Etihad Rail’s new coastal route will link Abu Dhabi and Dubai together by train for the first time.

Scheduled to start service in 2026, the train will whisk travelers between the country’s two major cities in less than an hour, providing relief from heavy car traffic and overtaxed buses.

The project will also connect the capital with the northern port of Fujairah in 105 minutes, shaving an hour off current travel time, The National reports.

Among the goals of the new train line is to ease access to the UAE’s full eastern coast and boost tourism to lesser-known towns and attractions.

Site operators are banking on the train to bring droves of tourists to visit the ancient forts and mosques that dot the rounte, along with,mountain trails, beaches and diving centers, the newspaper said.

Sir Richard Branson, the British billionaire who founded Virgin Atlantic, will help pick winners of the UAE’s premier environmental award.

The Zayed Sustainability Prize is given to small businesses, non-profits and high schools to recognize achievements in the fields of climate action, health, food, energy, water and education.

Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, the UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology who is director general of the organization that presents the prize, said a record number of submissions have been received this year, reflecting the “growing global commitment to practical, scalable solutions that deliver long-term impact.”

Others on the prize jury include Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade; Shamma bint Suhail Al Mazrui, Minister of Community Development; Wang Chuan-fu, Chairman and CEO of Chinese carmaker BYD; and Dr. Ing Christian Bruch, President and CEO of Siemens Energy. 

India’s biggest jeweler and watchmaker Titan is looking into manufacturing some of its products in the Gulf amid trade tensions with the Trump administration.

The possible shift by Titan, part of India’s giant Tata Group, would follow the company’s recent announcement that it plans a $283 million acquisition of Dubai-based luxury retailer Damas, which operates 146 stores across the Gulf, Reuters reports.

Titan Managing Director C.K. Venkataraman told the news agency that the move could help the company maintain low-tariff access to U.S. markets even as President Donald Trump ordered a 25% levy last month on imports from India.

Imports from the UAE, by contrast, face a 10% tariff under Trump’s plan.

“If the tariffs remain like what they are currently threatened to be, then any arbitrage on a tariff … would be meaningful for us to consider,” Venkataraman said.

Titan’s Tanishq brand has several U.S. stores and is planning a major expansion, while its diamond-focused label CaratLane launched in the U.S. in October.

Manufacturing in the U.S. is a less feasible option for Titan due to cost and skills constraints, especially for artisan-made jewelery, Venkataraman said.

Dubai is setting new tourism records this year while wealthy expats continue to feed the city’s real estate boom.

Almost 10 million foreigners visited Dubai during the first six months of 2025, a 6% increase over the same period last year that puts it on track to exceed the 2024 total of 18.7 million.

Western Europe was the largest source market for Dubai, accounting for 22% of international visitors, followed by the Russia and Eastern Europe region, and South Asia, contributing 15% each, according to government figures.

Demand for new homes from foreigners, meanwhile, is fueling construction in the city, with 24 real estate projects valued at $1.2 billion completed in the first half of 2025.

With temperatures blazing past 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) in the UAE, doctors are urging both residents and visitors this summer to take extra precautions against the heat.

Staying indoors from midday to 4 p.m. is recommended, along with keeping well-hydrated and dressing in breathable fabrics like cotton and linen.

Cases of heat exhaustion, dehydration and dizziness typically rise during the summer, especially among outdoor workers and the elderly, The National reports.

To help residents beat the heat, the UAE enforces a summer midday work ban and provides cool indoor options like organized exercise in air conditioned spaces such as the Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates and Marina Mall.

Investors are expressing concern about Aramco’s sliding stock, which has sapped value from the world’s biggest oil producer as shares of competing companies rise.

Saudi Arabia-owned Aramco’s 14% decline has cut more than $133 billion this year from its market value on Riyadh’s Tadawul stock exchange and some $800 billion since its high of $2.4 trillion in 2022.

The disappointing share performance led Morningstar Investment Services to give a hold recommendation to Aramco, with industry analysts citing prospects for a dividend cut, a looming global oil surplus and a lack of long-term growth versus competitors, Bloomberg reports.

Among Aramco’s peers, shares of France’s Totalenergies have risen 8.6% since the end of 2024 and London-based BP is up 7.4%. In the U.S. Chevron shares have climbed 4.5% and ExxonMobil 1.9%.

Still, Aramco’s current market cap of $1.55 trillion makes it the world’s most valuable oil company, the company continues to pay the highest dividend in the industry and its bond sales this year and last enabled it to raise money to help finance growth.

Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Capital was among the investors in a $150 million funding round for U.S.-based AI startup Anaconda, which valued the company at about $1.5 billion.

Anaconda’s open-source platform provides secure versions of Python-based coding packages used by businesses to build and run AI systems.

The Series C funding round, led by Insight Partners, will accelerate global expansion and new AI features, while giving early employees a chance to cash out.

It comes amid intense competition among enterprise AI software companies, with the Python programming language dominating.

Mubadala’s key AI investments include UAE powerhouse G42 and space tech company Space42.

Expansion of Saudi Arabia’s non-oil economy – highlighted by construction, tourism and entertainment – is fueling a rebound in the kingdom’s finances amid falling petroleum prices.

Gross domestic product is expected to have expanded 3.9% in the second quarter of 2025 compared to the same period last year as Saudi Arabia and other OPEC+ states lifted production limits to stimulate sales.

It was the fifth consecutive quarter of growth for the overall economy after a 3.4% expansion in the first three months of the year, according to the Saudi General Authority of Statistics.

The kingdom’s non-oil economy, which Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman set as the fulcrum of his Vision 2030 economic blueprint, grew 4.7% in the second quarter.

Meanwhile, oil continued to be the driving force in the economy, with the sector expanding 3.8%.

The Saudi economic rebound was reflected in the International Monetary Fund’s decision on Wednesday to raise its GDP forecast for this year to 3.5%, revised from its earlier prediction of 3%.

The kingdom “has demonstrated strong resilience to shocks, with non-oil economic activities expanding, inflation contained, and unemployment reaching record-low levels,” the IMF said.