Hot Topics:

DMI grants $8 mil to Syria

Public authority will set up news center for TV

Australia bounced back in 2007

Late night auds came back strong

Letterman deal helps WGA's image

NBC nets impressive hockey ratings

Anderson working on 'Master'(5545 views)

Sundance unveils competition lineup(5398 views)

Comcast, GE unveil NBC U deal(3325 views)

NBR's best: 'Up in the Air'(3253 views)

Sundance unveils complete lineup(2946 views)

Johnny Depp eyes Pancho Villa role(1900 views)

LONDON - Dubai Media Inc. (DMI), the Dubai governmental media network, is to provide a grant of $8 million to the Syrian Public Authority for Radio and Television for the purpose of setting up a news centre for Syrian TV.

The coin will also be used to train 20 staff and enable the facility to be ready for the Arab Summit in Damascus this March.

The announcement comes in the wake of a recent top-level delegation of DMI execs who visited Syrian capital Damascus to meet with senior figures in the Syrian government to discuss greater co-operation between Syria and Dubai on TV production.

Syria has increasingly established itself as a centre for Arab TV production, particularly in terms of its Ramadan musalsalat, the term given to the 30-episode skeins which are the biggest rating draw during the Muslim holy month.

This past Ramadan, Syrian skein "Bab Al-Hara" was the most talked-about musalsa, followed closely by historical biopic "King Farouk,"about the last monarch of Egypt who was overthrown by general and future prexy Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1952. Skein was directed by Syrian Hatem Ali and featured Syrian thesp Tayem Ali as Nasser.