27 February 2006
Arabsat has announced the launch of its 4th Generation satellites, the most powerful state of the art satellites above the Arab World. Arabsat Badr-1 will be launched on 28th February 20:10 GMT, from Baikonur , Kazakhstan . Arabsat Badr-2 will be launched in Summer 2006.
Payload: ARABSAT 4A; Eurostar E2000+ platform; Separated mass: approx. 3,341kg (7,366 lbs)
Launch Vehicle: Proton M/Breeze M; Weight at liftoff: 691,272 kg (1.5 million lbs), including payload; Height: 61 m (200 ft)
Launch Time: 2:10 a.m. March 1 Baikonur; 20:10 Feb. 28 GMT; 3:10 p.m. Feb. 28 EST
End User: ARABSAT, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Satellite Manufacturer: EADS Astrium, Toulouse, France
Launch Services Provider: International Launch Services (ILS), McLean, Va.
Satellite Use: Multipurpose communications satellite serving Arab countries and neighbouring regions. A hybrid Ku- and C-band payload will carry direct-to-home, interactive TV and internet broadband services, with additional capacity to accommodate anticipated demand for high-definition TV.
Satellite Statistics: 16 active Ku-band transponders; 24 active C-band transponders; Orbital location: 26 degrees East longitude; – Anticipated service life of 15 years
Mission Profile: The Proton launch vehicle will inject the satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit, using a four-burn Breeze M mission design. The first three stages of the Proton will use a standard ascent trajectory to place the Breeze M fourth stage, with the satellite, into a suborbital trajectory, from which the Breeze M will place itself and the spacecraft into a circular parking orbit of 173 km (107.5 miles), inclined at 51.5 degrees. Then the satellite will be propelled to its transfer orbit by additional burns of the Breeze M. Following separation from the Breeze M, the spacecraft will perform a series of liquid apogee engine burns to raise perigee, lower inclination and circularize the orbit at the geostationary altitude of 35,786 km (22,236 miles).
More Information: Live webcast and general mission information are available on the ILS web site at www.ilslaunch.com. Launch status updates are available on the ILS U.S. domestic Launch Hotline at 1-800-852-4980.
27 February 2006
On 23 February Al Jazeera issued the following statement:
It is with great sadness that Al Jazeera Channel received news on the death of our colleague Atwar Bahjat and two of her associates Adnan Khairalla and Khalid Mahmood.
Atwar was currently a correspondent for Al Arabiya but had previously worked for Al Jazeera as a correspondent in Baghdad from July 2003 until January 2006. She was a distinguished journalist and an extremely popular and well-known personality across the Arab world. Al Jazeera condemns in the strongest manner possible Atwars killing and the targeting of journalists in Iraq and elsewhere in the world.
Atwar is remembered here as extremely brave, said Wadah Khanfar, Managing Director of Al Jazeera, Journalists from all nations are increasingly being targeted in conflict zones and journalists like Atwar have to walk a fine line in presenting the truth while understanding the sometimes dangerous consequences they face. Atwar is sadly the latest in a series of killings of journalists in Iraq. Journalists go to places and report on matters which the ordinary citizen cannot be expected to have first-hand knowledge and this role for journalists is essential for the proper functioning of democratic societies across the world. If a balanced journalist like Atwar could be killed while practicing her profession, we have to ask what has become of journalism in Iraq. More measures need to be in place to protect journalists from across the world.
Atwar Bahjat distinguished herself at Al Jazeera covering the formation of several Iraqi governments, the daily life of Baghdad amidst unrelenting violence, ethnic tensions in Kirkuk, over a month of clashes in Najaf and Karbala, events in Kirkuk, Falluja, Erbil, and many other Iraqi cities.
Al Jazeera mourns the loss of Atwar Bahjat a beloved journalist, friend, and colleague.
27 February 2006
On 23 February Al Arabiya issued the following statement:
With a heart laden with sadness, Al Arabiya News Channel announces the death of its Iraq correspondent Atwar Bahjat, 30 years of age, and cameraman Khaled Mahmoud Al Falahi (39) and technician Adnan Khairallah (36), both of whom work for Wasan Media in Iraq.
According to eye witness accounts, a yet-to-be-identified armed group intercepted Atwar and her media team on the Dor road, north of Samarra. Iraqi security reports state the journalists were kidnapped and then killed as Atwar Bahjat was heading a team covering the attack on the holy sites of the two Imams – Ali Al Hadi and Hasan Al Asakari – in Samarra.
The last live broadcast by Atwar took place at 15:00 GMT, while Al Arabiyas newsroom last heard from her at 15:30 GMT.
Once again, Al Arabiya News Channel pays the ultimate price for persistently pursuing the truth. Until this new tragedy, Al Arabiya lost a total of eight colleagues in Iraq. Five of whom died in a car bomb that targeted Al Arabiyas bureau in Baghdad, while three lost their lives as a result of US fire. Also, Jawad Khathem, Al Arabiyas reporter in Iraq, was the target of an armed kidnap attempt that resulted in him being paralyzed from the waist down.
Al Arabiya wishes to extend its sincere condolences to the families of Atwar and her two colleagues. The channel also calls upon the authorities mandated with maintaining security – Iraqi and well as American – to look closely into measures to enhance the safety of journalists active in Iraq. Al Arabiya further calls on the Iraqi authorities to embark on an in-depth and transparent investigation into this triple-murder, and to bring the perpetrators to justice.
27 February 2006
At NAB 2006, leading content management and delivery company GlobeCast will demo the next generation of its WING content management solutions, a suite of IP-based services and applications for broadcast, enterprise and digital retail signage. The multi-product WING showcase will feature WING Content Exchange for content contribution and exchange; WING Store & Broadcast for tapeless playout and channel management; and, WING Captive Audience, the newest WING offering for the delivery of retail advertising and digital display, being debuted at NAB 2006.
The WING Showcase will be on display at GlobeCast Booth C1530 and will feature:
WING Content Exchange video contribution from any Internet connection
Developed specifically for global video contribution, WING Content Exchange provides a powerful but user-friendly tool to capture, upload and share video between studio and field. A camera, a laptop and any wired or wireless connection allow authorized users to upload and exchange media in a unicast or multicast environment on this secure platform. WING Content Exchange is the winner of Cable and Satellite Internationals 2005 Product of the Year Award for best outside broadcast solution.
WING Store & Broadcast tapeless playout and program substitution via the Internet
An IP-based remote-controlled playout and playlist management tool for broadcasters, WING Store & Broadcast simplifies tasks such as regional customization, ad insertion, program substitution and rights management. Content is uploaded to secure WING Store & Broadcast servers at GlobeCast facilities in Paris, London, Miami, Los Angeles and Singapore. The service then allows remote playout of content via fiber or satellite to broadcast distribution platforms worldwide using an improved, user-friendly online interface.
WING Captive Audience compelling advertising delivery at the point of sale
Playlist management and customizable advertising delivery over retail signage networks are at the heart of WING Captive Audience. This latest WING solution combines all of the necessary hardware and asset management applications to initiate a new digital display network or upgrade an existing network, bringing video or multimedia content to television or PC screens at any number of retail points-of-presence.
More about the WING concept
Launched at NAB 2005, GlobeCast WING is network agnostic, user-friendly and is based on in-house developed applications built with OEM (original equipment manufacturer) components and Plug-and-Play technology for easy integration into any existing broadcast architecture. WING servers based at GlobeCast POPs in Paris, London, Miami, Los Angeles and Singapore provide a global ring, facilitating easy access into the WING platform from wireless or dedicated networks. From these access points, WING does the rest by ingesting, storing and delivering content to any network around the globe for truly flexible content management.
16 February 2006
Al Jazeera International, the 24-hour English-language news and current affairs channel, headquartered in Doha, announced that award winning news anchor Teymoor Nabili has joined the channel. Winner of Best News Presenter/Anchor at the Asian TV Awards in 2005, Teymoor has also received awards from the UK Royal Television Society, for coverage of the Utah Olympic bribery scandal, and from the New York Awards, for reporting on economic development in Malaysia.
Teymoor will be the channels male news anchor in Kuala Lumpur co-presenting the news with fellow award winning presenter Veronica Pedrosa, formerly of CNN International. Kuala Lumpur is one of Al Jazeera Internationals four regional broadcast centres strategically placed across the world in Doha, Kuala Lumpur, London and Washington DC.
Speaking on Teymoors appointment from the channels Doha headquarters, Director of News Steve Clark said, Teymoor will be one of our key journalists in bringing news to English speaking viewers around the world. He has a wealth of knowledge on Asia, The Gulf and Europe
Teymoor brings 17 years of experience to Al Jazeera International: writing, producing, reporting and anchoring in television, radio and print. He joins Al Jazeera International from CNBC Asia in Singapore, where he has been anchor since 2001. Previous roles include news anchor for BBC Television in London, and anchor for European Business News.
14 February 2006
By 2015, India will have 16 million qualified scientists. Thats more than the entire population of many European countries. The G-8 Summit of the worlds largest economic powers will be a very different group, with China and India expected to be part of the new, enlarged economic forum. Globalisation, sustainable development, technical convergence, public safety and climate change are just some of the issues that will affect us all ever more greatly.
Thousands of issues already affect the effectiveness of the message from traditional broadcasters. As lifestyles change, this industry forum will highlight those organisations that are adapting to change and are becoming the “media organisations” of the future. They are creating the new social currencies being exchanged through mobile phones, broadcast, broadband, wi-fi, cable and satellite.
New media is no longer “new”. 12 years have passed since the Internet became accessible to the public. Initial results are in. Digital Audio Broadcasting was invented 25 years ago; DVB was developed 12 years ago and DRM is a decade old in 2006. The AIB believes it is time to present an overview of what is hot and what is not.
This one-day Regional Forum for media leaders – which is open by invitation only – will focus on practical case studies. It has been designed to allow the sharing of ideas on relevant trends that are affecting the international media industry and how leading players are reacting. The Forum will take advantage of the location to examine how the Indian media, mobile and IT industries are serving a huge domestic market of citizens and consumers as well as more than 20 million Indians living abroad. The worlds largest democracy has some surprising insights to share.
From search engines to mobile phones, the AIB Delhi Regional Media Leaders Forum will cover the issues that matter, with reviews and predictions, plus case studies that provide pointers to the way media organisations have embraced the new opportunities and delivered success, in both the public and the commercial sectors. Taking place immediately before the Commonwealth Broadcasting Associations General Conference, the AIB Forum will be a truly international event, with cross-over attendance from some of the worlds leading broadcasters who are attending the CBA conference.
And recognising the pressures that todays media executives are under, weve scheduled the Forum to allow time for going to the office or having a meeting before the event, and plenty of time left after the event to do business as well.
SPECIAL DELEGATE RATE FOR SOUTH ASIA PARTICIPANTS: INR1,950. Contact Anmol Saxena or Rakhee Sakhuja at anmol.saxena@aib.org.uk, or call +91 (0) 11 416 33483 to take advantage of this special South Asia delegate rate.
Download the event brochure
here, or book online by clicking
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Remember, there is a special delegate rate for South Asia – just INR1,950.
