Infrastructure

People walk on the platform of the Haramain High Speed Rail Network at the airport station in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, on Dec. 12, 2019.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar ink high-speed rail deal advancing Gulf integration

Saudi Arabia is seeking to boost its railway infrastructure, and longstanding efforts to connect Gulf states by train are finally gaining momentum.

This picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency shows a view of the fire in the forests of Chalus on Nov. 21, 2025.

Analysis

Iran’s mismanagement in focus as fires ravage 25-million-year-old forests

Prolonged wildfires are raging across Iran's northern Hyrcanian forests, highlighting mismanagement, insufficient resources and climate stress, and forcing volunteers and foreign aid to intervene.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

A man stands atop the kasbah of Ait-Ben-Haddou.

Culture

From Hollywood set to heritage hub: Morocco’s $75M bet on Ouarzazate

Once the Hollywood of the Sahara, Morocco’s desert city is betting on sustainable tourism to reclaim its place on the map.

A train moves during the inauguration of a 140-kilometres line running from eastern Iran into western Afghanistan, at a railroad station in Khaf, on Dec. 10, 2020.

Analysis

Iran revives cross-border rail projects in bid to anchor Eurasian trade routes

Iran aims to turn its rail network into a strategic lever across Eurasia, despite risks from sanctions and regional instability.

Sabena Siddiqui

By Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

Latest News

Analysis

Water for influence: Turkey moves to ease Iraq's water shortages ahead of elections

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani review honor guards during the latter's official visit to Ankara, May 8, 2025.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

FIFA, Arab League, World Bank: Who's pledging what toward Gaza’s $70B reconstruction?

ABDELRAHMAN RASHAD/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Jordan’s water security caught between $5B megaproject, frayed Israel ties

A general view shows the Samra Waste Water Treatment Plant, Zarqa, Jordan, March 13, 2018.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Egypt steps up alarm on Ethiopia megadam as Sudan battles floods: What to know

A resident stands by belongings to salvage in a pool of water due to the flooding of the Nile river in the Sudanese village of Wad Ramli north of Khartoum on Oct. 1, 2025.

Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud (C) and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (R) are seen receiving Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, March 8, 2022.

Egypt, Saudi Arabia sign agreements on green hydrogen, infrastructure

The deals came during Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Egypt.

The street in Tahrir Square leading to the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities (in background) is deserted on the first day of a two-week night-time curfew imposed by the authorities to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, Cairo, Egypt, March 25, 2020.

Egyptian students develop luminescent concrete

Four Egyptian students created an innovative glow-in-the-dark concrete that can be used to light up highways and roads, as the world faces a growing energy crisis.

An aerial view shows a section of the new "Regional Ring Road" highway project, passing by the northern village of al-Naaminah in the fertile Nile Delta agricultural region in Sharqiyah province, Egypt, May 28, 2021.

Fatal road accidents in Egypt remain high despite infrastructure improvements

While the government’s spending of billions of dollars to develop roads and the transportation infrastructure have reduced accidents in recent years, Egypt still ranks among the top nations in the world for traffic deaths.

Iraqi women ready to board a coach, part of a convoy, heading south of the Iraqi city of Karbala some 120 kilometers (74 miles) from the capital Baghdad, toward the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca, Nov. 22, 2008.

Iraq moves forward with building pilgrim route to Saudi Arabia

The Iraqi government is showing interest in completing the pilgrim route linking Iraq and Saudi Arabia, which will facilitate the arrival of religious visitor convoys between the two countries and will enhance trade and political relations.

Solar panels are seen above the river bed in Beirut, Lebanon, Nov. 12, 2015.

Lack of electricity drives sustainability options in Lebanon

With Lebanon’s deepening electricity crisis and fuel shortage, many homes and businesses have switched to solar panels to generate electricity due to widespread power cuts from the country’s unpredictable energy sector.

Women carry goods down train tracks in the village of Shaibah, near Basra in southern Iraq, April 10, 2003.

Iran, Iraq agree to connect rail networks

Both countries pledged to build the Basra-Shalamcheh railway years ago but have yet to do so.

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan (R) attends the 60th anniversary of the Independence Day ceremony at the National Stadium, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Dec. 9, 2021.

Egypt builds industrial city in Tanzania

Egypt and Tanzania close ties are strengthened further by the inauguration of an Egyptian industrial city adjacent to the Tanzanian capital.

An Egyptian truck loaded with gravel enters through the Rafah border crossing, between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, as building material for the Qatari grant projects begin arriving, in the southern Gaza Strip, Dec. 29, 2012.

Egypt, Qatar agreement with Israel, Hamas provides boost for Gaza economy

The economic agreement allows $10 million worth of food, fuel and supplies, as well as a boost for salaries.

Egypt capital

Six years later, Egypt begins transfer to new capital

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has directed the government to start the actual transfer to the government district in the New Administrative Capital in December, but observers believe such relocation faces some obstacles.

AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images

Arab-Israeli party celebrates budget passage

For Ra’am Chair Mansour Abbas, the approval of the 2021-2022 state budget is a political and personal achievement.

AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images

Arab-Israeli town gets development plan at last

Umm al-Fahm became the first Arab-Israeli locality to sign an agreement for 15,000 new housing units and large development projects.

This picture taken on May 26, 2021 from the Cairo Citadel overlooking the Egyptian capital shows a view of the minarets of mosques and building rooftops in old Islamic Cairo, which gave its nickname of a "city of a thousand minarets".

Three dead following building collapse near Cairo

Egypt has major problems with infrastructure safety and deadly incidents are not uncommon.