In May 2025, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman inaugurated HUMAIN, a state-sponsored artificial intelligence company to assist in transforming the Kingdom into an AI innovation hub. Backed by the powerful Public Investment Fund (PIF), HUMAIN will run end-to-end in the AI value chain — from next-generation data centers and AI infrastructure to advanced […]
The world witnessed Saudi Arabia’s Justice Minister Walid Al-Samaani sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Japanese Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki on 21 May 2025 in Tokyo. The agreement aimed at boosting judicial cooperation, improving legal capacity, and strengthening collaboration on legislation and dispute resolution between the two nations. To the casual observer, this could […]
In a bold display of solidarity, over 100 professional women’s footballers worldwide have signed an open letter condemning FIFA’s sponsorship deal with Saudi oil company Aramco. Addressed directly to FIFA president Gianni Infantino, the letter denounces the deal as a betrayal of women’s football and a willful ignoring of human rights and climate concerns. The Open Letter […]
In a controversial move that further undermines international humanitarian norms, the U.S.’s former President Donald Trump sat down this week with Syria’s newly appointed president, Ahmed al-Sharaa. The man was once designated a terrorist and targeted by the U.S. government. It was in Riyadh at the behest of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, with […]
As Saudi Arabia prepares to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup, increasingly more human rights groups, civil society, and citizens worldwide are increasingly calling for a full boycott of the tournament. While the bulk of the criticism targets the Kingdom’s established track record of domestic — from stifling dissent to the absence of political liberties […]
In a dramatic challenge to the integrity and dedication to human rights of FIFA, a band of top international lawyers formally charged the world football governing body with not being good enough to be worthy of fulfilling its ideals by awarding the 2034 FIFA World Cup to Saudi Arabia. Posted to FIFA’s official complaint site, […]
The ceremony and pomp of the recent trip by U.S. President Donald Trump to Saudi Arabia were all about show. Greedily welcomed with extravagant lavender-colored carpet, Arabian horse escort, and personally selected entourage of international business magnates, Trump’s welcome by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) was not merely diplomatic—it was calculated. It was another […]
Over the last few years, Saudi Arabia has launched itself decisively onto the world tourism front, revealing a record-breaking year of visitors, enormous investment promises, and forward-thinking alliances with some of the world’s mightiest travel and hospitality conglomerates. The new revelation of Saudi Tourism Authority’s (STA) historic achievements in the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2025 […]
On the surface, Saudi Arabia’s bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2034 seems like an economic development opportunity and a stage for international outreach. But lift the veil, and there is a darker reality in store — one of migrant worker exploitation, human rights abuses, and large-scale sportswashing. It has been recently reported […]
The news that the 2034 FIFA World Cup will be held in Saudi Arabia has unleashed an international outcry amongst football fans, human rights campaigns, and global civil society. Behind the mind-boggling stadium photos and promises of global-standard infrastructure lurks an exceedingly sinister reality: Saudi Arabia’s World Cup proposal is not playing up the game […]