The British Broadcasting Corporation, the world's biggest public broadcaster, has for the first time chosen an Arab to head its Arabic news service, the 42-year-old appointee, Hosam Sokkari said. After graduating from Cairo university with a degree in pharmacy, Sokkari decided on a career in journalism, working first as a cartoonist in Egypt, Germany and Finland. He began working for the BBC in 1994 as a presenter and producer in the Arabic division before moving for a few months to the Dubai-based broadcaster Al-Jazeera in 1996. Three years after returning to the corporation, Sokkari was chosen to run the BBC's Arabic internet operation becoming an award-winning editor of BBCArabic.com.

Source: AFP