Nepali official denies labour abuses in Qatar

DOHA (Reuters) - Officials from Nepal and Qatar sought on Monday to play down a news report that Nepali labourers face lethal conditions on the Gulf state's building sites, holding a joint news conference to say the migrant workers were "safe and fully respected".

Britain's Guardian newspaper reported that dozens of Nepali workers had died on building sites over the summer. Nepal recalled its ambassador from Qatar on Thursday after it emerged that she had called the country an "open jail" for Nepalis who suffer labour abuses.