On December 19, 2016, Islamist attacker Anis Amri drove a stolen truck through a crowd in central Berlin, killing and injuring dozens. Five years later, the background to the attack remains unclear.

This summer, catastrophic floods hit the Ahr valley in western Germany. Half a year later, with winter drawing in, DW reporter Peter Hille traveled there to meet people who are slowly beginning to resume their lives.

Russia's Supreme Court has ordered the closure of the human rights group Memorial International that documents Soviet-era repression. DW correspondent Juri Rescheto spoke to a woman whose family experienced persecution by the Stalin regime.

For various experts, Storm Alex, which ravaged south-eastern France in October 2020, was a "weather bomb". In the area north of the city of Nice, torrential rain burst the banks of rivers. Entire houses were swept away in the current, sometimes with their owners inside. The 2,000 inhabitants of the village of Tende – perched high in the Roya valley – were cut off from the rest of the world, with no running water or electricity for several weeks. Supplies had to be brought in by helicopter. Since then, access has been restored. But not everyone has been able to return. More than a year later, Storm Alex has left catastrophic scars.

On 27 January 2002, Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital, witnessed one of the biggest disasters that have ever hit the state and country. 20 years after, the memory is still fresh. A continued blast at the military cantonment in Ikeja left many dead. The bulk of the victims did not die under the exploding shells. Most were hauled from canals into which they jumped or were driven - some still in their cars - by the huge crowds fleeing the shrapnel descending from the sky.

Six months after the Taliban retook Afghanistan, FRANCE 24 spoke to former Afghan president Hamid Karzai, who remains in the country. Karzai strongly criticised the Biden administration's recent decision to unfreeze Afghan assets but divide the funds between aid to Afghanistan and victims of the 9/11 attacks, saying the funds "belong to the Afghan people". He also said he believed the Taliban would eventually allow girls to return to school, since doing so is "absolutely necessary for the well-being" of Afghanistan.

The NSU, Hanau, the Breitscheidplatz Christmas market — these names evoke memories of terrorist attacks in Germany's recent past. As leaders meet to commemorate the victims, some say more needs to be done to help them.

Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Wednesday.⁣

Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Wednesday.⁣

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa pledged to help the victims of devastating east coast floods on Wednesday, as the death toll rose to 259 from heavy rains that washed out roads and disrupted shipping in one of Africa's busiest ports.

The last surviving alleged attacker, Salah A., said he hoped his apology would help the relatives of those killed. One hundred and thirty people were killed in the atrocities claimed by the "Islamic State" armed group.

South African police Sergeant Busisiwe Mjwara was searching the Msunduzi River for three people who were swept away in heavy flooding when she and her dog drowned. Their deaths highlight the risks to emergency services personnel when they are called upon to save victims of extreme weather events, which are becoming more frequent as the climate warms.