channels, several other services have had their radio services closed as a result of budget cuts and redirection of resources. Japan and Korea have little tradition of World Service listening, although during the Second World War and in the 1970s to 1980s, shortwave listening was popular in Japan. In those two countries, the BBC World Service
11880-409: The long-established shortwave frequency of 9.74 MHz was changed to 9.9 MHz. The largest audiences are in English, Hindi , Urdu , Nepali , Bengali , Sinhala , Tamil , Marathi and other major languages of South Asia, where BBC broadcasters are household names. The Persian service is the de facto national broadcaster of Afghanistan , along with its Iranian audience. The World Service
12012-536: The monarchy closer to the public and the working class—a dramatic change for the King, who was most comfortable with naval officers and landed gentry. He cultivated friendly relations with moderate Labour Party politicians and trade union officials. His abandonment of social aloofness conditioned the royal family's behaviour and enhanced its popularity during the economic crises of the 1920s and for over two generations thereafter. The years between 1922 and 1929 saw frequent changes in government. In 1924, George appointed
12144-558: The navy was "the very best possible training for any boy", in September 1877, when George was 12 years old, both brothers joined the cadet training ship HMS Britannia at Dartmouth, Devon . For three years from 1879, the princes served on HMS Bacchante , accompanied by Dalton. They toured the colonies of the British Empire in the Caribbean , South Africa and Australia, and visited Norfolk, Virginia , as well as South America,
12276-507: The nightly edition on weekends. The programme is broadcast live from Broadcasting House in London. It covers the major news of the day, often interviewing heads of state and government ministers. The programme was first broadcast in October 1988. On weekdays, the 14:00 & 21:00 GMT editions are presented by different presenters where as on weekends they are presented by the same presenter BBC World Service The BBC World Service
12408-562: The only daughter of Alexander II of Russia , resented the fact that, as the wife of a younger son of the British sovereign, she had to yield precedence to George's mother, whose father had been a minor German prince before being called unexpectedly to the throne of Denmark. Guided by her mother, Marie refused George when he proposed to her. She married Ferdinand, Crown Prince of Romania , in 1893. In November 1891, George's brother, Albert Victor, became engaged to his second cousin once removed Princess Victoria Mary of Teck , known as "May" within
12540-623: The opening session of the Parliament of Northern Ireland on 22 June 1921, the King appealed for conciliation in a speech part drafted by General Jan Smuts and approved by Lloyd George. A few weeks later, a truce was agreed. Negotiations between Britain and the Irish secessionists led to the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty . By the end of 1922, Ireland was partitioned , the Irish Free State
12672-529: The passage of Liberal legislation. Edward had reluctantly agreed, provided the Lords rejected the budget after two successive general elections. After the January 1910 general election , the Conservative peers allowed the budget, for which the government now had an electoral mandate, to pass without a vote. Asquith attempted to curtail the power of the Lords through constitutional reforms, which were again blocked by
12804-466: The regnal name George VI . George was born on 3 June 1865, in Marlborough House , London. He was the second son of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales , and Alexandra, Princess of Wales . His father was the eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert , and his mother was the eldest daughter of King Christian IX and Queen Louise of Denmark . He was baptised at Windsor Castle on 7 July 1865 by
12936-592: The request of his father, "out of respect for poor dear Uncle Sasha's memory", George joined his parents in Saint Petersburg for the funeral. He and his parents remained in Russia for the wedding a week later of the new Russian emperor, his maternal first cousin Nicholas II , to one of George's paternal first cousins, Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine , who had once been considered as a potential bride for George's elder brother. As Duke of York, George carried out
13068-458: The rise of socialism , communism , fascism , Irish republicanism , and the Indian independence movement , all of which radically changed the political landscape of the British Empire , which itself reached its territorial peak by the beginning of the 1920s. The Parliament Act 1911 established the supremacy of the elected British House of Commons over the unelected House of Lords . As a result of
13200-446: The seaside resort of Bognor , Sussex. As a result of his stay, the town acquired the suffix Regis – Latin for "of the King". A myth later grew that his last words, on being told that he would soon be well enough to revisit the town, were " Bugger Bognor!" George never fully recovered. In his final year, he was occasionally administered oxygen. The death of his favourite sister, Victoria , in December 1935 depressed him deeply. On
13332-466: The service became part of World Service Group under the Director of BBC News and Current Affairs. From 2016, 1,100 additional staff were recruited as part of an expansion of the World Service, about a 70% increase, funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office providing £254 million/year for five years, partly a reversal of the government decision that the television licence fee would fund
13464-401: The service from 2014. This was the biggest service expansion since World War II . In 2022, a new London-based China unit was in development, described by the government as "focused on exposing the challenges and realities currently facing China and its fight for global influence". The Service broadcasts from Broadcasting House in London, which is also headquarters of the corporation. It
13596-493: The service in each zone. The programmes will neither be very interesting nor very good. This address was read out five times as the BBC broadcast it live to different parts of the world. Recording from original BBC archive disks YouTube The BBC would continue to claim independence from the Government during the war, but as Asa Briggs noted, a complete picture of the wartime BBC would have to include 'persistent references' to
13728-405: The service when then prime minister Anthony Eden wanted to ensure that only the government line—that the British and French only invaded Eqypt to keep peace and because its president Nasser was breaking international law—would reach the home (and international) audience. By the end of the 1940s, the number of broadcast languages had expanded and reception had improved, following the opening of
13860-594: The stories the world is sharing..." Regular music programmes were reintroduced with the autumn schedule in 2015. Many programmes, particularly speech-based ones, are also available as podcasts. Business Daily is a weekday live international business news programme, which broadcasts from 8:32:30am to 8:59:00am UK time from Broadcasting House in London. Previous broadcasts included popular music programmes presented by John Peel and classical music programmes presented by Edward Greenfield . There have also been religious programmes, of mostly Anglican celebration and often from
13992-529: The strikers were "revolutionaries" saying, "Try living on their wages before you judge them." In 1926, George hosted an Imperial Conference in London at which the Balfour Declaration accepted the growth of the British Dominions into self-governing "autonomous Communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another". The Statute of Westminster 1931 formalised
14124-471: The subcontinent, George took the opportunity to indulge in big game hunting in Nepal , shooting 21 tigers, 8 rhinoceroses and a bear over 10 days. He was a keen and expert marksman. On a later occasion, on 18 December 1913, he shot over a thousand pheasants in six hours (about one bird every 20 seconds) while visiting the home of Lord Burnham . Even George had to acknowledge that "we went
14256-470: The throne and likely to succeed after his father. George had only just recovered from a serious illness himself, having been confined to bed for six weeks with typhoid fever , the disease that was thought to have killed his grandfather Prince Albert. Queen Victoria still regarded Princess May as a suitable match for her grandson, and George and May grew close during their shared period of mourning. A year after Albert Victor's death, George proposed to May and
14388-533: The throne". The First World War took a toll on George's health: he was seriously injured on 28 October 1915 when thrown by his horse at a troop review in France, and his heavy smoking exacerbated recurring breathing problems. He suffered from chronic bronchitis . In 1925, on the instruction of his doctors, he was reluctantly sent on a recuperative private cruise in the Mediterranean; it was his third trip abroad since
14520-424: The throne, after his father. George was created Duke of York , Earl of Inverness , and Baron Killarney by Queen Victoria on 24 May 1892, and received lessons in constitutional history from J. R. Tanner . The Duke and Duchess of York had five sons and a daughter . Randolph Churchill claimed that George was a strict father, to the extent that his children were terrified of him, and that George had remarked to
14652-535: The various connected agencies of the government. Chiefly, the Political Warfare Executive , responsible for all broadcasts to Europe. On 3 January 1938, the first foreign-language service was launched—in Arabic. Programmes in German, Italian and French began broadcasting on 27 September 1938 projecting the British quest for peace in the days prior to the conference on the Munich Agreement . By
14784-456: The war had been forced to resign as First Sea Lord through anti-German feeling, became Louis Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven, while Queen Mary's brothers became Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge , and Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone . In letters patent gazetted on 11 December 1917, the King restricted the style of "Royal Highness" and the titular dignity of "Prince (or Princess) of Great Britain and Ireland" to
14916-452: The war, and his last. In November 1928, he fell seriously ill with septicaemia , which localised between the base of his right lung and diaphragm in the form of an empyema that required drainage . For the next two years his son Edward took over many of his duties. In 1929, the suggestion of a further rest abroad was rejected by the King "in rather strong language". Instead, he retired for three months to Craigweil House , Aldwick, in
15048-742: The willingness of the opposition to form a government if the Liberals had resigned. The 1910 general elections had left the Liberals as a minority government dependent upon the support of the Irish Nationalist Party . As desired by the Nationalists, Asquith introduced legislation that would give Ireland Home Rule , but the Conservatives and Unionists opposed it. As tempers rose over the Home Rule Bill, which would never have been possible without
15180-477: Was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions , and Emperor of India , from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his paternal grandmother, Queen Victoria , as the second son of the Prince and Princess of Wales (later King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra ). He was third in the line of succession to the British throne behind his father and his elder brother, Prince Albert Victor . From 1877 to 1892, George served in
15312-421: Was a foul murder. I was devoted to Nicky, who was the kindest of men and thorough gentleman: loved his country and people." The following year, Nicholas's mother, Marie Feodorovna , and other members of the extended Russian imperial family were rescued from Crimea by a British warship. Two months after the end of the war, the King's youngest son, John , died aged 13 after a lifetime of ill health. George
15444-515: Was accepted. They married on 6 July 1893 at the Chapel Royal in St James's Palace , London. Throughout their lives, they remained devoted to each other. George was, on his own admission, unable to express his feelings easily in speech, but they often exchanged loving letters and notes of endearment. The death of his elder brother effectively ended George's naval career, as he was now second in line to
15576-522: Was bigamous. The lie had first surfaced in print in 1893, but George had shrugged it off as a joke. In an effort to kill off rumours, Mylius was arrested, tried and found guilty of criminal libel , and was sentenced to a year in prison. George objected to the anti-Catholic wording of the Accession Declaration that he would be required to make at the opening of his first parliament. He made it known that he would refuse to open parliament unless it
15708-458: Was bound to be a war within ten years if Germany went on at the present rate; he warned the British ambassador in Berlin, Eric Phipps , to be suspicious of the Nazis. In 1932, George agreed to deliver a Royal Christmas speech on the radio, an event that became annual thereafter. He was not in favour of the innovation originally but was persuaded by the argument that it was what his people wanted. By
15840-572: Was changed. As a result, the Accession Declaration Act 1910 shortened the declaration and removed the most offensive phrases. George and Mary's coronation took place at Westminster Abbey on 22 June 1911, and was celebrated by the Festival of Empire in London. In July, the King and Queen visited Ireland for five days; they received a warm welcome, with thousands of people lining the route of their procession to cheer. Later in 1911,
15972-606: Was closed during January 2017, and in Singapore during July 2023; currently, a relay station in Masirah , Oman serves the Asian region. Together, these facilities have given the BBC World Service an easily accessible signal in regions where shortwave listening has traditionally been popular. The English shortwave frequencies of 6.195 (49m band), 9.74 (31m band), 15.31/15.36 (19m band) and 17.76/17.79 (16m band) were widely known. On 25 March 2018,
16104-500: Was created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester . George's father wished to prepare him for his future role as king. In contrast to Edward himself, whom Queen Victoria had deliberately excluded from state affairs, George was given wide access to state documents by his father. George in turn allowed his wife access to his papers, as he valued her counsel and she often helped write his speeches. As Prince of Wales, he supported reforms in naval training, including cadets being enrolled at
16236-500: Was described in a poem, " The King's Pilgrimage " by Rudyard Kipling . The tour, and one short visit to Italy in 1923, were the only times George agreed to leave the United Kingdom on official business after the end of the war. Before the First World War , most of Europe was ruled by monarchs related to George, but during and after the war, the monarchies of Austria, Germany, Greece, and Spain, like Russia, fell to revolution and war. In March 1919, Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Lisle Strutt
16368-555: Was dispatched on the personal authority of the King to escort the former Emperor Charles I of Austria and his family to safety in Switzerland. In 1922, a Royal Navy ship was sent to Greece to rescue his cousins Prince and Princess Andrew . Political turmoil in Ireland continued as the Nationalists fought for independence ; George expressed his horror at government-sanctioned killings and reprisals to Prime Minister Lloyd George . At
16500-441: Was established, and Lloyd George was out of office. George and his advisers were concerned about the rise of socialism and the growing labour movement, which they mistakenly associated with republicanism. The socialists no longer believed in their anti-monarchical slogans and were ready to come to terms with the monarchy if it took the first step. George adopted a more democratic, inclusive stance that crossed class lines and brought
16632-470: Was fond of his second son, Prince Albert (later George VI ), and doted on his eldest granddaughter, Princess Elizabeth ; he nicknamed her "Lilibet", and she affectionately called him "Grandpa England". In 1935, George said of his son Edward: "After I am dead, the boy will ruin himself within 12 months", and of Albert and Elizabeth: "I pray to God my eldest son will never marry and have children, and that nothing will come between Bertie and Lilibet and
16764-529: Was greeted by elaborate decorations, expensive gifts, and fireworks displays. Despite this, not all residents responded favourably to the tour. Many white Cape Afrikaners resented the display and expense, the war having weakened their capacity to reconcile their Afrikaner-Dutch culture with their status as British subjects. Critics in the English-language press decried the enormous cost at a time when families faced severe hardship. In Australia, George opened
16896-558: Was informed of his death by Queen Mary, who wrote, "[John] had been a great anxiety to us for many years ... The first break in the family circle is hard to bear but people have been so kind & sympathetic & this has helped us much." In May 1922, George toured Belgium and northern France, visiting the First World War cemeteries and memorials being constructed by the Imperial War Graves Commission . The event
17028-501: Was located along with most radio output in Broadcasting House. However, following the explosion of a parachute mine nearby on 8 December 1940, it relocated to premises away from the likely target of Broadcasting House. The Overseas service relocated to Oxford Street while the European service moved temporarily to the emergency broadcasting facilities at Maida Vale Studios . The European services moved permanently into Bush House towards
17160-563: Was only available via shortwave and the Internet. As of September 2007, a satellite transmission (subscription required) became available by Skylife (Channel 791) in South Korea. In November 2016, the BBC World Service announced it plans to start broadcasts in Korean. BBC Korean , a radio and web service, started on 25 September 2017. The Soviet Union, Iran, Iraq and Myanmar /Burma have all jammed
17292-544: Was the Burmese Service on 11 March 2012 and the final broadcast from Bush House was a news bulletin broadcast at 11.00 GMT on 12 July 2012. The BBC World Service encompasses an English 24-hour global radio network and separate services in 27 other languages. News and information is available in these languages on the BBC website , with many having RSS feeds and specific versions for use on mobile devices, and some also offer email notification of stories. In addition to
17424-592: Was to advertise New Zealand's attractiveness to tourists and potential immigrants, while avoiding news of growing social tensions, by focusing the attention of the British press on a land few knew about. On his return to Britain, in a speech at Guildhall, London , George warned of "the impression which seemed to prevail among [our] brethren across the seas, that the Old Country must wake up if she intends to maintain her old position of pre-eminence in her colonial trade against foreign competitors." On 9 November 1901, George
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