America’s news TV channel for the Middle East sacks staff after funding cuts

Belfast Telegraph - 13/04
The head of a US-funded Arabic language television and online news outlet sacked most of its staff and curtailed TV programming on Saturday, accusing the Trump administration and Elon Musk of having “irresponsibly and unlawfully” cut off funding.

Al Hurra claims a 30 million-strong audience in the Middle East and North Africa.

In notices to Al Hurra news staff about their dismissals, chief Jeffrey Gedmin said he had given up on the US administration’s freeze lifting soon for the congressionally approved money for Al Hurra and its US-funded Arabic language sister organisations.

Mr Gedmin accused Kari Lake, US President Donald Trump’s appointee to the American government agency overseeing Al Hurra, Voice Of America and other US-funded news programming abroad, of dodging his efforts to speak with her about the funding cut-off.

“I’m left to conclude that she is deliberately starving us of the money we need to pay you, our dedicated and hard-working staff,” Mr Gedmin said in severance letters obtained by The Associated Press and excerpted on the...
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