Expo 2020 Dubai announces event’s official broadcaster

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CNN plans to broadcast live from Expo 2020 Dubai. (Supplied)
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Rani Raad, the president of CNN Worldwide Commercial. (Supplied)
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Updated 05 July 2021
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Expo 2020 Dubai announces event’s official broadcaster

  • CNN plans to broadcast live from Expo 2020 Dubai

DUBAI: Organizers of the delayed Expo 2020 Dubai, due to open in October, have announced CNN as the event’s official broadcaster.

The collaboration was agreed between Reem Al-Hashimy, the UAE’s minister of state for international cooperation and expo director general, and Rani Raad, the president of CNN Worldwide Commercial.

Al-Hashimy said: “As we invite everyone to join the making of a new world, our broadcasters are essential to delivering a message of overcoming adversity, mobilizing the next generation, and sparking innovations that will ignite another 50 years of purposeful progress.”

CNN plans to broadcast live from Expo 2020 Dubai, with shows including its flagship “Connect the World with Becky Anderson,” “Quest Means Business,” and “CNN Talk.” The network was also developing feature programming focused on topics such as innovation and green issues across all global platforms, including CNN Arabic.

The upcoming content follows CNN’s preview “Road to Expo” series and digital initiatives. It will be distributed globally through TV as well as digital and social channels reaching millions of people around the world via CNN as well as its network of affiliate broadcasters and publishers.

CNN is also planning live and interactive activations across its various networks as well as on the ground at the expo to engage visitors.

Raad said: “As the world reconnects after these last 18 months, the way in which we communicate is undoubtedly changing.

“With our unmatched audience reach across multiple media platforms and our award-winning global storytelling skills, CNN will be bringing Expo 2020 Dubai to millions of global citizens in over 200 countries.”


Bondi Beach attack hero says wanted to protect ‘innocent people’

Updated 30 December 2025
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Bondi Beach attack hero says wanted to protect ‘innocent people’

DUBAI: Bondi Beach shooting hero Ahmed Al Ahmed recalled the moment he ran toward one of the attackers and wrenched his shotgun away, saying the only thing he had in mind was to stop the assailant from “killing more innocent people.” 

Al-Ahmad’s heroism was widely acclaimed in Australia when he tackled and disarmed gunman Sajid Akram who fired at Jewish people attending a Hanukkah event on December 14, killing 15 people and wounding dozens.

“My target was just to take the gun from him, and to stop him from killing a human being’s life and not killing innocent people,” he told CBS News in an interview on Monday.

“I know I saved lots, but I feel sorry for the lost.”

In footage viewed by millions of people, Al Ahmed was seen ducking between parked cars as the shooting unfolded, then wresting a gun from one of the assailants.

He was shot several times in the shoulder as a result and underwent several rounds of surgery.

“I jumped in his back, hit him and … hold him with my right hand and start to say a word like, you know, to warn him, ‘Drop your gun, stop doing what you’re doing’,” Al Ahmed said. 

“I don’t want to see people killed in front of me, I don’t want to see blood, I don’t want to hear his gun, I don’t want to see people screaming and begging, asking for help,” Al Ahmed told the television network.

“That’s my soul asked me to do that, and everything in my heart, and my brain, everything just worked, you know, to manage and to save the people’s life,” he said.

Al Ahmed was at the beach getting a cup of coffee when the shooting occurred.

He is a father of two who emigrated to Australia from Syria in 2007, and works as a fruit seller.  

Local media reported that the Australian government has fast-tracked and granted a number of visas for Al Ahmed’s family following his act of bravery.

“Ahmed has shown the courage and values we want in Australia,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement.

One of the gunmen, Sajid Akram, 50, was shot and killed by police during the attack. An Indian national, he entered Australia on a visa in 1998.

His 24-year-old son Naveed, an Australian-born citizen, remains in custody on charges including terrorism and 15 murders, as well as committing a “terrorist act” and planting a bomb with intent to harm.

(with AFP)