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.

KHALED KAMEL/AFP via Getty Images

Another crash in Egypt leaves 20 dead

The road accident near the Nile River follows deadly train and boat incidents in the North African country earlier this year.

People gather around the wreckage of two trains that collided in the Tahta district of Sohag province, some 460 kilometers (285 miles) south of the Egyptian capital Cairo, reportedly killing at least 19 people and injuring scores of others, on March 26, 2021.

Egyptian prosecutors blame gross negligence for deadly train collision

The March train crash that killed at least 19 people is the latest disaster to strike Egypt's aging rail system.

Egyptian Red Crescent members gather at the scene of a building collapse along Kasr el-Nile street in downtown district in Cairo, Egypt, Aug. 15, 2020.

Cairo building collapse highlights lax government oversight

In a continuation of the real estate collapse incidents in Egypt, a 10-story property collapsed March 27 in Cairo, resulting in five deaths and injuring many.

People gather around the wreckage of two trains that collided in the Tahta district of Sohag province, some 460 kms (285 miles) south of the Egyptian capital Cairo, reportedly killing at least 32 people and injuring scores of others, on March 26, 2021.

Train collision in southern Egypt kills 32, injures dozens

Egypt's railroad authority said the collision occurred after the emergency brakes were activated on one of the trains.

Syrian rebel fighters play a game by candle light, due to electricity cuts on May 26, 2013 in Adana, near the northeastern city of Deir Ezzor. Syria's opposition denounced as "too little, too late" an EU decision to lift an arms embargo on rebels fighting the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. AFP PHOTO / RICARDO GARCIA VILANOVA (Photo credit should read Ricardo Garcia Vilanova/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey to supply electricity to opposition-held areas in Syria

Authorities affiliated with the opposition in the cities of Tell Abyad and Ras al-Ain in northern Syria recently signed an agreement to import Turkish electricity, as the Syrian regime forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces continue to control the feeding stations of these areas.

This picture taken on August 18, 2019 shows restoration works ongoing at the historic "Le Palais Hindou" (also known as the "Baron Empain Palace") built by in the early 20th century by Belgian industrialist Edouard Louis Joseph, Baron Empain, in the classical Khmer architectural style of Cambodia's Angkor Wat, in the Egyptian capital Cairo's northeastern Heliopolis district. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP) (Photo credit should read KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images)

How Cairo’s Heliopolis heritage managed to remain uncovered

The residents of Cairo's Heliopolis neighborhood have succeeded in stopping a government decision to build a new bridge in the heart of its historical and heritage area.

A picture taken on October 11, 2015 shows a man walking on a railway as a train approaches in the Egyptian capital Cairo. AFP PHOTO / MOHAMED EL-SHAHED (Photo credit should read MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP via Getty Images)

Egypt to start building high-speed railway from Red Sea to Mediterranean

Egypt and German’s Siemens recently signed an agreement to start establishing a high-speed railway network connecting the Red Sea and Mediterranean coasts, as part of Egypt’s efforts to develop its decaying sector.

A man drives a group of pupils to school in al-Qaim in the Iraqi Anbar province, opposite Albu Kamal in Syria's Deir Ezzor region, on November 13, 2018. - Iraqi troops have reinforced their positions along the porous frontier with neighbouring war-torn Syria, fearing a spillover from clashes there between the Islamic State (IS) group and US-backed forces. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP) (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iraq's western Anbar province getting back on its feet, eyeing autonomy

Iraq’s Sunni-majority Anbar province has in recent months completed a number of infrastructure works in the hope of attracting more investment as the US troops' presence winds down, amid debate over the possibility of carving out an autonomous region.

An Egyptian fisherman rows along the River Nile near Abou Shosha village in the Qina (Qena) governorate, some 600 kilometres south of the capital Cairo on March 21, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / KHALED DESOUKI (Photo credit should read KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images)

How Egypt is developing its Golden Triangle

The Egyptian government is currently developing the Golden Triangle area, which was recently designated as the richest in iron, copper, gold and phosphate minerals.

A picture taken on October 21, 2017, shows the highway passing through the New Alamein City, situated about 100 kilometres (62 miles) west of the northern city of Alexandria. / AFP PHOTO / KHALED DESOUKI (Photo credit should read KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images)

World War II site becomes promising tourist destination in Egypt

As part of the government’s plan to redistribute Egypt’s growing population, a project to turn a World War II site into a resort that also includes residential units is currently underway in north Egypt.

A Yemeni labourer removes the rubble ahead of restoration works on the site of a collapsed UNESCO-listed building following heavy rains, in the old city of the Yemeni capital Sanaa, on August 12, 2020. - Flash floods triggered by torrential rains have killed at least 172 people across Yemen over the past month, damaging homes and UNESCO-listed world heritage sites, officials said. (Photo by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMMED HUWAIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Yemen’s warring sides blamed for destruction of heritage during heavy rainfall

Yemen is trying to save its cultural heritage by appealing to UNESCO and the international community, after many of its historic cities have started collapsing due to heavy rains.

General Electric signs deal with Iraq's Electricity Ministry

The US industrial giant's announcement came before Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi visited the White House.