Abu Dhabi: A total of 25 UAE University students joined a virtual acrylic painting workshop guided by prominent Emirati artist and sculptor, Abdulraheem Salim.

During the two hours of the workshop, students from the university’s Fine Arts programme followed with great interest as Salim demonstrated advanced techniques for acrylic painting, and shared his extensive experience.

Salim is a well-known Emirati artist who was one of the first to contribute to the fine art movements in the country. He has had more than 10 solo art exhibtions till date.

“For 35 years I have been using acrylics. I work for around six to eight hours a day because I am retired. I do not stop. If I am not painting, I am sketching,” Salim told the students at the start of the workshop in order to motivate them.

The virtual nature of the workshop did not hinder Salim’s interactions with the participants.

“I discover something in my paintings. It gives me the shapes and textures, like this blue or black, or that light that is shining through in my painting,” Salim said as he worked to make some final corrections.

The workshop was organized by the Abu Dhabi Arts Society (ADAS) and university’s Visual Studies programme.

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Dubai: Two security guards at a Dubai company have been accused of stealing material and tools worth Dh1.1 million from a construction site. The Dubai Court of First Instance was told that the two defendants sold the material to different buyers and escaped. The two defendants switched off their phones and escape ten days ago, before the Dubai-based company discovered the theft.

According to an official employed with the company, the pair sold the construction material while they were guarding the site.

“The guards’ supervisor contacted the first defendant via WhatsApp and the latter admitted to making money from the theft. He even provided the plate number of the buyer’s vehicle and we passed it on to police,” said the 33-year-old Yemeni official.

Dubai Police arrested the buyer who admitted to buying the material from the construction site in Dubai’s Jebel Ali area.

According to Dubai Public Prosecution, the 26-year-old Nepali and the 37-year-old Indian defendants stole material and tools worth Dh1.1 million from the company. The two defendants are still at large while the buyer was charged with obtaining stolen material.

A verdict is expected on May 25.

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Dubai: An Emirati man who was in shock after his father’s death, slapped an Indian paramedic over alleged dereliction of duty.

The Dubai Court of First Instance heard on Sunday that the 32-year-old Emirati defendant had assaulted the Indian paramedic at Rashid Hospital last September.

The Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services was summoned to transfer the defendant’s father to Rashid Hospital, following a neck injury at his Nad Al Sheba residence.

Later, the defendant’s father passed away and he was told by his sister about alleged negligence by the paramedic. “I was still in shock after being told that my father had passed away. My sister complained about the paramedic’s dereliction of duties. I went to the person who transferred my father to the hospital and slapped her on the face,” the defendant said on record.

Medical reports showed that the female paramedic suffered a buzzing sensation in her left ear and sustained a two per cent permanent disability.

“I was on duty at Rashid Hospital when the defendant came and asked me if I was the one who had transferred the patient. I thought he was asking me about the patient whom I had transferred from Nad Al Sheba, but he slapped me on the face. Others controlled him after that. The left side of my head was in pain due to the assault. I was bleeding from my mouth as well,” the 43-year-old Indian paramedic said on record. “I am still having problems with hearing,” she added.

Dubai Public Prosecution has charged the defendant with physically assaulting the victim, causing two per cent disability. The next hearing is scheduled for May 25.

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Dubai: An Emirati man who was in shock after his father’s death, slapped an Indian paramedic over alleged dereliction of duties by the paramedic.

The Dubai Court of First Instance heard on Sunday that the 32-year-old Emirati defendant had assaulted the Indian paramedic at Rashid Hospital last September.

The Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services was summoned to transfer the elderly person to Rashid Hospital, following a neck injury at his Nad Al Sheba residence.

Later, the defendant’s father passed away and he was told by his sister about alleged negligence by the paramedic. “I was still in shock after being told that my father had passed away. My sister complained about the paramedic’s dereliction of duties. I went to the person who transferred my father to the hospital and slapped her on the face,” the defendant said on record.

Medical reports showed that the female paramedic suffered a buzzing sensation in her left ear and sustained a two per cent permanent disability.

“I was on duty at Rashid Hospital when the defendant came and asked me if I was the one who had transferred the patient. I thought he was asking me about the patient whom I had transferred from Nad Al Sheba, but he slapped me on the face. Others controlled him after that. The left side of my head was in pain due to the assault. I was bleeding from my mouth as well,” the 43-year-old Indian paramedic said on record. “I am still having problems with hearing,” she added.

Dubai Public Prosecution has charged the defendant with physically assaulting the victim, causing two per cent disability. The next hearing is scheduled for May 25.

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Dubai: A 67-year-old Lebanese expat hit it big and walked away with Dh1 million after winning the second-tier prize in the latest ‘Mahzooz’ weekly draw.

Bassem, a long-time UAE resident, was the only participant to match five out of the six winning numbers (1-2-16-18-36-45) during the live draw held on April 17. He is Mahzooz’s fifth millionaire of 2021 and also the second Lebanese expat to win Dh1 million, after his compatriot, Abu Ali, grabbed the second prize on January 31.

Bassem said he was a long-time Mahzooz participant. He said: “I even have a set routine to check my numbers if I won. This week’s draw proved anything but routine. I checked my numbers and was in shock. I was thrilled when I saw that I had won a million dirhams. It was my first time ever winning.”

Turning things around

Bassem is a businessman and lives with his wife and three children. “I came to the UAE in 1976 when I was 21,” said Bassem, adding: “The last year was difficult for my company because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, with this money, I’ll be able to turn things around,” he said.

“I have some debts, I need to take care of them, and I will give some money to my children. I will also help my brother and sister with their finances,” he added.

But despite his big win, Bassem said he had no plans of slowing down. “I will continue participating and aim to win the Dh50 million next,” he said. “My wife used to tell me that I’m not lucky, but I have always believed that as long as your name is there, you have a chance to win. If your name is not there, you will never get lucky.”

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Gulf News has crossed a new frontier and achieved a milestone in the UAE’s publishing industry with the launch of its online paid subscription model yesterday.

The media house has always been a leader in the region, be it in content, innovation or market share.

Abdul Hamid Ahmad

Gulf News CEO, Editor-in-Chief and Executive Director of Publishing, Abdul Hamid Ahmad, elaborates on the decision to go behind a paywall in an interview. He explains what the step means for the reader, the business, and how it is not a wall but “a gateway to trusted, credible and verified news”.

He explained that the paywall guarantees a reader protection against fake news and click bait content, while providing a positive reading experience.

Behind the decision to launch a paywall

The decision to go behind a paywall and to charge for our online content was taken a while ago. It is no longer possible for us — or for that matter any other news organisation — to carry on offering their content for free, while we witness, regionally and globally, an increasing decline in revenues coming in from advertising.

This is not a mere trend but a reality that media houses have to accept and are forced to comply with. As a leading news organisation for the past 42 years, Gulf News has always sold content through its print editions. And we continue to do so.

We were offering our high quality content online for free for the longest time, when the print revenue gave us the freedom to do so. But, that is on the decline, as can be seen the world over. This is the prime reason that publishing houses across Asia, Europe and the US are all either launching online subscriptions or have already done so. As the new challenge of the coronavirus pandemic arrived, we found that innovation was the only way forward. We had to change, adapt and go ahead with the subscription process.

More value for readers

When it comes to readers there are a few key factors that will define your success as a media house, top among them remains content. This is why we always say, “content is king”. As we competed for years with our print editions and always stayed number one when it came to readership, credibility and quality of content, similarly we have, over the past few years provided our online readers with news that is first to market, complemented by in-depth multi-media coverage and information-packed stories which go beyond the news.

In fact, the digital paywall is not a wall to prevent people from reading but is a gateway for trusted, credible and verified news. By setting this digital subscription in place, we protect our readers from fake news, clickbait and low quality advertising. It is a gateway to quality journalism and a quality reading experience.

Growing digital traffic

We know for a fact that our readers appreciate and like our content. The evidence of that is our growing traffic — month after month, day after day. Our page views now average 230 million and unique visitors 15 million, monthly. We find that we have what you call ‘sticky online readers’, people we are proud to call our loyal Gulf News readers.

Well-established tradition of quality journalism

I understand that these facts alone might not be justification for us to go behind a paywall and charge the reader because when he or she comes online, they need to see something unique, something that gives them even higher value for their money. And that’s what we have done by adding extra sections that will be a must-read for any subscriber in the UAE and beyond.

All this newly added niche content will continue to be based on the same ethics of journalism that we have believed in and always followed as journalists. Essentially, we are continuing with our tradition of quality journalism.

Expectations as a news organisation

We can’t state our expectations now, because these are uncharted waters. A new frontier — as this is the first time ever in the region, wherein a big newspaper like Gulf News has opted to go behind a paywall.

But we are confident that, as always, we will learn from this, as we have learned previously when achieving market leadership. We will learn and build on it for the future. And I am sure that other media houses will follow suit, if they have to survive, unless, of course, they are supported by external entities. It’s a turning point for our business and we understand from others, globally, that it will take time to reach our goals but there is no other option but to go for online subscription.

Implications for the ad industry and region’s media

When it comes to paid content, the sales and advertising industry is always sceptical. In fact, we have seen that despite incredibly high digital traffic, the commensurate revenue has not come in. And this is having an impact on the quality of advertising too. But, I have a positive market outlook when it comes to the paywall, it will work well. Once you have paid subscribers, it will mean a targeted market that advertisers can optimise and utilise more effectively.

As for the media in the country, this is a giant step. Gulf News has always been a leader in driving changes in the UAE media industry through history, by introducing several first steps such as launching the tabloid newspaper format to evolving into the Berliner, and from glossy to full colour pages. Now we are stepping into a new era of the digital world, where we are leading – we have an engaged social media audience of over 5.4 million.

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Dubai: Gulf News has launched its digital subscription and taken a new step that further challenges digital frontiers and created a landmark moment in the publishing house’s history. As always, the media organisation has innovated and led the way. Today, too, with this bold new step, it has set a new course.

Meher Murshed, Executive Editor, Digital, explains why gulfnews.com decided to take this direction and launch the paywall, and what is on offer.

Why did you decide to launch a digital subscription?

gulfnews.com is the number one English news website in the UAE and the region. We have a very loyal readership. Our web statistics are strong because our readers have faith in our trusted journalism. We have 15 million monthly users and get 230 million monthly page views. Our engaged social audience totals more than 5.4 million. Our content is fact-checked and verified. Today, the need of the hour is to break news instantly, often compromising the accuracy of stories. We at Gulf News know speed to market is of essence and we have a driven work flow to achieve that goal. But that work flow includes fact-checking. We don’t break news unless we are a hundred per cent sure of its accuracy. And once we do break, we will make every effort to explain what that piece of news means. The reader will not have to go to other news sources to get a 360 degree view of the story. We give the break, the explainer, the analysis and the opinion. And that is why we have a dedicated audience who, as a habit, logs on to gulfnews.com. But there is a cost to fact-checked, responsible journalism, one that is not click bait or chases page views. We have to spend resources for in-depth reporting. Hence, we decided to launch a digital subscription – so we can continue giving our readers quality journalism.

We are the market leaders, we took an historic step today. We will continue to innovate… That’s what is in Gulf News’s DNA.

Meher Murshed, Executive Editor, Digital

What is your subscription model? Premium, freemium or hard wall?

We did extensive research on the subject, and each of these models has its pros and cons. But none seemed the right fit for us. We have a very unique audience, one that is engaged and loyal. And for us, the most important point was to keep our readers with us. We value our audience, and we want to maintain that engagement. In today’s digital world, it is easy to get news from various sources, but our readers come to us as their source of news. It is, therefore, our responsibility to keep them engaged. We studied our audience’s interests, their level of engagement with our website and then over the past several months, we crafted our own model, which really is a hybrid. It offers the maximum engagement, while asking for a nominal price for the news. The price point of Dh1 a week is one of the most competitive in the world. What can you get for Dh1 in today’s world – that itself is a story.

What drove the pricing?

We have launched two digital subscription plans. Both subscription plans have a special introductory offer for a limited time period. The plans are: Standard Access Plan and Prime Access Plan. Standard Access Plan is a monthly subscription plan with regular access to gulfnews.com and is priced at Dh5.95 as an introductory offer. Prime Access Plan has both monthly and annual subscription options. It provides access to all our special content in addition to regular news coverage on gulfnews.com. The monthly Prime Access Plan is priced at Dh8.95 as an introductory offer. The annual plan is priced at Dh52 — only Dh1 a week as an introductory offer. The pricing is very competitive for a very simple reason. We understand the times we live in, we understand that news is an essential commodity. Taking all factors into consideration, we decided to launch our digital subscription with this pricing. But it is an introductory offer. Grab it till it lasts!

Have you launched new products?

Gulf News has always innovated. Many argue why launch a digital subscription when readers can get free news anywhere. Well, our strategy down our 42-year history has been one of innovation and expansion. We have always looked to introducing new products. Yes, we have the news. But we have more. It is not tied to the fact we have launched a digital subscription. We have launched five new products: Living in UAE, which tells you everything you need to know to live in the UAE, Your Money  that offers guidance on personal finance, Parenting, which offers advice on children’s issues, Food that deals with cuisines and readers can relax with our Games section.

What does the future hold?

For now, we hope our readers will appreciate the products we have launched and value our fact-checked journalism. We are the market leaders, we took an historic step today. We will continue to innovate and offer new products. That’s what is in Gulf News’s DNA. That’s what has kept us engaged with our readers. We value and respect them.

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