Saudi Arabia, to the surprise of many, chose China to broker its deal with Iran in March 2023.
Chinese Foreign Ministry/Anadolu Agency via Getty Image
Saudi Arabia’s choice of China to broker its deal with Iran surprised many, but is consistent with its foreign policy agenda.
China’s president Xi met with the King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud in 2017.
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Chinese leadership of a peace deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia, adds to their power in the region.
Opening the doors to Russia and China’s perception.
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The setting was grand, so too was the plan. But behind the peace plan put forward by China and welcomed by Russia, is the question, what do both nations seek?
From Beijing with friendship? It’s complicated.
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Detente between Tehran and Riyadh will not magically solve all the political and sectarian tensions in the Middle East.
Marco Cappelletti/OMA/Islamic Arts Biennale
The celebrated South African architect Sumayya Vally is the artistic director of the exhibition.
Landing geopolitical punches.
REUTERS/Alamy Stock Photo
The Gulf state has an insatiable appetite for sporting glory.
A saltier Red Sea could threaten its marine life.
Dudarev Mikhail/Shutterstock
Jordan is planning a major desalination plant on the Gulf of Aqaba – but will it damage nearby marine ecosystems?
President Xi Jinping with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud in December.
Xinhua/Alamy Stock Photo
The region is well placed to satisfy China’s huge oil needs.
Ethiopian migrants stranded in Saudi Arabia arrive at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 2021.
Minasse Wondimu Hailu/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
More than half a million Ethiopian migrants have been deported from Saudi Arabia since 2017.
President Joe Biden holding court at COP27.
UPI/Alamy
A look back at what the COPs have actually achieved.
Bosaso has become a major export hub since security improved in Somalia’s Puntland region.
Mohamed Abdiwahab/AFP via Getty Images
A modern port raises Puntland’s stake within the fragmented political landscape of Somalia and prevents traders from seeking alternatives.
Thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets to protest the death of Mahsa Amini.
AP Photo/Emrah Gurel
Imposing restrictions on women has been a way for many countries to demonstrate to the world what policies they want to pursue.
Girls chant religious slogans while celebrating Mawlid al-Nabi in Karachi, Pakistan in 2021.
AP Photo/Fareed Khan
The Wahhabi school of Islam has spread throughout the world, along with its disapproval of the holiday.
Saudi Arabian crown prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud welcomes British prime minister Boris Johnson in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on March 16 2022.
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An energy crisis means the world is less likely to call out Saudi Arabia’s human rights abuses, an expert argues.
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The city is a A$725 billion wall-like structure running for 170km across the Saudi Arabian landscape. Can it live up to its huge ambitions?
Joe Biden, then-Vice President meets with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in 2011.
AP Photo/Hassan Ammar
Joe Biden is set to make his first visit as president to the Middle East, during which he will meet the Saudi crown prince the US accuses of ordering the murder of a journalist.
A view of the Kaaba at the Grand Mosque during the hajj pilgrimage in the Muslim holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia on July 6, 2022.
AP Photo/Amr Nabil
The start of the hajj is reigniting debates around its commercialization, but pilgrimages are also a time for seeking business opportunities, writes a scholar of Islam.
Charles Schwartzel of South Africa celebrates after winning the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational on June 11.
(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
For all the efforts at reimagining golf to attract consumer interest, the sportwashing discourse has brought an avalanche of negative attention to the LIV series, and rightfully so.
A woman receives food aid at a distribution centre in Ethiopia.
Jemal Countess/Getty Images
The origins of Ethiopia’s food crisis can be traced to a bitter feud between Eritrean and Tigrayan liberation fighters.
British prime minister Boris Johnson on his way to Saudi Arabia in March 2022.
Reuters/Alamy
The UK’s bumpy relationship with Saudi Arabia will not turn on new oil supplies.