Green ministers outshine Scholz as stars of German government
 

Olaf Scholz
German politician and 9th Federal Chancellor of Germany

 

Annalena Baerbock
German politician and minister of foreign affairs

Economy Minister Robert Habeck has impressed with his dedication to weaning Germany off Russian energy (AFP/Tobias SCHWARZ)

Mathieu FOULKES
Wed, May 18, 2022

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has seen his popularity slide over his cautious stance on the war in Ukraine, eclipsed by two ministers from the Green party who have taken a more decisive approach.

Scholz, whose Social Democrats (SPD) are in power with the Greens and the liberal FDP, has faced a barrage of criticism over his perceived weak response to the war, including his hesitancy over sending heavy weapons to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Green party Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Economy Minister Robert Habeck have impressed with their more vocal approach, topping a recent survey of the country's most popular politicians.

Scholz sought to redress the balance with a speech to the Bundestag parliament on Thursday.

"(Russian President Vladimir) Putin still believes that he can forge peace by dictatorship, but he is wrong -- just as he was wrong about Ukraine's determination and the unity of our alliances," he said.

Scholz also tried to shake off accusations that he is dragging his feet in dealing with Moscow over fears of escalating the crisis.

"I want to say clearly that helping a brutally attacked country to defend itself is not an escalation but a contribution to repelling an attack and thereby ending the violence as quickly as possible," he told parliament.

But the chancellor has his work cut out to turn around public opinion.

- Sitting tight -

In a nod to just how badly this reticent stance has played with the public, the SPD suffered a crushing defeat in a key regional election at the weekend -- losing to the conservative CDU with its worst-ever result in Germany's most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

The Greens, meanwhile, almost tripled their score compared with five years ago to finish in third place and look almost certain to be part of the next regional government.

Der Spiegel magazine called the result a "personal defeat" for Scholz after he was heavily involved in the election campaign, appearing on posters and at rallies.

In a bid to win back the public, Scholz has in recent days given lengthy television interviews.

But in a devastating reading of his performance on screen, the weekly Focus said "his language is poor, his facial expressions monotone and his body language too understated."

According to Der Spiegel, the chancellor's communications strategy seems to revolve around one mantra: "Repeat, repeat, repeat."

Other media have accused him of stubbornly sticking to the same plan and ignoring what is going on around him.

"His party is plummeting, but the chancellor feels that he has done everything right... Doubts and questions rain down on him, but Olaf simply sits tight," said Der Spiegel.

- 'Strong moral underpinning' -

Scholz's spokesman Steffen Hebestreit has defended the chancellor, suggesting that the public value his calm demeanour and would find it "inauthentic" if he tried to turn himself into Barack Obama.

But for political scientist Ursula Muench, Scholz does not come across as calm and measured but rather "imprecise" compared with his colleagues from the Green party.

Baerbock, meanwhile, has turned around her public image after a series of blunders during the 2021 election campaign, coming across as clearer and more decisive than Scholz in her response to the Ukraine crisis.

The 41-year-old former trampolinist has become the face of Germany at international summits, from the G7 to NATO, and in early May became the first German minister to visit Kyiv.

Habeck, meanwhile, has impressed with his dedication to weaning Germany off Russian energy.

For the first time in their 42-year history, according to Der Spiegel, the Greens are being judged not on "expectations and promises" but on their performance in government.

"The strong moral underpinning of the Greens' policies and the fact they openly struggle with their own principles comes across as approachable and therefore very credible," according to Muench.

"Of course, this increases their clout compared with the chancellor."

She therefore predicts an "increase in tensions" between the Greens, the SPD and the FDP, with life not expected to get easier for Scholz any time soon.

mat-fec/hmn/spm

Chinese chess checks in with hushed SEA Games debut

Thailand's Radtai Lokutarapol plans a move in xiangqi at the SEA Games 

(AFP/Nhac NGUYEN) 

Patrick LEE
Thu, May 19, 2022, 

When Sim Yip How first came across xiangqi as a little boy he looked on mesmerised as grandmasters puzzled over the ancient Chinese game.

The 38-year-old Malaysian is now an SEA Games silver medallist in a pastime which, according to players at the regional competition, is growing in popularity.

Also known as Chinese chess, xiangqi is a two-player board game dating back thousands of years but it is making its debut at the SEA Games in Vietnam.

Hailing from the city of Kuching in eastern Malaysia's Sarawak state, Sim said he picked up the game at the age of seven after watching masters battle each other in matches.

"All the best players came from Kuching and at my father's coffee shop the Sarawak champions came and played," he told AFP at the SEA Games, where players silently peered at pieces over thick fabric boards.

"I idolised them when I saw them. I saw international grandmasters and I was like 'Wow, I want to be like them one day.'"

Its fans say that xiangqi is more complex than its Western counterpart.

While chess is played on an eight-by-eight grid, xiangqi's board is nine lines wide and 10 long, with pieces moved on the lines' 90 possible intersections.

It also makes use of terrain with a valley in the middle where certain units cannot cross, and a safe zone where a side's general, the critical piece, cannot leave.

Games last anything from 10-15 minutes in a "blitz" version to up to five hours.

Xiangqi's four medal events were possibly the quietest at the regional games, with almost no spectators at the hillside resort a three-hour drive outside Hanoi, aside from a few volunteers watching.

Despite a muted physical presence, Sim said the matches were viewed intently online and in Malaysia, where there are "thousands" of enthusiasts.

Originally limited to parts of East Asia, xiangqi today enjoys a growing global status, those at the Games say.

A biennial world championship has been played since 1991 and it made its Asian Games debut in 2010 in China.

In SEA Games host Vietnam, the country’s shared border and long history with China has made the game wildly prolific here, game arbiter Quach Phuong Minh said.

"Each province, each city (in Vietnam) has events for children," the 34-year-old, who started playing when he was just six, told AFP.

With the game set to return at the SEA Games next year in Cambodia, Minh predicts more pick-up "in just a few years".

"It’s not only for old people," he added.

pl/pst

Cyprus police arrest one after protesting farmers set hay ablaze

Cypriot goat and sheep farmers face a squeeze driven on one side by higher input costs and on the other side by halloumi producers opting largely in favour of cheap cow milk (AFP/Amir MAKAR) (Amir MAKAR)

Thu, May 19, 2022,

Cyprus police said Thursday they had arrested one man a day after farmers set hay bales ablaze outside the presidential palace to protest against high input prices and a milk glut.

The goat and sheep farmers also emptied milk churns at the gates of the palace and police say they have issued arrest warrants for two other people who took part in the 300-strong demonstration.

The farmers face a unique squeeze driven in part by the war in Ukraine, which has propelled the cost of wheat and fuel higher, making it more expensive to feed and transport their animals.

On top of that, farmers have been unable to sell all their sheep and goat milk because, they complain, producers of the Mediterranean island's renowned halloumi cheese are opting largely in favour of cow milk, a cheaper alternative.

Halloumi exports earned Cyprus 266.5 million euros ($279 million) in 2020 and last year won Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status from the European Union, giving the country a monopoly on producing halloumi branded cheese.

The PDO status is also meant to ensure minimum quotas for the use of goat and sheep milk in the production process, but the farmers accuse halloumi makers of flouting that.

Police spokesperson Christos Andreou told state broadcaster CyBC that video footage of Wednesday's protest was being reviewed and suspects face charges of reckless behaviour and conspiracy to commit a crime.

The one man arrested so far is 42 and has been charged in writing and released to appear in court at a later date.

Agriculture Minister Costas Kadis said goat and sheep farmers' anger was "justified" and pledged more financial support.

cc/dwo

French hospitals fail to attract nurses and doctors

In France, some hospitals are shutting down temporarily their ermergency units because of personnel shortages.

AUSTRALIAN ELECTION

Climate fight rages in rich Australian suburbs


AFP - 

In a land struck by ferocious bushfires and floods, Australian voters frustrated by climate inaction are flocking to a band of right-leaning green-minded independents, threatening to flip a string of conservative strongholds from blue to "teal".

More than 20 candidates -- highly qualified, well financed and mostly women -- are barnstorming some of Australia's wealthiest suburbs ahead of Saturday's election, aiming to snatch parliamentary seats held by ruling conservatives for generations.


© William WEST

More than 17 million voters are registered for the May 21 polls

Polls indicate these "teal" independents -- somewhere between conservative blue and environmental green on the political spectrum -- could not just win seats, but hold the balance of power in a hung parliament.

Among the districts up for grabs are those previously held by four conservative Liberal Party prime ministers and the district of current Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, who is seen as a possible future party leader and prime minister.

More than 17 million voters are registered for the May 21 polls, which will choose all 151 seats in the lower chamber and 40 of the 76 seats in the Senate.

The independents are sticking a dagger into the conservatives' exposed flank on the climate and other major concerns such as corruption and the treatment of women in government.

Australia's 2019-2020 "Black Summer" bushfires and subsequent east coast floods highlighted the deadly and catastrophic consequences of climate change.

But Morrison's Liberal-National coalition backs coal mining and burning into the distant future, and has resisted calls to cut carbon emissions from 2005 levels faster than its current commitment of up to 28 percent by 2030.

The government has also failed to deliver a promised federal anti-corruption watchdog.

Analysts say the climate is a national concern but is more likely to sway votes in leafy suburban seats where people feel no threat from a cut to mining jobs.

Some conservative voters feel they have been "left in the wilderness" by the Liberal Party's drift to the right, said Zoe Daniel, a former ABC journalist turned independent who is now a front-runner in the polls in the wealthy Melbourne seat of Goldstein.

- 'Powerful influences' -

A YouGov poll published May 11 put Daniel slightly ahead of the incumbent Liberal Party member for Goldstein, Tim Wilson.

The "umbrella issue" for voters is integrity, Daniel told AFP, not just the need for a federal anti-corruption watchdog but also transparency in spending taxpayers' money and political donations.

That spills over into other issues such as the climate, said Daniel, who supports a 60-percent cut in carbon emissions by 2030, far more than the government or opposition Labor Party.

"I think the penny has started to drop for people that there are powerful influences in the background and that's why our climate policy looks the way it does," she said.

It is no secret that the Liberal Party has close links to the mining industry, said Paul Williams, associate professor at Griffith University. "And the mining industry is Australia's most powerful lobby group."

Labor, which relies on support from unions including those representing mine workers, has proposed a 43-percent cut in carbon pollution by 2030.

Monique Ryan, another independent favouring climate action and clean politics, led treasurer Frydenberg in the Melbourne seat of Kooyong, the survey indicated.

Once a safe Liberal Party seat, Kooyong is also the former constituency of Australia's longest-serving prime minister, the late Robert Menzies.

- Close fight -

Allegra Spender, another "teal" independent candidate in Wentworth -- a rich beachside Sydney suburb that includes Bondi Beach -- is also in a close fight, surveys indicate, with moderate Liberal Party member Dave Sharma.

Spender, like Ryan and Daniel, is among 22 independents who have secured campaign financing from Climate 200, a fund set up by activist-philanthropist Simon Holmes a Court.

In the case of a hung parliament, just a few independents could wield some influence on national policy.

Independent candidates have already helped to elevate issues such as the climate and integrity, said Daniel.

"Independents have changed the national conversation because they are able to raise hard issues that won't necessarily be popular."

djw/arb/axn

Flood-ravaged Australians feel forgotten as election looms





Ron Maher lost a third of his cattle as floodwaters swept through his property (AFP/Patrick HAMILTON)

Maddison Connaughton
Thu, May 19, 2022

For Karey Patterson, the lingering memory of the February floods that devastated Australia's east coast was wondering how long he could hold his daughter's head above water as the torrent consumed their home.

"It was like a disaster movie, but I was in it," he told AFP, standing in the still-gutted shell of his house in the town of Lismore.

In the aftermath of the floods, the worst the city had ever seen, there was a flurry of news coverage, visits from the prime minister and opposition leader, and promises of help.

Three months on, the floodwater has mostly receded and with it public attention.

On the eve of Saturday's election, the fact that more than 1,500 citizens in one of the world's richest nations are still in emergency accommodation barely gets a mention in the campaign.

Many others have slipped through the statistics, sleeping on friends' couches, staying in caravans, or camping in their flood-wrecked homes.

"I think we have been forgotten," said Bec Barker, who has been living with her husband in a small caravan in the backyard of the home they spent more than a decade renovating.

"I don't think people realise that we don't have houses to come back to, we don't have furniture, we don't have anything."

Battling her insurer and ineligible for grants, Barker cannot picture herself living again in the home she thought she would grow old in.

While many flood victims feel forgotten, some also worry climate change's low billing on the campaign trail will guarantee more Australians are hit by increasingly extreme droughts, fires and floods.

Barker wants to see better government preparedness before new disasters strike -- so neighbours are not left to rescue one another in the dead of night.

"This can happen to anyone, really. I don't live in a high flood zone area," she said.

"It happened to us."

- A town abandoned -

By night, Lismore's once-bustling centre is now nearly pitch black as thousands of homes and businesses stand empty.

Daylight reveals a city where recovery has stalled.

Condemned houses swept from their foundations by the floodwaters wait to be demolished. Trees are still littered with plastic, chairs and family photos.

Locals line up for basic necessities from charities such as the one run by "The Koori Mail", Australia's national Indigenous newspaper.

Much of the nearby university, Southern Cross, has been given over to the recovery effort -- three schools have moved in, as have displaced businesses, doctors and the local police.

For months, many locals have been "in limbo", Lismore resident Rahima Jackson said, waiting for the council to decide about new flood regulations or a land swap deal allowing people to move to higher ground -- which could take years.

"The community here is definitely angry because every response has been too slow," she said.

As the February flood drowned Jackson's house, something sparked a fire and she watched on from a neighbour's window as it burned in the middle of an inland sea.

She has been hoping to buy a caravan to live in, behind her ruined home with its charred roof crumpled like a piece of paper.

For the community, she said, the stress is starting to take a toll: "I know most people have panic attacks at the sound of rain."

So far, the state government has paid out less than a fifth of the 38,037 applications for grant assistance it received from individuals and businesses.

Like many people affected by the floods, Ron Maher, 77, has found himself ineligible for any government grants -- because his pension, not his farm, has been his primary source of income.

"I'm not bitter about it. Disappointed is a better word than bitter," he said.

Maher, who lost a third of his cattle as floodwaters swept through his rural property north of Lismore, told AFP he was worried for the town's future.

"I don't know whether I'm talking out of school here, but I'm a bit afraid that north and south Lismore will turn into a bit of a shantytown because they can't afford to build," he said.

Insurance is another stumbling block.

By 2030, half a million homes across Australia will be uninsurable, too vulnerable to floods, bushfires, tides or high winds, according to the Climate Council.

Many Lismore residents could not afford flood insurance, even before the latest disaster.

- 'Our community underwater' -

Marine scientist Hanabeth Luke has decided to run for office to help put things right.

She survived the 2002 Bali bombings in Indonesia, and became known as "the Angel of Bali" after being photographed carrying a young man from the wreckage of the Sari Club.

She said the floods were an "echo" of that tragedy, which killed her first love.

She is running as an independent on a climate-focused platform.

"This is our home. This is the place that we love. This is our community underwater," she said.

"We've got to look at best evidence. We've got to trust what the science is telling us. And that is that we must act now on climate."

Despite the 14-metre (46-foot) surge, Karey Patterson, his eight-year-old daughter and two sons survived.

He eventually managed to smash a hole through the hardwood ceiling with a barbell before the water got to the roof.

A friend paddled a kayak through surging floodwaters for hours to deliver each of them to safety.

For now, Patterson sleeps on his friend's sofa, unsure about what comes next. One thing he is sure of is that, for sanity's sake, he cannot return.

"I'm not coming back to live in this house."

mmc/arb/djw/qan/je

Tokyo med school ordered to pay over gender discrimination


Juntendo University said in 2018 it had raised the bar for women in entrance exams (AFP/Behrouz MEHRI) (Behrouz MEHRI)

Thu, May 19, 2022, 2:18 AM·1 min read

A medical school in Tokyo that made it harder for female students to pass entrance exams was on Thursday ordered to pay compensation to 13 women for gender discrimination.

Juntendo University said in 2018 that it had raised the bar for women in the exams in order to "narrow the gap with male students", as a scandal over medical school admissions uncovered improper practices at several institutions.

The university argued at the time that women had better communication skills, and were therefore at an advantage in the interview part of their applications.

A Tokyo district court spokesman told AFP that Juntendo had been ordered to pay the plaintiffs, with local media reporting the total compensation came to around eight million yen ($62,000). The university declined to comment.

A government investigation was launched four years ago after another school, Tokyo Medical University, admitted it had systematically lowered the scores of female applicants to keep women in the student body at around 30 percent.

The government report said female applicants were discriminated against at four of the 81 schools it studied, with media at the time saying admissions staff believed women would leave the medical profession or work fewer hours when they married and had children.

Tokyo Medical School, Juntendo University and Kitasato University admitted the issue and apologised, while St. Marianna University of Medicine denied the claims.

Several lawsuits have been filed against the universities since the report's publication in 2018.

nf/kaf/smw/je

Nearly 60 million people displaced in 2021 by conflict and natural disaster

Conflicts and natural disasters forced tens of millions to flee within their own country last year, pushing the number of internally displaced people to a record high, monitors said Thursday.

© Attila Kisbenedek, AFP

Some 59.1 million people were registered as internally displaced worldwide in 2021 -- an all-time record expected to be broken again this year amid mass displacement inside war-torn Ukraine.

Around 38 million new internal displacements were reported in 2021, with some people forced to flee multiple times during the year, according to a joint report by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).

That marks the second-highest annual number of new internal displacements in a decade after 2020, which saw record-breaking movement due to a string of natural disasters.

Last year, new internal displacements from conflict surged to 14.4 million -- marking a 50-percent jump from 2020 and more than doubling since 2012, the report showed.
'World is falling apart'

And global internal displacement figures are only expected to grow this year, driven in particular by the war in Ukraine.

More than eight million people have already been displaced within the war-ravaged country since Russia's full-scale invasion began on February 24, in addition to the more than six million who have fled Ukraine as refugees.

"2022 is looking bleak," IDMC director Alexandra Bilak told reporters.

The record numbers seen in 2021, she said, marked "a tragic indictment really on the state of the world and on peace-building efforts in particular".

NRC chief Jan Egeland agreed, warning: "It has never been as bad as this."

"The world is falling apart," he told reporters.

"The situation today is phenomenally worse than even our record figure suggests."

In 2021, sub-Saharan Africa counted the most internal movements, with more than five million displacements reported in Ethiopia alone, as the country grappled with the raging and expanding Tigray conflict and a devastating drought.

That marks the highest figure ever registered for a single country.
'Titanic shift' needed

Unprecedented displacement numbers were also recorded last year in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Afghanistan, where the Taliban's return to power, along with drought, saw many flee their homes.

In Myanmar, where the military junta seized power in a February coup last year, displacement numbers also reached a record high, the report found.

The Middle East and North Africa region recorded its lowest number of new displacements in a decade, as the conflicts in Syria, Libya and Iraq de-escalated somewhat, but the overall number of displaced people in the region remained high.

Syria, where civil war has been raging for more than 11 years, still accounted for the world's highest number of people living in internal displacement due to conflict -- 6.7 million -- at the end of 2021.

That was followed by the DR Congo at 5.3 million, Colombia at 5.2 million, and Afghanistan and Yemen at 4.3 million.

Despite the hike in conflict-related displacement, natural disasters continued to account for most new internal displacement, spurring 23.7 million such movements in 2021.

A full 94 percent of those were attributed to weather and climate-related disasters, like cyclones, monsoon rains, floods and droughts.

Experts say that climate change is increasing the intensity and frequency of such extreme weather events.

China, the Philippines and India were hardest hit, together accounting for around 70 percent of all disaster-related displacements last year.

Increasingly, conflict and disasters collide, creating a "complex quagmire of problems", Egeland said, worsening risks and often forcing people to flee several times.

In places like Mozambique, Myanmar, Somalia and South Sudan, overlapping crises impact food security and heighten the vulnerabilities of millions.

"We need a titanic shift in thinking from world leaders on how to prevent and resolve conflicts to end this soaring human suffering," Egeland said.

Israel arrests pallbearer beaten at journalist's funeral

Nuha Sharaf
Wed, May 18, 2022, 

FILE PHOTO: Family and friends carry the coffin of Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh during her funeral in Jerusalem

By Nuha Sharaf

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel police have arrested one of the Palestinian pallbearers beaten by officers at the funeral of slain Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, the detained man's lawyer said on Wednesday.

A police spokesperson confirmed the arrest of Amro Abu Khdair but said it was not connected to Friday's funeral. He declined to give the reason for the man's arrest.

Images of baton-wielding Israeli officers beating the pallbearers, who at one point nearly dropped Abu Akleh's coffin, drew widespread international condemnation and stoked anger over the killing of the reporter during an Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank on May 11.

Abu Khdair's lawyer, Khaldoon Nijm, said his client was arrested on Monday but that the charges were not revealed to him and were based on information from Israel's domestic security service. He said Abu Khdair later told him he was questioned about the funeral.

A police spokesperson said any connection made to the funeral would amount to a "cheap conspiracy". Abu Khdair's custody had been extended until Sunday, police and the lawyer said.

A second pallbearer, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters he had been questioned by police though not arrested.

Israel's Internal Security Minister Omer Barlev said on Saturday he and the police commissioner had appointed a panel to carry out a "comprehensive investigation of what happened during the funeral in order to learn lessons from the event".

Separately Israel is conducting a probe into Abu Akleh's death. The Palestinians are also investigating her killing.

The Palestinians accuse Israel forces of assassinating her. Israel has denied targeting her, saying she may have been shot accidentally by a soldier or by a Palestinian gunman as they exchanged fire in the West Bank city of Jenin.

(Additional reporting by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Crispian Balmer and Tomasz Janowski)

Israel Arrests Al Jazeera Reporter Pallbearer, Denies Link With Funeral

In a raid that has sparked international outrage, baton-wielding Israeli police beat several pallbearers as they carried the journalist's coffin out of a hospital in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem.

Agence France-Presse

Updated: May 19, 2022 

Amro Abu Khudeir covers his head as he carries the casket of the Al-Jazeera journalist.

Jerusalem:

Israel has arrested one of the pallbearers of Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh, police said Thursday, but rejected his lawyer's claim that the detention was linked to his role at the funeral.

In a raid that has sparked international outrage, baton-wielding Israeli police beat several pallbearers as they carried the journalist's coffin out of a hospital in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem.

Abu Akleh was shot dead during an Israeli army raid in the West Bank last week.

Palestinians and the TV network said Israeli troops killed her, while Israel said she may have been killed by Palestinian gunfire or a stray shot from an Israeli sniper.

A lawyer for pallbearer Amro Abu Khudeir told AFP that his client had been arrested and questioned over his role at the funeral.

According to the lawyer, Khaldoun Najm, Israel also claimed to have "a secret file on (Khudeir's) membership of a terrorist organisation".

"I think they will arrest more young men who participated in the funeral," Najm said. "For them, the subject of the funeral and the coffin was scandalous."

Police dismissed any link between the funeral and Khudeir's arrest.

"We are witnessing an attempt to produce a conspiracy that is fundamentally incorrect," a statement said. "The suspect was arrested as part of an ongoing investigation which contrary to allegations, had nothing to do with his participation in the funeral procession."

Police justifications for the raid at St. Joseph's hospital have varied.

They have cited the need to stamp out "nationalistic" chants and also said that "rioters" among the mourners hurled projectiles at officers.

Israeli forces frequently crack down on displays of Palestinian identity, including the national flag, one of which was draped over Abu Akleh's coffin.

Police have vowed to investigate the controversial incident.

Amnesty says FIFA should pay $440 million to 'abused' migrant workers in Qatar

Rights group Amnesty International on Thursday urged football's governing body FIFA pay compensation equal to the total 2022 World Cup prize money for migrant workers "abused" in host nation Qatar.

© EFE / Noushad Thekkayil

The call, backed by other rights organisations and fan groups, follows allegations that FIFA was slow to safeguard against the exploitation of workers who flooded into the tiny Gulf state to build infrastructure in the years leading up to the tournament that starts November 21.

"FIFA should earmark at least $440 million to provide remedy for the hundreds of thousands of migrant workers who have suffered human rights abuses in Qatar during preparations for the 2022 World Cup," Amnesty said in a statement accompanying a report.

The London-based group urged FIFA president Gianni Infantino "to work with Qatar to establish a comprehensive remediation programme".

It alleged that a "litany of abuses" had taken place since 2010, the year FIFA awarded the 2022 tournament to Qatar "without requiring any improvement in labour protections".

"Given the history of human rights abuses in the country, FIFA knew -- or should have known -- the obvious risks to workers when it awarded the tournament to Qatar," said Agnes Callamard, Amnesty's secretary general.

Amnesty said some abuses persist and described $440 million as the "minimum necessary" to cover compensation claims and to ensure remedial initiatives are expanded for the future.

The sum is roughly the total prize money for this year's World Cup. Amnesty's call was backed in an open letter to Infantino also signed by nine other organisations, including Migrant Rights and Football Supporters Europe.

FIFA 'assessing' report

When asked for comment, FIFA said it was "assessing the programme proposed by Amnesty" for Qatar, highlighting that it "involves a wide range of non-FIFA World Cup-specific public infrastructure built since 2010".

Qatar's World Cup organisers said they have "worked tirelessly" with international groups for the rights of workers on stadiums and other tournament projects. Much of the criticism has however been directed at construction outside the official tournament where hundreds of workers are said to have died in the past decade.

"Significant improvements have been made across accommodation standards, health and safety regulations, grievance mechanisms, healthcare provision, and reimbursements of illegal recruitment fees to workers," said a spokesperson for the organisers, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy.

"This tournament is, and will continue to be a powerful catalyst for delivering a sustainable human and social legacy ahead of, during, and beyond the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022."

Workers' claims range from unpaid salaries, "illegal" and "extortionate" recruitment fees averaging $1,300 to secure jobs, and compensation for injuries and deaths.

Amnesty welcomed initiatives by FIFA and Qatar, including improvements made on World Cup construction sites and labour legislation reforms introduced since 2014.

Qatar in 2017 introduced a minimum wage, cut the hours that can be worked in extreme heat, and ended part of a system which forced migrant workers to seek employers' permission to change jobs or even leave the country.

Workers can go to labour tribunals and more government inspectors have been appointed.

Foreign workers, mainly from South Asia, make up more than two million of Qatar's 2.8 million population.

But Amnesty said only about 48,000 workers have so far been green-lighted to claw back recruitment fees.

It said the requested $440 million represents only a "small fraction" of the $6 billion in revenues FIFA is expected to make over the next four years, much of it from the World Cup.

(AFP)