Today’s News Briefs: Taliban bans women’s voices in public; Hamas leader Sinwar dressing as a woman to avoid capture; today is anniversary of US withdrawal from Afghanistan; Early voting for Nov. election.
Taliban bans women’s voices in public
Women in Afghanistan are now banned from singing or reading in public under a new Taliban crackdown. The new “virtue laws” were approved by supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, a government spokesman said, and cover aspects of everyday life like public transportation, music, shaving and celebrations. According to CNN, “A woman’s voice is deemed intimate and so should not be heard singing, reciting, or reading aloud in public. It is forbidden for women to look at men they are not related to by blood or marriage and vice versa. Women are also obliged to cover themselves in front of non-Muslim males and females to avoid being corrupted.
Overnight Russian missile barrage on Ukraine
Ukrainians overnight suffered a massive Russian missile attack that began at midnight and lasted until after the sun rose. More than 200 missiles and large Iranian-made missile drones fell across the country in what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called “vile.” Ukrainian first responders continue to dig through rubble in the country’s major cities but say there are deaths in Putin’s largest attack in months. “Like most previous Russian strikes, this one was just as vile, targeting critical civilian infrastructure. Most of our regions — from the Kharkiv region and Kyiv to Odesa and our western regions,” Zelenskyy said, according to the AP.
Today marks three years since 13 US Military personnel killed in Afghanistan retreat
Today marks three years since the Aug. 26, 2021, suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport, which killed 13 American service members and more than 100 Afghans. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack which came during the Biden administration’s chaotic military retreat ahead of a Taliban take-over of the country’s capital, Kabul. “My prayers are with their families and loved ones. My heart breaks for their pain and their loss,” she said, according to the AP. The tragic incident again made headlines in June when President Joe Biden said during a debate with Donald Trump that no American personnel had died in combat under his presidency. The relatives of some of the 13 Americans killed appeared on stage at the Republican National Convention last month, saying Biden had never publicly named their loved ones.
Hamas leader Sinwar dressing as woman to avoid capture by Israel
Hamas’s most senior leader, Yahya Sinwar, has “dressed as a woman” while hiding among Gazan civilian population during his time outside of the terror group’s tunnel network, the UK’s Daily Express reported on Sunday, citing Israeli intelligence sources. The New York Times on Sunday, citing American and Israeli officials, reported that Sinwar may have left tunnels in which he had been hiding on a number of occasions over the last year. According to the Jerusalem Post, Sinwar “has reportedly been moving from place to place in the Gaza Strip to stay ahead of Israeli efforts to hunt him down.” The Arabic-language Asharq al-Awsat reports that Sinwar is insisting that his life be spared as part of ceasefire deal negotiations.
Most Americans will have already voted by Nov. 5
Republicans have joined Democrats in encouraging their supporters to vote early. The GOP move comes in an their effort to avoid ballots being counted after the Nov. 5 election day. According to Fox News, Americans are already choosing to avoid election day lines. “If Americans vote like they did in the last two election cycles, most of them will have already cast a ballot before the big day,” Fox reports. In 2020, a Fox News Voter Analysis found that 71% of voters cast their ballots before Election Day, with 30% voting early in-person and 41% voting by mail. Early voting remained popular in the midterms, with 57% of voters casting a ballot before Election Day. According to US News, in the Nov. 2022 midterms, Democrats cast 55% of early ballots compared to 34.5% early ballots by GOP voters and 10.4% for unaffiliated voters.
–Dwight Widaman and wire services