US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, meanwhile, insists the nation is not being asked to choose sides between superpower rivals Washington and Beijing.

Decision comes after Chinese foreign ministry’s external security affairs chief holds first such meeting with Iranian and Pakistani counterparts in Beijing.

US Secretary of State’s Saudi visit was aimed at boosting ties with a long-time ally, which has forged closer relations with Washington’s rivals.

Asia has faced the brunt of fluctuating oil supplies following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. And with few alternatives, Asian nations may have to bolster renewable energy development, observers said.

At an in-person Opec+ meeting at the group’s headquarters in Vienna on Sunday, Riyadh announced it would slash output further by one million barrels per day in a bid to prop up prices, despite fears of a recession.

Warplanes of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s army targeted positions of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who responded with anti-aircraft fire, residents reported.

‘The countries of the region...realised that only cooperation with each other brings security to the area,’ Iran’s navy commander said.

The couple were married at the Zahran Palace, in front of high-profile guests such as US first lady Jill Biden and the Prince and Princess of Wales.

China has stepped up diplomatic and economic efforts in the Middle East beyond traditional oil and gas cooperation, particularly with Saudi Arabia, with the region needing to ‘look East’ to fulfil its development wishes, analysts said.

The Rapid Support Forces faced artillery fire from General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s troops, each side blaming the other for violating ceasefire terms.

Hong Kong businesses reap the benefits of city leader John Lee’s visit to Saudi Arabia and UAE in February.

In a joint statement early Sunday, the US and Saudi Arabia called for an extension of the current truce which expires at 9:45pm local time on Monday.

VTB Bank’s Andrey Kostin warns that ‘it’s very dangerous to rely on America’, after Russia’s second-largest lender lost billions last year upon being cut off from the US dollar and euro.

The Middle Eastern countries are eyeing Chinese drones, fighter jets and air defence systems as they seek to diversify weapons supply amid Ukraine war and tensions with Washington, according to Beirut-based intelligence service.

Assad’s return to Arab League and Zelensky’s appearance mark efforts by Arab states to remain diplomatically neutral in the West’s tensions with Russia and China.

Ali Shamkhani will be replaced by Ali Akbar Ahmadian, who sits on the country’s Expediency Council that advises the supreme leader.

SpaceX launched the ticket-holding crew, led by a retired Nasa astronaut, on a chartered multimillion-dollar flight to the International Space Station on Sunday.

‘Take an honest look …’ President Volodymyr Zelensky urged in a speech at the Arab League summit in Jedda.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman greeted Bashar al-Assad with a hug, and the Syrian President rubbed shoulders with leaders who had shunned him for years.

Last year’s 883 recorded executions were the most since 2017, activists said. The death penalty is also used extensively in North Korea and Vietnam but as with China, figures there remain ‘shrouded in secrecy’.

With their ancient cultural and historical sites – plus ‘very good shopping’ – the Gulf monarchies such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE have their sights set on enticing a new wave of luxury travellers from China.

Envoys are have been in the Saudi city of Jeddah for a week for talks intended ‘to protect Sudan from any escalation’ as brutal urban warfare continues to batter the densely populated capital.

United States, Japan and Qatar are among those who have previously lured top names for a lucrative swansong.

He will follow Cristiano Ronaldo to the kingdom, but source says ‘Saudi Arabia brought him, not a specific club’, paid for by Public Investment Fund, which bankrolled LIV Golf and the Newcastle buyout.