Victims of forced labour and human trafficking describe 100-hour weeks, as well as physical and sexual abuse from employers The Qatari government is failing to protect thousands of foreign domestic workers from exploitation and abuse, according to Amnesty International. Continue reading... ...
The next phase of Qatari investment in the global game is coming, and television rights are the new target When Paris Saint-Germain defeated Chelsea at Parc de Princes on Wednesday , they did so as a club reborn. Chelsea, themselves transformed a decade ago by a cascade of cash from a then unknown overseas investor, had labelled their Champions League opponents as "dark horses" on their own...
Figures show 36 Nepalese and Indian workers died in February in Qatar, which is due to host 2022 World Cup The International Labour Organisation has criticised Qatar over its policy towards overseas construction workers, as official figures revealed the death toll among migrants has not abated despite international pressure. The UN agency called for a series of reforms in the Gulf emirate to end the...
Manchester United's class of '92 are bringing the John Lewis model of ownership to the game except for the Qatari bit Our history isn't yours to buy, fumes one of the fan banners at Manchester United except, of course, when it is. But is now such a time? It's never quite clear, in this surreal age when a football club can be bought with a loan for which it is itself the collateral. But reports that...
European parliament delegation told to expect significant changes to labour laws in wake of international criticism A long-awaited independent report commissioned by the Qatari government in the wake of a series of revelations about the death toll among migrant workers is due to be published by the end of the week. Representatives from the human rights subcommittee of the European parliament are in...
The latest allegations surrounding the successful Qatar 2022 World Cup bid are no surprise – but they heap pressure on the Fifa president Sepp Blatter who is seeking to prolong his reign The most damning thing about the latest explosive allegations against Mohammed bin Hammam and Jack Warner , two heavyweight former members of Fifa's cartoonish cast of rogues, is that they have long since lost the...
Former executive committee member Jack Warner received payment in December 2010, according to newspaper report World football's governing body is likely to face renewed pressure over the decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, following publication by the Daily Telegraph of claims of new evidence of payments from a Qatari former Fifa vice-president to one of his fellow board members. The controversial...
IMF warns of danger to Qatari development model following publicity surrounding migrant construction worker deaths Qatar is likely to face higher labour costs as a result of publicity about the deaths of migrant construction workers building the infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup football tournament, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The Guardian reported in September that dozens...
Nuns say they were not forced to remove crosses during captivity which ended in prisoner exchange brokered by Qatar and Lebanon Thirteen Greek Orthodox nuns and their three maids, held in captivity for more than three months by a Syrian rebel group affiliated to al-Qaida, have arrived back in Damascus. They were freed as part of a deal in which 153 female prisoners of the Assad regime were also released....
s Arabian frights A video appearing to show Omar Sharif slapping a woman was not supposed to be the biggest story to come out of the 2011 Doha Tribeca film festival . The focus should have been on Black Gold , a $55m Qatari co-production – and arguably the most ambitious film shot in the Middle East since Lawrence of Arabia – which had had its world premiere just days earlier. To the irritation of...
s failure to uphold agreement on security and stability of GCC In a rare public spat that has highlighted deep political divisions in the Gulf, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have all withdrawn their ambassadors from Qatar in protest at Doha's "interference in their internal affairs". The three Arab states made the decision after what was described as a stormy meeting on Tuesday...
s representative on Fifa's executive committee to join him in meeting migrant workers in Qatar this month. Amid ongoing concern about the treatment of those who are building the infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup, the Labour shadow minister has written to Jim Boyce to invite him on a planned trip to Qatar on 31 March. In the letter, seen by the Guardian, he says the situation faced by some migrant...
More than 30 others injured in blast at Turkish restaurant in Qatari capital Nine people were killed and the 32 other injured when gas cylinders exploded in a Turkish restaurant in the Qatari capital, Doha, the state news agency reported. "The explosion that happened today at Istanbul restaurant next to a petrol station resulted in the death of nine people," the agency said on Thursday, citing ambulance...
m convinced construction workers in India are among the most exploited in the world. They are mostly in precarious, low-paid jobs with minimal standards of health and safety or other protections. Nobody knows how many die each year because nobody keeps count. They are routinely denied the minimal wages owing to them by employers who hold them back to keep the workers in bondage. It is hardly surprising...
s consent; even when employers fail to pay competitive wages, provide decent conditions, or meet the conditions of the employment contract, workers cannot simply change jobs." The law requires employers to report workers who quit without permission for "absconding", an offence leading to their detention and deportation. It also requires workers to secure exit permits from their employers before leaving....
s preparations for the football tournament, but domestic workers will play a big role in staffing the hotels, stadiums and other infrastructure that will underpin the 2022 tournament. Our investigation reveals: • The Philippine Overseas Labour Office (POLO) sheltered more than 600 runaway maids in the first six months of 2013 alone. • Some workers say they have not been paid for months. • Many housemaids...
t take long for their aspirations to fade. As soon as they arrived in Doha, their employer confiscated their passports. The women say they have gone for long periods without pay, receiving barely 400 riyals in six months, and are only surviving because of part-time, piecemeal work for other companies – an endeavour that is illegal in Qatar. The women say their sponsor has threatened them with eviction...
s home country, Qatar, as supportive of the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamist leaders in Egypt. Carlstrom quotes Michael Wahid Hanna, a fellow at the New York-based Century Foundation, as saying: "One of the things that leads to all of this is that Qatar is hosting, supporting, providing a place of refuge for Brotherhood leaders... and providing a platform through Al-Jazeera." He points to the appearance...
s most distinguishable stadium for the 2022 World Cup, on Tuesday defended her involvement in the project following the shocking number of migrant-worker deaths in the Gulf state. The Guardian revealed last week that more than 500 Indian migrant workers have died in Qatar since January 2012, adding to the 382 Nepalese deaths there in the past two years during construction work connected to the World...
aides • Public 'never going to know' cost of deal, says company The day after Prince Charles donned traditional robes and joined Saudi princes in a sword dance in Riyadh, Britain's biggest arms company announced that agreement had finally been reached on the sale of 72 Typhoon fighters sold to the Gulf kingdom. Announcing the deal last Wednesday, Ian King, chief executive of BAE, manufacturer of the...