Arabsat Drops al-Alam

Arabsat, owned by a member (or members? I lose track.) of the Saudi royal family has dropped Iran's Arabic-language news channel:

"Iran's Arabic-language television network Al Alam said on Wednesday it has again been taken off air by a Saudi-based satellite operator amid simmering tensions between Shi'ite Iran and US-allied Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia.

"Analysts say Riyadh and several other Arab governments allied to the United States are worried about a rise in Tehran's influence in the region through Shi'ite minorities.

"Al Alam said in November that both the Saudi-based Arabsat network and Nilesat in Cairo had halted its broadcasting. In a statement yesterday, it said Arabsat later resumed broadcasting, before halting it again. It did not give details."