28 August 2014
Jailed Al Jazeera journalist Baher Mohamed will become a father again today. His unjust imprisonment has however meant that he could not be at his wife Gehan’s side when she gave birth to a baby boy.
From his jail cell, Baher released a letter to the new arrival, to be named Haroun. The letter is a mix of sadness and hope for the child’s future, as well as some valuable wisdom for his two other children four year old Hazem, and three year old Fairouz.
Baher begins with sharing his hopes that there are better days ahead for Egypt:
“Sorry because you were born where free people are behind bars, including your father. Sorry too because you have come to a society where its freedom’s restricted. But I promise you I will always fight for liberty. I don’t want you to give up on this society…because I am sure that soon everything will change for the better”
He goes on to share his life lessons to his children:
My dear children; there are things I learnt and I want to share with you. I was always fighting for the truth in my career, and that was not easy. Whatever it takes; keep looking for the truth and never be afraid of it. I want you all to maintain your dignity. It is one of your most precious values. Always be patient because you will face lots of obstacles in your path. Always be good to all, even to those who treat you badly. Feel the pain of the others and keep trying to help them. If you feel you can help and make someone happy never hesitate. If you can draw a smile on someone’s face…then take the action to draw this smile.
My dear children…keep smiling because behind the clouds the sun always shines.”
Finally, Baher tells of the close bond between the families of the three imprisoned journalists, who will be there to support each his wife and child at the hospital:
“Finally Haroun, I want you to ask your Mama to forgive me because I couldn’t be with her the moment you arrived. I want you also to take it easy on her. And by the way…the moment you will arrive you will meet two great Australians; the parents of Peter Greste, who is in prison (with) me, as well as The great Egyptian family of Mohamed Fahmy my colleague. Together we are sharing this struggle; and together we will celebrate your birth. They are your family and their sons’ are your father’s brothers.
So don’t be shy of them.
Love you Haroun..your father: Baher Mohamed”
Baher’s wife Gehan was admitted to hospital today, to deliver her son. Without his father, the parents of Peter Greste and Mohamed Fahmy’s family gathered to support her at this time.
Follow #FREEAJSTAFF for more shots of the family gathered for the birth of Haroun.
26 August 2014
Leading regional broadcaster, Channel NewsAsia, brings together top industry and government leaders in a forum to discuss “Sustaining Growth and Development in Malaysia” in Kuala Lumpur on 4 September. Held at the JW Marriott Hotel, Senator Dato’ Sri Abdul Wahid Omar, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, will give the keynote address at the Malaysia Business Insights 2014.
This forum, which is by-invitation only, is an invaluable platform for senior executives and government officials to discuss long-term sustainable development in the country. The Malaysian economy is expecting positive growth over the next two years, and the government is strengthening the business fronts and promoting investment. Some measures include announcing the lifting of barriers on new foreign unit trust management companies, the removal of mandatory credit ratings, the liberalisation of equity shareholding for credit-rating agencies and permission for full foreign ownership of international credit-rating agencies. This agenda aims to build a stable and inclusive financial system and encourage innovation. “The rapid change, complexity and competitiveness of the global market, coupled with new government initiatives, have changed the way Malaysia does business with the world. Malaysia Business Insights brings together leaders and change makers to examine how we can achieve long-term, sustainable economic growth in Malaysia, and leverage its position in the region to ignite economic and social progress in ASEAN,” said Melissa Goh, Channel NewsAsia’s Malaysia Bureau Chief, who will moderate the panel discussions at the forum.
The panel includes speakers from key industry and government organisations:
• Datuk Dr Rebecca Fatima Sta. Maria, Secretary General, Ministry of International Trade
and Industry
• Dato’ Abdul Rauf Rashid, Country Managing Partner, Ernst & Young Malaysia
• Mr. Teh Kee Sin, National President, SMI Association of Malaysia
• Dr Mohd Emir Mavani Abdullah, Group President/CEO, Felda Global Ventures Holdings
Berhad
One of the strategic areas of discussion will be about how small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can leverage technology and focus on talent management and succession planning to expand and reach global consumers. SMEs are the backbone of the Malaysian economy, accounting for 90% of all business in the manufacturing, services and agricultural sectors, as well as providing 65% of total employment.
Ms Goh added, “The experts will give valuable insights about the most important trends and unique business culture, and share ways to benefit from the ongoing structural reforms. These discussions will help executives better come to grips with the business dynamics of this country.”
“Sustaining Growth and Development in Malaysia” is the latest in the successful leadership series of Business Insights forums which Channel NewsAsia has been hosting across Asia.
The events held over the past year in Jakarta, Bangkok, Yangon, Singapore and Ho Chi Minh City, aim to establish links across Asia and to promote deeper understanding of the business climate and practices in the host countries.
25 August 2014
Deutsche Welle has signed an agreement with the newly-launched Outernet as an additional content distribution channel. The satellite-based Internet provider promises free access to information.
Outernet is a new platform that was designed to bridge the digital divide and penetrate censored markets by beaming the best content from the Internet via a constellation of nanosatellites in orbit down to every citizen on Earth, free of charge.
“Outernet and Deutsche Welle share many of the same values and goals. It is a clear message to all who wish to censor or restrict access to the Internet,” says DW Director General Peter Limbourg. Because reception is quite easy to access and because the use of many small satellites will make it quite difficult to obstruct signals through jamming, DW’s cooperation with Outernet will be able to “contribute to net neutrality and circumvent censorship,” Limbourg explains, adding, “We hope this will enable us to better reach our users especially in crisis regions and in countries where press freedom is restricted.”
“For Outernet, it is extremely important for us to be globally minded in our content sources – particularly news – from the outset,” says Thane Richard, head of User Engagement at Outernet. “Deutsche Welle represents a very exciting step for Outernet in bridging the global information divide by providing quality news along with other relevant content to our users.”
Outernet is making use of a network of small satellites to transmit selected data – audio, video, text and applications – to simple receivers that users can either purchase or build themselves. All software and hardware required to access Outernet is open source. Once the receiver has the signal, it is rebroadcast locally and content can be viewed on any WiFi enabled device. “No other information channel allows for such a wide variety of content, or broadcasts on a genuinely worldwide scale,” Richard comments.
Outernet officially launched its service in test phase a few days ago. During this early stage, content will be available in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. DW content will be available throughout the entire test phase.
Visit outernet.is to see instructions on how to connect to the signal. (Source: DW press release)
21 August 2014
Lawyers for the jailed Al Jazeera journalists in Egypt have filed appeals against their convictions.
The weaknesses in the case have been widely protested and ridiculed, and much of the public criticism is reflected in the grounds for appeal.
The case will next be heard before the Court of Cassation which will examine the grounds for hearing a full appeal. A date for the hearing has not yet been set.
The submission to the court rests on the breaches of process in the case. These include:
• Flaws in the arrest procedure
• The fact that evidence presented in court did not marry with the charges
• Prosecution expert technical witnesses submitted statements which were somehow verbatim
• The journalists were accused of editing footage, but without originals, no one could have known whether they were in fact edited
• The judge’s verdict made mention of lack of accreditation, but this is not a criminal offence
Al Anstey, managing director of Al Jazeera English said:
“The appeal will lay bare the flaws in the case against Peter, Baher and Mohammed. These are three outstanding journalists who were just doing their jobs, and journalism is not a crime. We look forward to them being exonerated in due course. We will not stop in this quest till they are reunited with their families, and back doing the jobs they love.”
The campaign to free the three received a further boost this week when leading international and human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin said they should be released, saying that the case was an example of how to set up a “kangaroo court”.
21 August 2014
The United Kingdom is set to host a NATO Summit in Wales from 4th-5th September 2014.
President Obama, Chancellor Merkel and President Hollande are expected to attend along with Heads of State and Government from around 60 other countries. The on-going instability in Ukraine and Israel’s recent land offensive in Gaza provide a backdrop for the talks, chaired by current Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
TIMA will be operational to assist broadcasters’ needs:
- HD / SD Live Stand-up facilities from The Media Centre at Celtic Manor*
- Tape playout facilities (subject to format)
- International point-to-point delivery via satellite on TIMA’s Eutelsat 10A leased capacity and fibre networks
- ENG crews available on request
*Live position will be inside the accreditation zone. Accreditation has now closed.
See https://my.hq.nato.int/ for more details.
The Media Centre will open between 12:00 – 23:30 on Wednesday 3rd September, and then stay open between 05:00 Thursday 4th September and 23:45 on Friday 5th September.
Contact TIMA on +44 20 7024 9650; e bookings@tima.com; www.tima.com
20 August 2014
TVPlayer has signed a major licensing agreement making Euronews now available to its viewers in the UK
Euronews, the most-watched news channel in Europe, has now launched on leading live TV streaming service, TVPlayer.
Covering world news and broadcasting 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, Euronews live currently reaches an impressive 415 million households in 156 countries.
The launch of Euronews on TVPlayer will bring around-the-clock coverage of the most up-to-date news, business and current affair stories, as well as lifestyle features, to a wider audience in the UK across multiple devices.
TVPlayer is an OTT platform launched in the UK by Simplestream, which streams live TV across multiple devices from some of the UK’s favourite free-to-air broadcasters. Launched in December 2013, TVPlayer has proven itself to be one of the fastest growing live TV platforms in the UK.
The latest addition of international news channel Euronews takes TVPlayer’s channel offering to now over 45 channels. TVPlayer can be watched via tvplayer.com, App Store, Google Play, the Amazon App Store and is soon to launch via channel 241 on Freeview in the UK.
Arnaud Verlhac, Director of Worldwide Distribution said “I am delighted with this agreement between Euronews and TVPlayer, enabling us to share our channel to the UK’s fastest growing TV platform. Euronews integrates perfectly into TVPlayer’s offering. The agreement also brings Euronews into a large audience, strengthening its presence in the UK.”
Lewis Arthur, Platform Manager of TVPlayer said “The launch of Euronews on TVPlayer is an exciting addition to our platform. In a fast-pace digital age, consumers expect to be kept up-to-date on world news and current affairs, which they seek out online and using their mobile phone. We are pleased that we have been working with Euronews to bring their 24 hour world news coverage to a captive audience in the UK.” (Source: Press release)
