Awareness and Responsibility in The Coming Times

ON the threshold of a new millennium, BBC World, BBC's 24-hour, international news and information television channel looks forward to some of the issues of the new century. Awareness and responsibility should be the driving force in the new era; keeping this point into focus BBC has planned its January schedule that mainly highlights environment and issues concerned to it.

At the dawn of the new millennium, BBC World will follow the Global Sunrise right around the world, today at 3.10pm. Julian Pettifer will take the viewers on a breathtaking journey through four seasons, across six continents and through every time zone, tracking the course of the sun on a single day as dawn breaks at 20 spectacular wildlife locations spread across the globe.

New Zealand, just West of the International Dateline, is the first major land mass to greet the light of the new day. At Cape Kidnappers on North Island, the world's largest mainland gannet colony is at the height of its busy summer breeding season. Two hours later, dawn breaks over Sydney Harbour, and a new day begins to sweep across Australia. In contrast, the Northern Hemisphere is in the grip of winter and, in the far North of Japan, the world's largest Steller's sea-eagles, are feeding among the ice-floes.

Eventually, the new day and the New Year reach Europe from there to Rio de Janeiro to North America and the journey ends as sunrise reaches Midway Atoll, where a million albatross wake to this special day. At the same time, 5,000 miles to the South, where the programme started in New Zealand, the gannets have already woken to tomorrow.

Throughout January, BBC World examines the pressures on our environment, in the state of the Earth season, which includes a new weekly series of Earth Report beginning Friday, January 7 at 3.30 pm, reporting on global issues. In the same season, Chasing the Tiger, examines the sad and particularly savage extermination of the wild tiger at the hands of rogue traders. Julian Pettifer looks at the fight-back that has been led by an octogenarian, "honourary riger" and Jackie Chan, the martial arts superstar. The programme follows the long-running conflicts raging between the traders and those who wish to put them out of business.

The state of the Earth season continues with Counterblast, two programmes presenting ideas that challenge the commonly held opinions on conservation and global warming ideas that will also challenge the viewer. Each programme is the personal view of its presenter. On January 22, at 3.30pm the controversial reappraisal of what is actually important in the global warming debate, presented by scientific writer, Nicholas Booth. On January 29 at 3.30pm BBC looks at the darker side of wildlife conservation, through the eyes of D Charles Lane, a development worker, researcher and indigenous rights activist who has lived and worked in Tanzania for over ten years.

Apart from these special programmes, BBC's regular shows are also interesting and enlightening. The regular programmes cover, The World Today, BBC World News, USA direct, Europe direct, World Business Report, World Weather and especially for the viewers of Asia, Asia Today. This show is a daily current affairs programme. What makes Asia tick? Find out from Asia Today.