The Federal National Council is looking at the UAE national budget for 2015, and raising some questions. –Why does nearly every federal department spend more than 80 percent of its money on salaries? –Why are Abu Dhabi and Dubai the only contributers to the federal budget, from a country with seven emirates? Short answers?

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Etihad Airways is competing with Emirates and Qatar Airways for the lucrative high-end traveler. Etihad may be winning. The Abu Dhabi-based airline has introduced a three-room ultra-class ticket they call The Residence. It is available on their A380 flights to London, beginning Saturday, and can be had for … No need for a spoiler alert. […]

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A member of the Federal National Council, the UAE’s advisory parliament, has suggested that everyone in the public sector should get another 10 days off, per year — the final 10 days of Ramadan, the fasting month. When that story was mentioned at the news meeting at The National, everyone who has ever been responsible […]

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Al Jazira is an Abu Dhabi club that has been pretty good for most of a decade but hasn’t been particularly good at sealing deals at the end of the UAE soccer season. In 40 years, the club has one league title (2011), two President Cup championships (2011, 2012) and one Arabian Gulf Cup (2010). […]

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A Taliban attack in Pakistan yesterday left 132 schoolchildren dead. It was the worst terror attack in Pakistan’s history. Today, Pakistan’s national cricket team played New Zealand in a one-day international in Abu Dhabi. Some wondered at the propriety of it. Among them was The National’s correspondent Osman Samiuddin, probably the planet’s leading authority on […]

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One of our British colleagues walked into the sports department of The National today and said: “Johnny Football is a joke!” Referring to the Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel, Heisman Trophy winner, first-round draf pick — and a badly beaten man in his first NFL start, a 30-0 victory by the Cincinnati Bengals. He had […]

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A reporter for The National had a look at the food for sale in the cafeterias at three of the biggest government hospitals in Abu Dhabi … And few, if any, healthy choices were available. Eating at the hospital was enough to make people sick. The story started with the findings of our reporter: Prominent […]

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Tennis fans in Asia have been hearing a lot about a bold, innovative, breakthrough approach to presenting tennis. Which has been done before. Nothing new under the sun, indeed. But not if you listen to the people around the International Premier Tennis League. In fact, it is nothing more than a revival (and tweak) of […]

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Religions in collision here. Karma, a Hindu/Buddhist concept … as it applies in the home of Islam. Or doesn’t. More likely, we are talking about coincidence. Remember the spitting, head-butting soccer player who plays for Saudi club Al Hilal? Nasser Al Shamrani? He had a very interesting couple of days in Manila a little over […]

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It gets worse. Just when it seemed as if sailing the Volvo Ocean Race represented a level of misery unmatched in world sports … now we learn from our colleague at The National, Osman Samiuddin, their food is nearly unpalatable, as well. Sailors don’t eat, in the round-the-world race. They “refuel”. This, on top of […]

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