Both countries cite historical aggression for their ongoing enmity, but there is no real justification for the hostility, beyond chest-beating, says Carl Bildt

Women will be allowed to rent hotel rooms with proof of identity – an ID card for Saudi women, residency card for foreign residents or passport for tourists.

The US monitors everyone, apart from Canada, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand, so this exception for a militarily ambition nation is a ‘dereliction of duty’, writes Aram Roston

Opec agreed to extend oil supply cuts until March 2020, three sources said, as the group’s members overcame their differences in order to prop up the price of crude amid a weakening global economy and soaring US production.

When Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud — MbS — assumed power in Saudia Arabia, he did so without the endorsement of an election. The idea is unknown in this family-run kingdom, where power is inherited and uncontestable.

Grant Smith The price of crude oil rose to almost $70 a barrel, a level last breached in November, as global crude supplies tightened, while hopes for an end to the US-China trade impasse lifted financial markets.

Oil headed for its best quarter in almost 10 years as the production cuts by Opec and its allies and the loss of barrels due to US sanctions on Iran and Venezuela countered a wobbly demand outlook.

Markets don’t believe Opec’s output plans will work

A military base deep inside Saudi Arabia appears to be testing and possibly manufacturing ballistic missiles, experts and satellite images suggest, evidence of the type of weapons programme it has long criticised its arch-rival Iran for possessing.

Though it is more than 170 years since our Great Famine — an Gorta Mór — began its evisceration, it persists as a powerful presence in our consciousness.

In 1847 the Choctaw Indians donated $170 toward famine relief in Ireland.

Report after report on our impact on the world challenges us to live more ethical lives.

The pervasiveness of state-sponsored killings is no excuse for treating murder as acceptable, ever, writes Jeffrey D Sachs.

A visitor from Mars looking at reports of the murder during a one-against-15 fistfight of a journalist in Saudi Arabia’s Istanbul consulate could be forgiven for perceiving Turkey’s president, Recep Erdogan, as a champion of human rights and press freedom prepared to leave no stone unturned in exposing the killing of a writer by a totalitarian state.

Last year, at age 31, Mohammed bin Salman became Saudi Arabia’s crown prince.

Study coincides with UN climate report calling for rapid and far-reaching transitions

Last May, America and Saudi Arabia signed a €95bn arms deal. Britain, one of the European countries selling

Saudi Arabian crown prince Mohammed bin Salman is under immense pressure after the journalist Khashoggi disappeared, writes David A Andelman

Crude oil prices continue to climb despite attempts by oil producers to reassure the market about availability and the existence of enough spare capacity to offset oil lost as a result of US sanctions on Iran.

Germany should really not be surprised by their earliest World Cup exit in 80 years. The four-time winners should have seen the red flags and heeded the warnings after failing to hit top form for almost a year prior to this tournament.

Russia’s impressive running statistics at the World Cup are based on hard work and motivation, not doping, national team coach Stanislav Cherchesov has insisted.

Here’s your round-up of what’s on today and tomorrow at the World Cup.

Belgium coach Roberto Martinez has apologised to journalists for making their lives harder by putting an end to the dramas and in-fighting that have characterised Belgian squads in the past.

The possession football championed by coaches like Pep Guardiola is supposed to produce aesthetically-pleasing goals. Against strong defences and world-class goalkeepers, sometimes you need to go back to basics.

The countdown continues to the first game of the 2018 World Cup.

Russia coach Stanislav Cherchesov insists he is comfortable with the level of scrutiny being directed at the World Cup hosts.

Two cramped rooms in a Moscow suburb could make or break countries’ dreams of World Cup glory.

Egypt say they still can't confirm whether Mohamed Salah will be fit enough to play in their opening World Cup game.

Austria has never been a liberal society, so it is not surprising that it is to close seven mosques and expel up to 40 imams, in a move against Islamist ideology and foreign funding of religious groups.

Damien Duff is clearly sick of Saipan.

Salah's shoulder injury should keep him out for a maximum of three weeks.

It’s quite a state of affairs when Real Madrid wield the sword of righteous justice in any particular contest. This is, after all, the club of General Franco’s favour, shady training ground construction deals, and gaudy Galactico excess, writes Tommy Martin.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which have long lured foreign workers with the promise of a tax-free lifestyle, plan to impose a 5% tax next year on most goods and services to boost revenue after oil prices collapsed three years ago.

Lebanon's prime minister Saad Hariri has said he is returning to the country and confirmed he is resigning amid political tensions.

The line-up for the 2018 World Cup in Russia is close to completion after Australia became the 31st nation to book their place at the finals.

Saudi Arabia has ordered its citizens to leave Lebanon amid rising tensions between their two governments.

The two countries should hold bilateral talks and air their historic grievances, or else the mistrust will deepen, says Christopher R Hill

China is offering to buy up to 5% of Saudi Aramco directly, in a move that could give Saudi Arabia the flexibility to consider various options for its plan to float the world’s biggest oil producer on the stock market.

Oil prices stabilised after Saudi Aramco said it plans to make “the deepest customer allocation cuts in its history” in oil supplies in November to help reduce global inventories and balance the market.

Russia and Saudi Arabia have struck a number of deals, including contracts for Russian weapons, as part of a groundbreaking first visit by a Saudi monarch.

The Saudi-led coalition waging an air campaign against Houthi rebels in northern Yemen is killing children in what amounts to war crimes, according to an international rights group.

World crude oil prices have fallen by 3% in the past week, defying attempts by the producer group Opec to boost prices as demand splutters.

Saudi Arabia aims to sell about 5% of state oil company Saudi Aramco in an IPO next year, and stock exchanges from the UK to Japan are vying for what may be the world’s richest IPO.