In late 2020, The National continued its ambitious global expansion by establishing a full news bureau in Washington, DC.
The newspaper already had two US correspondents but it was clear that building a physical presence in the US capital was vital.
Today, a fully fledged multimedia team comprising 12 journalists and many freelancers covers the Americas in detail, with a focus on US foreign policy, the top stories from across the hemisphere and showcasing Arab American voices.
Building a bureau from the ground up was no simple proposition during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Initial candidate interviews were done remotely from Abu Dhabi. Searching for a physical office space was complicated. And Covid restrictions meant several new colleagues were unable to meet in person until months after they joined.
Still, the team was up and running in time for the 2020 presidential election pitting then-president Donald Trump against Democrat Joe Biden.
In the weeks ahead of the crucial poll the US bureau’s senior correspondent, Willy Lowry, criss-crossed America and filed a six-part multimedia series focusing on the Arab American community, their views and hopes for the election.
His work is one example of the US bureau’s abiding commitment to giving a platform to Arab American and Muslim voices.
This focus helps The National set itself apart from other publications in America’s saturated media landscape.
The bureau has also sought to showcase its Middle East ties by interviewing high-profile diplomats and US officials with regional expertise.
What happened after the 2020 election took the world by surprise.
Trump, who had lost by some seven million votes to Biden, refused to concede. Not only that, he whipped up populist outrage by insisting, with no genuine evidence, that the election had been “stolen” through a shadowy Democrat conspiracy.
That anger erupted on January 6, 2021, when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol in a deadly attempt to upend American democracy and stop Mr Biden from becoming president.
Today, the US bureau overlooks the Capitol building, a Washington landmark that now serves as a permanent reminder of the precariousness of American democracy in the 21st century.
The team moved into its new office space in the middle of last year, sharing a fully refurbished suite with Sky News Arabia.
The US bureau now has three correspondents based in Washington: Lowry, Ellie Sennett and Jihan Abdalla. Lowry spends much of his time on the road, bringing The National’s readers exclusive insights from communities across the US, Mexico and Canada. Our UN correspondent, Adla Massoud, is based in New York.
Sennett and Abdalla focus on the White House, the Pentagon, the US Congress and the State Department. They chase stories that are directly relevant to the Middle East. For instance, Sennett has followed the Captagon drug crisis that is gripping the region and Congressional efforts to address the issue.
The team has two video journalists who produce short news pieces and longer-form films. Joshua Longmore, the senior video journalist, has travelled extensively and shot mini documentaries including from Elon Musk’s adopted hometown in Texas, a sinking island in the Chesapeake Bay and a hurricane in South Carolina.
Aside from the bureau chief, the US team also includes a deputy, two homepage editors, a sub-editor and a social media journalist. All do much more than their job titles suggest.
As the newspaper celebrates its 15th anniversary and the US bureau enters its third year, it is a good time to reflect not just on what was accomplished, but where the coming years will take us.
In Washington, the Biden administration ushered in a brief period of calm compared to the previous four years under Mr Trump, whose iconoclastic and bombastic leadership style ensured an unpredictable and tumultuous news cycle.
Two years on, he is resurgent, buoyed by the criminal charges he faces that supporters have written off as a partisan witch hunt.
America’s culture war expands to new fronts daily, with fresh battles emerging over any number of topics including whether books that teach America’s racist past should be banned and whether transgender athletes should be allowed to compete.
The backdrop to it all is the routine carnage that now defines America. Daily mass shootings claim the lives of innocent children and grown-ups, yet any talk of firearms control is met with outrage from many quarters.
On the world stage, America’s role as global superpower is being challenged like never before by China and, to a lesser extent, Russia.
The 2024 presidential elections, combined with these other issues, mean the US will remain at the centre of the global news cycle for years to come.
The National’s US bureau looks forward to bringing you this information accurately, quickly and reliably.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company profile
Name: Back to Games and Boardgame Space
Started: Back to Games (2015); Boardgame Space (Mark Azzam became co-founder in 2017)
Founder: Back to Games (Mr Azzam); Boardgame Space (Mr Azzam and Feras Al Bastaki)
Based: Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Industry: Back to Games (retail); Boardgame Space (wholesale and distribution)
Funding: Back to Games: self-funded by Mr Azzam with Dh1.3 million; Mr Azzam invested Dh250,000 in Boardgame Space
Growth: Back to Games: from 300 products in 2015 to 7,000 in 2019; Boardgame Space: from 34 games in 2017 to 3,500 in 2019
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
Types of fraud
Phishing: Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
Smishing: The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
Vishing: The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
SIM swap: Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
Identity theft: Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
Prize scams: Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
* Nada El Sawy
The specs
Price: From Dh529,000
Engine: 5-litre V8
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Power: 520hp
Torque: 625Nm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.8L/100km
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
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
The years Ramadan fell in May
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.
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
