Belgium team in cheerful spirits as they train for semi-final

Labourers on World Cup projects being given more protection, needs to extend to all workers says human rights group.

FIFA held an official ceremony on Sunday (November 21) to mark one year to go until the opening match of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, with the tournament, played for the first time in a northern hemisphere winter, rapidly taking shape. The opening match will take place on Nov. 21 in the 60,000 capacity Al Bayt Stadium. Kickoff will no doubt come as some relief to organizers as the football takes centre stage, shifting the limelight away from the numerous off-pitch issues, such as labour rights for migrant workers, that have surrounded the event.

Can NATO strike the right balance of force and diplomatic fortitude to make the Kremlin back off? Aboard the British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, Teri Schultz tees up a key meeting of foreign ministers in Riga.

The situation along the border is growing increasingly unstable as fears of a Russian invasion mount. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Russia's foreign minister in an attempt to defuse the tension. Washington wants to limit Moscow's room for maneuver.

Architects from Spain have completed a novel design for the upcoming FIFA 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Named the 974 Stadium, the 40,000-seater facility it's designed to be relatively easy to disassemble and rebuild, and was constructed using almost 1,000 shipping containers.⁣

The African sides that qualified for the 2022 Amputee Football World Cup are facing challenges. Liberia, Angola, Tanzania and Morocco will play in the tournament in Istanbul in October 2022.

Police in Kazakhstan's largest city, Almaty, say dozens of protesters have been killed in attempts to storm public buildings. After a request for help from Kazakhstan's president, Russia is leading an alliance of ex-Soviet states in sending what they call peacekeeping forces.

In an interview with FRANCE 24, Russia's Permanent Representative to the European Union denied that the six Russian naval ships in the Black Sea have anything to do with Ukraine. Vladimir A. Chizhov also insisted that Moscow has no intention to make a move on Ukrainian territory and reiterated that the Kremlin is committed to a diplomatic outcome to the crisis.

Diplomacy continues in a bid to resolve the Ukraine crisis. This Monday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz went to Kiev to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy. This as a ring of Russian troops tightens around Ukraine.

Germany has urged Russia to come back to the negotiating table as Russian media reported "no concrete plans" were in place for Putin to meet Biden.

The White House is warning that Russia could be planning a chemical or biological weapon attack in Ukraine. Washington says it's "very concerned" about the potential for the war to escalate and the possibility that Moscow may deploy non-conventional weapons. To discuss this and more, we're joined for Perspective by Edward Arnold, a research fellow for European security at the Royal United Services Institute think tank in London.

The war in Ukraine continues to rage while Ukrainian and Russian negotiators talk. Experts say that for now neither side is ready for a breakthrough and fear that the war will last a very long time.