Middle East

For some, focus on World Cup host Qatar highlights Western double standards

4:47pm November 23, 2022

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with MSNBC Host Ayman Mohyeldin about what he calls double standards and western prejudice in coverage of Qatar hosting the World Cup.

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Players from Germany pose for the team photo as they cover their mouth during the World Cup group E soccer match between Germany and Japan on Wednesday.

German players cover their mouths at the World Cup to protest FIFA

11:48am November 23, 2022

by The Associated Press

The players covered their mouths for their team photo in an apparent rebuke of FIFA's clampdown on plans to wear armbands to protest discrimination in host nation Qatar.

Israeli police inspect the scene of an explosion Wednesday at a bus stop in Jerusalem.

World News

Twin blasts near bus stops shake Jerusalem, killing a teen and hurting 18 other people

9:48am November 23, 2022

by The Associated Press

Tensions between Israelis and Palestinians have been surging for months, amid nightly raids in the West Bank prompted by a spate of attacks against Israelis that killed 19 people in the spring.

Sports

Qatar, a tiny country in the Middle East, is a controversial host for the World Cup

5:07am November 22, 2022

The soccer tournament is being played in the Middle East for the first time. Qatar's role in the region, aspirations and human rights record are in the spotlight as it hosts the World Cup.

Iran's national team stayed silent during the country's national anthem ahead of their Monday match in the FIFA World Cup.

In an apparent protest, Iran's World Cup players refuse to sing the national anthem

1:30pm November 21, 2022

by Becky Sullivan

In Iran, a human rights protest movement has swept the country and authorities have cracked down on demonstrators. On Monday, the men's national team appeared to show their solidarity.

Al-Bayt Stadium in al-Khor hosts the opening game of the 2022 World Cup between host country Qatar and Ecuador.

The 2022 World Cup in Qatar begins, warts and all

10:56pm November 20, 2022

by Tom Goldman

Ever since FIFA awarded the world's biggest sporting event to Qatar in 2010, the soccer tournament has been clouded by bribery, migrant deaths and questions about the country's human rights record.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Saturday derided Western critics of Qatar's human rights record and blasted their 'hypocrisy' during an opening news conference in Doha, Qatar, before the World Cup, which kicks off on Sunday.

FIFA chief blasts critics ahead of World Cup in Qatar and accuses them of hypocrisy

8:31am November 19, 2022

by Russell Lewis

In an extraordinary opening news conference before the World Cup, FIFA President Gianni Infantino defended the host country's decision to ban beer at stadiums and Qatar's human rights record.

Argentina fans kiss in the crowd while watching the World Cup final in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2014.

Here are things World Cup fans are restricted from doing in Qatar

7:00am November 19, 2022

by Bill Chappell

A FIFA boss once said, "Alcoholic drinks are part of the FIFA World Cup." But that was then. A beer ban in stadiums is just one of the changes fans face in Qatar.

Choreographer Polina Mitryashina, artist Victor Melamed, and jazz producer Evgenii Petrushanskiy, from left, in Tel Aviv on Nov. 2. All three are Russian artists who have recently fled Russia to live in Israel.

Russia's biggest talents flee to Israel, seeking freedom from Putin's repression

6:01am November 19, 2022

by Daniel Estrin

Russia is losing creative talent. Some of its biggest artists have immigrated to Israel this year to rebuild their careers and safely voice their conscience about the war in Ukraine.

World News

Biden administration says Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince should be shielded over killing

4:38pm November 18, 2022

by Michele Kelemen

The Biden administration says Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman should be shielded from a lawsuit over his role in journalist Jamal Khashoggi's killing, angering human rights activist.

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