Month: June 2022

Group asks for living wages labor rights for 2026 World Cup

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Intermediate

Soccer fans gather along the downtown Seattle waterfront to cheer the awarding of FIFA 2026 World Cup games to Seattle, Thursday, June 16, 2022, in Seattle. (Dean Rutz/The Seattle Times via AP)

By ANNE M. PETERSON AP Sports Writer

With this year’s World Cup in Qatar clouded by labor and human rights issues, there’s a push for the North American cities awarded games for the 2026 tournament to commit to livable wages, equitable hiring and worker protection.

The Dignity 2026 coalition has brought together groups including the AFL-CIO, Human Rights Watch and the Independent Supporters Council to work with FIFA and the individual host cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The coalition has met several times in the past few months with soccer’s international governing body to discuss its commitment to these issues. With last week’s announcement of the 16 cities that will host games, the effort has become more targeted.

They say FIFA is listening, but has not pledged to require minimum standards. Continue reading

Did corporate greed fuel inflation? It’s not biggest culprit

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Advanced

FILE – Wallace Reid purchases fuel for the vehicle he drives to make a living using ride-share apps, Wednesday, June 22, 2022, in the Queens borough of New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Furious about surging prices at the gasoline station and the supermarket, many consumers feel they know just where to cast blame: On greedy companies that relentlessly jack up prices and pocket the profits.

Responding to that sentiment, the Democratic-led House of Representatives last month passed on a party-line vote — most Democrats for, all Republicans against — a bill designed to crack down on alleged price gouging by energy producers.

Likewise, Britain last month announced plans to impose a temporary 25% windfall tax on oil and gas company profits and to funnel the proceeds to financially struggling households.

Yet for all the public’s resentment, most economists say corporate price gouging is, at most, one of many causes of runaway inflation — and not the primary one. Continue reading

Russian journalist sells Nobel Prize for Ukrainian children

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Intermediate

(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — What’s the price of peace?

That question could be partially answered Monday night when Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov auctions off his Nobel Peace Prize medal. The proceeds will go directly to UNICEF in its efforts to help children displaced by the war in Ukraine.

Muratov, awarded the gold medal in October 2021, helped found the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta and was the publication’s editor-in-chief when it shut down in March amid the Kremlin’s clampdown on journalists and public dissent in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Continue reading

Will money-back guarantee win over wealthy donors?

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Advanced

(Hailey Tucker/One Acre Fund via AP)

By DREW LINDSAY of The Chronicle of Philanthropy Chronicle of Philanthropy

A glossy book is arriving at the homes and offices of America’s wealthiest individuals. Inside is a charity pitch that aims to raise as much as $6 billion for nonprofits fighting global poverty.

The proposition? Donate and get results — or your money back.

The advocacy group Global Citizen and the finance firm NPX are engineering this campaign. It targets Forbes 400 billionaires, Giving Pledge members, and the wealthy generally — a group increasingly criticized for what is seen as tight purse strings. The drive launched recently with dinners, meetings, and a Wall Street Journal ad that asked: “Will you donate … if we achieve results?” Continue reading

Japan eases foreign tourism ban, allows guided package tours

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Read time : 2 mins

Level : Intermediate

(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japan on Friday eased its borders for foreign tourists and began accepting visa applications, but only for those on guided package tours who are willing to follow mask-wearing and other antivirus measures as the country cautiously tries to balance business and infection worries.

Friday is the first day to start procedures needed for the entry and arrivals are not expected until late June at the earliest, even though airport immigration and quarantine offices stood by for any possible arrivals.

The Japan Tourism Agency says tours are being accepted from 98 countries and regions, including the United States, Britain, China, South Korea, Thailand and Singapore, which are deemed as having low infection risks. Continue reading