Top stories from DAWNS Digest
Hard Statistics on Qatar’s Abuse of Migrant Workers Coming to Light
Rights groups have been raising the alarm for a while regarding the conditions of workers building Qatar’s World Cup infrastructure. “More than 450 Indian migrants working in Qatar have died in the last two years, according to new data from the Gulf state which is under pressure over its rights record ahead of the 2022 World Cup. …On average about 20 migrants died per month, peaking at 27 in August last year. There were 237 fatalities in 2012 and another 218 in 2013 up to December 5. The embassy did not give any details about the circumstances of the deaths, but the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) said the data showed an ‘exceptionally high mortality rate.'” (AFP http://yhoo.it/1eJuppX)
Nuclear Talks with Iran Resume Today, but (as usual) Don’t Expect Much
Talks resume today regarding a permanent agreement on its nuclear program, but there is little optimism from either side. “Even Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Monday in Tehran that ‘the nuclear negotiations will lead nowhere,’ expressing his well-known mistrust of the motives of the United States and its allies, a mistrust reciprocated in the American Congress. At the same time, the ayatollah said that ‘Iran will not breach what it has started’ and that he supported the negotiating effort, however dismal the prospects for success. President Obama is more optimistic, putting the chances at 50 percent.” (NYT http://nyti.ms/1fbWAT4)