Ras Al Khaimah Tourism CEO to step down after 6 years
Back in May, Phillips told Khaleej Times Ras Al Khaimah is gearing up for a tourism boom, with ambitious plans to attract more than 3.5 million tourists over the next five years, alongside a growing push to welcome more residents to become part of the emirate's evolving community.
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Why buying an electric vehicle is a smart financial decision
Electric vehicles once represented an idea in the distant future. Today, they are taking hold and making car buyers ponder the question: how do they measure up when considering the full cost of ownership? To begin with, it's important to look at the issue through more than just the lens of innovation or sustainability. At the heart of it, it's really about value - how that value holds up over time, and what it ultimately means to individuals and families trying to make smarter, long-term choices. Upfront vs long-term costs The conventional way to compare vehicles always started with the price tag. Although that number still matters, it doesn't tell the whole story. EVs may carry a higher upfront cost in some cases, especially in premium segments, but they often flip the script on running costs. Electric vehicles are fundamentally simpler machines. They don't require oil changes, have fewer moving parts, and brake wear is reduced through regenerative systems. Add to that lower fuel bills, fewer service visits and, over time, especially for high-mileage users, the math becomes harder to ignore. That said, there are a few areas where conventional cars could still give their electric counterparts a run for their money. Refuelling, for one. Pull into any petrol station, spend five minutes filling up, and you're back on the road. Compare this to 30 to 60-minute charging sessions for EVs. Environmental benefits too aren't clear-cut. That 'zero emissions' claim rings hollow when electricity comes from coal plants, and manufacturing those battery packs creates significant environmental impact, critics may point out. However, when analysed over their full lifetime and with cleaner grids in place, EVs are without doubt far cleaner than petrol and diesel vehicles. Watch: UAE-built electric vehicles on show at Make it in the Emirates 2025 Things to consider when buying EVs Charging strategy: Charging at home or at the office offers the lowest cost per kilometre. Relying solely on fast public chargers changes the economics. Battery performance: Most brands offer eight-year battery warranties, but performance still depends on climate, driving patterns, and charging habits. After-sales ecosystem: Choosing an EV isn't just about the car. It's about the brand's ability to support you with service, spare parts, and software over the long run. Resale trajectory: Traditional cars have a predictable depreciation path. The EV resale market is still maturing, but momentum is building. Especially for models with strong brand backing and software stability. EVs front-load more of the cost. Combustion vehicles often incur more over time. The difference lies in how you plan to use your car and how long you intend to own it. The switch to EVs also marks a shift in expectations. Drivers are beginning to think in longer cycles. Ownership is less about short-term trade-ins and more about consistent performance, lower operating costs, and technology that evolves with use. That doesn't make EVs the right choice for everyone, but it does explain why more people are moving in that direction, and why the ownership model itself is being redefined. From a customer perspective, we're seeing more first-time EV owners making the switch. Not because of trends, but because they've taken the time to re-evaluate what ownership really means. The economics, the long-term value and the shift in cost dynamics are becoming clearer. When drivers look beyond the sticker price and start factoring in charging, maintenance and long-term efficiency, not to mention doing their bit for the environment, the equation changes. What once felt like a leap now feels like a logical step.
The National
7 hours ago
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Mubadala hosts business leaders on sidelines of DC Open in Washington
Abu Dhabi's strategic investment firm Mubadala has co-hosted a business convening with the Milken Institute and Citi on the sidelines of the Mubadala Citi DC Open in Washington. Speakers at the event were Mubadala deputy group chief executive Homaid Al Shimmari, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, G42 group chief global affairs officer Talal Al Kaissi, MGX chief strategy and safety officer David Scott, Milken Institute chairman Michael Milken, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, US tennis star Frances Tiafoe and others. Among the topics discussed during the Tuesday event included investment and policy priorities to advance economic growth. Key themes during the session included sport's role in Abu Dhabi's evolution as a global city, Mubadala's commitment to adding value and how sport is driving Washington's changing economy. Other themes included US facilitating foreign investment in the UAE, Mubadala's role as a key player in the Emirates' economic partnership with the US and the two countries' relationship in AI and artificial intelligence. The US and UAE have strengthened their relationship in the new technology in recent months, including the UAE's commitment to a $1.4 trillion investment framework in the US related to AI infrastructure, semiconductors, energy and manufacturing. In May, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed and Mr Trump witnessed the unveiling of plans for a new 5GW UAE-US AI Campus in Abu Dhabi during the president's visit to the country. Mubadala became a co-sponsor of the annual tennis tournament in 2023. The tournament is a 500-level event on the ATP and WTA tours, featuring a field of 48 players in the men's singles event and 28 players in the women's singles event.
The National
9 hours ago
- The National
UAE and US working to 'get chips moving' after AI deal
After this week's debut of the White House's Artificial Intelligence Action Plan, the UAE is ready to expedite its AI partnership with the US. This follows President Donald Trump's visit to Abu Dhabi in May, when he announced the US-UAE AI Acceleration Partnership, which included plans for a 5GW UAE-US AI Campus. Those plans allow for the UAE to obtain powerful CPUs and GPUs from the US which are necessary to build up AI infrastructure. Once completed, part of the campus, dubbed Stargate UAE, will be among the largest AI data centres in the world. Security guarantees to protect the UAE AI technology from falling into the wrong hands were are major aspect of the deal. Also bolstering the deal, Mr Trump's much-anticipated AI plan, unveiled on Wednesday, seeks to reduce regulatory barriers in place to build up AI infrastructure in the US, while pushing for increasing the prevalence of US AI technology around the world. That bodes well for the UAE, and other countries with similar AI aspirations. It's also a sharp contrast to the former president Joe Biden's policies. His administration sought tighter export controls on US chips to prevent them from being used in China. 'The UAE welcomes President Trump's AI Action Plan and is ready to fast track our strategic AI partnership with the US,' Yousef Al Otaiba, UAE Minister of State and ambassador to the US, said on Wednesday. 'As a trusted partner, we are working closely with leading US companies to adopt and scale American technology in the UAE and beyond.' Some pundits aren't sold however, and they're trying to exert influence to slow the US-UAE AI Acceleration Partnership. In an opinion article in The Washington Post, Christopher Chivvis and Sam Winter-Levy from the Carnegie Endowment, a US-based think tank, expressed concern about China somehow getting access to the US AI technology, among other things. 'To now approve the offshoring of the data centres that will house so many of the resulting chips to another conflict-prone region would be a major unforced error – one that will prove difficult to reverse,' they wrote. The UAE has addressed this by committing to a $1.4 trillion investment framework for AI infrastructure in the US. Regardless, the Wall Street Journal also reported that some in the White House have sought to take a closer look at the recently announced UAE deal, amid concerns about US technology diffusion. But last week, the White House cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence adviser beat back those concerns, and reaffirmed the US partnership with the UAE. 'These are countries that are long-standing partners and allies of the US going back many years,' White House AI chief David Sacks said during a round-table discussion at the Pennsylvania Energy and AI Summit, referring to the UAE. Mr Sacks added that the Trump administration thought that if US technology wasn't used in AI projects around the world, China-owned Huawei would step in to fill the vacuum. 'We don't want to create demand for Huawei,' he explained, also describing some of the chip smuggling scenarios that have become prevalent in media reports as quixotic. He said the newest standard data centres technology hardware is approximately 2.4m tall, with servers weighing 1,600kg, and that it's 'very easy to see' if they're being transported. 'I know that our Gulf State partners would honour our security agreement,' he said just hours before President Trump appeared at the event in Pennsylvania. 'This is ultimately a trust-but-verify situation, and all we have to do is send an inspector to a data centre and they can count the racks,' Mr Sacks explained, reiterating that he felt the scenarios of AI hardware smuggling were 'blown wildly out of proportion.' Meanwhile, there's no indication from the White House or Department of Commerce, which is ultimately responsible for allowing the export of US technology, that criticism of the UAE deal is gaining traction. In a statement to The National, the UAE ambassador expressed continued optimism about the AI plans with the US announced back in May. 'Signed just 60 days ago in Abu Dhabi, the UAE-US investment and Ai partnership will deliver enormous benefits to both countries,' Mr Al Otaiba said. 'High level teams have been actively engaging to advance the agreement, to get chips moving and to accelerate technology co-operation.'
