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 Balkans Documentary Film Festival social phenomena with a focus on universal human values such as courage, truth, justice, tolerance and cosmopolitism." The festival's official competition selection for the 2018 edition consisted of 15 international documentaries adapted for TV broadcasting. The non-competition selection, known as "Last Minute Cinema", consisted of five acclaimed international documentaries. All selected films are considered for acquisition by Al Jazeera Balkans and its sister channel, Al Jazeera English, and will subsequently be screened on television. The selections will be finalized in June. The AJB DOC Festival, in cooperation with the Al Jazeera Media Network, holds a multi-day documentary workshop for authors,