MOSCOW: Russia’s southern Dagestan region on Wednesday issued a temporary ban against wearing the niqab in the Muslim-majority republic, citing security reasons after a recent attack against churches and synagogues.
This veil — which hides the entirety of a woman’s face with the exception of the eyes — is “temporarily prohibited until the elimination of existing threats,” said Dagestan’s highest religious body.
Last month, gunmen simultaneously attacked two churches, two synagogues and a police checkpoint in two cities in Dagestan, killing 22 people.
The attacks came just three months after Daesh fighters killed more than 140 in an assault on a Moscow concert hall, the deadliest terror attack in Russia for almost two decades.
Few details have surfaced about the identities and motivations of the attackers in Dagestan.
The incidents had echoes of the kind of insurgent violence that struck the North Caucasus during the 1990s and 2000s, however, the Kremlin has dismissed fears of a renewed wave of violent unrest.
In the 1990s, Moscow fought two wars for control of the neighboring Chechnya region, with President Vladimir Putin touted his success in quashing the insurgency at the start of his presidency.
Militants from Dagestan are known to have traveled to join Daesh in Syria.
Russia’s Dagestan bans niqab over ‘threats’ after attacks
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Russia’s Dagestan bans niqab over ‘threats’ after attacks
- This veil is “temporarily prohibited until the elimination of existing threats,” said Dagestan’s highest religious body
- Few details have surfaced about the identities and motivations of the attackers in Dagestan
Magnitude 6.2 earthquake strikes Japan’s Chugoku region
- Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority said there were no irregularities at the plant
TOKYO: An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.2 hit the western Chugoku region of Japan on Tuesday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, followed by a series of sizeable aftershocks.
The epicenter of the first earthquake was in eastern Shimane prefecture, the agency said, adding that there was no danger of a tsunami. Chugoku Electric Power operates the Shimane Nuclear Power Station, about 32 km (20 miles) away.
Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority said there were no irregularities at the plant.
A spokesperson said the utility was checking on any impact on the plant’s No.2 unit, which has been operating since December 2024 after being shut down following the March 2011 disasters in Fukushima.
Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world’s most seismically active areas.
The earthquake had a seismic intensity of upper-5 on Japan’s 1-7 scale, strong enough to make movement difficult without support.
West Japan Railway said it had suspended Shinkansen bullet-train operations between Shin-Osaka and Hakata following the quake.
