Al Arabiya news channel, the 24/7 free-to-air news and current affairs satcaster, part of MBC Group, announced the appointment of Faisal J. Abbas as the new Editor-in-Chief for its English online portal http://english.alarabiya.net/ Abbas will streamline Alarabiya.net operations, a task which includes following up news, breaking news, current affairs and analysis. Rahman Al-Rashed, General Manager of Al Arabiya News Channel, said: "Faisal is among the most distinguished young journalists and it is a pleasure to have him on-board to continue taking the website forward. This appointment complements our strategy of refining and nurturing Arab talent; it also reflects our keenness on hiring the most highly-skilled candidates in the fields of media and journalism." "Because of the integrated nature of our work at Al-Arabiya, a strategy which we have begun implementing two years ago, Faisal's activity will expand beyond the English portal to include the two Al-Arabiya channels, its websites and various platforms" added Al-Rashed. Abbas expressed his delight to be joining Al Arabiya, and said: "I am proud to be part of the MBC Group and Al-Arabiya channel, and eager to take on the challenges to come in one of the most popular and interactive news portals". "I look forward to working closely with the team and setting new benchmarks that will surely transform AlArabiya.net. Finally, I thank Al Arabiya's Management for their trust and support" he added. Abbas is the recipient of several prestigious awards from across the world, namely: The 2009 International Media Council's Cutting Edge in Journalism Award; He has also served as a senior judge at the 60th annual Foreign Press Association (FPA) media awards in London in 2008. Faisal J. Abbas is also a member of several societies, such as the Cambridge Union Society, the British Society of Authors (SoA) and the British National Union of Journalists (NUJ). Prior to joining Al-Arabiya, Abbas has been renowned for his contributions to US-based blog The Huffington Post since 2008, he was also the senior Middle-East correspondent for the International Resource Journal and has worked with the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat. – SG
