خبرگزاری جمهوری عربی سوریه Syrian Arab News Agency
Damascus, SANA – Moving at a notably quick pace in expanding its services, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) launched Tuesday an English language newsfeed service which is open for subscription for international news agencies and various media and official institutions.
The new service kicked off less than two months after SANA launched a new website, featuring an updated design to keep up with technological developments and present rich content.
Supervisor of the English newsfeed Hazem Sabbagh said the new service allows for the delivery of news items in the English language directly and quickly to subscribers.
After being translated into English from the Arabic source material, news items are provided to subscribers through the newsfeed before being posted on the Agency’s website, Sabbagh added,
He pointed out that the newsfeed will also publish original news items and reports written and edited in English “so as to address English-speaking readers directly in their own language.”
Rasha Milhem from the English Bulletin Department highlighted the importance of the new newsfeed in terms of “providing non-Arabic speaking readers with access to precise and credible information about issues related to Syria that are of interest to them.”
Translator Ghinwa Maia, in turn, touched upon the issue of the new service giving the opportunity to write original material directly in the English language instead of relying on translated versions of Arabic material.
“This allows reaching out to English readers more smoothly than when items are translated from Arabic,” she added.
Besides the English newsfeed, SANA has an Arabic one with several subscribers, with both newsfeeds providing photo and video services. Its website also publishes news items in French, Turkish, Spanish, Russian and Chinese languages.
SANA also has Facebook and Twitter pages and a YouTube channel.
Haifa Said / Hazem Sabbagh