RYAN BYRNE WRITES – Last week, after more than a year of trading barbs and lawsuits, the world’s preeminent golf circuit, the PGA Tour, announced that it, along with the European-based DP World Tour, would merge with the Saudi-backed LIV Tour. The LIV Tour, then, managed to leverage the enormous coffers…
RYAN BYRNE WRITES – The June kick off of the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund-backed LIV Golf Tour has torn the golf world apart. Some have derided the tour, and the players who defected to it, for being bankrolled by a nation with a poor human rights record, while others…
MILES WHITTINGHAM WRITES — In October 2021, the majority of the well-known English Premier League club Newcastle United was purchased by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. The move has been met with widespread skepticism by fans and executives alike. This isn’t the first time that something like this…
FRANCESCO FIMIANI WRITES — Why should Middle East analysts and anyone else interested in the region’s economy and geopolitics be concerned about the tiny nation of Lebanon? Because, in shambles as it is now, it provides yet another theatre for proxy war in the region. The country is facing its…
ABEER ABUNAYYAN WRITES FROM SAUDI ARABIA – Operating in an increasingly competitive industry, Netflix has been pursuing an aggressive growth strategy intended to increase and diversify its programming whilst gaining access to new, high-potential markets. Having consolidated its position in the United States, the company has spent the past few…
ABEER ABUNAYYAN WRITES — In 2018, Prince Mohammed bin Salman lifted the ban on theaters that had been in place for 35 years. The ban had originally been in place due to social pressure from conservative Islamists to limit public entertainment, particularly theaters that had mixing between men and women. However,…
SARA ALTUWAIJRI WRITES – As both an American and Saudi Citizen, I have experienced first-hand how Americans view the outside world. The Western media tends to focus on the negative side when talking about Asia and the Middle East while overlooking positive aspects. For example, there is a common belief that…
ABDULAZIZ ALABDULRAZZAQ WRITES – The persistent decline in oil prices has led many oil-producing countries to think of ways to reinvent their economies. Saudi Arabia is one of them, with its Vision 2030, first introduced in 2016. Vision 2030 will be built on three pillars: a vibrant society, a thriving economy…
LORI DEMIRJIAN WRITES- For the first time, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is allowing 49 countries, including the US, entry for non-religious tourism purposes with the use of a new e-Visa program. In the past, Saudi Arabia only issued visas for religious pilgrimage and business purposes. This reform is one…
ANNALISA DEL VECCHIO WRITES – It could well become the most noticed new archaeological site in the world. Imagine an open air museum, a tourist site and a display of ancient history rolled into one. This is the future Al-Ula, a project that France and Saudi Arabia agreed jointly to develop last year. Al-Ula, an archaeological site located about 1100 kilometers from Riyadh, will contain ancient cultural artifacts dating back a thousand years, towering sandstone mountains and a lush oasis…
Every August Asia Media International appoints new top editors for the impending academic year. Founded in 2011, AMI has been a major pit stop for some of LMU’s most outstanding, hard-working and ambitious students. Predominantly coming to Asia Media from Political Science and Asia and Asia-American Studies, these students tend…
DHARI ALDURAIBI WRITES – When people talk about Saudi Arabia, they often focus on the country’s conservative elements, such as restrictions on women’s rights and the ongoing military campaign in Yemen. Now, though, a series of political, social, and economic reforms aimed at liberalizing the Saudi economy and society are…
By Asia Media Staff — Rapper Nicki Minaj is a humanitarian. Did you know that? She didn’t, until recently. After “careful reflection,” Minaj told the Associated Press, she has pulled out of her much anticipated headline appearance at the Jeddah World Fest in Saudi Arabia July 18. “While I want…
NAWAF AL SABAH WRITES– Islam, soon to become the most followed religion worldwide, currently second to Christianity, garners some of the most devout followers. Muslims are committed to daily prayers (salat) on schedule. In Saudi Arabia, for instance, Muslims are mandated to close businesses during prayer time. Unfortunately, this practice…
NAWAF Al-SABAH WRITES– Rahaf Al-Qunun captured international attention at the beginning of the year as she sought to escape her allegedly abusive family. Rahaf, who is Arabian, barricaded herself in a Bangkok airport hotel room to prevent Thai authorities from deporting her. She had been detained at the Bangkok airport…
SARAH Al-MUWAD WRITES– Is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the fifth largest country in Asia, actually working towards female empowerment? And is this to advance the kingdom’s international reputation, which has recently taken a huge hit? The answer is yes. On February 23, history was made when the Kingdom of…
