MEMBERS of Wiltshire's Arabic community can now tune into one of the biggest Middle Eastern TV channels in the world.

News channel Al Jazeera, which is watched by more than 35 million people worldwide, has been launched free on UK Sky Digital.

The move means hundreds of Arabic families across Wiltshire can tune into current affairs from Afghanistan and the Middle East.

Osama bin Laden, Tony Blair, US secretary of state Colin Powell and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres have all given interviews to the Middle Eastern channel in recent weeks.

Based in the Arab state of Qatar, the channel has a global reputation for covering controversial topics including women's rights under Islam and the pros and cons of peace with Israel.