Saudi Arabia Wants To Host The Football World Cup: Daily Brief
Why Saudi Arabia's repression shouldn't be rewarded with a World Cup; outcry over Israel hosting Eurovision song contest; more on Alabama's shameful abortion ban; migrants stranded in Libya face fresh misery; think about disability rights in upcoming European elections; the Saudi women activists still behind bars; time to prosecute DR Congo's former rebel commander; and medics on the frontline in Syria...
In 2010, when FIFA announced that the 2022 World Cup would be held in Qatar, there was an outcry over that country’s human rights record. Now, soccer’s governing body is considering expanding the World Cup to a country with an even more alarming human rights record: Saudi Arabia.
Speaking of mega TV events, there is dismay at the fact that Tel Aviv is hosting the international song contest Eurovision this week. But the event's slogan, “Dare to Dream”, makes a mockery of the fact that Israel, in coordination with Egypt, has turned Gaza into an open-air prison for some two million Palestinians.
Outrage continues over the decision by the US state of Alabama to criminalize abortion and attempted abortion - even for victims of sexual violence.
Migrants and asylum seekers who tried to reach Europe and were turned back are now increasingly trapped in Libya's crossfires.
With European Parliament elections just over a week away, the rights of people with disabilities should not be forgotten.
It's now one year since the prominent Saudi activist Loujain al-Hathloul was arrested. Despite pleas to free her, she remains behind bars.
Some 17 years after he was implicated in a brutal campaign of repression in which scores of civilians were killed, it's time to prosecute DR Congo's General Amisi, a former rebel commander.
Finally, medical professionals are often on the front lines in conflict situations, and nowhere has this been truer than in Syria.