Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan made his first journey overseas when he was in his mid-30s and the Ruler’s Representative in the Eastern Region.
Over the decades, it is a traveller’s tale that has grown better with the telling. The small group, headed by then Ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan, and including the redoubtable businessman and adviser, Khalifa bin Yousef Al Suwaidi, are said to have flown to London for the coronation, in June 1953, of the young Queen Elizabeth.
In London, the story is told, Sheikh Shakhbut was unhappy at the accommodation – or the lack of it – offered by the British and so decamped to Paris, where the party enjoyed the view from the Eiffel Tower and visited the Bois de Boulogne, before returning home via Rome.
Sheikh Zayed was to return to London on many occasions, but under very different circumstances. As Ruler of Abu Dhabi and as the first President of the UAE, he was greeted with all the pomp and circumstances owed to a head of state. In turn he welcomed and was welcomed by Queen Elizabeth, as was his son, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, the current President of the UAE.
This year’s History Project magazine records the UAE’s place in the world from the moment, a week after the country’s birth on December 2, 1971, when the new flag was raised to join those of the nations of the world that fly outside the United Nations headquarters in New York.
It is a sign of the UAE’s relative youth, or at the very least of their robust constitutions, that two witnesses of those early years, Zaki Nusseibeh, adviser and translator to two presidents, and Adnan Pachachi, a former Minister of State and 92-years-young, are able to share with us their first-hand accounts of that time.
In the five decades since, the UAE has emerged as a growing voice in international affairs. The great leaders of the world have made their way to Abu Dhabi, to be welcomed with warmth and courtesy. In return, this country’s leaders are a familiar presence in the corridors of power in the White House, 10 Downing Street, the Élysée Palace and the Kremlin.
Millions daily experience the generosity of the UAE, with an unequalled reputation for international aid that has built bridges – literally in Pakistan – houses in Palestine, a state-of-the-art refugee camp in Jordan and a children’s care unit in the heart of the American capital, to name but a few.
In troubled times, the men and women of our Armed Forces have shown a dedication to international peacekeeping missions from Lebanon to Kosovo and Afghanistan, helping and protecting those in need.
This approach to world affairs is sometimes portrayed as “soft power”, a tactic of projecting influence and influencing the course of history without resorting to weapons and threats of force.
At the same time, the UAE has demonstrated that despite its relative small size, it is not afraid to stand firm when needed. In 1991, the UAE Armed Forces joined the international coalition that liberated occupied Kuwait from Saddam Hussein.
Today our soldiers are part of another coalition, this one to restore peace and stability to the people of Yemen. As they fight the Houthi rebellion, so the Red Crescent and the agencies of the UAE also work to rebuild that shattered, ancient land.
This is a conflict that comes at a price, one paid by all nations that feel the obligation to make the world a better place. Along with National Day, this week also honours those who have fallen for their country.
It is a heavy burden and one that cannot be honourably set aside. But it is one of the hallmarks of a great nation and its people that they have the resolve to carry it.
Married Malala
Malala Yousafzai is enjoying married life, her father said.
The 24-year-old married Pakistan cricket executive Asser Malik last year in a small ceremony in the UK.
Ziauddin Yousafzai told The National his daughter was ‘very happy’ with her husband.
Company profile
Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
Company Profile
Company name: Namara
Started: June 2022
Founder: Mohammed Alnamara
Based: Dubai
Sector: Microfinance
Current number of staff: 16
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Family offices
WHAT IS GRAPHENE?
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.
Confirmed bouts (more to be added)
Cory Sandhagen v Umar Nurmagomedov
Nick Diaz v Vicente Luque
Michael Chiesa v Tony Ferguson
Deiveson Figueiredo v Marlon Vera
Mackenzie Dern v Loopy Godinez
Tickets for the August 3 Fight Night, held in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, went on sale earlier this month, through www.etihadarena.ae and www.ticketmaster.ae.
RACE CARD
6.30pm Mazrat Al Ruwayah – Group 2 (PA) $36,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.05pm Handicap (TB) $68,000 (Turf) 2,410m
7.40pm Meydan Trophy – Conditions (TB) $50,000 (T) 1,900m
8.15pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 - Group 2 (TB) $293,000 (D) 1,900m
8.50pm Al Rashidiya – Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,800m
9.25pm Handicap (TB) $65,000 (T) 1,000m
SPEC SHEET: APPLE IPHONE 14
Display: 6.1" Super Retina XDR OLED, 2532 x 1170, 460ppi, HDR, True Tone, P3, 1200 nits
Processor: A15 Bionic, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Memory: 6GB
Capacity: 128/256/512GB
Platform: iOS 16
Main camera: Dual 12MP main (f/1.5) + 12MP ultra-wide (f/2.4); 2x optical, 5x digital; Photonic Engine, Deep Fusion, Smart HDR 4, Portrait Lighting
Main camera video: 4K @ 24/25/3060fps, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps, HD @ 30fps; HD slo-mo @ 120/240fps; night, time lapse, cinematic, action modes; Dolby Vision, 4K HDR
Front camera: 12MP TrueDepth (f/1.9), Photonic Engine, Deep Fusion, Smart HDR 4; Animoji, Memoji; Portrait Lighting
Front camera video: 4K @ 24/25/3060fps, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps, HD slo-mo @ 120fps; night, time lapse, cinematic, action modes; Dolby Vision, 4K HDR
Battery: 3279 mAh, up to 20h video, 16h streaming video, 80h audio; fast charge to 50% in 30m; MagSafe, Qi wireless charging
Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC (Apple Pay)
Biometrics: Face ID
I/O: Lightning
Cards: Dual eSIM / eSIM + SIM (US models use eSIMs only)
Colours: Blue, midnight, purple, starlight, Product Red
In the box: iPhone 14, USB-C-to-Lightning cable, one Apple sticker
Price: Dh3,399 / Dh3,799 / Dh4,649
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
Developer: Sucker Punch Productions
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Console: PlayStation 2 to 5
Rating: 5/5
Inside Out 2
Director: Kelsey Mann
Starring: Amy Poehler, Maya Hawke, Ayo Edebiri
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs
Engine: 6-cylinder, 4.8-litre
Transmission: 5-speed automatic and manual
Power: 280 brake horsepower
Torque: 451Nm
Price: from Dh153,00
On sale: now
FIXTURES
Nov 04-05: v Western Australia XI, Perth
Nov 08-11: v Cricket Australia XI, Adelaide
Nov 15-18 v Cricket Australia XI, Townsville (d/n)
Nov 23-27: 1ST TEST v AUSTRALIA, Brisbane
Dec 02-06: 2ND TEST v AUSTRALIA, Adelaide (d/n)
Dec 09-10: v Cricket Australia XI, Perth
Dec 14-18: 3RD TEST v AUSTRALIA, Perth
Dec 26-30 4TH TEST v AUSTRALIA, Melbourne
Jan 04-08: 5TH TEST v AUSTRALIA, Sydney
Note: d/n = day/night
if you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct to Kolkata from Dh1,504 and Dh1,450 return including taxes, respectively. The flight takes four hours 30 minutes outbound and 5 hours 30 minute returning.
The trains
Numerous trains link Kolkata and Murshidabad but the daily early morning Hazarduari Express (3’ 52”) is the fastest and most convenient; this service also stops in Plassey. The return train departs Murshidabad late afternoon. Though just about feasible as a day trip, staying overnight is recommended.
The hotels
Mursidabad’s hotels are less than modest but Berhampore, 11km south, offers more accommodation and facilities (and the Hazarduari Express also pauses here). Try Hotel The Fame, with an array of rooms from doubles at Rs1,596/Dh90 to a ‘grand presidential suite’ at Rs7,854/Dh443.