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Al Jazeera, the Arabic TV news channel, is launching in the UK with

a free-to-air service on Sky Digital.

A spokesperson for the channel, the Arab world's equivalent to CNN,

claimed that Al Jazeera is the only independent, non-government

regulated Arabic news channel in the world.

Broadcast from its station base in the Gulf state of Qatar, Al Jazeera's

rolling format of news and current affairs will cover topics such as

woman's rights under Islam, human rights under Arab regimes and the pros

and cons of peace with Israel.

Muftah Al Suwaidan, chief executive of the channel's London bureau said:

"The channel's move onto the Sky Digital platform will enable even more

members of the Arabic communities in the UK to switch on to news and

current affairs that is influential, but uninfluenced."

Since its launch across Arab countries in 1996, "the channel has fought

hard to provide impartial news and current affairs for Arab viewers

across the world," added a spokesperson.

The channel claims already to attract 93 per cent of the 500,000

resident Arabic community in the UK, with 35m viewers globally.

Al Jazeera will carry advertising on Sky Digital, to be handled from its

base in Qatar.

The Arabic new service said that it had no plans to hire a UK based

media agency, but would review the situation after a few months'

exposure in the UK.