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Culture clash? Conservative Qatar preps for World Cup party

Prime Minister of the State of Qatar, Khalid Bin Khalifa Bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, left, receives a gift from FIFA President Gianni Infantino. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)

On the Instagram accounts of fashion models and superstars last month, the sheikhdom of Qatar looked like one glittering party.

High-heeled designers descended on exhibition openings and fashion shows in downtown Doha. Celebrities, including a prominent gay rights campaigner, snapped selfies on a pulsing dance floor.

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