Scholz vows 'full force of law' after man drives car into Christmas market, killing five
Summary
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has promised an investigation after a car drove into crowds at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg, killing at least five people, including a child
More than 200 people have been injured, according to city officials
The suspect, a 50-year-old Saudi psychiatrist, holds "Islamophobic" views, according to Germany's interior minister. However, the motive behind the attack is still unclear
Dramatic video footage shows the moment the suspect was arrested
The incident could prompt new questions about Germany's security architecture, says the BBC's Berlin correspondent, Jessica Parker
Were you at the scene? Get in touch with us
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has promised an investigation after a car drove into crowds at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg, killing at least five people, including a child
More than 200 people have been injured, according to city officials
The suspect, a 50-year-old Saudi psychiatrist, holds "Islamophobic" views, according to Germany's interior minister. However, the motive behind the attack is still unclear
Dramatic video footage shows the moment the suspect was arrested
The incident could prompt new questions about Germany's security architecture, says the BBC's Berlin correspondent, Jessica Parker
Were you at the scene? Get in touch with us
Ukraine faces difficult decisions over acute shortage of frontline troops
On a recent icy afternoon in the western Ukrainian city of Kovel, a silver-haired man in military fatigues prepared to board a train. A small boy hugged him at the knees, reluctant to let go. “Come on Dima, say goodbye to grandad,” his mother told him, pulling him away.
A few minutes later, the train pulled out of the station with the man on board, headed on a long journey to the east of the country, towards the frontlines in the fight against Russia. Daughter and grandson, both in tears, waved from the platform.
Similar scenes now play out frequently in Ukraine, where the depleted and exhausted army is increasingly made up of older men. As the country approaches three years of full-scale war with Russia, and waits uneasily for the arrival of Donald Trump in the White House, an acute personnel shortage at the front presents a dilemma.
Paris court issues heavy sentences in teacher Samuel Paty's beheading trial
France’s anti-terrorism court convicted eight individuals on Friday for their roles in the 2020 beheading of teacher Samuel Paty, who was killed after showing Prophet Mohammed cartoons in class during a debate on freedom of speech.
A French court on Friday handed heavy sentences to several men convicted of having played a role in the jihadist beheading of schoolteacher Samuel Paty in 2020 -- a murder that horrified France.
Paty, 47, was murdered in October 2020 by an 18-year-old Islamist radical of Chechen origin after showing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in class.
His killer, Abdoullakh Anzorov, died in a shootout with police.
Panel agrees to measures to improve the lot of SDF members
By NOBUHIKO TAJIMA/ Staff Writer
December 21, 2024 at 17:14 JST
Better pay and living conditions are among initiatives being pitched to address a shortage of Self-Defense Forces members.
A Dec. 20 meeting with Cabinet-level input agreed on a basic policy direction under which other industries would be courted to hire SDF personnel who retire at comparatively younger ages than those employed by private companies.
Some enter the SDF for a limited term of employment, meaning they often retire while still in their 20s or 30s. Even those who sign on for the longer haul face retirement when they reach 56 because of the need for SDF members to be in prime physical and mental shape to perform the tasks required of them.
The desperate last stand to save a forest from Tesla
In the German forest of Grunheide, hundreds of protesters have occupied the trees to protest Tesla's expansion plans.
Activists hang from treehouses and ropes as high as 30 metres (98 feet) above the ground in November, attempting to evade police officers who are trying to evict them. They defy a clearing order issued by authorities conducting a search for World War II ammunition, remaining in the trees for three days, in protest against the expansion of the Tesla gigafactory in Grunheide, Germany, before they finally give in and leave
At 8am on a morning in late November, on the outskirts of Berlin-Brandenburg, hundreds of police officers have entered the Grunheide Forest, which has been occupied by activists from the "Stop Tesla" movement since the end of February.
The area, referred to as the "water forest occupation" has been the focus of a battle against expansion plans for Tesla's gigafactory - its fourth in the world and the first in Europe - which environmentalists say is causing irreparable damage to local water reserves in a region already suffering from drought.
Trump and allies are waging campaign against media to stifle dissent – experts
Lawsuits against Iowa paper and settlement with ABC signal beginning of aggressive legal action to silence critics
Donald Trump and his allies have started to wage a campaign against media organisations in the US that are critical of the president-elect by launching lawsuits that media experts warn are designed to stifle dissent and potentially put them out of business.
The tactic appears to be to aggressively pursue legal action against news organisations – which Trump has long dubbed “enemies of the people” – by asking for often hefty sums in damages. The cases are launched even if the odds of success sometimes appear long, because even an unsuccessful court action can be expensive for a cash-strapped media company and act as a deterrent.
“The recent spate of lawsuits that he has filed, and his public threat to ‘straighten out the press’, do seem to signal an increased effort by Trump and his allies to go after the press through lawsuits,” said Anna Diakun, staff attorney and managing attorney, fellowship program, for the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.
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