Qatar’s World Cup opener shows its reemergence after boycott

AL KHOR, Qatar (AP) — Qatar opened the Middle East’s first World Cup on Sunday with its ruler sitting next to the leaders of two countries that only a year and a half earlier had been part of a boycott trying to bring the energy-rich nation to its knees.

No leaders of major Western countries were seen at the opening ceremony for the tournament in Qatar, which has faced intense criticism, particularly in Europe, over its treatment of…