Aus tralia lifts ban on facial coverings

Australia’s Parliament House on Monday lifted a short-lived ban on facial coverings, including burkas and niqabs, after the prime minister intervened. The government department that runs Parliament House announced earlier this month that “persons with facial coverings” would no longer be allowed in the open public galleries in Parliament. Instead, they were to be directed to galleries usually reserved for noisy schoolchildren, where they could sit behind soundproof glass. The Oct. 2 announcement was made a few hours before the end of the final sitting day of Parliament’s last session and was lifted before it resumed Monday.