Baghdad

bank holiday

barbeque

Basle

BBC1, BBC2, ITV1, ITV2, Channel 4, 5
(Second mention C4 is OK)

beg the question
avoid: nearly everyone gets it wrong, nearly all of the time. If you can substitute the phrase 'raises the question' then 'begs' has been used inappropriately. So use 'raises'

beginning stories
in News and Comment sections, first word capped up, no indent. Cap up second word if first word short (A, the, as, etc.) But capitals must not extend into second line.

In Focus, cap up first three words in Text Bell Bold, but this should not take up more than half a line. If it does, cap up first two words. For all other sections and magazines, consult chief subs

Beijing

benefited
also biased, riveting, focused

bete noire
(no accents)

biannual
twice a year;
biennial every two years

Bible
but biblical

billion
is a thousand million (1,000,000,000). On first reference£1.46 billion; subsequently £1.46bn (Always £1.46bn, not £1,465m). Only abbreviate when the subject is money. Thus £2bn, but two billion people

birthdays
are for people. Institutions, events etc have anniversaries

black
(race) lc as noun and adj. Do not use 'blacks' but 'black people', 'black teenagers' or whatever noun is appropriate. See also race

blond
correct except for human female (blondes have blond hair, wigs, dye)

BMIbaby
thus. See also acronyms

bogy
(ghost, menace), bogey (golf), bogie (truck)

bon vivant
not 'bon viveur'

book titles
italic, unquoted: In Text Bell Bold captions, just use unquoted titles.
See also titles

Bosnia-Herzegovina
for the former Yugoslav republic, not Hercegovina

Botswana
country; Botswana plural of people (singular: Motswana); Setswana language

bougainvillaea

Brazil,
Brasilia

Bruegel
Pieter Bruegel (about 1525-69), usually known as Pieter Bruegel the Elder, spelt his name Brueghel until 1559, and his sons retained the 'h' in the spelling of their names. So, elder without an h, sons with

burnt

byelection, bylaw, bypass.
See also hyphens

bylines
begin with by, as do photographers' credits. When starting tie-on by different writer, bold, no par indent i.e.
Spike Copy writes: ...

When written in, bold, no parentheses. Roman byline in bold stories. Use write-in bylines sparingly, on small stories or where a reporter is rewriting agency copy. Where only agency material is available on a breaking story be straightforward about its origin by using a two-line byline thus:
by Sheila Hack
Reuters, Cape Town

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