In a new travel series which began on Monday 29 June, Euronews is sending its viewers Postcards from Kazakhstan.
Famous landmarks and hidden treasures of the Central Asian country are the focus of this colourful weekly programme presented and produced by Seamus Kearney.
Located between Russia and China, and straddling part of the Caspian Sea, Kazakhstan has a rich cultural heritage and history.
Snapshots highlight some of the best attractions, from modern architecture in the capital Astana to historic sites along the ancient Silk Road.
The five episodes of Postcards from Kazakhstan feature the following five tourist sites:
The Bayterek Tower in Astana
Episode 1: Monday 29 June at 18:45 CET
The new series begins in the capital of Kazakhstan, with a monument that has become emblematic of the city. Construction of the Bayterek Tower began in 1997, the year the capital was moved from Almaty to Astana.
The Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi in Turkistan
Episode 2: Monday 6 July at 18:45 CET
We visit the south of Kazakhstan and the ancient Silk Road city of Turkistan. Here the spectacular mausoleum dominates the landscape, attracting tens of thousands of Muslim pilgrims from far and wide.
The Medeu & Shymbulak mountain resorts near Almaty
Episode 3: Monday 13 at 18:45 CET
The third postcard comes from Almaty, the former capital of Kazakhstan. A nearby mountain valley provides breathtaking scenery, but it’s also popular for year-round leisure activities for locals and holidaymakers.
The Aisha Bibi mausoleum inTaraz
Episode 4: Monday 20 at 18:45 CET
Taraz is one of the most ancient cities in Kazakhstan, where historic sites are being restored. One of them is the beautiful Aisha Bibi mausoleum, which dates back to between the 11th and 12th centuries.
Monument to the founders of the Kazakh Khanate in Astana
Episode 5: Monday 27 at 18:45 CET
For the end of the series of Postcards from Kazakhstan we return to the capital, where people are this year marking the 550th anniversary of the Kazakh statehood. To get a feel for the history, there’s no better place to go than a monument to its founders.
Postcards from Kazakhstan
Five 1’30”- programmes starting on Monday 29th June at 18:45 CET
Before joining Euronews in 2003, Seamus Kearney worked as a journalist and producer for various media organisations including the BBC, Radio France International and Radio New Zealand.He recently presented and produced the Euronews programme Right On, which examined European justice and citizens’ rights issues.
Seamus has also produced Urban Visions,Focus, Life and Postcards programmes from various countries, including Russia, the US, South Korea, Brazil, Singapore, Macedonia and Ukraine, and continues to report on international and European affairs.
About Euronews
Euronews, the most-watched news channel in Europe, is an independent and multi-platform media hub. Euronews covers news worldwide, offering a unique perspective on events through factual analysis. Six hundred journalists, from more than 30 countries, report round-the-clock in 13 editions (Arabic, English, Persian, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish and Ukrainian). Established in 1993 in Lyon, France, the channel is received by 420 million homes in 156 countries, and offers a complete range of products: websites, smart TV, radio, on-board technology (for cars), and portable technology (mobile apps, smartwatch).
In 2015 Euronews will launch Africanews, the first pan-African multilingual news channel.
WASHINGTON — RFE/RL’s Persian language service was lauded in New York this week as Radio Farda journalist Roya Karimi Majd’s special report “Tradition of the Blade” won a gold award, and Kambiz Hosseini’s weekly show “Five in the Afternoon” took home a silver award at the 2015 New York Festivals International Radio Program Awards.
“Tradition of the Blade” a program about female genital mutilation in Iran that Karimi Majd called “one of the hardest and most painful reports that I have produced in more than 20 years of working on women’s issues,” was recognized in the Information/Documentary Magazine Format category. Hosseini’s program, which is a joint production with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran and airs on Radio Farda’s satellite stream, was entered in the Entertainment/Best Regularly Scheduled Comedy Program category.
Although broadcast on Radio Farda, these stories are officially banned in Iran.
RFE/RL Editor-in-Chief Nenad Pejic congratulated Karimi Majd and Hosseini on their award.
“They have produced excellent content that has earned the admiration of their audiences in Iran and their peers in the radio community,” said Pejic. “Roya’s report sensitively and powerfully exposes a taboo subject, while Kambiz’s work uses satire to help Iranians make sense of their often senseless circumstances.”
Radio Farda journalism has been recognized at previous New York Festivals, which honor excellence in radio programming and promotions from stations, networks, and producers around the globe. Last year, Radio Farda journalist Mahtab Vahidi Rad was a finalist in the category Best Special Report, while in 2013 journalist Vahid Pourostad won a silver award for his radio documentary, Solitary Confinement, and satirist Farshid Manafi, who won two awards at the New York Festivals in 2011, was a finalist in 2013 for his signature satire program, Pas Farda.
The 2015 New York Festivals radio awards program recognized programming from 32 countries. The honors were presented at a gala dinner in the city on June 22.
RFE/RL’s Radio Farda, produced in and broadcast from Prague, is a leading source of uncensored information in Iran. In May 2015, Radio Farda’s website was visited more than 20 million times, nearly 40 million pages were viewed, and its streaming audio feed was used more than 20 million times. Despite the government’s ban on listening, the need for a proxy, and deliberately slow Internet speeds to deter users, half of all traffic originates from within Iran.
As Deutsche Welle launched its new English-language TV news channel in June 2015, Director General Peter Limbourg talked with the AIB’s CEO Simon Spanswick about the challenges involved in international broadcasting, the competition in global media and more.
BBC World Service’s content in four languages is now available to users of a leading global news app for smartphones, tablets and wearables, News Republic.
Thanks to a content syndication agreement between BBC World Service and News Republic, more than 12 million active users of the News Republic news app now can access the BBC World Service news content from BBC Chinese, BBC Hindi, BBC Mundo (in Spanish) and BBC Russian.
Head of Business Development, BBC World Service, Simon Kendall, says: “We are pleased to announce this exciting development with News Republic, which will contribute to BBC World Service’s substantial audience reach in the digital space. We look forward to reaching out to new audiences through this innovative digital platform and to providing our loyal World Service audience with a new way of consuming our multilingual content.”
Gilles Raymond, CEO of News Republic, adds: “BBC World Service has a superior reputation in the news business and we are pleased to contribute to their digital deployment by bringing their news to our rapidly growing user base. Mobile apps, such as News Republic, provide the innovation required to address mobile news consumers’ demands for easy to navigate, personalised, trusted and timely news on the go, and partnering with BBC World Service will considerably enhance the content offered.”
BBC World Service also offers its own news apps for several of its language services: BBC Arabic and BBC Chinese available on iOS, BBC Brasil (iOS and Android), BBC Hindi (Android), BBC Mundo (iOS and Android), BBC Russian (iOS and Android) and BBC Turkce (Android). There is also an app for BBC News (in English), available on iOS and Android.
News Republic is free to download from Google Play for Android smartphones and tablets, and for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch on the App Store.
One of the world’s oldest countries, the Republic of Georgia has plenty of wonders to discover.
In this series of programmes, Euronews’ journalist Denis Loctier crosses Georgia, learning more about this country’s traditions, its history and its modern day life.
Warming to Tbilisi
Episode 1: Monday 1st June at 23:45 CET
The journey begins in the country’s largest city, its capital – Tbilisi.
The city is a patchwork of ancient and modern urban spaces, reflecting Tbilisi’s history from its foundation in the fifth century to the latest architectural achievements.
“Georgia is trying to preserve its ancient history. Sometimes a plain stone at a corner can tell you more than a book of many pages,” says Rezo Gabriadze, a Georgian artist Denis Loctier met in the capital.
Emerging from the long Soviet era and the severe difficulties of the 1990s, today’s Georgia has reinvented itself as an open, friendly country, welcoming guests from all around the world.
Emerging from the long Soviet era and the severe difficulties of the 1990s, today’s Georgia has reinvented itself as an open, friendly country, welcoming guests from all around the world.than a book of many pages,” says Rezo Gabriadze, a Georgian artist Denis Loctier met in the capital.
Kakheti, Georgia’s cradle of wine
Episode 2: Monday 15th June at 23:45 CET
In this episode of Georgian Life, Denis Loctier visits to Kakheti, Georgia’s main wine-producing region in the country’s East. Wine grapes have been cultivated in these lands for 8,000 years, which, archaeologists say, makes Kakheti the cradle of wine.
We discover the unique Georgian way of making wine, passed on by the Orthodox monks through the ages.
Batumi, Georgia’s top Black Sea resort
Episode 3: Monday 29th June at 23:45 CET
For this last episode, Euronews explores Batumi, the marvel of the Black Sea, and the party capital of the region.
The main city of Adjara, an autonomous republic in South-West Georgia, Batumi is the place young people come looking for warm sea, cool clubs and a never-ending holiday atmosphere.
At night Batumi’s boulevard throngs with couples and party-goers, drawn to the music and dancing on the beach, on the streets and in the restaurants.
Georgian Life
Three episodes of 5 minutes starting on Monday 1st June at 23:45 CET
Follow it simultaneously on all digital platforms in the 13 language services of Euronews
Having joined Euronews in 2001, Denis Loctier directs, writes and hosts feature programmes on science, technology, culture, social and political affairs. He produces and presents Euronews’ award-winning Futuris series on European research in action, as well as the Russian Life saga discovering hidden jewels in the world’s largest country.
Beyond feature production, Denis Loctier reports breaking news, interviewing major newsmakers in Europe and around the globe. A Lomonosov Moscow State Universitygraduate, Denis holds PhD degrees in Russianphilology and in information and communication sciences (Université Lumière Lyon 2).
Beyond feature production, Denis Loctier reports breaking news, interviewing major newsmakers in Europe and around the globe. A Lomonosov Moscow State University graduate, Denis holds PhD degrees in Russian philology and in information and communication sciences (Université Lumière Lyon 2).
About Euronews
Euronews, the most-watched news channel in Europe, is an independent and multi-platform media hub. Euronews covers news worldwide, offering a unique perspective on events through factual analysis. Six hundred journalists, from more than 30 countries, report round-the-clock in 13 editions (Arabic, English, Persian, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish and Ukrainian). Established in 1993 in Lyon, France, the channel is received by 420 million homes in 156 countries, and offers a complete range of products: websites, smart TV, radio, on-board technology (for cars), and portable technology (mobile apps, smartwatch).
In 2015 Euronews will launch Africanews, the first pan-African multilingual news channel.
“Azeri authorities have acted illegally and arbitrarily, causing profound, and in several cases permanent, suffering and dislocation for our staff and their families,” said Nenad Pejic, RFE/RL editor in chief. Pejic also indicated that the company is prepared to take all steps to defend its rights and interests, and those of its staff members, against the government’s actions.
These actions include the raid of RFE/RL’s Baku bureau together with the confiscation of company documents, stamps, and equipment without due process; the interrogation and detention of Baku bureau staff without legal representation; the expulsion of the bureau’s legal counsel from court proceedings; the cancellation of previously approved tax audits; threats to staff members’ relatives; and arbitrary bans restricting the travel of some employees.
RFE/RL also challenges the government’s allegations against Khadija Ismayilova, an internationally recognized investigative reporter and contributor to RFE/RL, who was arrested on December 5 and remains in prison on charges that derive from the allegations against RFE/RL.
RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani Service, known locally as Radio Azadliq, is continuing its newsgathering and reporting functions in Azerbaijan, and is operating on digital and satellite platforms, despite the closure of its bureau.
Said Pejic, “We will continue working to fulfill our mission, as we have for more than sixty years. We regret the actions taken by the government of Azerbaijan against RFE/RL and its staff over the past several months. RFE/RL has always operated legally in Azerbaijan. We call on the government of Azerbaijan to fulfill its obligations with regard to basic rights and freedoms and stop this campaign of repression, which is hurting its citizens and crippling its future.”
