World Cup Workers Abused And Cheated In Russia: HRW Daily Brief

The director of Michigan's Department of Health and Human Services has been charged with involuntary manslaughter over the Flint water crisis. Flint citizens have been facing a human rights disaster for years following the introduction of tainted water to the city's supply. Real accountability for the crisis is necessary, but relief is still in high demand in Flint. The dispute between Qatar and other Middle Eastern countries has generated collateral damage: free speech. In a blow to free expression, media outlets with ties to Qatar, including Al Jazeera, have been shut down in Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. But they don't have the right to muzzle critics. Nearly half of the United States Senate voted against millions in weapons sales to Saudi Arabia, citing concern civilians affected by the Saudi-led bombing campaign in Yemen. With a critical vote on US health care looming, evidence that the Senate can come together to stand for vulnerable people is an encouraging sign. A planned reduction of United Nations peacekeeping troops in Darfur risks leaving civilians without much-needed protection in the face of continued violence. From earlier today: Construction workers building stadiums for Russia to host the 2018 World Cup face exploitation and labor abuses, HRW said in a new report today. FIFA’s promise to make human rights a "centerpiece of its global operations" has been put to the test in Russia, and is "coming up short”, HRW warned.