On November 11, Al Jazeera announced from its home offices in Doha, Qatar that it had broadcast its first “Al Jazeera Balkans” news bulletin at 5 p.m., Bosnian time. A press release described Al Jazeera’s southeast European enterprise as “the first regional news channel,” which, the report continued, “fills a large gap in the market. News till now has been country specific.”

Al Jazeera Balkans (AJB) is the second non-Arabic branch launched by the network, after Al Jazeera English, which started broadcasting in 2006. According to managing director Tarik Djodjic, $20.5 million has been invested in AJB, headquartered in Sarajevo.