Infrastructure

A picture taken on December 7, 2022 in Riyadh, shows the Chinese and the Saudi flags adorning a street ahead of the Chinese president's visit to the Saudi capital. - Chinese President Xi Jinping will make a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia this week, meeting the king and de facto ruler of the world's biggest oil exporter. (Photo by Fayez Nureldine / AFP) (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia's Diriyah awards Chinese firm $1.53B contract: What to know

Saudi Arabia’s Diriyah Company has awarded a major contract to China Harbour Engineering Company for the development of a Vision 2030 project.

SAFIN HAMID/AFP via Getty Images

Drone strike halts operations at Iraqi Kurdistan oil field: What to know

A second drone attack in as many days has suspended operations at an oil facility in Iraqi Kurdistan, with initial investigations pointing to Iran-aligned armed groups.

Egypt's Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly (L) welcomes China's Premier Li Qiang upon his arrival at Cairo International Airport in Egypt's capital, on July 9, 2025.

China’s premier makes first visit to Egypt as ties grow: What we know

Egypt and China have significantly deepened their ties in recent years across various sectors such as trade, defense, technology and the economy.

An aerial view shows a bridge, destroyed in an Israeli airstrike, in the town of in Qusayr in Syria's central Homs province on December 14, 2024. Islamist-led rebels took Damascus in a lightning offensive on December 8, ousting president Bashar al-Assad and ending five decades of Baath rule in Syria. (Photo by AAREF WATAD / AFP) (Photo by AAREF WATAD/AFP via Getty Images)

French company revives Syria agreement to rebuild bridges: What we know

The agreement covers 37 bridges in Syria, where infrastructure was severely damaged during the civil war, but may now be rebuilt following the lifting of Western sanctions.

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Analysis

Israel-Iran war fuels risks for Mideast economies, energy flows after US strikes

Portraits of Iranian military generals and nuclear scientists, killed in Israel's June 13 attack are displayed above a road, as a plume of heavy smoke and fire rise from an oil refinery in southern Tehran, after it was hit in an overnight Israeli strike, on June 15, 2025.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Analysis

Syria’s internet reboot takes shape amid outreach to Gulf telecoms

Men walk past shops selling mobile phones in the Damascus Tower market, which specializes in the smart phone business, in the Syrian capital on January 12, 2025.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

What we know about Fordow, Iran's secretive nuclear site Israel struggles to hit

Iranian short-range missile (Tondar) is test-launched during war games in Qom, 120 kms south of Tehran, on September 27, 2009. Iran test-fired three short-range missiles as the Islamic republic began war games at a time of heightened tension with the West over its controversial nuclear programme. AFP PHOTO/SHAIEGAN/FARS NEWS (Photo by SHAIGAN / FARS NEWS / AFP) (Photo by SHAIGAN/FARS NEWS/AFP via Getty Images)

Exodus, shortages and strikes: Tehran reels under weight of Israel-Iran war

TOPSHOT - Vehicles jam a highway as a fire blazes nearby in the oil depots of Shahran, northwest of Tehran, on June 15, 2025. Israel and Iran exchanged fire on June 14, a day after Israel unleashed an unprecedented aerial bombing campaign that Iran said hit its nuclear facilities, "martyred" top commanders and killed dozens of civilians. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Asaad Al-Shaibani met with Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in the Qatari capital, Doha, on June 3, 2025.

Syria courts Gulf investment with high-level Qatar visit amid $7B energy deal

Led by the country’s top diplomat, Syria’s ministers of energy, finance and tourism held a series of meetings in Qatar on Tuesday.

France s President Emmanuel Macron welcomes Lebanon s President Joseph Aoun during an official visit of the President of Lebanon, at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on March 28, 2025. (Photo by Magali Cohen / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP) (Photo by MAGALI COHEN/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)

Lebanon's Aoun heads to UAE seeking economic support, reconstruction aid

The Lebanese president's visit to the UAE visit marks a bid to rebuild ties and garner financial support for the country's postwar reconstruction efforts.

UAE Sheikh Khaled

UAE, Pakistan expand cooperation during crown prince's first visit: What we know

Pakistan is looking to the UAE for economic help, with recent agreements focused on mining, ports and railways.

United Arab Emirates

Rateb H. Rabi

Interview

Coworking offers lifeline to Gaza's tech entrepreneurs as war disrupts jobs

The founder of Intersect Innovation Hub calls its coworking project “Palestinian tech resilience at its best.”

Rateb Rabi

Rateb Rabi

Founder of Intersect Innovation Hub

ammunition plant explosion

Turkish ammunition plant explosion kills 11, injures 7

Turkish officials ruled out the possibility of sabotage in the explosion.

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin meets with Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of an international forum "Interrelation of times and civilizations - basis of peace and development" dedicated to the 300th anniversary of poet Magtymguly Fragi's birthday in Ashgabat on October 11, 2024. (Photo by Alexander SHCHERBAK / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ALEXANDER SHCHERBAK/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

India-Europe corridor, trade top Russian delegation talks in Iran: What we know

The visit occurs at a pivotal moment for the evolving partnership and the challenges it faces under international sanctions and scrutiny, coupled with regional dynamics that have seen both sides in graver need of one another.

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 20: President Donald Trump (R) holds up a chart of military hardware sales as he meets with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the Oval Office at the White House on March 20, 2018 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch-Pool/Getty Images)

Analysis

Saudi Arabia to pursue two-track approach for Trump presidency

Riyadh is likely to compartmentalize business dealings with incoming President Donald Trump separately from its foreign policy engagements, where there is likely to be disagreement.

Jennifer Gnana

By Jennifer Gnana

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics

Xi Jinping president of China waves during the first working session as part of the G20 summit 2024 at Museu de Arte Moderna on Nov. 18, 2024, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

China's Xi Jingping in Morocco as Beijing eyes bigger role in Africa's infrastructure boom

Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Morocco on Thursday as China wades deeper into Morocco's transportation and EV industries.

MAURO PIMENTEL/AFP via Getty Images

Even with MBS absent, Saudi Arabia and UAE poised to make deals at G20

Gulf states will look for agreements and trade deals with partners from South America and elsewhere ahead of US President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration in January.

HOLMES CHAN/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi Arabia's NEOM attracts $16B in private financing over 2 years

Saudi Arabia's flagship sustainability project has attracted substantial private investments and is looking for more.

Visitors walk among displays at the UMEX Exhibition showcasing drones, robotics, and unmanned sytems at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre in Abu Dhabi on January 23, 2024. (Photo by Ryan LIM / AFP) (Photo by RYAN LIM/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

What UAE's Edge expansion into space means for country's military industry

Abu Dhabi has recently seen a significant boost in its domestic defense and aerospace capabilities, thanks to its nation-based conglomerate, EDGE. This month, the group launched its new space company, FADA, marking a milestone in enhancing the Emirati’s status in the strategic space sector.

Francesco Schiavi

By Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey to host Iraq, Qatar, UAE officials for Development Road summit

The estimated $20 billion project was formalized during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s official visit in April to Baghdad and will link Basra to Turkey via a rail and road network.