Al Jazeera Media Network 1 November 1996 following the closure of the first BBC Arabic language television station, then a joint venture with Orbit Communications Company, owned by Saudi King Fahd's cousin, Khalid bin Faisal Al Saud. The BBC channel had closed after a year and a half when the Saudi government attempted to thwart a documentary pertaining to executions under sharia law. The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa, provided a loan of QAR 500 million ($137 million) to sustain Al Jazeera through its first five years, as Hugh Miles detailed in his book "Al Jazeera: The Inside Story of the Arab
Al Jazeera English absence of alternatives, Al Jazeera English can fill a vacuum, simply because we're going in the opposite direction."<br> Tony Burman, Former Managing Director, AJE (quoted in Adbusters) Also Al Jazeera presenters can alternate between broadcast centres. Al Jazeera also shares English-speaking correspondents with Al Jazeera Arabic, Al Jazeera Turk and Al Jazeera Balkans and vice versa. Broadcast Centre: Doha: Al Jazeera English Headquarters<br> Anchors: Dareen Abughaida, Richelle Carey, Jane Dutton, Adrian Finighan, Martine Dennis, Darren Jordon, Laura Kyle, Raheela Mahomed, Rob Matheson, Sohail Rahman, Kamahl Santamaria, Folly Bah Thibault<br> Sports Desk: Andy Richardson<br> Weather Team: Richard Angwin, Everton Fox, Steff