International

Taliban add more compulsory religion classes to Afghan universities

AFP

Afghan university students will have to attend more compulsory Islamic studies classes, education officials said Tuesday while giving little sign that secondary schools for girls would reopen.

Many conservative Afghan clerics in the hardline Islamist Taliban, which swept back into power a year ago, are sceptical of modern education.

“We are adding five more religious subjects to the existing eight,” said Abdul Baqi Haqqani, minister for higher education, including Islamic history, politics and governance.

The number of compulsory religious classes will increase from one to three a week in government universities.

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He told a news conference that the Taliban would not order any subjects to be dropped from the current curriculum.

However, some universities have altered studies on music and sculpture — highly sensitive issues under the Taliban’s harsh interpretation of sharia law — while an exodus of Afghanistan’s educated elite, including professors, has seen many subjects discontinued.

Officials have for months insisted that schools will reopen for girls, swaying between technical and financial issues as reasons for the continued closures.

Abdulkhaliq Sadiq, a senior official at the education ministry, on Tuesday said families in rural areas were still not convinced of the need to send girls to secondary school.

Under the Taliban’s last regime between 1996 and 2001, both primary and secondary schools for girls never reopened.

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“We are trying to come up with a sound policy in coordination with our leaders… so that those in rural areas are also convinced,” he said.

Since seizing power on August 15 last year the Taliban have imposed harsh restrictions on girls and women to comply with their austere vision of Islam — effectively squeezing them out of public life.

Although young women are still permitted to attend university, many have dropped out because of the cost or because their families are afraid for them to be out in public in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, without a secondary school certificate, teenage girls will not be able to sit future university entrance exams.

The international community has made the right to education a key condition for formally recognising the Taliban government.

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Despite being in power for a year, no country has so far recognised the government.

International

Spain’s irregular migrant population rises to 840,000, study finds

The number of migrants living in Spain without legal residency status continues to rise and has reached 840,000 people, with 91% originating from the Americas, particularly Colombia, Peru and Honduras, according to a report by the Spanish think tank Funcas (Foundation of the Savings Banks).

An estimated 17.2% of the non-EU foreign population living in Spain is in an irregular administrative situation. The estimate is based on the gap between the number of foreign residents effectively living in Spain, according to the National Statistics Institute (INE), and those who hold a residence permit, benefit from international protection, or are in the process of obtaining it.

The data, as of January 1, 2025, point to a notable and sustained increase in irregular migration since 2017, when the estimated figure stood at around 107,000 people, representing 4.2% of the non-EU population residing in Spain.

By origin, migrants from the American continent stand out, totaling around 760,000 people, or 91% of all irregular migrants. Colombians account for nearly 290,000, followed by Peruvians with almost 110,000, and Hondurans with about 90,000. Migrants from Africa (50,000), Asia (15,000) and Europe (14,000) trail far behind.

The figures predate Spain’s latest immigration regulation reform, which came into force in May 2025 and introduces measures to ease access to legal status through residency ties. According to Funcas, the reform would, in principle, tend to reduce the number of migrants in an irregular situation.

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International

Historic snowstorm paralyzes Toronto after 60 centimeters of snow

Toronto, Canada’s largest city and the fourth most populous in North America, was largely paralyzed on Monday after a historic snowstorm dumped up to 60 centimeters of snow and sent temperatures plunging to -15 degrees Celsius, authorities said.

Late Sunday, as the scale of the snowfall became clear, city officials declared a climate emergency, triggering extraordinary measures including parking bans on several major streets to facilitate snow removal operations.

Toronto’s public transit authority reported that while some buses remain immobilized, subway and streetcar services are operating with relative normality, though localized disruptions may occur.

A similar situation is affecting the city’s commuter rail network, which remains operational but is experiencing significant delays on its main routes due to the severe weather conditions.

International

Venezuela frees at least 80 political prisoners, NGO says

At least 80 political prisoners were released on Sunday across Venezuela, human rights group Foro Penal reported, as the broader process of detainee releases continues at a slow pace under the interim government.

Foro Penal’s director, Alfredo Romero, wrote on social media platform X that verified releases took place nationwide and that the figure could rise as more confirmations are completed.

Attorney Gonzalo Himiob, also from Foro Penal, said the excarcelations occurred during the early hours of the day and emphasized that the number is not yet final pending further verification.

The releases are part of a series of steps announced by Venezuela’s interim leader, Delcy Rodríguez, who took power after the capture of former President Nicolás Maduro in a U.S. military operation on Jan. 3, 2026. Rodríguez has pledged a significant number of liberations but has been criticized by opposition groups and rights organizations for the slow and nontransparent nature of the process.

So far, the Venezuelan government reports that 626 detainees have been freed since December, though independent counts by human rights groups suggest the number of actual political prisoner releases is lower and that many remain behind bars.

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Families of those still detained have maintained vigils outside prisons, hopeful for further releases even as broader concerns about political imprisonment and due process persist.