Qatar News Agency

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"QNA" redirects here. For Queueing Network Analyzer software, see Traffic flow (computer networking). Not to be confused with Q&A.

Qatar News Agency
TypeState-owned news agency
Country
Qatar
Founded25 May 1975; 48 years ago (1975-05-25)
HeadquartersDoha
ParentMinistry of Information and Communications Technology
Official website
www.qna.org.qa/en[1] (in English)

Qatar News Agency (Arabic: وكالة الأنباء القطرية, romanized: Wakalat al-Anba al-Qatariya)[2] is a state-run Qatari news agency.[3][4][5]

History and profile[edit]

Qatar News Agency was established by a decree issued on 25 May 1975.[6][7] It is attached to the Ministry of Information.[8] The former parent ministry was the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[9] The headquarters of the agency is in Doha.[9] The Agency has been headed by Ahmed Saeed Jaber Al-Rumaihi since October 2021.[10]

By 1980, QNA signed collaborative agreements with the news agencies of Oman, the United Arab Emirates, France and Tunisia, in addition to opening a bureau in Tunis, the administrative center of the Arab League at that time.[11]

The agency provides news in Arabic and English.[3] It has also Spanish and Portuguese news services.[12]

Administration[edit]

Emiri Resolution No. (50) of 2014 was issued regarding the organization of the management of the Qatar News Agency. In accordance with this decision, the agency's management structure has been transformed to consist of:

  1. Office of the Director General,
  2. Internal Audit Department,
  3. Planning and Quality Department,
  4. Legal Affairs Department,
  5. Public Relations and Communication Department,
  6. Shared Services Department,
  7. Data Analysis and Documentation Department,
  8. Editorial and Media Monitoring Department,
  9. News Department,
  10. External Media Affairs Department,
  11. Technical Affairs Department.[13]

Past administrators[edit]

Several personalities had led the agency since establishment. Below is the list of past and present directors of QNA:

  1. Director and Editor-in-Chief 1) Othman Abu Zaid 1975–1980 (Egyptian)
  2. Issa bin Saeed Al Kuwari 1980–1994 (Director and Editor-in-Chief)
  3. Ahmed Jassim Al Hamar 1994–2007 (Director and Editor-in-Chief)
  4. Sheikh Jabr bin Yusuf Al Thani 2007–2011 (Director-General)
  5. Ahmed Saeed Al Buainain 2011–2017 (Director-General)
  6. Yousef Al Maliki 2017–2021 (Director-General)
  7. Ahmed bin Said Jabor Al Rumaihi 2021–present (Director-General)

Membership[edit]

Qatar News Agency is a member of the Federation of Arab News Agencies (FANA), which aims to strengthen Arab media, in order to devdlope Arab News Agencies through the techniques and technology that they use. QNA is also a member of the Non-Aligned News Agencies Pool (NANAP), the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA), the Union of OIC News Agencies and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).[13]

May 2017 incident[edit]

See also: 2017 Qatar diplomatic crisis

On 24 May Qatar stated that the website was hacked by an unknown source and that fake stories on sensitive issues were published before the site went offline. Subsequently, Saudi Arabia, Egypt[14] and the United Arab Emirates blocked Qatari media, including broadcaster Al Jazeera.[15][16][17] On 5 June Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Libya, Bahrain, and Maldives severed their relations with Qatar accusing it of supporting terrorism.[18] In report published by The United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact, New York in 2022, data from the report displayed multiple initiatives by Qatar for countering terrorism such as supporting member states and regional organizations in developing their counter-terrorism strategies that reflect all four Pillars of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and in accordance with relevant General Assembly and Security Council resolutions. The report also included ensuring these strategies aim to counter terrorism in a holistic, comprehensive and integrated manner, in line with international law, including international human rights law, international humanitarian law and international refugee law, while also ensuring gender equality and youth empowerment through engagement with civil society, academia, think tanks and the private sector.[19]

According to Qatar-based Al Jazeera, hackers posted fake remarks on the official Qatar News Agency attributed to the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, that expressed support for Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah and Israel.[20] The emir was quoted as saying: "Iran represents a regional and Islamic power that cannot be ignored and it is unwise to face up against it. It is a big power in the stabilization of the region."[21][22] Qatar reported that the statements were false and did not know their origin.[23] Despite this, the remarks were widely publicized in the various Arab news media, including UAE-based Sky News Arabia and Al Arabiya.[20] On 3 June 2017, the Twitter account of Bahraini foreign minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa was hacked.[24]

Initially alleged Intelligence gathered by the US security agencies indicated that Russian hackers were behind the intrusion first reported by the Qataris.[25][26] However, a U.S. official briefed on the inquiry told The New York Times that it "was unclear whether the hackers were state-sponsored"[27] and The Guardian diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour reported that "It is believed that the Russian government was not involved in the hacks; instead, freelance hackers were paid to undertake the work on behalf of some other state or individual."[26] A U.S. diplomat said that Russia and its ally Iran stood to benefit from sowing discord among U.S. allies in the region, "particularly if they made it more difficult for the United States to use Qatar as a major base."[27] The FBI sent a team of investigators to Doha to help the Qatari government investigate the hacking incident.[28] Later New York Times reported that the hacking incidents may be part of long running cyberwar between Qatar and other Gulf countries that was only revealed to the public during the recent incidents and they noted how Saudi and UAE media picked up the statement made by the hacked media in less than 20 minutes and began interviewing many well-prepared commentators against Qatar.[29]

On 16 July, The Washington Post revealed that US intelligence officials pin-pointed the hack as being carried out by the UAE. The intelligence officials stated that the hacking was discussed among Emirati officials on 23 May, one day before the operation took place.[30] The UAE denied any involvement in the hacking.[31] It was announced on 26 August 2017 that five individuals allegedly involved in the hacking were arrested in Turkey.[32]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "QNA | English | Home Page". Archived from the original on 9 February 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
  2. ^ El Mustapha Lahlali (6 June 2011). Contemporary Arab Broadcast Media. Oxford University Press. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-7486-8864-7. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  3. ^ a b Qatar News Agency (QNA) - news agency in Doha, Qatar with local news and community events Archived 14 February 2011 at WebCite
  4. ^ Qatar Newspapers and News Sites Archived 3 January 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ BBC News - Qatar country profile Archived 17 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Profile of Qatar - Media - Information Archived 10 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Barrie Gunter; Roger Dickinson (6 June 2013). News Media in the Arab World: A Study of 10 Arab and Muslim Countries. A&C Black. p. 34. ISBN 978-1-4411-0239-3. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  8. ^ Abbas Kadhim (15 February 2013). Governance in the Middle East and North Africa: A Handbook. Routledge. p. 273. ISBN 978-1-136-95966-0. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  9. ^ a b The Middle East and North Africa 2004. Psychology Press. 2003. p. 954. ISBN 978-1-85743-184-1.
  10. ^ "HH The Amir Issues Amiri Decision Appointing Qatar News Agency Director-General". diwan.gov.qa. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  11. ^ Qatar: Year Book 1980–81. Doha: Press and Publications Department, Ministry of Information. 1981. p. 76.
  12. ^ "Information and Media". Embassy of Qatar. Archived from the original on 16 July 2014. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  13. ^ a b "About Us". www.qna.org.qa. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  14. ^ Michaelson, Ruth (25 May 2017). "Egypt blocks access to news websites including Al-Jazeera and Mada Masr". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  15. ^ "Qatar state news agency 'hacked with fake positive story about Israel and Iran'". The Telegraph. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  16. ^ "Qatar official state news agency hacked, sensitive articles published". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  17. ^ Alkhalisi, Zahraa (24 May 2017). "Al Jazeera blocked by Saudi Arabia and the UAE". CNNMoney. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  18. ^ "Saudi Arabia, Egypt lead Arab states cutting Qatar ties, Iran blames Trump". CNBC. 5 June 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  19. ^ "THE LARGEST UN COUNTER-TERRORISM FRAMEWORK EXPLAINED" (PDF). United Nations global counter terrorism coordination compact. 10 April 2023.
  20. ^ a b "Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Bahrain cut ties to Qatar". AlJazeera.com. 5 June 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  21. ^ "Hack, fake story expose real tensions between Qatar, Gulf". Fox News. 24 May 2017.
  22. ^ "Trump's 'Arab NATO' Vision is a Desert Mirage". Stratfor. 31 May 2017.
  23. ^ Barnard, Anne; Kirkpatrick, David (5 June 2017). "5 Arab States Break Ties With Qatar, Complicating U.S. Coalition-Building". New York Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  24. ^ "Bahrain minister briefly hacked after Qatar cyber attack". Phys.org. 3 June 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  25. ^ Evan Perez & Shimon Prokupecz, US suspects Russian hackers planted fake news behind Qatar crisis, CNN (6 June 2017).
  26. ^ a b Patrick Wintour, Russian hackers to blame for sparking Qatar crisis, FBI inquiry finds (7 June 2017).
  27. ^ a b Mark Landler, Trump Takes Credit for Saudi Move Against Qatar, a U.S. Military Partner, New York Times (6 June 2017).
  28. ^ "Ministry of the Interior Statement on Piracy Crime on Qatar News Agency Website". mofa.gov.qa.
  29. ^ Kirkpatrick, David D.; Frenkel, Sheera (8 June 2017). "Hacking in Qatar Highlights a Shift Toward Espionage-for-Hire". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  30. ^ "UAE arranged hacking of Qatari media: Washington Post". Al Jazeera. 16 July 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  31. ^ Tamara Qiblawi; Angela Dewan (27 July 2017). "UAE denies Washington Post report it orchestrated Qatar hack". CNN. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  32. ^ "Qatar says five suspects in news agency hacking detained in Turkey". Reuters. 26 August 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
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