Taliban’s reclusive supreme leader attends Afghan clerics’ meeting

The Taliban’s reclusive supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada showed up Friday at a major gathering of clerics in the Afghan capital called to rubber-stamp the hardline Islamist group’s rule over the country. His arrival, broadcast on state radio, was greeted with cheers and chants including “Long live the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan”, the Taliban’s name for the country.