1. Rima Maktabi was born on 4 July 1977 and is a Lebanese TV presenter and award-winning journalist who returned to al-Arabiya after hosting CNN's monthly program Inside the Middle East for two years and previously working at the Arab satellite channel since 2005.
Rima Maktabi was among several female Arab journalists who first became known through her reporting during the 2006 Lebanon War and who had successful careers afterward, including Maktabi and her former colleague at al-Arabiya Najwa Qassem.
Rima Maktabi was born 4 July 1977 in Beirut, Lebanon.
Rima Maktabi had grown up during the Lebanese Civil War, which lasted from 1975 to 1990.
Rima Maktabi graduated from the Lebanese American University in Beirut with a bachelor's degree in Communication Arts and a master's degree in International Affairs.
Rima Maktabi began her career in television at the age of 18 before her university education.
Rima Maktabi began her career in television with Lebanon's Future TV where she was a game show host and a weather presenter for 10 years.
Rima Maktabi presented prime-time news for al Arabiya from 2005 until July 2010.
Rima Maktabi announced her return to al-Arabiya in October 2012.
Rima Maktabi first became known internationally for her reporting in the 2006 Lebanon War.
At the time of the war, Maktabi was a "rookie" journalist but was able to get exclusive coverage for al-Arabiya.
Rima Maktabi said that Israelis targeted journalists and the International Red Cross requested the journalists to keep a distance from the relief workers when traveling in a convoy for the safety of the relief teams.
Rima Maktabi told a TV crew interviewing her about her reporting experience, "We saw death close up".
Rima Maktabi was journalist and television presenter for al-Arabiya, an Arab satellite channel, for five years.
Rima Maktabi worked for CNN from April 2010 to October 2012.
Rima Maktabi covered the Syrian civil war from CNN offices in Atlanta, Georgia, Lebanon, and Abu Dhabi as foreign reporters were forbidden entry inside Syria.
Rima Maktabi has received awards for her coverage on the Israeli and Lebanese war in 2006.