Alarab News Channel today announced that Laila Al Sheikhly will join the channel’s news team and anchor one of the channel’s news programmes.

Al Sheikhly brings with her nearly 25 years of experience in broadcast journalism. She joins Alarab from Al Jazeera and will form part of a near-300 strong team bringing the region’s freshest news channel to air later this year, said a statement.

“To be part of a new channel is a great opportunity; to be part of a new channel with the clear vision and professional standards of Alarab is an opportunity too good to miss,” said Sheikhly. “I hope I can bring a style to the channel which touches the audience and wins us a loyal group of followers.”

Alarab is a brand new style of news programming, designed to give a new generation of news watchers what they need. Alarab aims to bring its viewers news from around the world which impacts their lives, and set it in the context of the region’s history and politics. The all-Arabic channel will include extensive news programming as well as regular news roundups and the channel’s deal with Bloomberg will enable it to bring business people the very latest information they need, it said.

Al Sheikhly started her career in journalism in 1990 in Washington as a newscaster with ANA. In 1994 she moved to BBC Arabia to become its first female presenter and her list of firsts continued in 1996 when she because the first Arab female to host a political programme when she did so with MBC in 1996. She spent seven years at Abu Dhabi television from 1999 to 2006 when she joined Al Jazeera. - TradeArabia News Service