iPhone | iPad
Android
Huawei
Starmer remains an enigma in the eyes of many voters, who are predicted to propel him to Downing Street after Thursday's general election
KT APPDOWNLOAD
Islamic authorities in Dagestan ban full-face veil after attacks
The temporary ban will stay 'until the identified threats are eliminated and a new theological conclusion is reached', says Dagestan Muftiate
Sergei Melikov, the head of the Dagestan region, visits Derbent synagogue following an attack by gunmen and a fire on June 24, 2024, in this still image taken from video. — Reuters file
Islamic authorities in Russia's mostly-Muslim North Caucasus region of Dagestan on Wednesday temporarily banned women from wearing the niqab full-face veil, after simultaneous attacks targeting churches and synagogues killed 22 last month.
In a statement posted on the Telegram messenger app, the Dagestan Muftiate said it was introducing a "temporary" ban on the niqab after an appeal from Russia's ministry of nationality policy and religious affairs.
Reports following the attacks on June 23 said one of the gunmen had planned to escape wearing a niqab.
The muftiate, a religious organisation representing Dagestani Muslims, said that the ban would remain in place "until the identified threats are eliminated and a new theological conclusion is reached".
Though only a small minority of Dagestani women wear full-face veils, niqabs have been a common sight in the region's larger cities.
Similar veils are banned by law in several European and post-Soviet countries.
Twenty-two people were killed in a simultaneous attacks on Orthodox churches, synagogues, and police checkpoints across Dagestan on June 23. Security forces said they killed five attackers in gun battles that left a synagogue in the city of Derbent gutted by flames.
More news from World
Ramaphosa's new coalition is the first of its kind in the country after 30 years of rule by the African National Congress
Turk blames the rise of populist, extremist politics on the Covid-19 pandemic and rising living costs that have 'disenfranchised, disillusioned, a large segment of the population'
The scheme, uncovered by journalists and families searching for lost relatives, saw babies stolen from their mothers and then sold to adoptive parents in Georgia and abroad
The authority affirmed its concern for all of its citizens and guaranteed on following up on their safety
More than 150,000 people in the Palestinian territory have contracted skin diseases due to the squalid living conditions, according to the World Health Organisation
It will result, at the very least, in delays to any further trials of Trump, and may lead to cases being thrown out altogether, say legal experts
Wildfires have become more common and devastating in Greece in recent years because of climate change, according to scientists