By RFE/RL’s Bulgarian Service
February 26, 2023
Bulgarian authorities say a van carrying migrants crashed early on February 26, killing one person and injuring 32 others.
The driver of the vehicle, which was carrying 46 people, all citizens of Afghanistan, fled the scene and authorities are searching for him, Stara Zagora district prosecutor Dicho Atanasov told the BTA state news agency. He is believed to be a Pakistani citizen, and the person killed was an Afghan, Atanasov said.
The injured people were transported to hospitals in Stara Zagora and Chirpan. Health Minister Asen Medzhidiev said there were no life-threatening injuries.
One person has been arrested, BTA reported. It is not known what their role was in the incident.
The van had no seats in its passenger compartment and no windows along its side panels.
Authorities cited a punctured tire as the cause of the accident. The driver lost control of the vehicle and the van hit the guardrail.
The crash comes just over a week after the bodies of 18 migrants were found in a truck abandoned along a highway near Sofia. The driver of that truck also fled, and another 34 people were found in the truck in serious condition.
Five people have been remanded in custody in that case. They are accused of organizing a channel for the trafficking of migrants. Another suspect has been arrested in Greece, and a decision on whether to extradite him is pending.
Authorities discovered another van carrying 43 migrants near the town of Ihtiman, southeast of Sofia ,three days after the truck with the 18 bodies was found. District prosecutor Natalia Nikolova told the media that 10 of the migrants were children. She said all appeared to be healthy.
Deputy Prosecutor-General Borislav Sarafov told a news briefing on February 18 that the truck found with the 18 bodies was “another transport of migrants” carried out by an organized criminal group that has been making at least two such transports a month.
Tolo News: Several school teachers in Kabul expressed their displeasure at the reduction in pay, saying that they could not afford to provide for their families with this amount of money. The teachers said that their salaries had been cut by 1000 afghanis since the Islamic Emirate [Taliban] was established, and they are asking a pay increase from the Islamic Emirate. 
Khaama: A suicide bombing occurred on Friday outside a bank branch in Faizabad city, the provincial capital of Afghanistan’s Badakhshan Province. According to Muezuddin Ahmadi, the provincial director of the Taliban’s Media and Culture Department, the suicide bomber was shot down before he could reach the crowd assembled at the bank. Ahmadi continued, “No one was significantly hurt except for the attacker. There was not immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, said officials. 
Ariana: The first match of the day in the second season of Afghanistan Futsal Premier League (AFPL) between Sarepul Bastanan and Etihad FC ended in a 3-3 draw. In the second match, Perozi Panjshir defeated Zaitoon FC with a whopping score of 11-1. 
The Art Newspaper: A show at the University of California, Berkeley showcases works by artists from Afghanistan and the Afghan diaspora reflecting on the events of August 2021 and what has occurred since.