Will FIFA Act on Russian Rights Abuses? Daily Brief
FIFA should help free Chechen rights activist before football World Cup in Russia; World Press Freedom Day; EU looks to rein in funding to abusive EU governments; A war crime by Israeli security forces; Abbas statement a real low of anti-Semitism; When clothing labels are a matter of life or death; And “strongmen” are terrified of being mocked.
The world football federation FIFA should call on the Kremlin to secure the unconditional release of a Chechen human rights defender before the start of the 2018 World Cup, Human Rights Watch said today. The tournament, which Russia is hosting, starts June 14. Grozny, Chechnya’s capital, is slated to be the home base for Egypt’s national team during the tournament, making Chechnya part of FIFA’s World Cup operations.
“Enemy of the people” is how more than 50 percent of Republicans see the media, according to a US poll. Two reporters are detained in Myanmar for investigating a massacre, one of two independent daily newspapers in Hungary closes, and in Afghanistan, nine journalists are killed covering a bombing. Animosity toward journalists is growing worldwide as we mark World Press Freedom Day.
It’s not every day the European Commission proposes something truly ground-breaking. But it has done just that this week, announcing a new plan to link EU funds given to member states to the health of their judiciary. The plan calls for states receiving funds to uphold judicial independence, functioning courts, and the rule of law.
Willful killing of civilians by Israeli security forces in the occupied Palestinian territories is a war crime.
President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority has caused an uproar with anti-Semitic remarks.
This spring marks a solemn milestone. More than five years have passed since a series of deadly fire and building accidents in Pakistan and Bangladesh together killed more than 1,500 workers and injured thousands more.
And did you know "strongmen" in countries such as Turkey and Egypt, are terrified of being mocked?