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.

Camel trainers wait for tourists at a promontory overlooking the Giza pyramids.

Controversial Egyptian slum removal mars Giza Plateau upgrade

The Nazlet al-Saman slum blemished the Giza Plateau for many decades, but its ongoing removal is bringing criticism of the government.

KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images

Egypt boots public servants from railways over Brotherhood links

Egyptian authorities blame Muslim Brotherhood-linked staff for a series of deadly rail accidents and have moved scores of them from operational roles.

Ethiopian refugees in Sudan

Turkey offers to mediate disputes between Sudan, Ethiopia

Erdogan also said he stands behind a peaceful resolution to the violence in Tigray.

Bozkurt flood damage

Death toll rises to 74 as floods batter Turkey's Black Sea coast

More than 2,300 people have been evacuated since the flash floods erupted in northern Turkey on Wednesday.

land near Baghdad airport

Iraq plans new city next to capital

In order to find solutions to the chaos in Baghdad due to overpopulation, the Iraqi government plans to launch a new city next to the capital.

Egyptian workers and bulldozers sent from Egypt help on June 8, 2021, remove the rubble of buildings destroyed by Israeli airstrikes last month in Gaza City.

Gaza reconstruction delayed by lack of clarity on process

Egypt and Qatar promised to provide about $1 billion for the reconstruction of Gaza, but there is still no clear agreement on the reconstruction mechanism, how the reconstruction funds will enter and who will lead the process.

AMIR MAKAR/AFP via Getty Images

Ethiopia rejects Arab League call for UN to intervene on Nile dam

Ethiopia plans to fill the dam's reservoir again this summer despite Egypt's objections.

Iraqi children are seen at the Ninevah Bridge, previously known as Mosul's Old Bridge, during an inauguration ceremony following its reconstruction in the city of Mosul on March 14, 2018.

Egypt expands role in Iraqi reconstruction by building bridges in Mosul

Egypt is seeking to expand its participation in the reconstruction of Iraq amid a growing alliance between Baghdad, Amman and Cairo.

Palestinians wave Egyptian flags while sitting in a vehicle parked beneath a giant billboard depicting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi with a quote from him reading in Arabic "Egypt is extremely keen for all the rights of the Palestinian people," as they wait to receive the incoming Egyptian intelligence convoy entering the Gaza Strip on the Palestinian side of Erez border crossing with Israel near Beit Hanoun, May 31, 2021.

Egypt sees political, economic gains in Gaza reconstruction

Cairo has launched an initiative to rebuild Gaza, coinciding with cease-fire efforts, through which Egypt seeks to extend its influence over the region and achieve political and economic gains.

People watch as a telescopic railway crane lifts an overturned passenger carriage at the scene of a railway accident in the city of Toukh, central Nile Delta province of Qalyubiya, Egypt, April 18, 2021.

Why train accidents are so frequent in Egypt

Despite government efforts to develop the Egyptian railway network, train accidents have become recurrent.

AYMAN AREF/AFP via Getty Images

11 dead in another Egyptian train crash

Egypt's rail network suffers from mismanagement and poor maintenance, according to state media outlets.

A Sudanese police officer is rowed to a passenger steamboat that has just arrived from Aswan at the Sudanese frontier town of Wadi Halfa on the River Nile, circa 1950.

Egypt, Sudan to build port in border area

Egypt and Sudan agreed to set up a joint committee for the development of the port of Wadi Halfa in Sudan, as part of efforts to boost bilateral relations.