Swiss watchmaker shuns Belarus as ice hockey host

Swiss watchmaker Tissot has joined calls for the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) to pull the planned world championships from Belarus over a crackdown on opposition groups. The announcement came shortly before the Swiss-based IIHF decided to withdraw the tournament from Belarus. The country was to co-host the world championships together with neighbouring Latvia in May and June. “Human rights are fundamental values which Tissot represents,” a company spokeswoman told the Swiss news agency, Keystone-SDA, on Monday. She said the Swiss watchmaker expressed its concern to the IIHF ahead of planned meeting of the federation. Tissot, a member of the Swatch watchmaking group, has been a partner of the federation for the past 25 years. The federation's executive body said the decision was "unavoidable due to safety and security issues that are beyond the IIHF's control. Its president, Switzerland's René Fasel, said the move was regrettable since a due diligence process had...