The scaling back of Saudi Arabia’s colossal Line project from a 170 km long linear city to only 2.4 km is a clear warning to the viability of other urban mega-projects in a warming world.
It’s a precarious situation, but pressure from the US and Saudi Arabia, among others, is gradually pushing the two warring sides towards a deal. But a lot can still go wrong.
Members of the security forces try to stop protesters during a pro-Palestinian rally near the Israeli embassy in Amman, Jordan, in October 2023.
Mohammad Ali / EPA
Jordan’s foreign policy has landed the kingdom in hot water.
Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, meets his Omani counterpart, Sayyid Badr Albusaidi, in Tehran on July 17, 2023.
Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images
New research reveals signs of ancient human habitation in a vast cave beneath the Arabian desert. It may have been used as a waystation by Stone Age herders travelling from one oasis to another.
Ramadan encourages acts of charity. This also poses a question for many Muslims as they consider what more could be done to feed the hungriest in the world, many of whom are in Gaza.
Abu Dhabi is turning itself into one of the world’s leading tech hubs.
Patryk Kosmider/Shutterstock
The eastward shift in the Global Entrepreurship Monitor rankings over the past five years has been striking.
This image provided by the U.S. Navy shows an aircraft launching from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Red Sea on Jan. 22, 2024. American and British forces bombed targets in eight locations used by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, the second time the two allies have done so.
(Kaitlin Watt/U.S. Navy via AP)
Since the outset of Israel’s invasion of Gaza, the West has aimed to prevent the conflict from escalating regionally. But strikes on the Houthis in Yemen by the U.S. and the U.K. may ensure it will.
Houthi supporters rally in Yemen following U.S.-U.K. airstrikes.
Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images
Australia supported a phase-out of fossil fuels at the recent UN climate summit but is still expanding coal and gas production. It’s a contradiction that threatens the planet. There is a better way.
Saudi Arabia looks set to host the 2034 men’s FIFA World Cup.
PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo
Missiles from rebel Yemeni groups risk widening the Middle East conflict. But the motivation behind the attacks could be more about self-interest.
Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Riyadh on Oct. 15, 2023.
Royal Court of Saudi Arabia/Anadolu via Getty Images
A decade of de-escalation among Gulf states could be at risk if Israel-Hamas violence spills across region. And that could threaten Saudi plans to transform the kingdom.
Senior Research Fellow, Muslim Philanthropy Initiative at IUPUI and Journalist-fellow, Religion and Civic Culture Center, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences