BBC News Briefing

20 December, 2024

Sofia has shoulder-length light brown hair and brown eyes and wears a green blouse.

Sofia Lotto Persio

Hello. As this email reaches in your inbox, a vote is expected on a new proposal to avoid a US government shutdown. My colleagues are following developments on Capitol Hill. We're also bringing you the latest from the German city of Magdeburg, where a car reportedly drove into a crowded Christmas market. Scroll further down for stories about Scandinavian wine and newly discovered animal species.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

Last-minute effort to agree federal funding

Donald Trump point his finger as he speaks, a US flag visible in the background

Trump opposed the first deal and then backed a bill that was rejected by 38 Republicans and virtually all Democrats. Credit: Reuters

Having failed twice to pass a spending bill to avert a US government shutdown starting at midnight, members of the House of Representatives are expected to hold a third vote to keep the government running. No matter the outcome on Friday evening, North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher writes, this battle signals bigger budget and debt fights in the new year, when Donald Trump is president.

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GET UP TO SPEED

Wooden Christmas market stalls stand with their blinds shut. Bits of trash lie on the floor, and two people in high-vis outfits are seeing walking in the background.

Car driven into crowd at Christmas market

At least one person has been killed and dozens have been injured in the German city of Magdeburg, reports say.

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Hakainde Hichilema has short curly hair and light brown eyes. He's wearing a suit and tie.

Suspected 'witchdoctors' arrested

Police in Zambia have detained two men accused of trying to bewitch President Hakainde Hichilema.

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Seven newborn babies, each wrapped in colorful blankets, are pictured from above.

Indian couple's three-year baby name battle

A court has had to intervene in a couple's dispute over their son's name. The fight got so heated the parents split up.

How it ended >

AT THE SCENE

North-east Syria

Kurds warn of IS group's comeback

Eight men with shaved heads and brown overalls sit on thin mattresses inside a cell.

Our crew was allowed a glimpse inside two cells but could not speak to the men inside. Credit: BBC/Matthew Goddard

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a mainly Kurdish militia alliance backed by the US, runs prisons in north-east Syria that hold thousands of Islamic State (IS) group fighters. An SDF commander is concerned about the group's resurgence following the fall of President Bashar al-Assad.

Orla has short dark blond hair and green eyes

Orla Guerin, senior correspondent

General Mazloum Abdi says that IS militants have seized some arms and ammunition left behind by Syrian regime troops, according to intelligence reports. He welcomed the fall of the Assad regime - which detained him four times. But he looked weary and admitted to frustration at the prospect of fighting old battles once again.

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Inside Al-Sina, the largest prison for IS detainees, we saw the layers of security and felt the tension among the staff. Kurdish security sources say most of the prisoners in Al-Sina were with IS until its last stand and were deeply committed to its ideology. We were taken to meet a 28-year-old detainee - thin and softly spoken - who did not want to be named.

Keep reading

Ahmed al-Sharaa: Having interviewed Syria's de-facto leader, international editor Jeremy Bowen found he often did not give a straight answer to a straight question.

Rival factions: Ideological tensions have begun to resurface in Syria after the initial euphoria following the regime's collapse, writes BBC Monitoring's chief jihadist media specialist Mina Al-Lami.

Cancelled bounty: The US has scrapped a $10m (£7.9m) reward for the arrest of al-Sharaa, following meetings between senior diplomats and representatives from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

PICK OF THE WEEK

Scandi wines hope to win over drinkers

A bottle of white wine with a green label is set on an outdoors table alongside three wine glasses turned upside down.

Resilient grapes are helping Denmark and Sweden build a winemaking sector. Credit: BBC

Scandinavia is emerging as a new wine frontier as a first generation of professional winemakers transform what was once a niche hobby into a small but flourishing industry.

How it happened