Al-Alam News Channel Closes Offices in Beirut

The Kuwaiti al-Anbaa daily said on Friday that Falak institution that operates Iranian-run, Arabic news channel al-Alam in Beirut has decided to close down the network's offices in Lebanon discharging around 25 to 60 full-time and contractual employees.

Media reports said financial difficulties have compelled the network’s closure, adding that the same difficulty has compelled Hizbullah's al-Manar TV to cut down the number of its staff.

Al-Alam, an Arabic news channel broadcasting from Iran, is owned by the state-owned media corporation Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).

Chairman of the Board of Directors of Falak, Mohammed Arandis, has called the employees to attend a meeting at the Labor Ministry on Thursday to liquidate the company due to financial circumstances, according to al-Modon e-newspaper.

Al-Modon also reported that al-Alam General Manager, Ahmed al-Sadat, had arrived in Beirut last August to put the final touches on the closing process, which provided more than %90 of production for the channel's programs.