Abu Dhabi Launches English Daily Newspaper

Abu Dhabi is set to launch a new English version newspaper which will seek to provide balanced coverage in a region where media criticism of governments' policies is rare.

Abu Dhabi is the capital of a seven member United Arab Emirates federation, which includes the Gulf trade and tourism hub of Dubai. It is home to more than 90 percent of the country's significant oil reserves.

"The paper hopes to appropriate the changes taking place and encourage what is good and criticize what is bad," Martin Newland, editor-in-chief of The National, told Reuters.

"Our aim is to set a quality benchmark where the universal language is English and in a market that is growing at an exponential rate and with millions of expatriates coming in."

The 80-page daily newspaper, part of government-owned Abu Dhabi Media Company, would try to rely less on news agencies and generate its own content through a 200-strong editorial team that includes 30 foreign correspondents, he said.

National newspapers tend not to publish strong criticism of the government.

The National, which is also looking at regional editions and distribution, is not worried about circulation or competition in a Gulf region which is booming due to higher oil prices.