A new international news channel based in Bahrain had its broadcast suspended less than 24 hours after its launch for 'administrative and technical purposes', according to authorities.

The 24-hour Al Arab News Channel stopped transmission for around 12 hours yesterday (February 2), but when it resumed services at 4pm only aired promotional footage and not live news broadcasts, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

It said it was off air because of 'technical and administrative reasons', but sources told our sister paper Akhbar Al Khaleej on Sunday night that Al Arab 'failed to abide by GCC customs and conventions'.

Sources told the GDN that high-level meetings between the station's management, the Information Affairs Authority (IAA) and other government officials were held all day yesterday to address the situation.

IAA media director Yousef Mohammed said in a statement that the authority was 'working alongside Al Arab's management team in order to swiftly resolve the matter'.

He added that the channel, which was 'suspended for administrative and technical purposes' was expected to resume broadcasting soon.

The suspension comes after the pan-Arab news channel hosted senior Al Wefaq National Islamic Society member Khalil Al Marzooq, who spoke about the decision by the Interior Ministry to revoke citizenship of 72 people.

However, a spokesman from the station's public relations agency denied speculation that problems with transmission were a result of the segment that aired on Sunday, adding that they were 'purely technical and administrative'.

Criticised

Information Affairs Minister and official government spokesman Isa Al Hammadi also said yesterday that they were providing the station with all the necessary assistance to resume live transmission.

The station's website, www.alarabtv.net, was also temporarily down yesterday morning, but its Twitter and Facebook accounts were not affected.

During Sunday's segment, Al Marzooq said the decision to revoke nationalities of opposition activists was taken for political reasons, and questioned the new law that gives the Interior Minister the power to rescind the citizenship of individuals who commit acts that harm the country.

The channel also hosted Al Hammadi hours later, who denied the claims made by Al Marzooq.

“This is not a political decision,” he said, adding that the 72 people had the right to appeal in Bahrain's courts.

Akhbar Al Khaleej Editor-in-Chief Anwar Abdulrahman yesterday published a column criticising the station for hosting Al Marzooq and ignoring other political societies.

“Why did the channel not interview independent and impartial political analysts from Bahrain or the Gulf instead?” he questioned.

Meanwhile, Al Wefaq yesterday urged authorities to resume transmission of the channel and further pushed for its request to launch its own TV satellite channel.

The independent channel is the country's first international satellite news station and will rival established names such as Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya.

It is owned by Saudi Prince Al Waleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who has been ranked by Forbes as the 26th richest person in the world with a fortune of $20 billion.

It has more than 280 employees and around 30 presenters, and is headquartered at Bahrain World Trade Centre.

The station comes under the banner of the Arab TV News Company and was set up in Bahrain due to licensing restrictions in Saudi Arabia, which prevent independent news stations operating from within its borders. - TradeArabia News Service