Sky News Arabia, the 24-hour Arabic language multi-platform breaking news service, has announced the next batch of its presenters who have been picked up from countries across the Mena region.

Sky News Arabia said it had received over 1,300 applicants for the coveted presenter roles alone. Each presenter was chosen following a rigorous interview process and in-depth market research.

Nart Bouran, the head of Sky News Arabia, said, “As the channel launch draws closer, we are delighted to announce our second batch of presenters. I believe the line-up is a good representation of the Arab region and I know each will play a vital role in the success of Sky News Arabia.”

The presenter announcement coincides with the news that Sky News Arabia is ahead of schedule and is now in 24 hour rehearsal mode.

“With all of our staff now in place, we are really gearing up to launch.  This challenging move, ahead of schedule, will test our resources - technical and editorial - to the maximum as we prepare ourselves for the task of running a 24-hour news operation.  It’s a very exciting time,” Bouran added.

With 16 of its presenters announced to date, Sky News Arabia will soon unveil the remaining names to its line-up, all of which have already been recruited, said the statement.

The new line up includes Mohannad Al Khatib, Hassina Ouchene, Jarir Dababneh, Dalia Abdalla, Alma Intabli, Imane Lahrache and Seza Armenazi (all news presenters) and Darwish Al Taweel and Maya Raydan (for Business).

Mohannad Al Khatib started his career as an International Radio Broadcaster at the Voice of America in Washington, DC, then moved to Unicef working as a communication officer for Mena region. In 2001, he joined MBC as a talk show host based in Beirut, then moved to Al Arabiya as a senior news anchor and was working in Future TV since 2007 as a news presenter.

Hassina started her career with Algerian Radio as presenter, before joining Algerian Television as reporter and news presenter. Hassina then became a news anchor on Al Aan TV, after which she took up her most recent role at Al Arabiya TV, covering a range of breaking news stories and interviewing influential figures in the Arab region.
 
Jarir Dababneh started his career as a producer, reporter and writer for Jordan TV but quickly marked his name across the media scene. He then became a presenter for Al- Libiyah TV, before moving to Egypt TV as bureau chief in Amman for five years.

Dalia Abdalla, with a Bachelor’s degree in political science and economics from Canada and a Masters in International Business from London, started her career as a journalist for Russia Today TV, as deputy chief editor.

Alma Intabli kick-started her career as a news editor for Al Arabiya’s website where she published breaking news stories. Alma then moved on to become a presenter for Al Arabiya TV, before ultimately moving to Sky News Arabia.
 
Imane Lahrache was the business and news presenter at Russiya Alyawm TV, covering major political stories in the Arab world and business news – mainly the euro zone crisis.  She also worked for a variety of Moroccan radio stations at the beginning of her career.

Osama Khamayseh worked in Jordan TV for six years as a news presenter, covering some of the most prominent political figures in the Arab world. In his latest role before joining Sky News Arabia, Osama was working as news presenter at Al Aan TV.

Seza Armenazi started her career as a reporter in Istanbul for Qatar TV, Kuwait TV, then moved to Abu Dhabi TV as a business news reporter in Istanbul. Seza then joined Etturkiye Arabic news channel in Istanbul as news presenter, before moving back to Abu Dhabi to join the Sky News Arabia team.

Darwish Al Taweel, as one of the UAE’s own, started his career as a presenter for Sama Dubai. He then moved to Baynounah Media Group, followed by Abu Dhabi TV, where he worked as a presenter covering local and economic news.

Maya Raydan, an experienced editor and news presenter, worked for various radio stations as a presenter, reporter and editor, including The People Radio Station in Lebanon, and Sawa Radio in UAE.

Maya also worked as editor for Business Pioneer and Al Iktissad wal Aamal magazines, before taking up a role as a reporter for Dubai TV in Beirut from 2001-2005.-TradeArabia News Service