Seattle Daily Star

  aliban has ordered all women in public to wear head-to-toe clothing that leaves only their eyes visible Women television presenters on Afghanistan’s leading news channels have vowed to speak up for their rights after being forced by Taliban authorities to cover their faces on air. Since seizing power last year, the Taliban have imposed restrictions on civil society, especially on women and girls, to comply with the group’s austere brand of Islam. This month Afghanistan’s supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada ordered that women must cover up fully in public, including their faces. The feared Ministry for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice ordered women television presenters to follow suit. After defying the order a day earlier, presenters on Sunday wore full hijabs and veils that left only their eyes on view across leading channels including TOLOnews, Ariana Television, Shamshad TV and 1TV. “Today, they have imposed a mask on us, but we will continue our struggle using...

  Houses swept away, roads and railways lines broken and tunnels blocked with debris Flooding in India’s north-east Assam region killed nine people as incessant rains and landslides continued to devastate the remote mountainous state. Twenty-seven of Assam’s 33 districts have been hit by landslides and overflowing rivers since the beginning of this week, according to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA). Disaster response forces used boats and helicopters to rescue nearly 7,500 people on Thursday. “We have a death toll of nine including victims of flood and landslides. About 85,000 people are shifted to 172 relief camps. We are ensuring people remain safe and their health is taken care of,” Gyanendra Dev Tripathi, chief executive of ASDMA, told The National. “Reconstruction and relief operations are continuing with the help of disaster forces,” he said. Houses were swept away, roads and railways lines damaged and tunnels blocked with debris. Thousands of hect...