18 August 2014
SES announced that its subsidiary SES DTH do Brasil has signed with Anatel (the Brazilian National Telecommunications Agency) the Satellite Exploitation rights terms for two Brazilian orbital positions (48 degrees West and 64 degrees West). The Anatel auction took place in May of this year and the execution plan documents were under review and were the driver for the time being the auction and the signature.
As of the publication of extracts of the rights terms, SES will have four years to make definitive capacity available at 48 degrees West and six years to make definitive capacity available at 64 degrees. At the 48 degrees West orbital position, SES will focus on multiple uses (FSS model – Fixed Satellite Services) and will operate in C-, Ku- and Ka-bands. The 64 degrees West orbital position will be exclusive for direct-to-home use (BSS – Broadcasting Satellite Services). The exploitation rights are valid for 15 years, renewable once for the same period. SES invested a total of R$ 59.8 million (approximately EUR 19.65 million) for the positions.
The official ceremony of signature took place in Brasilia (DF), at the headquarters of Anatel. Present at the event were Mr. Marconi Thomaz de Souza Maya, Anatel Superintendent of Grants and Resources for Provisions and Vânia Maria da Silva, Tawfic Awwad Junior, Marcos Estevo de Oliveira Correa, Afonso Rocha Ferreira Júnior and Marcos Vinicius Ramos da Cruz, members of the Anatel Special Bidding Commission. Jurandir Pitsch, Vice President, Commercial for Latin America-South, represented SES.
11 August 2014
Everyone is preparing for IBC 2014 that takes place in Amsterdam. The conference opens on 11 September, and the exhibition gets underway the following day, running until 15 September. AIB will be in Amsterdam, meeting members, discussing key issues from spectrum reallocation to new digital production tools. And copies of the latest edition of The Channel, our international media magazine, will be available for all delegates at IBC.
7 August 2014
US President Barack Obama has once again called for the release of Al Jazeera English journalists, jailed for seven years in Cairo on 23 June this year.
Speaking on the last day of the US-Africa summit in Washington DC on Wednesday 6th August, Obama addressed the issue in clear terms, stating the US demands the freedom of journalists to report, a basic tenet of a civilised society:
“The specific issue with the Al Jazeera journalists in Egypt we have been clear both publicly and privately that they should be released”, Obama stated. “We have been very consistent in pushing governments not just in Africa but around the world to respect the right of journalists to practice their trade. As a critical part of civil society and a critical part of any democratic norm”.
Managing Director of Al Jazeera English, Al Anstey, welcomed the President’s comments and renewed the call for the immediate release of Al Jazeera English’s detained staff who have now been behind bars for 222 days:
“Peter, Mohamed, and Baher are superb journalists with great integrity. Their continuing detention is outrageous, a challenge to media freedom, and to the freedom of speech. Not a shred of evidence was presented against them in the trail which culminated in the extraordinary sentences, so once again we call for an end to this injustice.”
Unprecedented global support for the release of Al Jazeera journalists
Calls for the release of Al Jazeera staff have previously been made from the White House, the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the European Union, the Australian Government and over 150 rights groups, including The Association for International Broadcasting, Amnesty International, the Committee to Protect Journalists and the International Press Institute.
Over 200,000 people have signed petitions globally, including two petitions signed by 150,000 people presented to the Egyptian Vice Counsel in Sydney by Australia’s leading journalists.
Over 40 of the world’s top journalists have also signed a letter demanding the release of the journalists, and media outlets across the globe have staged their own protests, including BBC, CNN, ITN, Channel 4, Fairfax Australia, Toronto Star, VRT deredactie and Iran’s Shargh Daily.
High profile supporters include leading media personalities Larry King, Christiane Amanpour, Jon Snow, Piers Morgan, Stephen Fry, Ben Wedeman, Brian Stelter, Alex Thompson, as well as Naomi Klein, Reza Aslan, Mia Farrow, Bianca Jagger, Julia Perez and Russell Simmons.
Similarly public calls of support for the release of the journalists has occurred throughout the social media campaign #FreeAJStaff, with over 137,000 people who have shared their support on Twitter, reaching 112 million people, and delivering over 2 billion impressions.
The case has also been lampooned on the US comedy show The Daily Show, as well as numerous political cartoons.
7 August 2014
On Thursday, 7 August Al Jazeera English began special coverage of ‘Gaza Under Fire’, one month since the start of the conflict. From online infographic and in-depth analysis, to news features throughout the day, the coverage will be in comprehensive, culminating in a full special news hour at 1800 GMT (9pm Gaza, 7pm London).
“Our reporters on the ground in Gaza delivered exceptional insights, updates and witness accounts during the heat of the conflict,” commented Managing Director of Al Jazeera English, Al Anstey. “At the one-month mark, with a ceasefire in place, we can now look at the impact and assess the damage to both sides.”
Al Jazeera assesses the scale of destruction of the Gaza strip, after a month of Israeli bombardment. The coverage also look at attempts to rebuild lives and infrastructure after weeks of airstrikes and a ground offensive, which has included heavy tank shelling in civilian areas.
Correspondents Andrew Simmons, Imtiaz Tyab and Charles Stratford will deliver live crosses from Gaza, covering the human impact of the conflict in Gaza; from child trauma to the reality of life under siege.
Diplomatic Editor James Bays will assess how the conflict is playing out politically for all sides, as well as the overall cost to both Hamas and Israel from the month-long conflict. Senior Correspondents Jonah Hull and Patty Culhane in London and Washington, DC will review the international reaction to the crisis.
Also covered are the UN accusations of war crimes committed by Palestinian factions operating in densely populated civilian areas and claims of a disproportionate use of force by Israel. Further, the diplomatic attempts to negotiate a lifting of the Israeli imposed blockade.
AlJazeera.com will feature an infographic detailing the scope of the destruction in Gaza and will also hear from ordinary Gazans, highlight how world leaders responded and photo galleries detailing the month-long conflict.
‘We will provide comprehensive insight into the conflict itself, but also the bigger story on the ongoing siege of Gaza, highlighting the crucial facts the latest escalation of violence has exposed”, stated Salah Negm, Director of News for Al Jazeera English.
Download promo: http://goo.gl/1wofvc
7 August 2014
Everyone is preparing for IBC 2014 that takes place in Amsterdam. The conference opens on 11 September, and the exhibition gets underway the following day, running until 15 September.
AIB will be in Amsterdam, meeting members, discussing key issues from spectrum reallocation to new digital production tools.
And copies of the latest edition of The Channel, our international media magazine, will be available for all delegates at IBC.
5 August 2014
BBC Russian and other Russian-language news websites have been told by the Russian state media watchdog, Roskomnadzor, to remove interviews with Artem Loskutov, a Russian artist and activist. In the interviews, Loskutov talks about a forthcoming march in favour of the “federalisation of Siberia” due to take place in Novosibirsk.
In the case of the BBC, Roskomnadzor is concerned with an audio interview first broadcast on 31 July as part of BBSeva, a programme which looks at current affairs from a human-interest angle, with a special focus on arts and culture. In it, Mr Loskutov (pictured above) spoke with the BBC’s Seva Novgorodsev about the planned “march for the federalisation of Siberia” in Novosibirsk. On the webpage, the BBC also added background on Mr. Loskutov and his previous activities to provide further context to the story. A quote was added from a blog by Mr Loskutov in which he says that as an artist he views the event as “part parody, part provocation, but also, partly, a real attempt to gain autonomy” – but, he adds, as a Siberian, he is trying to raise serious questions about the future of Siberia.
A BBC spokesperson said: “We have no plans to remove this interview from our website. Mr Loskutov is an artist and activist known for organising events which are, at first sight, parodies of political activity, but which also bring out serious issues about life in Russia. Mr Loskutov’s views represent his personal position. The BBC aims to present all sides of a story in an impartial, unbiased way, and we have also requested an interview with a Russian government official to explain their position on the planned march. Our editorial decisions are guided by the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines and the story in question is in full compliance with the requirements set out by this document.”
It appears that the march organisers’ page on Russian-language social networking site VKontakte has been taken down or blocked.
