LONDON: Uber says it has suspended all of its self-driving testing following what is believed to be the first fatal pedestrian accident involving the vehicles.
The self-driving testing has been taking place in Phoenix, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Toronto.
Automakers and tech companies are competing to be first with the technology.
Police in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, Arizona say one of Uber’s self-driving vehicles struck and killed a pedestrian on Sunday night.
Investigators say the vehicle was in autonomous mode with an operator behind the wheel when the woman walking outside of a crosswalk was hit.
The woman died of her injuries at a hospital and her name was not made public.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi expressed condolences on his Twitter account: “Some incredibly sad news out of Arizona. We’re thinking of the victim’s family as we work with local law enforcement to understand what happened.”
The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board said they are sending teams to Tempe, to investigate the accident.
The NHTSA said in a statement it is “in contact with Uber, Volvo, federal, state and local authorities regarding the incident” and will take appropriate action.
“Our hearts go out to the victim’s family,” said an Uber spokesperson. “We are fully cooperating with local authorities in their investigation of this incident.”
Uber self-driving tests halted after pedestrian dies in Arizona
Uber self-driving tests halted after pedestrian dies in Arizona
Closer Russia-Gulf ties deliver an Arabic-speaking tourism boom
- Saudi Arabia increases its arrivals in Russia by 15 times compared with pre-pandemic period
- Visitors from the Gulf stay in high-end hotels in the center of the capital and are a common sight in upmarket Russia-themed restaurants and well-known shopping streets or malls
MOSCOW: In sub-zero temperatures outside Moscow, teams of husky dogs pull tourists from Oman and the UAE across picturesque snow-covered fields in sleds, delighting their passengers who have never experienced a Russian winter before.
Nearby, a couple from Qatar feed a small herd of deer and other tourists from the Middle East drive a hovercraft at high speed across a snowy lake.
“It was like drifting in the desert but here on ice,” said Badreya Almarooqi, a tourist from the UAE at the Nazarievo Husky Park — 45 km west of central Moscow — where signs are written in Arabic as well as Russian.
North of the city, another group of Gulf tourists crowd into a hot air balloon to drift over a vast snowy landscape.
“(It was) one of the best activities in my life!” said Ayoub Aziz, a tourist from Saudi Arabia drawn to the experience in the Dmitrov district 65 km from the city center, one of many such activity destinations dotted around the capital.
Four years into Russia’s war in Ukraine, Moscow’s pivot away from the West and its quest to draw nearer to other parts of the world has produced an Arabic-speaking tourism boom.
There are more direct flights between Moscow and key Gulf capitals, new visa-free regimes and closer diplomatic ties due to the roles of Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia in brokering prisoner exchanges or the handover of children to Ukraine.
With more than 800,000 visits last year, tourists from China, long a close Russian partner, lead official figures by a long way. But Saudi Arabia secured the No. 2 slot for the first time last year with nearly 75,000 tourists, a year-on-year increase of nearly 36 percent, while more than 59,000 tourists came from the UAE, putting it in sixth place.
“Virtually all Arab countries have at least doubled their numbers, said Alexander Musikhin, general director of the Intourist tour operator.
“But there are also destinations like Saudi Arabia, which has increased its arrivals in Russia — and in Moscow in particular — by almost 15 times compared with the pre-pandemic period,” he said.
Visitors from the Gulf stay in high-end hotels in the center of the capital and are a common sight in upmarket Russia-themed restaurants and well-known shopping streets or malls.
They often spend at least 200,000-300,000 roubles ($6,523) on extra services, tour operators say, and would spend more if the rules did not limit them to bringing in $10,000 in cash without a declaration.
Western sanctions mean Visa and Mastercard do not work in Russia, “so it has to be in cash,” UAE tourist Rashan Godani said.
Despite its war with Ukraine, Russia welcomed a total of 1.64 million tourists in 2025, according to the country’s association of tour operators, 4.5 percent up on 2024, but sharply down on 2018, the year Russia held the World Cup, when 4.2 million foreign tourists visited.
By contrast, 2.45 million Russians visited the UAE alone last year, up by nearly a quarter year-on-year, and some Russian businessmen have opened up offices in Dubai.
Musikhin, the Intourist head, said fallout from the conflict was limiting growth. He cited the periodic and temporary closure of Russian airports due to Ukrainian drone attacks and the longer time it takes tourists to cross the border due to heightened security checks.
