Elaph (; Solidarity) is the first daily Arabic independent online newspaper and is not associated with any established print or broadcast medium. History and profile Elaph was launched by Elaph Publishing in London in 2001. The reason for choosing London as its headquarters was to be free from the censorship rules of Saudi Arabia and also, offer liberal viewpoints, particularly in opposition to religious radicalism. The goal of Elaph is stated as to offer a mix of print, audio and visual material to its readers. The paper claims that it does not target Saudi Arabian readers, but all Arabs. The owner of the news portal is Saudi businessman, journalist and author Othman Al Omeir, who is the former editor of the London-based weekly The Majalla and Arabic-language daily Al Sharq Al Awsat. After the ban of Elaph in Saudi Arabia in May 2006, it was registered in the United Kingdom. Staff and management The founder and editor-in-chief of Elaph is Othman Al Omeir. Emile Isaac is the managing director and Samar Abdul Malak is the deputy editor-in-chief of Elaph. The news portal has journalists in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. , the portal employed 90 journalists worldwide. Elaph is managed by Integrated Intelligent Solutions (IN2SOL), a Middle East provider of IT services. In June 2014 Elaph reported that it would use unmanned aerial drones to cover and delivers news. Content The Elaph news portal offers the readers instant news from all around the world, making it a strong competitor to Arab and international news agencies. Additionally, it involves pages on politics, business, culture, health, sports, music, cinema, fashion, features, reports, newspapers, technology, writers, opinions, and special news. Elaph.com also provides video news and tries to provide an interactive platform for its readers. For instance, in January 2009, its readers were asked to send farewell letters to then US President George W. Bush. In September 2011, Elaph reported that the Saudi Ambassador to Cairo, Ahmad Abdelaziz Kattan, survived an attempted assassination by poison, allegedly organized by Iran. It further claimed that since the Saudi diplomats, including Adel Al Jubeir, were all close to Prince Bandar who was known to be a strong opponent of Iranian influence in the Middle East, they were likely to experience such events. The e-newspaper also reported a comment of a Salafist Sheikh in Egypt,