Posts from ‘December, 2008’

Text of report by French news agency AFP
Paris, 30 December 2008: One of the three under-sea cables enabling telephone and internet links between Europe and the Asia/Middle East zone was taken back into service in the night from Monday to Tuesday [30 December], while the two other ones should be back in service by the [...]

Since it’s already 2009 in some parts of the world, this is to wish all our readers, wherever you are, the very best for the year ahead. It looks like being an eventful year in the media, as the global economic recession starts to affect commercial and public broadcasters alike. I will continue to report the [...]

The Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) will in the first quarter of next year open a second television channel, which will mainly be centred on entertainment and business.
ZNBC Director General Joseph Salasini says the process has reached the tender stage. Mr Salsini explained that once the buying of studio equipment is approved, ZNBC will go [...]

The management of Tonga’s OBN television network says it will launch legal action against the Government, possibly next week, over what it says was the destruction of their studios when they were occupied by soldiers. OBN, which has been off air since the riots in November 2006, had been accused of helping to inspire the [...]

A second man has pleaded guilty to providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization by broadcasting Hezbollah television channel Al Manar to US customers, prosecutors said. Saleh Elahwal, who lives in New Jersey, admitted that between about September 2005 and August 2006 he provided satellite transmission services through Brooklyn-based HDTV Ltd to Al Manar, in [...]

The Basque separatist group ETA, under pressure after the arrests of its top leaders in 2008, ended the year by bombing the headquarters of the regional broadcasting network, police said. There were no casualties as police had evacuated the area minutes before the blast after a person claiming to represent ETA called the local fire service [...]

The Malawian Minister of Information and Civic Education Patricia Kaliati today warned privately-owned Power FM 101 that it would face closure if it fails to pay broadcasting fees to the Malawi Communications and Regulatory Authority (MACRA). Ms Kaliati issued the warning during a press conference in Blantyre, saying that the government through MACRA had given FM 101 a [...]

The FM radio stations of Dang and Salyan districts in Nepal failed to conduct its regular transmission starting Monday evening in the wake of a government decision to increase power cut hours. Two radio stations of Dang and two of Salyam came to a halt from last evening, while other three stations are being broadcasted partially in [...]

TRT is now preparing a new Armenian TV station, which will begin broadcasts at the end of 2009. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has given the green light for the channel. The start of radio broadcasts in Armenian [in February] and an official website in February will prove as a test for the new television station.
Categorized [...]

Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) today launched a disaster unit to channel the latest report on disasters to television and radio stations. The unit will disseminate information on the weather, earthquakes, landslides, floods, haze, storms, river levels, sea conditions, tides and other disasters.
Information Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek said the unit would also issue brief safety guides [...]

A new television station is due to launch in Cambodia on 9 January. MYTV is a commercial free-to-air TV channel aimed primarily at Cambodia’s youth market. Programming will consist of reality TV formats as well as music programmes, local ‘teen’ dramas and educational documentaries. The channel is owned by joint venture partners mobile phone operator [...]

Text of report by corporate-owned Russian news agency Interfax
Baku, 30 December: The National TV and Radio Council has decided to stop the broadcast in Azerbaijan by radio stations [Radio] Liberty, the Voice of America, the BBC and [Russia's] Europa Plus starting from 1 January, an Interfax-Azerbaijan correspondent reports from the meeting of the National TV [...]

On Thursday 1 January there will be a day of special programmes to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the start of the original Radio Mi Amigo, which broadcast from the radio ship of the same name shared with Radio Caroline. From 0900-2100 UTC there will be 12 hours of programmes featuring many of the original DJs. The [...]

Radio the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) and Lao National Radio today signed a cooperation agreement in Hanoi. Signatories were VOV Deputy General Director Hoang Minh Nguyet and Director General of Lao National Radio, Sipha Nonglath.
Under the agreement, the two sides will exchange reporters, editors and technicians to share their experience, research and write stories in each [...]

The Government of Malawi has told opposition political parties to start their own radio stations if they consider that the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) was not serving them fully. Information and Civic Education Minister, Patricia Kaliati said that ”The opposition is not happy with the operation of the radio station. Unfortunately, we cannot serve them more than this. The best they [...]