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January 15, 2026

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President of Syria Ahmed al-Shara arrives for the 80th session of the UN’s General Assembly (UNGA) at UN Headquarters on Sept. 23, 2025 in New York City. — Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images

Syria’s Sharaa heads to Davos, ending years of global isolation

The World Economic Forum begins on January 19 and ends on January 23, hosting a cohort of around 400 political leaders.

This picture shows a battery of Israel's Iron Dome air defence system in the southern city of Ashdod on May 12, 2023, as Israel's army and Gaza militants traded heavy cross-border fire. Israel and Gaza militants traded heavy fire today as hopes faded of securing a truce to end days of fighting that have killed dozens, all but one of them Palestinian. (Photo by Jack Guez / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel holds drills, prepares missile defenses for possible Iran attack: What to know

Israel is on high alert over the possibility of an American strike on Iran, which could trigger Iranian retaliation against the Jewish state.

The skyline of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Oct. 31, 2023.

MidEast VC funding hits record $3.8B in 2025, driven by strong Gulf showing

Many emerging venture markets contracted in 2025, but the Middle East and North Africa bucked the trend.

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Analysis

How Trump’s Venezuela oil grab could test OPEC’s power, Mideast energy models

A pump jack stands near an oil spill at a facility in Venezuela.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Analysis

Amid Saudi-UAE rivalry, Turkey courts Riyadh without crossing Abu Dhabi

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) gestures as he welcomes Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman (R) during an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on June 22, 2022.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

US envoy pushes for Sudan truce in meeting with UAE’s MBZ after talks in Saudi Arabia

US Senior Advisor for Arab and African Affairs Massad Boulos (L) meets with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi, Jan. 8, 2026.

Meet Aidarus Zubaidi: Separatist leader at heart of Yemen’s power struggle

SALEH AL-OBEIDI/AFP via Getty Images

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Jack Dutton

Chief Business Correspondent

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

Sebastian Castelier

In Dubai, reporting on regional business

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman shakes hands with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of their meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, India, February 20, 2019. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi - RC1FF5346100

Saudi crown prince capitalizes on photo ops in Asia

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's walk on the Great Wall of China, visits to Pakistan and India and the appointment of a Saudi princess as ambassador to Washington distract attention from the Khashoggi killing and the war in Yemen.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Saudi Arabia's King Salman attend a welcoming ceremony ahead of their talks in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia October 5, 2017. Sputnik/Alexei Nikolsky/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC1280FB8D90

Iran threatened by Russia-Saudi oil pact

Oil dealings between Moscow and Riyadh raise suspicions in Tehran, but Iran may soon learn they have a silver lining.

U.S. President Donald Trump heads back to the Oval Office after declaring a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border during remarks about border security in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, U.S., February 15, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RC17F0AE0D30

Trump introduced Qatari to donor pursuing nuclear power project, report says

A Tennessee businessman says US President Donald Trump introduced him to a potential Qatari investor at his Mar-a-Lago resort in spring 2018.

Flags_Palestine+SaudiArabia.jpg

Why can't Palestinian Authority criticize Riyadh?

The Palestinian Authority is confident that Riyadh is committed to the Palestinian cause and a two-state solution, and is reluctant to voice any stance that would cause Ramallah to lose Riyadh’s political and financial support.

Former National Security Adviser Mike Flynn arrives for a status hearing related to his guilty plea on charges that he made false statements in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, at U.S. District Court in Washington, U.S., July 10, 2018. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC1BCEFFF2A0

Intel: How White House efforts to sidestep Congress on Saudi nuclear deal are blowing up

The House Oversight Committee spoke with Donald Trump administration whistleblowers and released a report Tuesday detailing the White House’s efforts to give Congress the run-around in its determination to reach a civilian nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, Polish President Andrzej Duda, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Ekaterina Zaharieva, Bulgaria's deputy Prime Minister for Judicial Reform and Minister of Foreign Affairs pose for family photo at the Middle East conference at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Poland, February 13, 2019. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel - RC15EF32E9B0

Veteran peace hands see growing Israeli-Arab alignment in Warsaw

While the Palestinians boycotted the meeting in Poland, a number of Arab delegates showed an interest in engaging with US plans for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

<<enter caption here>> on December 18, 2017 in Washington, DC.

House votes to end US role in Yemen war despite Trump veto threat

The House voted Wednesday to end US support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.

A boy walks at the site of a Saudi-led air strike in the Houthi-held capital Sanaa, Yemen January 20, 2019. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah - RC1DEFA2E3D0

Trump blows off congressionally mandated Yemen certification

The Donald Trump administration does not plan to provide Congress with a certification allowing US involvement in Yemen, barring the Pentagon from providing refueling again.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is pictured while meeting with the Tunisian President during his arrival at the presidential palace in Carthage on the eastern outskirts of the capital Tunis on November 27, 2018. (Photo by FETHI BELAID / AFP) (Photo credit should read FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)

Saudi crown prince looks to Asia trip to boost image

Facing fallout in the West over the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman hopes his upcoming trip to Asia will project an image of business as usual.

Hatice Cengiz, fiancee of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, is seen during an interview with Reuters in London, Britain, October 29, 2018. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez - RC1D6B0C9860

Khashoggi fiancee grieves slain journalist, demands justice in new book

Turkish researcher Hatice Cengiz has released a memoir of her relationship with the murdered Saudi journalist and says she hopes it will keep up public pressure to punish those responsible for his death.

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Turkey frustrated over Western inaction in Khashoggi murder case

Ankara’s push for an international investigation into the murder of Jamal Khashoggi is also widening the gap between Arab regimes and Turkey.

Saudi Arabia seeks to entice visitors with pre-Islamic sites

Following last year's $20 billion French-Saudi deal to accelerate al-Ula’s development, there are more international archaeologists on the ground than ever before.