With no meaningful public transport system and a ban on women drivers, getting to school in Saudi Arabia is a challenge beyond many students.

Iran hopes to use a meeting of Opec oil ministers today as a launch pad for its return as a dominant force in global crude markets after months of sanctions.

Around 150 clerics and religious scholars held a rare protest outside the Saudi king's palace on against fresh efforts by women seeking the right to drive, highlighting the struggle faced by reformers in the ultraconservative kingdom.

Saudi women on the ultraconservative kingdom's top advisory council have called for a discussion on the sensitive issue of allowing women to drive.

As millions of Muslim pilgrims prepare to converge on holy sites in Saudi Arabia this [northern] autumn, the global health community is anxiously monitoring an outbreak of a respiratory virus known as Mers.

Fear that expansion of three of city's oldest mosques will also destroy key historic sites.

Dating back to the second century BC, the Nabataean archaeological site, also known as Madain Saleh, has long been hidden from foreign visitors to Saudi Arabia. Assaad Abboud checks out a site that rarely opens up to tourists.

Former NZ diplomat Warren Searell called Damascus home until the Arab spring made life far too dangerous. This is his story.

Once a dusty desert town, Mecca now soars above its surroundings with a glittering array of skyscrapers and luxury hotels.

At the start of this century, clean energy was all the rage. The revolution may still be happening, but it's taking its time, reports Peter Huck.

Tuition fees at New Zealand universities are among the highest in the world, according to a new report. New Zealand had the seventh-most expensive tuition fees for universities, with entrants paying more than $3600 a year.

Every now and then, Ramadan celebrations are marred by bickering between competing Islamic authorities over when Eid starts.