Qatar recently arrested at least 60 foreign workers who protested going months without pay and deported some of them, an advocacy group said, just three months before Doha hosts the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The move comes as Qatar faces intense international scrutiny over its labor practices ahead of the tournament. Like other Gulf Arab nations, Qatar heavily relies on foreign labor. The workers’ protest a week ago — and Qatar’s reaction to it — could further fuel the concern.

The head of a labor consultancy investigating the incident said the detentions cast new doubt on Qatar’s pledges to improve the treatment of workers.

Video footage posted online showed some 60 workers angry about their salaries protesting on August 14 outside of the Doha offices of Al Bandary International Group, a conglomerate that includes construction, real estate, hotels, food service and other ventures. Some of those demonstrating hadn’t received their salaries for as many as seven months, Equidem said.

The Qatari government acknowledged that the firm hadn’t paid salaries and that its Labor Ministry would pay “all delayed salaries and benefits” to those affected.

Qatar, like other Gulf Arab nations, has in the past deported demonstrating foreign workers, and tied residency visas to employment. The right to form unions remains tightly controlled and available only to Qataris, as is the country’s limited right to assembly, according to the Washington-based advocacy group Freedom House.

Qatar, a small, energy-rich nation on the Arabian Peninsula, is home to the state-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network. However, expression in the country remains tightly controlled. Last year, Qatar detained and later deported a Kenyan security guard who wrote and spoke publicly about the woes of the country’s migrant labor force.

Since FIFA awarded the tournament to Qatar in 2010, the country has taken some steps to overhaul the country’s employment practices. That includes eliminating its so-called kafala employment system, which tied workers to their employers, who had say over whether they could leave their jobs or even the country.

Qatar also has adopted a minimum monthly wage of 1,000 Qatari riyals ($275) for workers and required food and housing allowances for employees not receiving that directly from their employers.

The World Cup will start this November in Qatar.

Q1. Name the committee which is associated with Pegasus case ?

1. Rajiv Mehrishi Committee
2. Justice Raveendran committee
3. P K Mohanty Committee
4. Arun Goel Committee
5. None of These

Q2.  Name the state / UT with which Gupkar Alliance is associated ?

1. Punjab
2. Ladakh
3. Jammu & Kashmir
4. Goa
5. None of These

 Q3. Name the district of Bihar in which Vishnupad temple is situated?

1. Gaya.
2. Nalanda.
3. Patna.
4. Vaishali.
5. None of These

Q4.Which of the following city will  host  the 2022 FIFA World Cup?

1. Dubai
2. Muscat
3. Doha
4. Riyadh
5. None of These

Q5. Name the US-based entity which has been allowed by the RBI to onboard new customers on its card network following satisfactory compliance with data storage norms?

1. Federal Reserve System
2. American Express Banking Corp
3. Bank of America
4. HSBC
5. None of These

Answers

1--------------------------------2   Justice Raveendran committee

2------------------------------- 3 Jammu & Kashmir

3--------------------------------1   Gaya.

4------------------------------3  Doha

5-----------------------------------2  American Express Banking Corp

The Supreme Court noted that five out of 29 phones had some malware issues, while hearing the Pegasus spyware case on Aug 25.

A three-member bench led by Chief Justice NV Ramana, Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli, said, "So far as technical committee reports are concerned it appears 29 phones were given to the committee and they have found some malware...5 out of 29 phones had some malware, but not saying if it was due to Pegasus."

It also noted that it appeared from the report submitted by the committee that the Government of India wasn’t cooperative.

The report of Justice Raveendran has recommended enhancing and improving the cyber security of citizens, establishing mechanisms for citizens to raise grievances and setting up private agencies that investigate the offences.

In October 2021, the apex court in a batch of petitions filed by petitioners who alleged to be direct victims of the Pegasus attack appointed a Technical Committee comprising three-member under the supervision of Justice RV Raveendran.

The committee had to look into the allegations of unauthorised surveillance using Pegasus. The court had asked the committee to submit the report after a thorough enquiry expeditiously.

All is not well in the Gupkar Alliance as talks of five parties alliance unitedly contesting the forthcoming Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir have taken a big hit as National Conference (NC) has given a clear hint of contesting the Assembly polls alone in the Union Territory.

NC’s provincial committee meeting under the chairmanship of party vice president and former J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was held at the party headquarters.

An NC spokesperson said the participants in the meeting expressed dismay over the recent statements, audio jingles and speeches made by some of the constituents of the Gupkar Alliance targeting NC.

A complaint petition was filed in a court in Bihar's Muzaffarpur against Information Technology Minister Mohammad Israel Mansuri for visiting the Vishnupad temple in Gaya.

Muzaffarpur-based social activist Chandra Kishore Parashar filed the petition seeking the registration of an FIR against the minister for "hurting religious sentiment of Hindus".

Mansuri, a Pasmanda Muslim, had accompanied Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on his tour of Gaya earlier this week during which they offered prayers at the Vishnupad temple.

Inaugurating the sprawling 130 acre state-of-the-art Amrita Hospital in Faridabad, Haryana, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on  Aug 24 said the new facility is a blend of modernity and spirituality and will become a medium of accessible and affordable treatment for needy patients.

Managed by Mata Amritanandamayi Muth, the super-speciality hospital, billed to be the largest private hospital in the country, with 2,600 beds (500 now and the rest to be added later) will boost modern medical infrastructure in the National Capital Region (NCR).

Modi said as the country is entering the Amrit Kaal, collective aspirations and resolutions are taking shape. It is fitting that the country is getting the nectar of blessings of Shri Mata Amritanandamayi, a world-renowned humanitarian and spiritual leader of millions, who was present at the occasion.

The newly-formed 'Mahagathbandhan' government in Bihar on  Aug 24 comfortably won the motion of confidence amid a walkout staged by MLAs of the BJP -- which has been stripped of power as a result of the recent political upheaval in the state.

Altogether 160 MLAs voted in favour of the confidence motion while no vote was cast against the same.

In a landmark judgment, the Uttarakhand High Court has stayed the state government's order of July 24, 2006, giving 30 percent horizontal reservation to women candidates of U'khand origin in the examination conducted for the posts of U'khand Combined Service, Senior Service of the State Public Service Commission.