Al Arabiya
150px
Launched	March 3, 2003 (2003-03-03)
Network	Middle East Broadcasting Center (MBC)
Owned by	Saudi Arabia
Picture format	1080i HDTV - Scrambled 576i SDTV - Free
Country	Saudi Arabia
Language	Arabic
Broadcast area	Worldwide
Headquarters	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Website	alarabiya.net (Arabic) alarabiya.net/english (English)
Availability
Satellite
Nilesat 102	11727 V - 27500 - 5/6 [1]
Arabsat 4B	11919 H - 27500 - 3/4 [2]
Hot Bird 9	11747 H - 27500 - 3/4 [3]
SKY Italia	Channel 562
Cable
naxoo (Switzerland)	Channel 280
Fukushima TV	50

Al Arabiya (Arabic: العربية‎ al-ʿArabiyyah; "The Arabic One") is a Saudi-owned pan-Arabist^[1] television news channel broadcast in Arabic. Launched on March 3, 2003,^[2] the channel is based in Dubai Media City, United Arab Emirates, and is majority-owned by the Saudi broadcaster Middle East Broadcasting Center (MBC).

General manager of Al Arabiya is Abdulrahman al Rashed.^[3]

A free-to-air channel, Al Arabiya carries news, current affairs, business and financial markets, sports, talk shows, and documentaries. It is rated by the BBC among the top pan-Arab stations by Middle East audiences.^[4] The channel has been criticized for having a "pro-Saudi agenda",^[5] and it was once banned in Iraq by the US-installed Governing Council for "incitement to murder" for broadcasting audio tapes of Saddam Hussein.^[4]

On January 26, 2009, American president Barack Obama gave his first formal interview as president to the television channel.^[6]

Al Arabiya is reported to be referred to as "Al Abraiya" that means "Hebrew" in Arabic by Saudi regious conservatives.^[7]

Content and Al Jazeera rivalry[link]

Al Arabiya was created to be a direct competitor of the Qatar-based Al Jazeera.^[4] As a response to Al-Jazeera's criticism of the Saudi royal family throughout the 1990s, members of the Saudi royal family established Al-Arabiya in Dubai in 2002.^[8] According to a 2008 New York Times profile of Al Arabiya director Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed, the channel works "to cure Arab television of its penchant for radical politics and violence," with Al Jazeera as its main target.

Al Arabiya is said to be the second frequently watched channel after Al Jazeera in Saudi Arabia.^[9]

Al Arabiya reporter in Jerusalem

Programs[link]

Saudi Special Mission is Al Arabiya longest-running investigative journalism/current affairs television program. Broadcasts on Al Arabiya Pan Arab Channel based in Dubai, it premiered on 19 October 2003 and is still running. The Special Mission Team Founding the program did much to set the ongoing tone of the program.

Based on the Investigative Panorama concept, the program addresses a single issue in depth each week, showing either a locally produced program or a relevant documentary Stories from many areas in the World. The program has won many awards for investigative journalism, and broken many high-profile stories. A notable early example of this was the show's exposé on the appalling living conditions endured by many Children living in rural Africa, East Asia etc. .

Special Mission is presented in a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing.

Special Mission is a program an investigative program that aims to uncover the truth about puzzling topics which are unclear to the public, by taking them step by step into the investigative process, and build the momentum accordingly. Issues like politics, economy, and even religion are addressed. The atmosphere of secrecy and caution creates the intensity of the program. Presented by Correspondents and Reporters.

Edaat (Arabic:  إضاءات, meaning Spotlights), hosted by Turki Al-Dakhil, airs every Thursday at 2:00 PM (Saudi Arabia time) and lasts one hour.^[10] The show consists of one-on-one interviews with influential regional figures, such as journalists, writers, activists, politicians, etc.

Investment and ownership[link]

The original investment in Al Arabiya was $300 million by the Middle East Broadcasting Center (MBC), Lebanon's Hariri Group, and other investors from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the Persian Gulf states.^[4]

Through MBC, Abdulaziz bin Fahd and his maternal uncle Waleed bin Ibrahim al Ibrahim own and have control over Al Arabiya.^[11]

Track record and controversies[link]

Al Arabiya was started in response to Qatar's pan-Arab satellite channel Al Jazeera, but has languished behind in audience popularity surveys, according to reports by University of Maryland professor Shibley Telhami.^[12][13] Al Arabiya has been criticized for being an arm of Saudi foreign policy, or what the United States would term public diplomacy, as it is seen as being part of "a concerted Saudi attempt to dominate the world of cable and satellite television media in the Arab world and steal the thunder of Egypt."^[14][15] Over the past couple of years several journalists and editors have been dismissed because of their coverage; In 2011 Al Arabiya fired Hafez El-Mirazi for criticizing the channel’s coverage of the Egyptian uprising^[16] while in 2009 Courtney C. Radsch lost her job the day after publishing an article about safety problems on the national Emirates airline.^[17]

Al Arabiya had been banned from reporting from Iraq by the country's interim government in November 2004 after it broadcast an audio tape on November 16 purportedly made by the deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.^[4] The Iraqi government had also banned the channel on September 7, 2006 for one month for what it called "imprecise coverage".

On February 14, 2005, Al Arabiya was the first news satellite channel to air news of the assassination of Rafik Hariri,^[18] who was one of its early investors.

On October 9, 2008, the Al Arabiya website (www.alarabiya.net) was hacked.^[19]

On September 2, 2008, Iran expelled Al Arabiya's Tehran bureau chief Hassan Fahs. He was the third Al Arabiya correspondent expelled from Iran since the network opened an office there.^[20] On June 14, 2009 the Iranian government ordered the Al Arabiya office in Tehran to be closed for a week for "unfair reporting" of the Iranian presidential election. Seven days later, amid the 2009 Iranian election protests, the network's office was "closed indefinitely" by the government.^[21]

Slain reporters[link]

In September 2003 Al Arabiya reporter Mazen al-Tumeizi was killed on camera in Iraq when a US helicopter fired on a crowd in Haifa Street, Baghdad.^[22]

In February 2006, three Al Arabiya reporters were abducted and murdered while covering the aftermath of the bombing of a mosque in Samarra, Iraq. Among them was correspondent Atwar Bahjat, an Iraqi national

Barack Obama appearance[link]

On January 26, 2009 President of the United States Barack Obama gave his first formal interview as president to Al Arabiya,^[23] delivering the message to the Muslim world that "Americans are not your enemy", while also reiterating that "Israel is a strong ally of the United States" and that they "will not stop being a strong ally of the United States".^[6] The White House contacted Al Arabiya's Washington Bureau chief, Hisham Melhem, directly just hours before the interview and asked him not to announce it until an official announcement was made by the administration.^[23]

Online[link]

The Al Arabiya internet news service (alarabiya.net) was launched in 2004 initially in Arabic, and was joined by an English-language service in 2007, and Persian and Urdu services in 2008. The channel also operates a business website that covers financial news and market data from the Middle East in Arabic (alaswaq.net). The Al Arabiya News Channel is available live online on JumpTV and Livestation.

The Al Arabiya website has been plagued with numerous technical difficulties during the Egyptian protests at the end of January, 2011. The site very often goes offline with error message as such:

"The website is down due to the heavy traffic to follow up with the Egyptian crisis and it will be back within three hours (Time of message: 11GMT)"

Competitors[link]

• Al Jazeera
• BBC Arabic Television
• Alhurra
• Rusiya Al-Yaum
• Al-Alam News Network

References[link]

External links[link]

	Dubai portal
	television portal
	journalism portal

• Official website: English, Arabic, Persian, Urdu
• Watch Al-Arabiya TV Live
• العربية مباشر
• BBC Profile: Al Arabiya TV
• Al Arabiya at LyngSat Address
• Al Arabiya Live tv

Massoud Barzani مەسعوود بارزانی
President of Iraqi Kurdistan
Incumbent
Assumed office 14 June 2005
Prime Minister	Nechervan Idris Barzani Barham Salih
Vice President	Kosrat Rasul Ali
Preceded by	Position established
President of the Governing Council of Iraq
In office 1 April 2004 – 30 April 2004
Preceded by	Mohammad Bahr al-Ulloum
Succeeded by	Ezzedine Salim
Personal details
Born	(1946-08-16) 16 August 1946 (age 65) ‎Mahabad, Mahabad, Iran
Political party	Kurdistan Democratic Party
Religion	Sunni Islam

Massoud Barzani (Kurdish: مەسعوود بارزانی; Arabic: مسعود بارزاني‎; born 16 August 1946) is the current President of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region and the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party. Barzani was born in Mahabad, Iran, during the rule of the Republic of Mahabad. He has five sons (including Masrour) and three daughters.

Massoud Barzani succeeded his father, the former Kurdish nationalist leader Mustafa Barzani, as the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in 1979. Working closely with his brother Idriss Barzani until Idriss' death, Barzani and various other Kurdish groups fought Baghdad during the Iran-Iraq War. For much of this time, the Kurdish leadership was exiled to Iran.

The autonomous zone[link]

With Saddam Hussein's defeat in the first Gulf War, Kurdish forces were able to retake much of the traditional homeland of the Kurds in Iraq. However, as Iraqi forces regrouped they pushed the Kurdish fighters back and hundreds of thousands of civilians fled to the mountains bordering Iran and Turkey, where thousands died under heavy fire from Iraqi gunships and many more succumbed to starvation and exposure. United States-led allies started Operation Provide Comfort to establish a safe zone within Iraq. This zone, protected by a no-fly zone, eventually developed into an autonomous Kurdish zone under the control of the two dominant Kurdish political parties, the KDP led by Massoud Barzani and the PUK led by Jalal Talabani. This zone incorporated most of the three governorates of Duhok, Hewler, and Silemani.

The Kurdish zone was divided between the two dominant parties; KDP in the Northwest and PUK in the Southeast. In December 1994 fighting broke out between the Peshmerga of PUK and of KDP. PUK quickly gained the upper hand and took control of Hewler city. Several armistice agreements were made and broken.

In the summer of 1996 Massoud Barzani called on the assistance of Saddam Hussein's Baath regime, and drove the PUK over the border to Iran. The PUK eventually regrouped and with Iranian assistance retook Silemani and parts of Hewler province. Hewler city remained in the hands of the KDP.

President of Kurdistan Region[link]

After the invasion of Iraq in 2003 Barzani became a member of the Iraqi Governing Council and was the president of the council in April 2004. He was elected as the President of the Iraqi Kurdistan region by the Parliament of Iraqi Kurdistan in June 2005.^[1][2][3]

In his presidency Mr Barzani has established several institutions in the Kurdistan Region to develop its emerging democracy, strengthen alliances and improve the decision-making process. In January 2007 he established the Kurdistan Presidency Council, which includes the Deputy President (Mr Kosrat Rasul Ali), the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Kurdistan National Assembly, the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister and the Chief of Staff of the Presidency of the Kurdistan Region.^{[citation needed]}

President George W. Bush talks to reporters as he welcomes Massoud Barzani to the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, October 25, 2005

In February 2011, President Barzani received the Atlantic Award from the Italian Atlantic Committee and the Italian Delegation to NATO Parliamentary Assembly, for his role in promoting peace, stability, and religious tolerance in the region. During the same visit Pope Benedict XVI received President Barzani and paid tribute to the President for his role in providing refuge and assistance to the fleeing Christians. The Atlantic Award is annually conferred to prominent international figures for their role in promoting peace, stability and religious tolerance in their regions.

As President of the Kurdistan Region, Massoud Barzani has made official visits to several countries including: meeting with US President George W. Bush at the White House (25 October 2005), UK Prime Minister Tony Blair at Downing Street (31 October 2005), The Pope at the Vatican (14 November 2005), Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi in Rome (13 November 2005), King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh (13 March 2007) and King Abdullah of Jordan in Amman (19 March 2007).^[4]

In July 2009, in the first direct election for the presidency of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Massoud Barzani was reelected as president by a popular ballot, receiving 69.6% of the votes. The elections were closely monitored by international observers and the Iraqi Electoral Commission. They were declared "free and fair".^{[citation needed]}

Criticism[link]

Massoud Barzani and his relatives allegedly control a large number of commercial enterprises in Kurdistan-Iraq, with a gross value of several billion US dollars. The family is routinely accused of corruption and nepotism by some Kurdish media as well as international observers including Michael Rubin. In spite of the alleged accusation, President Barzani on several occasions has denied involvement in any commercial enterprises.^[5] In May 2010 the journalist Sardasht Osman was murdered after criticising the Barzani family.^[6] In July 2010 the opposition paper Rozhnama accused the Barzani-led KDP of pocketing large sums from illegal oil-smuggling.^[7]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Masoud Barzani

• Kurdistan Region Presidency website
• 2002 BBC profile

v t e Prime Ministers of Iraq (List) British Mandate of Mesopotamia (1920–1932) 40px al Gillani · as-Sa'dun† · al-Askari† · al-Hashimi† · Tawfiq al-Suwaidi · Naji al-Suwaidi · as-Said† Kingdom of Iraq (1932–1958) 40px Shawkat · al-Gaylani · al-Midfai† · al-Aiyubi† · al-Hashimi† · Sulayman · as-Said† · H. Pachachi · Tawfiq al-Suwaidi · Arshad al-Umari · Jabr · as-Sadr · Muzahim al-Pachachi · Mustafa al-Umari · Mahmud† · al-Jamali · Arshad al-Umari · Mirjan · Baban Republic of Iraq (1958–2003) Qasim† · al-Bakr† · Yahya† · ar-Razzaq† · al-Bazzaz† · Talib · Arif† · Yahya† · an-Naif† · al-Bakr · Hussein · Hammadi · Zubeidi · as-Samarrai · Hussein Iraqi Governing Council (2003–2004) al-Ulloum* · al-Jaafari · Chalabi · Allawi · Talabani · al-Hakim · A. Pachachi · Hamid · al-Ulloum · Barzani · Salim · al-Yawer Republic of Iraq (since 2004) Allawi* · al-Jaafari · al-Maliki * interim     † military

Giselle Khoury (Arabic: جيزال خوري‎) is a talk show host on the Al Arabiya news channel. She has her own program, Bil Arabi, hosting many prominent and high profile guests, political decision makers, heads of states, prime ministers and ministers of foreign affairs.^[1] The show covers current events and the latest political developments from the Arab world and beyond. Khoury was married to Samir Kassir until his assassination on June 2, 2005, by political rivals. Since her husband’s death, Giselle Khoury has been active in promoting and supporting the Democratic Left Movement, the party Kassir helped found. She has a son, Marwan, and a daughter, Rana.

Footnotes[link]

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The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (May 2010)

Sethrida Tawk Geagea (Arabic: ستريدا طوق جعجع‎), is a Lebanese politician born on May 15, 1967 in Kumasi, Ghana.

Early life[link]

Sethrida Geagea hails from a prominent Maronite Lebanese Taouk family that owned businesses  in West Africa - Ghana. Sethrida is renowned for her beauty, which makes her a media favorite in Lebanon. Her political activism began while at the Lebanese American University (LAU) and it led to meeting the leader of the Lebanese Forces (LF), Samir Geagea, whom she later married. She earned a BS in Political Science in 1994.

Political career[link]

When the Lebanese Forces Party was disbanded in 1994 and her husband Dr. Samir Geagea was imprisoned, the Syrian hegemonic control dealt the party a crippling blow.^{[citation needed]} However, Mrs. Geagea’s challenge of that reality ushered in a period of struggle and resistance in the face of political intimidation, arrests, and prosecutions. She fought, along with party's fellows, for more than eleven years until the Syrian forces withdrew from Lebanon and until her husband was released from prison and Lebanon regained its freedom.^{[citation needed]} She challenged the parties that tried to distort the history and image of the Lebanese Forces.^{[citation needed]}She succeeded in maintaining its unity and its historical line for which thousands of martyrs have sacrificed their lives in order to preserve Lebanon’s independence, freedom, and sovereignty.^{[citation needed][dubious – discuss]} She joined the Kornet Shehwan Gathering that operated under the sponsorship of the Maronite Patriarch and in which The Lebanese Forces played a prominent role. As a leading LF figure, she participated in elections involving unions, student bodies, municipalities, and other cultural associations. The impressive results she has achieved prove that the LF is still an active and efficient force in the Lebanese equation despite the ban imposed on it for years.^{[dubious – discuss]} Sethrida Geagea joined the Bristol Gathering that became later on the March 14 Movement, the spearhead of the second independence struggle of 2005.^{[dubious – discuss]} Sethrida Geagea led the party in the 2005 parliamentary elections, which resulted into a bloc of six MPs from the LF Party and the freedom of Samir Geagea. She is a member of the Lebanese Maronite League.

See also[link]

• Lebanese Forces
• Samir Geagea
• List of Lebanese Forces Deputies in the Lebanese Parliament

References[link]