International Herald Tribune moves into Kuwait City

Staff,, brandrepublic.com, Tuesday, 29 April 2003, 11:00am,

PARIS - The International Herald Tribune is to begin printing in Kuwait with two separate eight-page sections to be produced locally in collaboration with local papers.

With the start of this new venture, the International Herald Tribune, which is now fully owned by the New York Times Co, will be printed in 25 cities around the world and is for sale in more than 180 countries.

The move into Kuwait cements the Herald Tribune's existing agreement with Beirut-based The Daily Star with which it already produces editions in Beirut and Doha.

The Kuwait launch also sees the Herald Tribune work with another local paper, the Kuwait City-based Al-Watan.

Starting in a few weeks, readers in Kuwait will be able offered the full daily edition of the Herald Tribune with the two separate sections. One section will contain news and analysis from the region prepared by The Daily Star and another section will cover local Kuwait news produced by Al-Watan.

This unique English-language newspaper package will be printed in Kuwait City for early distribution to newsstands, homes, offices, hotels and airlines throughout the country.

Richard Wooldridge, the Herald Tribune president and chief operating officer, said: "Following hot on the heels of our new printing operation in Brazil, which started on April 14, I am delighted to announce this further expansion in the Middle East. The International Herald Tribune has a loyal following of readers in the international business and government communities in Kuwait and this new printing arrangement will allow us to provide them and visitors to the country with a much more timely newspaper."

The Daily Star, founded by the late Kamel Mroue in Beirut in 1952, has become recognised as the region's leading English-language newspaper. It publishes a local Lebanese edition and a regional edition, which is circulated in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Dar Al-Watan is a publishing corporation, which publishes the Arabic language daily newspaper Al-Watan in Kuwait. It also publishes Arabic versions of Newsweek and Auto Trader.

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