Monday Briefing: A Christmas market attack in Germany

Plus, how the Assad regime fell.

View in browser|nytimes.com December 23, 2024 By Natasha Frost Good morning. We're covering an attack at a Christmas market in Germany and the fall of the Assad regime. Plus: How airlines pick the movies on your flight. A memorial after the attack at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany. Annegret Hilse/Reuters An attack at a Christmas market shook Germany On Friday evening, an attacker rammed an S.U.V. into a crowded Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg. The assault killed five people, including a 9-year-old boy, and wounded hundreds more in a matter of minutes. The driver accelerated to harm as many people as possible before trying to escape, the police said. The attack has stunned Germany, which for years has been strengthening security measures around holiday markets in reaction to a similar attack in Berlin in 2016. Officials have been left trying to piece together a complicated profile of the suspect, who is now in custody and has been identified as Taleb A. in keeping with German privacy laws. The authorities described him as a 50-year-old Saudi Arabian doctor who had been living in Germany for nearly two decades. He frequently criticized the German government and radical Islam on social media, and his extreme political posts online had previously prompted an alert to Germany from Saudi Arabia. No motive has yet been determined. Here's what we know. In Magdeburg: Mourners yesterday visited a memorial to the victims set up on the steps of a church across the street from the market. On Saturday night, several hundred people attended a rally where demonstrators chanted, "Deport! Deport!" A banner of Bashar al-Assad defaced after his ouster. David Guttenfelder/The New York Times The last days of the Assad regime As rebels advanced toward the Syrian capital of Damascus on Dec. 7, President Bashar al-Assad betrayed no sense of alarm to his staff, an insider said. By the end of the day, he had slipped out of the capital, flying covertly to a Russian military base in northern Syria and then on to Moscow, according to Middle Eastern government and security officials. Al-Assad left his country so secretively that some aides remained in the palace hours after he had left, waiting for a speech that never came. His fall brought his family's 50-year grip on Syria to a sudden end, scrambling the strategic map of the Middle East and setting the country off on a new, uncertain trajectory. To piece together what happened, reporters for The Times reviewed secret reports and interviewed officials from Syria, Iran, Iraq and Turkey, diplomats in Damascus, associates of al-Assad and rebels who participated in his ouster. Read what they found. From the region: A Houthi missile struck a playground in Tel Aviv early Saturday, injuring several people. After years of sanctions and mismanagement, Iran is now in a full-blown energy crisis. A U.S. Navy ship mistakenly shot down an American fighter jet over the Red Sea early Sunday, the U.S. military said. For both Jews and Palestinians, there is intense pressure to be fully supportive of one's own people during wartime. Those caught in the middle face a lonely time. President-elect Donald Trump, speaking yesterday in Phoenix. Anna Watts for The New York Times Trump previewed his second term In a sprawling address at AmericaFest, a conservative conference in Phoenix, President-elect Donald Trump promised a "common-sense revolution" in his second term, pledging to slam shut the nation's borders, end federal regulations, lower taxes, prosecute his rivals, "stop woke" and "end the transgender lunacy." "We will end the occupation, and Jan. 20 will truly be liberation day in America," Trump said. With 2025 just over a week away, many people plan to use the new year as a starting point to make positive changes in their lives. We're asking readers about their most successful New Year's resolutions and how they were able to keep them. To share your thoughts, fill out this form. We may contact you to publish your response in a future newsletter. MORE TOP NEWS Mateus Bruxel/Agencia Rbs, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Brazil: A small plane crashed in the tourist town of Gramado, killing the 10 people on board, the authorities said. South Korea: As protesters took to the streets this month to demand the removal of the president, some turned to jokes and satire to make their point. Immigration: America's refugee program has long been a pillar of its foreign policy. With an incoming Trump presidency, resettlement agencies are bracing to be gutted. Niger: Killings by insurgents have risen since the West African nation's military seized power in a coup. Pakistan: Ten years after a deadly Taliban attack on a school led to an intense counterterrorism effort, violence has returned. Britain: Donald Trump appointed Mark Burnett, a producer of "The Apprentice" and "Survivor," as special envoy to Britain. Hollywood: Private messages detail an alleged campaign to tarnish the actress Blake Lively after she accused Justin Baldoni of misconduct on the set of "It Ends With Us." SPORTS NEWS Cycling: Muriel Furrer died a day after the biggest race of her career. The Athletic went to Switzerland for answers. Soccer: Manchester United is planning a lucrative postseason trip to Malaysia. Boxing: Oleksandr Usyk beat Tyson Fury again. Now what? MORNING READ Ariana Gomez for The New York Times As global temperatures soar, the financial world is racing to fund the emerging field of carbon dioxide removal — essentially, scrubbing carbon from the sky. "It's the single greatest opportunity I've seen in 20 years of doing venture capital," one executive said. Lives lived: The Spanish actress Marisa Paredes, who was best known for her work in Pedro Almodóvar's movies, has died at 78. CONVERSATION STARTERS Googie: The car-centric postwar architectural style, characterized by neon signs and dramatic rooflines, is under threat. Cultural casualty: Lithuania stopped showing Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker" in support of Ukraine. A bitter debate has followed. Becoming a man: Ron Eliran's bar mitzvah was scheduled for 1947. It took place 77 years later. Not just sesame chicken: A wave of new Cantonese restaurants is challenging diners to explore beyond the classics. ARTS AND IDEAS Warner Bros. How airlines pick the movies on your flight Most long-haul passengers spend at least some of their flight watching a movie on the back of the seat. But who determines what they get to see while stuck in a metal tube at 35,000 feet? And how do they choose? The answer is a combination of hard data and interpersonal insight. Only humans know that "Inside Out" and "Inside Out 2" are very different movies, for instance, or that tennis feels kind of hot right now. "Art and science," said Dominic Green, the director of in-flight entertainment at United Airlines, of what guides the decision-making. And as to what people like to watch, he added, "The golden rule is there is no kind of golden rule." For more: Read tips on how to choose the perfect in-flight movie. We hope you've enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times. RECOMMENDATIONS Johnny Miller for The New York Times Cook: We think you'll love this festive baked Brie. Watch: "The Count of Monte Cristo" is stirringly acted and gorgeously filmed, our critic writes. Travel: These tested strategies can help you actually sleep on an airplane. Safeguard: Protect your privacy with a browser extension. Play the Spelling Bee. And here are today's Mini Crossword and Wordle. You can find all our puzzles here. That's it for today's briefing. See you tomorrow. — Natasha P.S. André 3000 performed an improvised piece in our newsroom in New York. Watch here. Reach Natasha and the team at briefing@nytimes.com. Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for Morning Briefing: Europe Edition from The New York Times. To stop receiving Morning Briefing: Europe Edition, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. To opt out of updates and offers sent from The Athletic, submit a request. Subscribe to The TimesGet The New York Times app Connect with us on: Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018