MUMBAI: Al Jazeera English (AJE) has won the award for ‘Best 24 Hour News Program’ at the 48th Monte Carlo Television Festival.

The channel beats entries from BBC News, Sky News, Lisboa TV and the Phoenix Satellite Television Company.

Among the specific reports highlighted at the festival were Nour Odeh’s reports from Gaza, where she brought the suffering of the Gazan people, when she was caught in the middle of a violent street battle between Hamas and Fatah. Following the broadcast of the fighting on AJE, both sides in the Gaza battles agreed to a ceasefire.

In addition to ‘Best 24 Hour News Program’, AJE received nominations in every news category at the awards show, including ‘Best TV Item’ for James Bays’ Taliban Embedded, which was awarded a second place prize, and ‘Best News Documentary’ for Tony Birtley’s Inside Myanmar – The Crackdown.

AJE's MD Tony Burman said, " For me, the award demonstrates the commitment of AJE’s staff to giving a voice to the voiceless, of telling vital stories that are not on the agenda of the western news networks.”

AJE was launched in November 2006 with broadcast centers in Kuala Lumpur, Doha, London and Washington DC.