Just a few minutes into the first live broadcast of Sky News Arabia, and it already feels like the channel has been on the airwaves for a decade.
True, there were the occasional glitches of the "I'm not getting a signal from the studio" type in the first hours. But these are part of life, even in stations that have been around from the days when the first satellites were launched into orbit.
So assuming that apparent effortlessness in any business is often a result of solid foundational work, then the managers and staff of the world's youngest 24-hour, free-to-air Arabic-language news station would be justified in calling its launch on Sunday evening a success.
It was exactly 8pm, the hour when prime-time TV kicks off in the UAE and the wider Gulf, when the face of a refreshingly young female presenter welcomed Arab viewers to a news bulletin broadcast from new studios in Abu Dhabi. Rita Malouf, like many of the other journalists who appeared during the launch, had that distinctive sparkle of people whose careers are still ahead of them.
She was on the line with a correspondent reporting from Paris on the climax of the French presidential election; another correspondent was covering developments on the Turkish-Syrian border after a visit by the Turkish prime minister to the refugee camps there; a third was in Cairo reporting on parliament's abolition of an old piece of legislation; and yet a fourth reporter was covering the fuel crisis in Juba, South Sudan. A nice selection, a good scope.
The reporting and the context were – and never underrate this adjective – sufficient. But will this be enough to carve out a niche in the cut-throat, recession-bedevilled world of media and advertising? The challenges are numerous.
A smart look, a misprint-free crawler, a catchy jingle, a larger-than-life studio screen, a dynamic online and mobile presence, an exclusive interview with the Turkish president, Abdullah Gul, and even a night ride with Free Syrian Army rebels – the station did it all. But all that remains pretty commonplace in the current market.
So the channel had a few other things up its sleeve to throw in that crucial first hour of existence: a measured tone (even when reporting on Syria) in an otherwise shrill Arabic-language media environment; an abaya-clad sports presenter breaking barriers in a male-dominated field; and a correspondent based in the Arab world's forbidden city – Damascus. These are the small assets that could make the big difference.
Since the launch of the Qatari-owned Al Jazeera in 1996 and the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya in 2003, the mass of Arab viewers have grown accustomed to a reasonable level of quality in television journalism.
Generously subsidised, those two channels managed to recruit talent and conquer the homes of about 300 million people. These are the real big two: in the mainstream, Al Arabiya is thought of as more moderate and Al Jazeera as more populist.
But monopoly breeds excess. For years now, and particularly since the Arab Spring started, the big two have been plagued with accusations – by regimes and laypeople alike – of serving "special agendas" and being too soft on their sponsoring governments.
Sky News Arabia, as far as the average Arab viewer is concerned, is a blank slate. The station is 50 per cent owned by the UK satellite broadcaster BSkyB, in which Rupert Murdoch's News Corp has a share and which owns the Sky News brand, and 50 per cent by Abu Dhabi Media Investment Corporation. It has no enemies, and nobody can accuse it yet of being biased in favour of this or against that. This is one of its main strengths as it engages an audience weary of Arab Spring-related conspiracy theories.
That blank slate, in fact, is what earned it a licence to station a reporter in Damascus. And this simple fact carries the promise of changing one or two things about how Arabs and, perhaps, the world perceive the lingering Syrian uprising, which has tested the objectivity of media outlets across the board.
Less than an hour into the launch of Sky News Arabia, the Syrian deputy foreign minister came on. It is hard to remember the last time a high-ranking Syrian government official appeared on a pan-Arab news channel. As he wished the station good luck and quickly admonished it for quoting "misleading" sources in an earlier report, Damascene cars were casually making a roundabout in the background – just smooth traffic, no plumes of smoke or wounded men rushed in stretchers, a scene that Al Jazeera or Al Arabiya would rarely show these days.
Since the September 11, 2001 attacks, and the ensuing US-led Nato campaign in Afghanistan and the invasion of Iraq, communicating with the Arab-Muslim world through mass media seemed the proper soft-power tool to give context to what many Arabs saw as the modern crusades.
The Washington-sponsored Al Hurra was launched in 2004. It mostly kept a low profile after enjoying the brief newcomer's benefit-of-doubt period and, later, suffering budget cuts. Moscow launched its Russia Al Youm, Tehran its Al Alam, Paris its own France 24 Arabic, Beijing its CCTV Arabic and Turkey its TRT, all vying for ideological influence – not necessarily just a slice of the advertising market – in this increasingly strategic Middle East and North Africa region.
Backed by decades of experience, a reputation for reliability and UK taxpayer money, BBC Arabic is still holding its own, offering a nice alternative to the big two.
So this is the general landscape, and with Sky News Arabia coming on board, it is coming closer to saturation. The new channel is not in it just for the influence, it is in it for the money too. It describes itself as a private venture and has two advertisers already buying airtime: the Canada-based Nova Chemicals and Abu Dhabi's Dolphin Energy.
Note that another 24-hour Arabic-language private news channel, Alarab, is expected to launch from Bahrain by the end of the year, a venture unveiled last year by the Saudi billionaire Prince Al Waleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
A few hours of viewing cannot make a full judgment. But, for what those hours were worth, Sky News Arabia showed potential, especially since the need for "an icon of objective news reporting" – the station's promise – is still missing in the Arab world.
aelbahi@thenational.ae
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
Company%20Profile
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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
Company%20Profile
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The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.3-litre%20turbo%204-cyl%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E10-speed%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E298hp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E452Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETowing%20capacity%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.4-tonne%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPayload%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4WD%20%E2%80%93%20776kg%3B%20Rear-wheel%20drive%20819kg%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPrice%3A%20Dh138%2C945%20(XLT)%20Dh193%2C095%20(Wildtrak)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDelivery%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20from%20August%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: 2019 Aston Martin DBS Superleggera
Price, base: Dh1.2 million
Engine: 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 725hp @ 6,500pm
Torque: 900Nm @ 1,800rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.3L / 100km (estimate)
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
Chelsea 2 Burnley 3
Chelsea Morata (69'), Luiz (88')
Burnley Vokes (24', 43'), Ward (39')
Red cards Cahill, Fabregas (Chelsea)
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
What%20is%20Dungeons%20%26%20Dragons%3F%20
%3Cp%3EDungeons%20%26amp%3B%20Dragons%20began%20as%20an%20interactive%20game%20which%20would%20be%20set%20up%20on%20a%20table%20in%201974.%20One%20player%20takes%20on%20the%20role%20of%20dungeon%20master%2C%20who%20directs%20the%20game%2C%20while%20the%20other%20players%20each%20portray%20a%20character%2C%20determining%20its%20species%2C%20occupation%20and%20moral%20and%20ethical%20outlook.%20They%20can%20choose%20the%20character%E2%80%99s%20abilities%2C%20such%20as%20strength%2C%20constitution%2C%20dexterity%2C%20intelligence%2C%20wisdom%20and%20charisma.%20In%20layman%E2%80%99s%20terms%2C%20the%20winner%20is%20the%20one%20who%20amasses%20the%20highest%20score.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
If you go
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Funchal via Lisbon, with a connecting flight with Air Portugal. Economy class returns cost from Dh3,845 return including taxes.
The trip
The WalkMe app can be downloaded from the usual sources. If you don’t fancy doing the trip yourself, then Explore offers an eight-day levada trails tour from Dh3,050, not including flights.
The hotel
There isn’t another hotel anywhere in Madeira that matches the history and luxury of the Belmond Reid's Palace in Funchal. Doubles from Dh1,400 per night including taxes.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
SPECS
Toyota land Cruiser 2020 5.7L VXR
Engine: 5.7-litre V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 362hp
Torque: 530Nm
Price: Dh329,000 (base model 4.0L EXR Dh215,900)
WIDE%20VIEW
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The Orwell Prize for Political Writing
Twelve books were longlisted for The Orwell Prize for Political Writing. The non-fiction works cover various themes from education, gender bias, and the environment to surveillance and political power. Some of the books that made it to the non-fiction longlist include:
- Appeasing Hitler: Chamberlain, Churchill and the Road to War by Tim Bouverie
- Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me by Kate Clanchy
- Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez
- Follow Me, Akhi: The Online World of British Muslims by Hussein Kesvani
- Guest House for Young Widows: Among the Women of ISIS by Azadeh Moaveni
Company profile
Name: Tratok Portal
Founded: 2017
Based: UAE
Sector: Travel & tourism
Size: 36 employees
Funding: Privately funded
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Company%20Profile
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Brief scoreline:
Manchester United 2
Rashford 28', Martial 72'
Watford 1
Doucoure 90'
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million