A Syrian family that survived a 2013 chemical weapons attack that killed hundreds of people near the country's capital, Damascus, says the ordeal they experienced haunts them to this day.

The new Saudi Cup will comfortably eclipse horse racing's previous richest individual race, the Pegasus World Cup, which peaked at a purse of $16 million in 2018 before dropping back behind the $12M Dubai World Cup. The Saudi Cup will take place at the King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh on February 29 -- between the Pegasus and the Dubai World Cup -- and will be contested on dirt over nine furlongs (1,800 meters). Sport is playing an increasing part in Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's plan to modernize Saudi Arabia, relax the conservative social code and improve in its controversial global image. "As for $20m for a horse race, that's a drop in the ocean - it's nothing. They're creating the idea that Saudi Arabia is not dissimilar to the UAE."