Alhurra Television

Floor Speech

Mr. KAUFMAN. Mr. President, I rise to call my colleagues attention to a promising development for U.S. public diplomacy efforts in the Middle East. Yesterday, Alhurra Television, the U.S. Government-sponsored Arabic language channel, launched a new groundbreaking live television show originating simultaneously from five countries and three continents including Dubai, Beirut, Cairo, Jerusalem and Alhurra's headquarters in Springfield, Va. The 3-hour daily program titled Al Youm (Today in Arabic), provides viewers a window to the world through its coverage of the latest news from the Middle East, the United States, and the world. The show also includes topics such as health, sports technology, entertainment news, and social and cultural issues. Al Youm includes interviews with everyone from politicians to athletes, leaders in business, and the arts.

On its opening broadcast, Al Youm carried an interview with House International Relations Committee Chairman Howard Berman and included a report from Alhurra's White House correspondent discussing the Obama administration's outreach to a moderate faction of the Taliban. Since its launch coincided with International Women's Day, Al Youm had a series of reports on the role of women in the Middle East, including a story on young girls being forced into marriage and a live interview with the Executive Director of Dubai's Social Development Institute. There was also a profile of the former First Lady of Lebanon and her work as the founder of a health center for children with blood diseases. Al Youm had the latest financial and sports news, as well as a health segment on the growing problem of obesity.

Al Youm's entertainment segments featured well-known singers and performers in the region. Popular Arab singer Myriam Fares introduced her latest song that has not been released to the public. Hisham Abbas, another famous Arab singer, joined Al Youm during its debut and sang his most popular hit song, Feno. Actress Nadine Al Rassi appeared live to discuss her program, Assr El Harim, one of the most popular television programs in the Middle East. Al Youm also profiled the first Arab singer to represent Israel in the Eurovision Festival.

Al Youm further enhances the strong core of program options already offered by Alhurra Television. Launched in 2004 under the U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors, the 24-hour broadcast network has gained traction in the competitive television marketplace of the Middle East. Recent surveys of the Middle East by research companies such as ACNielsen show that Alhurra has a weekly reach of an estimated 26 million adults. Alhurra is broadcast on the Nilesat and Arabsat satellites in the Middle East and the Hotbird satellite system in Europe. Al Youm is also streamed live on the Internet--Alhurra.com--at 4-7 p.m. GMT.

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