Jackie Northam

The government has ambitious plans to diversify the oil kingdom — and that means revamping the world's biggest petroleum producer.

Allowing women to drive was the emblem of a new Saudi Arabia and its young crown prince. But the arrest of pro-driving activists has generated second thoughts about the country's purported reforms.

These days, some young people in the conservative kingdom also use Tinder to find a match.

The Saudi kingdom says it is trying to wean the economy off an oil and foreign worker dependency. Employers say it has not been easy.

NPR boards a passenger train that crosses the vast, harsh Saudi Arabian desert, from the capital Riyadh to the eastern oil city of Dammam.

Aircraft giant Boeing looked at deals worth billions of dollars with Iran. Now the Trump administration is preventing them as it pulls out of the nuclear agreement. But the company wasn't counting on the deals anyway.

Activities once forbidden — cinema, music, women driving — are now OK. It makes some Saudis nervous. "I talk to younger people, they are happy with it," says a Saudi woman. "But older people are not."

The influential Saudi CEO discusses what she's done to get more women working.

One of the most influential business women in the world is from what might seem like an unlikely place — Saudi Arabia. She sat down for a rare interview to discuss what she's done to get more Saudi women into the work force.

The dramatic social changes being ordered from the top-down in Saudi Arabia — like allowing music in public or letting women drive — have some Saudis excited but others nervous and confused.

Allowing cinemas is part of a modernization drive by the Saudi government, which hopes to create more business opportunities and become a regional film hub. But it's a tough place to be a filmmaker.

Saudi Arabia is ending a three-decade ban on cinema. Black Panther screened for an invitation-only crowd last night. A look at Saudi showbiz finds filmakers eager to light up the big screen.

The fashion show, which only women are invited to view, is the newest entertainment opportunity to emerge in the ultra-conservative kingdom.

Saudi Arabia holds its first official fashion show this week showcasing fashions from around the Arab world. But there are some restrictions on fashion designs shown — no cleavage, nothing outrageously transparent or above the knee.

Saudi Arabia has allowed millions of Muslims to visit on religious pilgrimages but now it plans to open its doors to others by starting to offer tourist visas.

President Trump says the U.S. will levy $60 billion worth of trade tariffs against China. The move is seen as way to curb China's predatory trade practices, but it also risks a trade war.

President Trump greeted the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and praised their growing friendship and increasing arms deals.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince begins a tour of the U.S. next week to try and drum up foreign investment. That may be a hard sell after 200 princes and wealthy businessmen were detained at a luxury hotel in Riyadh for three months as part of the prince's anti-corruption campaign.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal will be ratified today by 11 countries. The U.S. was instrumental in organizing the pact, but President Trump pulled out soon after taking office.

The Trump administration's threat to impose stringent tariffs on steel from China could also seriously affect imports from close U.S. allies such as Canada.