On April 16, 2008, I hit the button to start the printing press for the inaugural edition of The National newspaper.
Two hundred days before, I had landed in Abu Dhabi in 50°C heat to find deserted streets in the middle of a Ramadan afternoon. I checked into my hotel and burst into tears – I had made a terrible mistake. But here I am, 15 years later, still in my role as managing editor of this ever-growing news organisation with ample war stories and comic relief – especially from those founding days.
A few weeks before, I found myself in a puddle of pity. I had been working away at the National Post newspaper in Toronto, another title I helped launch in 1998. Martin Newland was an editor on that paper and when he called to recruit me for the Abu Dhabi start-up I was an easy sell: “There’s no snow and no taxes.”
It is fair to say none of us realised what we were getting ourselves into or how unusually ambitious this project would be. But we all understood the mission: to create a quality, broadsheet newspaper that would bring the capital and the country credibility and signal that it was an up-and-coming place to visit and do business. That was the easy bit.
We soon realised we had no newsroom, no computers, no computer system and no place to house the 200-plus people we had begun to hire and who were arriving on our doorstep every day.
We ordered computers. We did a 48-hour trip to Copenhagen to settle on a computer editorial system.
Then we found out we didn’t have a printing press.
Buying and building a printing press is normally a multi-year proposition, and outsourcing the printing was not a viable option. We were in a real pickle. This was when the head of the printing division, Ali Alnuaimi, earned his wings. He somehow found a printing press that had been ordered by a Russian newspaper. It was on a boat making its way to its final destination. Ali convinced that company to transfer ownership of the press to us and had the boat redirected to Abu Dhabi.
Printing presses, however, are sold in a million pieces. So when it arrived it had to be assembled – a process that would normally take no less than a year. A giant concrete slab was poured, and a small army of people set out working around the clock to build us a press. As the behemoth machine was assembled, the walls and roof of the building went up around it.
Fifteen years ago, Yas Island, Saadiyat, Reem, Al Zeina and Al Bandar had yet to be built. There were only a few hotels and barely any vacancies in the city’s apartment buildings. Because the demand could not be met, rents were extraordinary – especially given the quality of the accommodation.
Our company covered our first month in a hotel; after that we were paying extortionate rates to stay in aged hotel apartments. Enter Lizzie Eschauzier, a long-time resident of Abu Dhabi with a strong institutional knowledge of how to make things work. She was tasked with helping newcomers navigate the bureaucracy. The solution to our housing woes was to rent entire apartment buildings before they were even built. Staff then signed up to rent rooms in these apartments. It took several years before Abu Dhabi’s infrastructure caught up with the demand, these leases finally ran out, and I was able to turn in the keys and stop playing property manager.
Meanwhile, we conceived, designed and hired a team of journalists from more than 20 countries to create a newspaper we were proud of. But it still needed the ultimate stamp of approval.
We were told Martin would be summoned at any moment so he could show Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi at the time, the prototype and hopefully get the green light to proceed. Martin put on his best suit and shiniest shoes and carried the prototype under his arm for three days waiting anxiously for The Call.
Finally, it came with instructions to meet Sheikh Mohamed, now President of the UAE, at Marina Mall. There, in a cafe, Martin received the praise we had hoped for.
Soon after, we moved out of the dingy auditorium we had hunkered down in and into our sparkling new offices to begin “dry runs”. This is an exercise to produce the full newspaper every day to deadline until all the kinks are worked out. During this time we cut our teeth covering one of the biggest UAE news events of the day: a 200-car pile-up on Sheikh Zayed Road caused by thick fog. We did it well, and we knew we were ready to roll.
On Thursday, April 17, 2008, we proudly held the first edition of The National. On Friday morning, the second edition went out just fine.
On Saturday morning, Martin received a call from the Crown Prince’s office concerned that they had not received that day’s edition. It was explained that we had been commissioned to do only six days a week.
New instructions came down: we need a Saturday paper. It needs to be bigger and better than all the other days and it should have a magazine too.
Fifteen years later, the challenges keep on coming – and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
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Sreesanth's India bowling career
Tests 27, Wickets 87, Average 37.59, Best 5-40
ODIs 53, Wickets 75, Average 33.44, Best 6-55
T20Is 10, Wickets 7, Average 41.14, Best 2-12
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
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The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 502hp at 7,600rpm
Torque: 637Nm at 5,150rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: from Dh317,671
On sale: now
Pari
Produced by: Clean Slate Films (Anushka Sharma, Karnesh Sharma) & KriArj Entertainment
Director: Prosit Roy
Starring: Anushka Sharma, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Ritabhari Chakraborty, Rajat Kapoor, Mansi Multani
Three stars
SPECS
Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Innotech Profile
Date started: 2013
Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari
Based: Muscat, Oman
Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies
Size: 15 full-time employees
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now.
Company profile
Company: Verity
Date started: May 2021
Founders: Kamal Al-Samarrai, Dina Shoman and Omar Al Sharif
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Size: four team members
Stage: Intially bootstrapped but recently closed its first pre-seed round of $800,000
Investors: Wamda, VentureSouq, Beyond Capital and regional angel investors
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Key products and UAE prices
iPhone XS
With a 5.8-inch screen, it will be an advance version of the iPhone X. It will be dual sim and comes with better battery life, a faster processor and better camera. A new gold colour will be available.
Price: Dh4,229
iPhone XS Max
It is expected to be a grander version of the iPhone X with a 6.5-inch screen; an inch bigger than the screen of the iPhone 8 Plus.
Price: Dh4,649
iPhone XR
A low-cost version of the iPhone X with a 6.1-inch screen, it is expected to attract mass attention. According to industry experts, it is likely to have aluminium edges instead of stainless steel.
Price: Dh3,179
Apple Watch Series 4
More comprehensive health device with edge-to-edge displays that are more than 30 per cent bigger than displays on current models.
THE 12 BREAKAWAY CLUBS
England
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur
Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
Read more about the coronavirus
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Day 2, stumps
Pakistan 482
Australia 30/0 (13 ov)
Australia trail by 452 runs with 10 wickets remaining in the innings
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CREW
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The biog
Name: Fareed Lafta
Age: 40
From: Baghdad, Iraq
Mission: Promote world peace
Favourite poet: Al Mutanabbi
Role models: His parents
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APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
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