New satellite photos show desert ski resort emerging at world's biggest construction site
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
New satellite imagery reveals advancing work at a mountain ski resort in Saudi Arabia as part of the ambitious Neom project, the world's biggest construction site.
Newsweek has reached out to Neom's team for comment on the latest development shown by photos from Planet Labs and provided exclusively to Newsweek.
Why It Matters
The outdoor ski resort in a desert country known for being one of the hottest in the world symbolises the ambition of the megaproject of Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman at Neom. Most of the snow will be artificial.
The images show the advances on the site in the absence of official updates and with some critics questioning how far work is progressing and questioning whether it has been affected by setbacks.
Drag slider
compare photos
What To Know
Trojena, on the mountain of Jebel al Lawz in the northwest of Saudi Arabia, rises to more than 8,500 feet above sea level, according to the project's description on Neom's website.
The project—envisioned as the world's first "vertical ski village"—extends over an area of nearly 870 square miles and is set to include about 18 miles of ski slopes, in addition to a dozen hotels and tens of thousands of shops and restaurants.
It also includes a giant man-made lake that would take up to 15 billion gallons of water, according to Trojena's Instagram account.
Philip Gullett, Trojena's Executive Director at Neom, called the project's progress "a military operation," citing the challenge of building infrastructure in remote mountains, speaking this week at the Saudi Giga Projects Summit, according to Zawya platform.
Discover life at new heights—at the Ski Village. Experience the joy of waking up above the clouds, surrounded by endless experiences at every level. This is mountain living, elevated in every sense. Welcome to a lifestyle where the sky is truly the limit. pic.twitter.com/nxA11ZIQTz — TROJENA (@NEOMTROJENA) March 5, 2025
Neom, the flagship element of Vision 2030, Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman's strategy to diversify its economy away from oil dependence, has been accused of having an unrealistic scope and ambitious timeline, with other concerns pertaining to the project's effects on climate change and the kingdom's human rights abuse allegations.
"You're changing a natural ecosystem which can have compounding impacts," said climate consultant Ahmed el-Droubi, currently the global campaigns manager at Climate Action Network International, according to Euro News in 2022.
Saudi Arabia's advances were hailed by U.S. President Donald Trump during a visit to the country this week which culminated in a $600 billion investment deal.
What People Are Saying
Philip Gullett, Executive Director and Region Head of Trojena, quoted on Neom's website: "From up there you can look over to the Gulf of Aqaba too. And over to Egypt as well as the whole NEOM region."
Richard Scott, Senior Development Manager at Trojena: "Most of the snow in Trojena will be machine-made snow."
What Happens Next
The ski resort is due to be completed for the Asian Winter Games in 2029 to be hosted in Saudi Arabia.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
AI is upending the job market, even at AI companies
AI's impact is affecting entry-level engineering roles. Anthropic CPO Mike Krieger said the company is focused on hiring more experienced employees instead. Anthropic's CEO, meanwhile, has warned that AI could eliminate 50% of entry-level jobs. Anthropic CPO Mike Krieger, who also cofounded Instagram, says the job market is going to be tough for new grads. Krieger told The New York Times' "Hard Fork" podcast on Friday that Anthropic is focused instead on hiring experienced engineers. He said he still has "some hesitancy" with entry-level workers. To some extent, that's a reflection of Anthropic's internal structure, which doesn't yet support a "really good internship program," Krieger said. Internships have long been the golden ticket to lucrative entry-level tech jobs. But it also shows how AI is upending the labor market, even at AI companies. As AI continues to evolve, Krieger said that the role of entry-level engineers is going to shift. On a recent episode of the 20VC podcast, Krieger said software engineers could see their job evolve in the next three years as coders outsource more of their work to AI. Humans will focus on "coming up with the right ideas, doing the right user interaction design, figuring out how to delegate work correctly, and then figuring out how to review things at scale — and that's probably some combination of maybe a comeback of some static analysis or maybe AI-driven analysis tools of what was actually produced." There is an exception, however. "If somebody was... extremely good at using Claude to do their work and map it out, of course, we would bring them on as well," Steve Mnich, a spokesperson for Anthropic, told Business Insider by email. Claude, Anthropic's flagship chatbot, has become known among users as a coding wizard with a manipulative streak. "So there is, I think, a continued role for people that have embraced these tools to make themselves, in many ways, as productive as a senior engineer." On its careers page, Anthropic is hiring for 200 roles across categories from AI research and engineering to communications and brand to software engineering infrastructure. BI reviewed the job descriptions for each of these roles and found that the majority require five or more years of experience, while a handful of jobs, particularly in sales, require between 1 and 2 years of experience. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has also warned about the threat AI poses to entry-level jobs, both inside and outside the AI industry. In an interview with Axios, Amodei said the technology could wipe out as much as 50% of entry-level jobs. "We, as the producers of this technology, have a duty and an obligation to be honest about what is coming," he told the outlet. "I don't think this is on people's radar." On Thursday, he told CNN that "AI is starting to get better than humans at almost all intellectual tasks, and we're going to collectively, as a society, grapple with it." David Hsu, the CEO of Retool, an AI application company with over 10,000 customers, including Boston Consulting Group, AWS, and Databricks, is also warning of changes on the horizon. He told BI that "workers have a lot of leverage over CEOs" in the current labor market. "I think CEOs are kind of tired of that. They're like, 'We need to get to the point where we can go replace labor with AI.'" Read the original article on Business Insider Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Newsweek
8 hours ago
- Newsweek
Rand Paul Thinks There Are Enough GOP Senators to Block Trump Budget Bill
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, said Sunday that he's confident there are enough members of his party to vote against President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful" spending bill amid concerns that it does not make enough cuts to spending. Newsweek reached out to the White House and Paul's office by email outside of normal business hours on Sunday for comment. Why It Matters Trump made the passage of a new spending bill one of his centerpiece policy goals for his second administration, aiming to wrap everything up into one single bill, the much-touted "big, beautiful bill" that will allow him to pursue his raft of policies. The bill would extend the president's 2017 tax cats, reduce taxes for individuals and corporations, and add new exemptions for tipped workers and overtime pay. Critics also warn that the bill's spending cuts would prove insufficient to pay for the proposed tax cuts and other spending priorities. However, some Republicans have voiced reservations about supporting the bill, with the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimating that it will add $3.8 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years. The House of Representatives passed the bill by just one vote, 215-214, as two Republicans broke ranks and joined every House Democrat in opposing the bill. What To Know Paul has spoken out against the spending bill and said he will not vote to pass it due to the inclusion of a mechanism that would allow Congress to increase the nation's debt limit by $5 trillion. On Sunday, the senator appeared on CBS News' Face the Nation when host Margaret Brennan asked, "Do you have three other Republicans who will stand with you to block this bill?" Paul responded: "I think there are four of us at this point, and I would be very surprised if the bill at least is not modified in a good direction." He continued: "I want to vote for it. I'm for the tax cuts. I voted for the tax cuts before, I want the tax cuts to be permanent, but at the same time I don't want to raise the debt ceiling $5 trillion, so I've told them if you take the debt ceiling off the bill, in all likelihood I can vote for what the agreement is on the rest of the bill. And it doesn't have to be perfect to my liking, but if I vote for the $5 trillion debt, who's left in Washington that cares about the debt? The GOP will own the debt once they vote for this." The GOP senator said Trump's "big, beautiful bill" increases spending by about $320 billion for the military and for the border. "To put that perspective, that's more than all the [Department of Government Efficiency] DOGE cuts that we found so far, so the increase in spending put into this bill exceeds the DOGE cuts," he said Sunday. Paul then cited what he called inflated spending on the southern border wall, noting that the Trump administration managed to carry out its deportations without needing new spending or equipment and therefore deeming such expenditure in the bill is "asking for too much money." "In the end, the way you add it up to see if it actually is going to save money or add money is how much debt are they going to borrow—$5 trillion over two years is an enormous amount," he said. Brennan: Do you have three other Republicans who will stand with you to block this bill? Paul: I think there are four of us at this point — Acyn (@Acyn) June 1, 2025 What People Are Saying Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday: "The American people, like the Great People of Kentucky, do not support Biden spending levels and $5T in new debt. Therefore, I will not. It's simple." Senator Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican, wrote on X on Sunday: "The House Budget process focused on $1.5 trillion in reduced spending and ignored the looming debt crisis. I am preparing a report: FY2025 Budget Reconciliation, Facts & Figures. I hope to complete it shortly and hold a hearing on it before we take any more Senate votes on the budget." President Donald Trump on Truth Social last week: "THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL" has PASSED the House of Representatives! This is arguably the most significant piece of Legislation that will ever be signed in the History of our Country!" He added a message to Senate Republicans: "Now, it's time for our friends in the United States Senate to get to work, and send this Bill to my desk AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! There is no time to waste." House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, in a statement on Thursday: "Today, the House has passed generational, nation-shaping legislation that reduces spending, permanently lowers taxes for families and job creators, secures the border, unleashes American energy dominance, restores peace through strength, and makes government work more efficiently and effectively for all Americans." What Happens Next? Other GOP senators, including Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine and Josh Hawley of Missouri, have also raised concerns about the bill, and have voiced concerns ahead of a vote on the bill, which the Senate has set to happen before the Fourth of July.
Newsweek
9 hours ago
- Newsweek
Trump's Clash with Harvard Sparks Debate — This Week in Your Words
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. We're back with a fresh roundup of your highlighted comments of the week — and this time, one topic has taken center stage. President Donald Trump's ongoing clash with Harvard has ignited passionate discussions across the board. From sharp insights to thoughtful critiques, your comments have brought fresh perspectives that deepen the debate. Whether you agreed, challenged, or expanded the narrative, your voices once again brought this story to life in unexpected ways. Here are some of your highlighted comments from the past week. U.S. President Donald Trump, joined by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, speaks to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on May 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. Musk, who served as an adviser to... U.S. President Donald Trump, joined by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, speaks to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on May 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. Musk, who served as an adviser to Trump and led the Department of Government Efficiency, announced he would leave the Trump administration to refocus on his businesses. (Photo by) More Getty Images On the Latest on Donald Trump's Clash with Harvard Original Article: Donald Trump Says Harvard is 'Getting Their A** Kicked' Background: Trump and his administration have cracked down on Ivy League institutions, such as Harvard and Columbia University, since taking office in January. Original Comment: "I'm not sure what Trump is trying to prove here. It's silly to think he is just hurting Harvard, he is permanently damaging the International reputation of the US and damaging its reputation for those that want to study in the US. And for what? A couple protests and some DEI policies. Trump decided that's worth tanking 10 Billion dollars in research from arguably the best university in the US. And he's proud of it." - KevinBer702 What Makes the Comment Noteworthy: The commenter cuts straight to the heart of the broader consequences behind Trump's actions. Rather than focusing solely on the political optics, they highlight the potential damage to America's global reputation and its standing in higher education. On Plans for Trump's Administration to Revoke Visas for Chinese Students Original Article: Marco Rubio Announces New Plan to Revoke Chinese Student Visas Background: Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a new plan on Wednesday to "aggressively revoke" student visas issued to international students from China. Original Comment: "Another court challenge that will end up as another loss for Trump. Can't single out students based on their race or national origin for blanket visa revocation, and any decision must be rooted in credible and sufficient evidence of some tangible threat to national security concerning the specific student. Nearly all Chinese students at Harvard are the very cream of the crop, and actually add significant value to US university education. National security threats are managed by our security clearance system and controlling access to secret and top secret information, not by the visa system." - Metteyya What Makes the Comment Noteworthy: The commenter challenges the policy with a clear, informed perspective, arguing that targeting students undermines both legal standards and the strength of U.S. academia. On Calls for Universities to Align with the Trump Administration Original Article: Linda McMahon Says Colleges Must Be 'In Sync' with Trump Administration Background: Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in an interview that U.S. colleges and universities should be "in sync" with the Trump administration. Original Comment: "Only in a totalitarian nation-state would any university be REQUIRED to be "in-sync" with the presidential administration. Universities by definition are autonomous regarding academic rigor and freedom; they are apolitical." - countryman_1776 What Makes the Comment Noteworthy: The commenter argues for the principle of academic independence, warning against political interference in universities. They highlight concerns that requiring alignment with the administration could undermine the core values of academic freedom and institutional autonomy. Further Reflections on Universities Aligning with the Trump Administration Original Comment: "The American university system has been the envy of the world for decades. That's due in large part to the deeply rooted tradition of academic freedom. The expectation that a university be in sync with the administration is antithetical to the idea of academic freedom." - vasant073 What Makes the Comment Noteworthy: This reader emphasizes the global reputation of the American university system, attributing its success to long-standing traditions of academic freedom. They challenge the notion that universities should conform to political agendas, reinforcing why such expectations conflict with academic ideals. On Asian Colleges Trying to Woo Harvard Students – and The Possible Fallout Original Article: Asian Colleges Aim to Woo Harvard International Students Background: As Harvard University faces looming restrictions on enrolling international students, colleges across Asia are positioning themselves to attract some of the world's brightest minds. Original Comment: "So the US has an advantage in research, medicine and AI but if you are telling potential students to go somewhere else, the money that foreign tuitions that could be used for us citizens scholarships would also disappear. This is unironically the biggest mistake you can make." - What Makes the Comment Noteworthy: The commenter points out the potential economic and academic fallout of pushing international students away. They highlight a less discussed consequence: that lost tuition could also impact scholarship support for domestic students. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and keeping the conversation alive. Your insights help us see these stories from new angles and remind us why open dialogue is so important. Keep the comments coming—we look forward to hearing more from you next week.
