Reports of ‘forced labour’ ahead of 2022 World Cup

Published

2 years ago

April 7, 2022

Costa Haritos

One of the most controversial football world cups is months away and there are reports of forced labour among workers

Amnesty International found 34 employees from eight private companies were involved in forced labour in Qatar.

The report was published just days after the official draw for the tournament was announced.

It found the migrant workers are working for months, or in some cases, years on end without a day off.

“Despite the progress Qatar has made in recent years, our research suggests that abuses in the private security sectorwhich will be increasingly in demand during the World Cup – remain systematic and structural.”
Stephen Cockburn from Amnesty International

Most of the workers say their employers refused to respect the weekly rest day, which is legislated in Qatar.

Amnesty says the workers have been employed by private companies. Together, they provide services for sites including football stadiums, and some other infrastructure projects.

As part of the report, Amnesty interviewed several current or former security guards. The human rights organisation says it “indicates that these abuses are systemic”.

Qatari law restricts working hours to 60-hours a week, including overtime.

President Biden signs TikTok bill – what’s next?

Published

22 hours ago

April 26, 2024

ticker NEWS

TikTok users could soon find that the popular social media service is either under new ownership or could be outright banned in the United States.

President Joe Biden signed a bill into law that requires TikTok to find a new owner—or face a ban in the United States.

Over the past several months, Washington D.C. has been under pressure to ban the popular Chinese-owned social media app.

Lawmakers and security experts have long raised concerns that the Chinese government could tap TikTok’s trove of personal data about millions of U.S. users.

TikTok’s CEO said the bill is disappointing and reiterated that the company has committed to challenge it.

David Zhang from China Insider. joins Veronica Dudo to discuss

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Threading the needle: Meta’s new platform finally dethrones X

Published

24 hours ago

April 26, 2024

ticker NEWS

Threads, the social media platform owned by Meta, is gaining traction with a surge in daily active users, outpacing X in the U.S.

With Threads averaging 28 million daily active users compared to X’s 22 million, Meta’s ambitions to reach a billion users seem within reach despite a slowdown in growth. While X still boasts 550 million monthly active users globally, Threads’ focus on user experience and avoidance of real-time and political content could position it as a formidable competitor moving forward.

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Zendaya is serving in saucy sports drama “Challengers”

Published

1 day ago

April 26, 2024

ticker NEWS

This weekend’s entertainment lineup has something for everyone.

Apple TV+ brings “Sugar,” a drama set in New York City, while “Civil War” offers historical intensity.

“Challengers” with Zendaya brings a saucy sport drama to life, and superhero buffs can catch the trailer for “Deadpool and Wolverine” for action-packed fun.

With options spanning drama, history, reality, and superheroes, there’s excitement in store for all this weekend.