Qatar minister elected to head UN labor conference following World Cup scrutiny

BERLIN (AP) — The labor minister of Qatar, which faced intense scrutiny over its treatment of migrant workers in the run-up to last year’s World Cup soccer tournament, has been elected president of the United Nations labor agency’s annual conference. Ali bin Samikh al-Marri was elected without dissent on Monday to preside over the International Labor Conference. Rights groups have said workers in Qatar faced unsafe working conditions, including extreme heat and exploitation by employers, despite reforms to working practices. But the head of the delegates representing workers said they could accept al-Marri’s nomination following a “joint understanding” on speeding up reforms.