Al Jazeera has been awarded the Freedom of Speech and Expression Medal by the Roosevelt Foundation for its "longstanding efforts to provide independent, impartial news for an international audience". Al Jazeera's director general Ahmed bin Jassim Al-Thani will accept the award at a ceremony in the Netherlands in May, and will dedicate the award to fallen journalists. 

Qatar is set to launch a second state-run satellite channel. “Final touches to update the programmes of Qatar Television are going on while the new programmes are expected to start from April of this year,” said Mubarak bin Jaham Al Kuwari, Chief Executive Officer of the Qatar Foundation for Media. Qatar is currently home to one state-run satellite channel, as well as private regional broadcaster Al-Jazeera.  

Read More at RapidTVNews.com

According to the regional satellite operator Arabsat, signals from the Qatar-based news channel Al Jazeera were being blocked by Iran. "Al Jazeera is affected...from two different locations in Iran," Arabsat said in a statement. Arabsat, which is based in Saudi Arabia, said it initiated an investigation following a request from Al Jazeera.  Al Jazeera in now available on Arabsat on a new frequency, after what the broadcaster described as  "continued interference".

Al Jazeera has announced a new frequency on Arabsat after "continued interferences to its satellite transmissions". The network has said it has experiencing transmission disruptions for the past 12 months. "These sustained interferences have been an attempt to disrupt the network's broadcasts across the Middle East and North Africa," said Saeed Bawazir, director of technology at the Al Jazeera Network. Viewers in the Middle East have to tune into Arabsat 11334V to watch the channel's news broadcasting.

Read More at RapidTVNews.com

Al Jazeera is set to expand its staff by hiring a number of Qatari locals. Under a strategy launched by Shaikh Ahmad Bin Jassem Al Thani, the network is looking to hire Qatari nationals who have university degrees, preferably in media or communication studies. Shaikh Ahmad became the network director general in September, following the resignation of Waddah Khanfar.

Read More at GulfNews.com

Kuwaiti Minister of Information Sheikh Hamad Jaber Al-Ali has announced that the offices of the Al-Jazeera channel will re-open in Kuwait City. Sheikh Hamad Jaber Al-Ali said that the decision to re-open the Al Jazeera offices stemmed from the authority’s concern over the upcoming Kuwaiti election, and the need for transparent, credible and neutral coverage. He added that the Kuwaiti government would be extending an open invitation to the international press to cover the elections in February.

Kuwaiti authorities had shut down the Al Jazeera offices last December, after the channel had aired extensive coverage of a police crackdown on the government's opposition.

Related News:

Kuwait closes Al Jazeera TV office, withdraws its correspondents' accreditation

Kuwait urged to reopen Al Jazeera office

Read More at The Arab Times

Al Jazeera English can now be accessed on the new Google TV and Google Chrome apps. The new Google TV app will feature headlines and updates from the Al Jazeera Twitter feed. In the future, the app will also include a live stream of Al Jazeera's coverage. Meanwhile, the new Chrome app features desktop notifications and offline content access, as well as the ability to watch the channel's live stream.

"We are constantly looking for new ways to deliver our content and interact with our audiences. Our online philosophy has always been to make our world class content available to audiences on the platforms they choose," said Mohamed Nanabhay from Al Jazeera English. "We're excited by the latest Google TV and Chrome applications as they bring us closer to audiences who may not have access to our broadcast signal."

Read More at RapidTVNews

Al Jazeera Sport has acquired four of the five UEFA Champions League media rights packages in France. According to the terms of the deal, the Qatar-based broadcaster has the pay-TV, mobile and online TV rights from 2012 to 2015.

"UEFA welcomes the opportunity to develop a partnership with Al-Jazeera in France. We highly value their production expertise and commitment towards the UEFA Champions League in the Middle East and North Africa and we look forward to being part of their channel development in France. The level of interest in the UEFA Champions League rights confirms the continuing strength of the competition", said a UEFA representative in a statement. 

Read More at RapidTVNews.com

The Al Jazeera network has launched a new mobile application that will bring live TV bulletins to Android and Blackberry users in Arabic. The new application will provide 24 hour breaking news coverage. "There's been significant demand from our audience to make mobile applications available in Arabic. These pioneering apps ensure Al Jazeera is widely available to our core audience, and continues to lead the way in providing high quality content across multiple platforms,” said Mohammed Al Mokhtar, head of Aljazeera.net Arabic.

Read more at RapidTVNews.com