Sri Lanka emergency law bans face covering after attacks
Colombo, Apr 28: Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Sunday announced a ban on face covering, a week after militants carried out coordinated suicide bombings that killed 253 people.
Sirisena said he was using emergency powers to ban any form of face covering in public. The restriction will take effect from Monday, his office said in a statement.
"The ban is to ensure national security... No one should obscure their faces to make identification difficult," the statement said.
It came days after local Islamic clerics urged Muslim women not to cover their faces amid fears of a backlash after the bombings carried out by jihadists affiliated to the Islamic State group.
Muslims in the majority Buddhist nation account for about 10 per cent of its 21 million population.
Most Sri Lankan Muslims practise a liberal form of the religion and only a small number of women wear the niqab.
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US Consulate in Dubai reportedly attacked
Dubai: Smoke was seen rising from an area near the United States Consulate in Dubai, according to witness accounts cited by Reuters.
There was no immediate official confirmation on the extent of damage or whether there were any casualties in the incident.
Earlier, the US embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital, was also attacked. Authorities reported damage to the premises, but no casualties were recorded.
The developments come amid heightened tensions in the region, with Iran continuing to target US interests in the Middle East following deadly attacks launched on Saturday by Israel and the United States.
Near US embassy in Dubai pic.twitter.com/z5VTZNVxNO
— Sahil Shah (@thesahilsshah) March 3, 2026
