DOHA: A 23-year-old Nepalese World Cup laborer in Qatar died Tuesday while working on one of the venues for the 2022 tournament, officials in Doha announced in a statement.
An investigation has been launched after the man was killed “while working at the Al Wakrah Stadium project site,” Qatar’s World Cup organizing body, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy said.
“His next of kin has been informed and the relevant Qatari and Nepali authorities have been notified,” said the committee in a statement posted on its website.
“An investigation has been launched and further details about the incident will be released in due course.”
It added that it “shares its deepest condolences with the family at this time.”
No further details about the incident were given.
Al Wakrah is one of the eight venues proposed for the controversial Qatar World Cup in four years’ time and was designed by renowned architect Zaha Hadid.
Previously, another Nepalese laborer also died at Al Wakrah while working.
Anil Kumar Pasman, 29, lost his life after being struck by a lorry in October 2016 at the venue.
Tuesday’s tragedy follows the death at a Qatar World Cup venue of British construction worker Zac Cox, who plunged to his death at the Khalifa International Stadium in January 2017.
A subsequent inquest by a British coroner accused managers of providing the 40-year-old with substandard equipment and said the working environment was “downright dangerous.”
Qatari World Cup officials and European construction companies at Khalifa were also criticized for the lack of information provided to Cox’s family.
Qatar’s World Cup has long been dogged by allegations of mistreatment of workers, with one union claiming 1,200 people had been killed working on projects for the 2022 tournament, a claim denied by officials in Doha.
Qatar World Cup worker dies at 2022 stadium
Qatar World Cup worker dies at 2022 stadium
Trump warns Iran of ‘very traumatic’ outcome if no nuclear deal
- Speaking a day after he hosted Netanyahu at the White House, Trump said he hoped for a result “over the next month”
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump threatened Iran Thursday with “very traumatic” consequences if it fails to make a nuclear deal — but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was skeptical about the quality of any such agreement.
Speaking a day after he hosted Netanyahu at the White House, Trump said he hoped for a result “over the next month” from Washington’s negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear program.
“We have to make a deal, otherwise it’s going to be very traumatic, very traumatic. I don’t want that to happen, but we have to make a deal,” Trump told reporters.
“This will be very traumatic for Iran if they don’t make a deal.”
Trump — who is considering sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East to pressure Iran — recalled the US military strikes he ordered on Tehran’s nuclear facilities during Israel’s 12-day war with Iran in July last year.
“We’ll see if we can get a deal with them, and if we can’t, we’ll have to go to phase two. Phase two will be very tough for them,” Trump said.
Netanyahu had traveled to Washington to push Trump to take a harder line in the Iran nuclear talks, particularly on including the Islamic Republic’s arsenal of ballistic missiles.
But the Israeli and US leaders apparently remained at odds, with Trump saying after their meeting at the White House on Wednesday that he had insisted the negotiations should continue.
- ‘General skepticism’ -
Netanyahu said in Washington on Thursday before departing for Israel that Trump believed he was laying the ground for a deal.
“He believes that the conditions he is creating, combined with the fact that they surely understand they made a mistake last time when they didn’t reach an agreement, may create the conditions for achieving a good deal,” Netanyahu said, according to a video statement from his office.
But the Israeli premier added: “I will not hide from you that I expressed general skepticism regarding the quality of any agreement with Iran.”
Any deal “must include the elements that are very important from our perspective,” Netanyahu continued, listing Iran’s ballistic missile program and its support for armed groups such as the Palestinian movement Hamas, Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“It’s not just the nuclear issue,” he said.
Despite their differences on Iran, Trump signaled his strong personal support for Netanyahu as he criticized Israeli President Isaac Herzog for rejecting his request to pardon the prime minister on corruption charges.
“You have a president that refuses to give him a pardon. I think that man should be ashamed of himself,” Trump said on Thursday.
Trump has repeatedly hinted at potential US military action against Iran following its deadly crackdown on protests last month, even as Washington and Tehran restarted talks last week with a meeting in Oman.
The last round of talks between the two foes was cut short by Israel’s war with Iran and the US strikes.
So far, Iran has rejected expanding the new talks beyond the issue of its nuclear program. Tehran denies seeking a nuclear weapon, and has said it will not give in to “excessive demands” on the subject.
