Quote: "All news outlets use Beijing and (I think) Mumbai these days, whilst at the same time saying Lisbon, Brussels etc. Of course it's inconsistent but what's so difficult about saying Beijing or Mumbai? You don't need to put on a foreign accent to say them properly..."
That isn't the point.
However you have illustrated nicely the point of inconsistency in the media (sloppy journalism?), in the aviation/travel industries and elsewhere.
The point is that people can use the terms they like, but it is significant that many of the inhabitants of places like Bombay, for example, use the term Bombay when speaking English and "Mumbai" when speaking Marathi. If it's good enough for those who live there.....
This discussion started because canberra97 (post #1087) appearedto be critical of LGS6753's use of the word Peking (in post #1085), and it's snowballed from there.