Africanews channel launches with continent-focused coverage

The Africanews channel launched Monday with coverage of the continent in English and French that is only available online for now, but which its backers hope to expand to TV broadcasts soon.

The start-up aims to cover news from a purely African perspective and transmit on TV networks "within weeks", following the model of its sister operation Euronews in Lyon, France, said Michael Peters, who heads the two news operations.

Africanews (www.africanews.com), headquartered in the Republic of Congo, will offer general, sports, business and culture news services that can be tailored to the strength of the user's internet connection.

The channel's newsroom employs 85 people from 15 nationalities and is temporarily based in Pointe-Noire while waiting for Congo's government to build its headquarters in the capital Brazzaville.

In several weeks Africanews will launch news bulletins in Swahili and is looking for partners to expand its coverage to other African languages.