Latest news with #MuhammadArshad
Express Tribune
4 days ago
- Business
- Express Tribune
Buyers struggle with cattle costs
Cattle markets in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad have seen a sharp rise in prices ahead of Eidul Azha, leaving many buyers struggling to afford sacrificial animals. Prices for goats, cows, and buffaloes have surged by up to 30% compared to last year, with traders citing increased costs of feed, transportation, and rising demand as key factors. Ali Asad, a local buyer, shared his frustration: "I had budgeted Rs50,000 for a goat, but the same quality now costs Rs70,000. This is putting a huge strain on middle-class families." He added that small goats now cost as much as Rs100,000, while the price of a heifer has jumped from Rs150,000 to Rs240,000. Another buyer, Muhammad Arshad, echoed similar concerns, saying many people are being forced to compromise on the size or quality of animals due to unaffordable rates. He called for government intervention and a standardised pricing mechanism to prevent exploitation. Meanwhile, some buyers are turning to online platforms for more affordable options, a trend that gained popularity during the pandemic. Cattle trader Muhammad Imtiaz defended the high prices, stating, "We've seen a significant rise in fodder, fuel, and labour costs. While demand is high, we also need to adjust prices to cover expenses and ensure fair profit." Despite the inflation, enthusiasm for Eid preparations remains strong, though affordability remains a key concern for many families.
BBC News
27-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
High Wycombe man who enslaved and sexually abused women jailed
A man who subjected two women to sexual abuse and enslaved one of them has been jailed for nearly three Arshad was sentenced to 27 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of modern slavery and sexual assault 47-year-old, of Chairborough Road, High Wycombe, was sentenced at Aylesbury Crown Court on Friday following an eight-day trial last Con Emily Sendall, from Thames Valley Police, said Arshad had committed "truly horrendous" crimes. During trial it was found that Arshad had subjected two women to a campaign of sexual abuse between January 2018 and July 2019 and 2024, he held one of the women in servitude, raping and assaulting her."Muhammad Arshad was a well-respected man in the community until this offending was uncovered," Det Con Sendall was found guilty of one count of modern slavery, seven counts of rape, two counts of assault, one count of common assault, three counts of sexual assault and one count of threatening to disclose a private sexual image. Some of the rape counts included multiple offences of was acquitted of two counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault and one count of assault. 'Incredible bravery' "During our investigation, we were able to evidence the years of abuse," added Det Con praised the victims for having the courage to come forward."I would like to thank the victims for their incredible bravery and providing evidence," she said."If you are a victim of a sexual offence or have information about sexual offences, please contact the force."We have specially trained officers who will listen and support you." Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
The Irish Sun
14-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Decapitations, death plunges & electrocutions… how Saudi's World Cup with 11 new stadiums ‘is being built on blood'
CONSTRUCTION workers building Saudi Arabia's 11 new stadiums for the World Cup have been dying heinous deaths - from decapitations to death plunges. Human rights groups have warned of a terrifying "surge" in the deaths of migrant construction workers in the Middle Eastern region as it Advertisement 11 Migrant workers are seen at a construction site near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in March Credit: Getty 11 Human rights groups have warned of a terrifying "surge" in the deaths of migrant construction workers in the Middle Eastern region Credit: Getty 11 FIFA president Gianni Infantino has previously faced accusations of steering the nomination towards Saudi Arabia Credit: PA After being confirmed as the host of the 2034 men's football World Cup in December, Saudi Arabia is throwing tens of billions of pounds at insane building projects - including an entire mega-city. In preparation, the Saudis unveiled plans to Despite the Cup being nine years away, labourers working to build the sites are dying in horrific yet preventable incidents, reports from Human Rights Watch and Fairsquare claim. It comes just a day after the President of FIFA Advertisement READ MORE SPORT Human Rights Watch were able to speak to the hearbroken families of 31 workers from Bangaldesh, India and Nepal. Their relatives either fell from heights at the sites, were crushed or decapitated by heavy machinery - or electrocuted. But Saudi medical authorities rarely conduct autopsies to establish the exact cause of migrant workers' deaths, FairSquare claims. A couple of months ago a Pakistani foreman, Muhammad Arshad, was reported to have plunged from a construction site at a stadium under construction in the eastern city of Al Khobar. Advertisement Most read in Football Latest Muhammad's tragic death marked the first related to the World Cup - with many more to follow. One widow of a 46-year-old Bangladeshi man who was working in Saudi Arabia told Human Rights Watch of her husband being harrowingly decapitated in the workplace. 11 Migrant workers are seen at a construction site near Riyadh Credit: Getty 11 The Roshn Stadium has one of the most striking designs of all the 2034 venues Credit: Advertisement 11 The Qiddiya Coast Stadium will host games in the group stage, as well as the rounds of 32 and 16 Credit: She said: "According to his colleagues and the foreman, he noticed a mechanical issue with the machine he was operating. "He turned off the machine to fix it and was trying to remove a stone that was stuck inside when someone accidentally turned the machine back on. His head got caught inside, and he died on the spot." The grieving woman added that when her husband's body arrived in Bangladesh, "his head was separated from his body" which resulted in her losing consciousness "seeing him in that state". Advertisement And another widow of a 25-year-old Nepali man revealed that despite her husband getting electrocuted at work, his death "is officially classified as a natural death". She added: "We did not receive the dead body of my husband, but were instead informed that his last rites were already done in Saudi Arabia itself without our permission. This has put us in further pain. "We believe all this was an elaborate plan to deprive us of compensation. There are so many questions unanswered. "Who gave them permission to bury [my husband] instead of repatriating [his] body? Witnesses say that the death was caused by electrocution." Advertisement With many deaths of workers wrongly classified as being natural, grieving families have received no compensation, the reports claim. Human Rights Watch's director of Global Initiatives Minky Worden said: "The 2034 Saudi World Cup will be the largest and most expensive ever, but it could also have the highest cost in human lives, as millions of migrant workers build infrastructure, including 11 new stadiums, a rail and transit network, and 185,000 hotel rooms." FIFA says it has a "steadfast commitment to the protection and promotion of human rights in the context of its operations". 11 Advertisement 11 The Neom stadium has been dubbed the 'most unique stadium in the world' Credit: 11 The King Salman Stadium will be Saudi's largest stadium and is due to host the World Cup final Credit: 11 The Roshn Stadium has one of the most striking designs of all the 2034 venues Credit: In 2024, the Saudi government defended that there had been "tangible achievements" in occupational health and safety, claiming that the rates of deaths and injuries among workers were falling. Advertisement And FIFA praised the alleged "significant steps " taken by Saudi Arabia to improve its labour laws since 2018. But the global construction worker's union, or BWI, revealed there had been an "alarming rise" in accidents that could have been prevented. BWI General Secretary Ambet Yuson said: "These are the result of systematic negligence, corruption and inadequate oversight and accountability." And FairSquare's co-director James Lynch has described FIFA's human rights policies as a "sham". Advertisement He added: "While FIFA praises Saudi Arabia to the rafters and highly-paid western law firms generate vast profits for curating Saudi's reputation, children in places like Nepal grow up without their fathers and never even learn how they died." FIFA told Human Rights Watch of its plans to establish a workers' welfare system to ensure mandatory standards and enforcement mechanisms are dedicated for construction related to the World Cup. as well as service delivery in Saudi Arabia. Football's global governing body said: "We are convinced that the measures implemented to ensure construction companies respect the rights of their workers on FIFA World Cup sites can set a new standard for worker protection in the country and contribute to the wider labour reform process, helping to enhance protections for workers on World Cup sites and beyond." But Human Rights Watch has slammed FIFA, saying no further details were given on how the so-called welfare system would actually work. Advertisement The group said: "Saudi authorities, FIFA, and other employers should ensure that all migrant worker deaths, regardless of perceived cause, time, and place are properly investigated and that families of deceased workers are treated with dignity and receive fair and timely compensation." Eight stadiums are being built in the capital Riyadh, four in Jeddah, and one in each of Al Khobar, Abha, and Neom. Neom is the There have been concerns, however, that Advertisement They are also promising to 11 It is thought the King Salman International Airport in Saudi Arabia will be the largest in the world when it opens in 2030 Credit: Foster + Partners
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
First migrant worker death at Saudi Arabia World Cup stadium
A migrant worker has been killed while working on a new stadium for the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia. Muhammad Arshad, a father-of-three from Pakistan, fell to his death last week during the construction of the Aramco Stadium in the eastern city of Al Khobar. It is the first known migrant worker death linked to the 2034 World Cup, which Fifa awarded to Saudi Arabia at the end of last year after the country's state-owned oil company, Aramco, became its most lucrative sponsor. December's decision was made despite warnings from human rights groups, with Amnesty International saying: 'Migrant workers will face exploitation and many will die.' Details of last week's tragedy were disclosed by Belgian construction multinational Besix Group, a subsidiary of which is one of the main contractors at the stadium. 'A team of three workers was engaged in formwork operations [creating moulds for concrete] at height when the platform they were working on tilted. While all three were equipped with personal fall-arrest systems, one worker was not connected to an anchor point at the time of the incident and fell, sustaining severe injuries,' the company said in a statement. It said that emergency services were immediately called but 'the worker sadly succumbed to his injuries in hospital'. Witnesses were told not to share any photographs or video of the incident. Besix said: 'Out of respect for the victim's family, workers were asked not to share images of the consequences of the tragic accident on social media. Safety is and remains our absolute priority … The authorities are conducting a full inquiry, and we are fully cooperating to determine the exact circumstances of this tragedy.' Arshad's father, Muhammad Bashir, told the Guardian: 'We have just fallen from the sky to the ground. The whole family is in a state of shock.' He added of his son's children – three boys aged between seven and two: 'It will have a long-lasting impact on their lives. Arshad's income was their only source of living. We will have to bear their living and educational expenses. We will try to meet their needs. Under Saudi labour law, employers must pay compensation in the event of a death at work. Besix said it had taken steps to support Arshad's family and ensure all payments were 'handled in a timely and respectful manner'. Thousands of migrant workers, mainly from Bangladesh and Pakistan, have been working on the 47,000-seater Aramco Stadium. There were claims last year that those employed there faced similar conditions to those allegedly faced by migrants who helped build the stadia for the last World Cup in Qatar. Besix said it had 'made significant strides' in protecting workers' rights wherever it operated, adding that subcontractors were required to comply with welfare standards that 'encompassed the full spectrum of workers' welfare, from safety and wages to living conditions'. 'Our priority is to ensure that all workers are treated with dignity and fairness,' it added. Aramco said the safety and wellbeing of employees was 'our highest priority'. 'The company follows industry best practices in managing and reporting incidents, including determining the facts, sequence of events and root causes,' it said in a statement. Fifa has been approached for comment. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
21-03-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
First migrant worker death at Saudi Arabia World Cup stadium
A migrant worker has been killed while working on a new stadium for the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia. Muhammad Arshad, a father-of-three from Pakistan, fell to his death last week during the construction of the Aramco Stadium in the eastern city of Al Khobar. It is the first known migrant worker death linked to the 2034 World Cup, which Fifa awarded to Saudi Arabia at the end of last year after the country's state-owned oil company, Aramco, became its most lucrative sponsor. December's decision was made despite warnings from human rights groups, with Amnesty International saying: 'Migrant workers will face exploitation and many will die.' Details of last week's tragedy were disclosed by Belgian construction multinational Besix Group, a subsidiary of which is one of the main contractors at the stadium. 'A team of three workers was engaged in formwork operations [creating moulds for concrete] at height when the platform they were working on tilted. While all three were equipped with personal fall-arrest systems, one worker was not connected to an anchor point at the time of the incident and fell, sustaining severe injuries,' the company said in a statement. It said that emergency services were immediately called but 'the worker sadly succumbed to his injuries in hospital'. Witnesses were told not to share any photographs or video of the incident. Besix said: 'Out of respect for the victim's family, workers were asked not to share images of the consequences of the tragic accident on social media. Safety is and remains our absolute priority … The authorities are conducting a full inquiry, and we are fully cooperating to determine the exact circumstances of this tragedy.' Arshad's father, Muhammad Bashir, told the Guardian: 'We have just fallen from the sky to the ground. The whole family is in a state of shock.' He added of his son's children – three boys aged between seven and two: 'It will have a long-lasting impact on their lives. Arshad's income was their only source of living. We will have to bear their living and educational expenses. We will try to meet their needs. Under Saudi labour law, employers must pay compensation in the event of a death at work. Besix said it had taken steps to support Arshad's family and ensure all payments were 'handled in a timely and respectful manner'. Thousands of migrant workers, mainly from Bangladesh and Pakistan, have been working on the 47,000-seater Aramco Stadium. There were claims last year that those employed there faced similar conditions to those allegedly faced by migrants who helped build the stadia for the last World Cup in Qatar. Besix said it had 'made significant strides' in protecting workers' rights wherever it operated, adding that subcontractors were required to comply with welfare standards that 'encompassed the full spectrum of workers' welfare, from safety and wages to living conditions'. 'Our priority is to ensure that all workers are treated with dignity and fairness,' it added. Aramco said the safety and wellbeing of employees was 'our highest priority'. 'The company follows industry best practices in managing and reporting incidents, including determining the facts, sequence of events and root causes,' it said in a statement.
