Al Jazeera English Celebrates One Year Anniversary

Al Jazeera English Celebrates One Year Anniversary

Al Jazeera English, the news and current affairs channel which today reaches more than 100 million homes worldwide, celebrated its one year anniversary on 15 November.

Since its launch in 2006, the channel has been setting the news agenda with award winning reporting from the under-represented corners of the globe.

"We can all be proud of our achievements. We proved the sceptics wrong and created a new channel that is already recognised as one of the major voices in global journalism," said Managing Director of Al Jazeera English, Nigel Parsons

To mark the passing of its maiden year, Al Jazeera English will promote its extensive editorial scope with some of its best known presenters reporting live from key stories across the world.*

The channel will showcase its dedication to accurate hard-hitting journalism through the exclusive broadcast of up to date special reports and first person accounts from some of the children who have been directly affected by the complex issues at the core of many landmark stories.*

With it's four broadcast centres in Doha, Kuala Lumpur, London and Washington DC, Al Jazeera English is the first international TV news channel to provide a single 24-hour news feed to the entire English-speaking world.

Just recently the channel was acclaimed for producing unparalleled and exclusive coverage from Myanmar, Burma where undercover reporters vividly portrayed the violence that was used against protestors.

Other high points in Al Jazeera English's remarkable first year included being the only English-speaking TV station covering the Hamas takeover from inside Gaza, with its own offices becoming part of the battleground, its unrivalled coverage of the conflict between the rebel and Government/NATO forces in Afghanistan, being the first to announce Tony Blair's new job after finishing as British PM, with the Middle East Quartet, and some historic one-on-one interviews with leading figure from all over the world.

Al Jazeera English has achieved a global viewer footprint of more than 100 million homes just one year after going live and is carried by major cable and satellite operators across the globe. The channel continues to meet the growing demand from audiences worldwide with recent deals across all conventional platforms. The channel is also exploiting and expanding in all areas of new media, reaching millions of viewers through IPTV and mobile technologies. Al Jazeera English's dedicated channel on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/aljazeeraenglish continues to be a huge success.

-END-
NOTES TO EDITORS

* Exclusive reports

GERMANY
- Iraq refugees/ Alan Fisher reports
The human traffic snaking from Iraq towards Western Europe continues to grow as exiled Iraqis who refuse to live a life in refugee camps in Jordan, Syria or elsewhere. From Germany to Spain to France and the UK, Iraqis are seeking a place to live illegally or not. Authorities are struggling to cope in Germany they've set up a prison ship that is housing new illegal immigrants from Iraq.

CHECHNYA
- Chechnya revisited/ Jonah Hull reports
Grozny is returning to life much faster than many cities devastated by war. As the Russian rulers assert increasing control and the militant attacks become less frequent, has Russia succeeded to achieve the control of the restive region in long-promised. Is it another success story for Putin? Or do the embers of a violent insurgency continue to burn.

PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES
- Behind the fighters mask/ Nour Odeh reports
Nour Odeh has exclusive access to an ICRC training camp where armed members of Palestinian factional groups are taught International Humanitarian Law and First Aid. For the first time ever AJE will look deep into the psyche of the people behind the ongoing violence and instability. Nour will be face to face with those responsible for recent sieges in the territory revealing shocking truths about the men and women behind the fighter's mask.

USA
- Poverty USA series/ John Cookson reports
One year before the US elects a new President, John Cookson travels across the world's richest nation on a mission to understand some of the key election issues. He discovers poverty and disenfranchisement proving to the world that America's new president will have plenty to do at home.

* Presenter lives

SYRIA
Al Jazeera's Jane Dutton presents live from Tartous Port where the government are investing $37 million in the hope that it will become a major hub for both eastern Mediterranean and Middle East trade. We'll investigate the growing Iranian influence within Syria as the economic investment is estimated to reach $10 billion dollars over the next five years. While Iranians view Syria's new economic liberalization policies as huge financial opportunities, many Syrians view Iranian business ventures as exploitation, and an attempt by Iran to harness a greater degree of influence over Syria as a whole. Between the influx of almost two million Iraqi refugees into Syria since the US invasion, and the increased Iranian political and economic influence, many Syrians are weary that they are losing control of both their economic independence and national identity.

NIGERIA
As Al Jazeera looks to launch expanded coverage of Africa's biggest nation with a permanent bureau, we take a closer look at the country.
Andrew Simmons and Haru Mutasa report live from Nigeria where the country's new President has made plenty of promises...But conflict in the Niger Delta rich in oil but overwhelmed by kidnapping, violence and abject poverty grows worse by the day.

SOUTHERN THAILAND
Hamish MacDonald presents a series of special reports from the rarely reported but conflict ravaged region of Southern Thailand. We'll report the effects on local people as security forces attempt to quell the unrest in the area. David Hawkins reports on unity across religious lines while Tony Birtley investigates why many teachers are provided with weapons training and carry a gun to class.

KOSOVO
Stephen Cole and Barnaby Phillips report live from Kosovo as it counts down to a possible independent future. The United Nations final deadline for agreement on the future of the country draws ever closer with elections due on 17th November. Serbia is resisting all the way and the future for Serbs within Kosovo remains very unclear.

HAITI
Ghida Fakhry and Mariana Sanchez report from Haiti's capital Port au Prince. In the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere, The United Nations has been working hard to establish order for the nation's eight million people but armed gangs, police, irregular soldiers and even UN peacekeepers continue to strike fear into most of the population. Haitian people are continue to suffer rape, torture, false imprisonment, brutality and are massacred by known and convicted criminals. We take a look inside a forgotten country as it struggles to find its feet.

VENEZUELA
Lucia Newman reports live from Venezuela where oil wealth is fuelling the first armchair revolution in recent history. The International community and particularly the U.S. remain weary of the country's larger than life President Hugo Chavez and his close relationship with Cuba. But many living in desperate poverty within the oil rich nation are quite happy to accept his proposed constitutional changes in favour of free education, healthcare and the weekly broadcasts from the President lasting up to four hours.

First Person: Children

A variation on our First Person strand - we'll broadcast a series of first person reports with children from our regular newsbeats. The report will cover their hopes and fears as they talk about the circumstances and conditions under which they live. These children are in many ways wise beyond their years having been exposed to violence and other sobering experiences.

Afghanistan
Australia
China
Gaza
Haiti
Indonesia
Iraq
Jerusalem
Moscow
Sderot
Sudan
Venezuela
Zimbabwe
ends

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