German Christmas market attack suspect held on murder charges
CBC
A man suspected of driving a car into a German Christmas market in an attack that killed at least five people and injured scores of others faces charges of murder and attempted murder, police said on Sunday, after the man was remanded in custody. Police in the central city of Magdeburg, where the attack happened on Friday, also reported scuffles at a far-right demonstration attended by around 2,100 people on Saturday night, while other residents took part in sombre remembrance events. The suspect is a 50-year-old man from Saudi Arabia who has lived in Germany for almost two decades. A magistrate ordered the man into pre-trial custody after prosecutors pressed charges of murder on five counts, multiple counts of attempted murder and grievous bodily harm, according to a police statement.
It identified the dead as a nine-year-old boy and four adult women, aged 52, 45, 75 and 67.
German authorities have not named the suspect, who has permanent resident status in Germany, and local media reports do not give his full name in keeping with local privacy law. International media, including BBC News and the Guardian, however, are identifying the accused as Taleb al-Abdulmohsen.
The suspect's X account describes him as a former Muslim. It is filled with tweets and retweets focusing on anti-Islam themes and criticism of the religion, while sharing congratulatory notes to Muslims who left the faith. He was critical of German authorities, saying they had failed to do enough to combat the "Islamification of Europe." He has also voiced support for the far-right and anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
Police reported scuffles at a protest attended by around 2,100 people on Saturday night, one day after the attack. Right-wingers had billed the gathering on messaging app Telegram as a "demonstration against terror."
Protesters wearing black balaclavas could be seen holding a large banner with the word "remigration," a term popular with far-right supporters seeking the mass deportation of migrants and people deemed not ethnically German.
The motive in Friday night's attack remains unclear.
Syrians seeking to chart their own political course, free from outside interference, following the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad may be thwarted by the geopolitical ambitions of their neighbours, who already have a foothold in the country, experts say.
It's hard to envision anyone celebrating the shooting death of a doctor. Or, for that matter, a hospital administrator, a pharma employee, an average U.S. politician or voter.
Every night for half of her life, Ghena Ali Mostafa has spent the moments before sleep envisioning what she'd do first if she ever had the chance to step back into the Syrian home she fled as a girl. She imagined herself laying down and pressing her lips to the ground, and melting into a hug from the grandmother she left behind. She thought about her father, who disappeared when she was 13.
The suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare's CEO struggled with deputies and shouted Tuesday while arriving for a court appearance in Pennsylvania, a day after he was arrested at a McDonald's and charged with murder.
Syria's new interim leader announced on Tuesday he was taking charge of the country as caretaker prime minister with the backing of the former rebels who toppled President Bashar al-Assad three days ago.
The three-starred flag representing Syrian rebel groups was hoisted up a pole atop the Syrian embassy in Moscow on Monday — even as Bashar Al-Assad, Syria's brutal dictator, is believed to be in exile in Russia after President Vladimir Putin granted him and his family asylum.
Among the many moments of celebration across Syria on Sunday, the scene at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus may be remembered as one of the most significant.
A Syrian opposition war monitor and two senior army officers said early Sunday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has left the country as rebels say they had entered Damascus following a stunning advance across the country, with residents of the capital reporting the sounds of gunfire and explosions.
This weekend's reopening of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris is the culmination of a repair and restoration effort more than five years after it was gutted by a catastrophic fire.
Across northern and central Syria this week, families who've been torn apart by more than a decade of civil war have been holding joyous reunions.