Afghanistan: Dozens killed after bus hits ‘Taliban’ bomb

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. Full video: January 27

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.

Speaking to DW, former Afghan MP Mariam Solaimankhil blamed Pakistan, particularly its spy agencies, for the Taliban's seizure of power in Afghanistan. She also stressed that "people around the former president Ghani" brought the country down.

Bomb threats have been disrupting classes at close to 20 predominantly Black universities in the United States. After a handful of threats on Monday, the first day of Black History Month in the US, more than a dozen campuses went into lockdown over new threats the next day. Tensions are also high over an ongoing battle on the public school teaching of critical race theory. It says racism is not just the product of individual bias, but embedded in America's legal systems and policies.

Germany faces a lawsuit which demands Berlin grant visas and refuge to former police trainers who had worked for the German development agency GIZ in Afghanistan.

We focus on the plight of women in Afghanistan six months after the Taliban retook the country. For those women and girls left behind, many have found their lives shrunk to the four walls of their homes, either due to losing their jobs or being unable to continue their education. This as a number of women's rights activists have gone missing in recent weeks as the Taliban continue to seek international recognition.

Six months after the Taliban took over Afghanistan, the health system is collapsing. Amid the deteriorating humanitarian situation, a raging measles outbreak has already killed more than 150 people and infected tens of thousands more in January alone. Measles is not the only sanitary threat facing young children in the country.

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.

Six months ago, an ominous sense of déjà vu swept over Afghanistan as the Taliban took control of the country. Unconvinced by the group's pledges to rule differently than in the 1990s, tens of thousands of Afghans fled. While some were evacuated by foreign powers, others had little choice but to embark upon dangerous journeys to safety. Our reporters met up with some recently arrived Afghan refugees in France to find out how they're faring in their new lives.

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.

More than 1,000 Afghan refugees living in Albania are waiting for the United States to approve their asylum applications. Many fear that they might be stuck there — and their dreams of a life in the US are fading.

The Taliban held their first economic conference, claiming wins in some sectors of the economy. But women remain concerned about their jobs and their safety.