Sky News Arabia plans to roll out content and digital upgrades as part of an expansion of its broadcast operations, it said on Saturday.
The expansion includes the launch of additional programmes, new presenter hires, adoption of pioneering broadcast technology and the creation of virtual news studios using augmented reality technology – a first in the Middle East and North Africa region, the TV station said.
The new line-up will also see a refreshed schedule going live seven days a week, in Sky News Arabia’s “biggest enhancements since the 2012 launch of the channel”, it added.
“These changes will help to bring the news to life, making our content more visually compelling and reflective of the fact that our viewers are increasingly consuming news online and want more live news coverage as it happens,” said Sky News Arabia’s head of news, Hani Abuayyash, in a statement.
Sky News Arabia is a joint venture between Sky plc and Abu Dhabi Media Investment Corporation. The National newspaper is owned by IMI, which is a subsidiary of ADMIC.
Among the programmes to be launched are 'News Radar', presented by Fadila Soussi at 6pm, featuring analysis and discussion of the latest world news, and an enhanced version of ‘Timeline’ at midnight with a new host, Carolina Nassar, reviewing the day’s news using the latest virtual reality technologies.
A refreshed ‘Newsroom’ show will now run seven days a week at 10pm with Mohannad Al Khatib hosting guests, while a new-format ‘Morning Show’ will be introduced, presented by Nancy Tabet and Hani Ziade, and covering culture, music, food and fashion alongside current affairs, business and sports news.
An enhanced-format 'Evening Show' will run every weekday at 8pm presented by Faisal Huraiz and Majed Al Faresi and covering the Arabian Gulf. Sky News Arabia’s sports programme ‘Mala’eb’ will be broadcast from an augmented reality studio daily at 1.15am, using the latest in graphics technology to bring viewers close to the action.
Meanwhile, a new international news segment will be broadcast at 2am to target Arab speakers in North African countries and Western time zones, and an in-depth business bulletin presented by Lubna Bouza, business editor-in-chief of Business, will be broadcast three days a week.
The company will also launch a dedicated documentary unit, to offer viewers investigative stories from around the region. “The changes follow a record of impressive growth and will further cement Sky News Arabia’s position as the leading news channel in the UAE and one of the most-viewed channels in the Arab world,” the broadcaster said.
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NBA Finals so far
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Game 1 Raptors 118 Warriors 109
Game 2 Raptors 104 Warriors 109
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31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all
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Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
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The specs: 2018 Maxus T60
Price, base / as tested: Dh48,000
Engine: 2.4-litre four-cylinder
Power: 136hp @ 1,600rpm
Torque: 360Nm @ 1,600 rpm
Transmission: Five-speed manual
Fuel consumption, combined: 9.1L / 100km
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Six large-scale objects on show
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- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
Petrarch: Everywhere a Wanderer
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
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Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
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TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat
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Nationality: Emirati
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More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates, Etihad and Swiss fly direct from the UAE to Zurich from Dh2,855 return, including taxes.
The chalet
Chalet N is currently open in winter only, between now and April 21. During the ski season, starting on December 11, a week’s rental costs from €210,000 (Dh898,431) per week for the whole property, which has 22 beds in total, across six suites, three double rooms and a children’s suite. The price includes all scheduled meals, a week’s ski pass, Wi-Fi, parking, transfers between Munich, Innsbruck or Zurich airports and one 50-minute massage per person. Private ski lessons cost from €360 (Dh1,541) per day. Halal food is available on request.
Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
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Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
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Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
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PRIMERA LIGA FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Saturday
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Girona v Barcelona (10.45pm)
Sunday
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UK’s AI plan
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
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