By James M. Dorsey Underlying the attack on the Charlie Hebdo magazine is a far greater threat than the brutalising of freedom of expression. Western leaders and security agencies too often fall into and create a vicious cycle modelled on the 9/11 attacks in the US: A Muslim community that rejects violence is put on … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey FIFA vice president Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein’s announcement that he will challenge the world soccer body’s four-time president Sepp Blatter in elections later this year has definitively turned the poll into a battle for the group’s future. A vote for the prince is at least a vote against the FIFA … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey A decision by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that groups wealthy Gulf states to abandon plans to adopt a unified contract for domestic workers increases pressure on Qatar to significantly revamp its controversial labour regime in a bid to fend off efforts to deprive it of its right to host the … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey Palestine has set a new benchmark for nations like the Kurds and the Kosovars who see soccer as a key part of their toolbox to achieve statehood with its qualification for this month’s Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup even if the Palestinian road to statehood is increasingly pockmarked by seemingly … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey 2022 World Cup host Qatar has announced a series of reforms to improve working and living conditions of its majority migrant labour population that address material concerns but fall short of recommendations made in a government-sponsored study and demands of trade union and human rights activists. The litmus test for Qatar’s … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey A Saudi-led proxy war against Iran playing out in Syria and Iraq has expanded onto the soccer pitch with a last minute decision by the Palestinian national team to cancel a friendly against Iran. The cancellation officially on technical grounds came barely two weeks before Iran meets two of its Gulf … [Read more…]