Tuesday Briefing: Syria’s new leader calls for lifting sanctions

December 17, 2024

	By Gaya Gupta

Good morning. We’re covering a press interview with Syria’s rebel leader and the collapse of Germany’s government.

Plus, the breakout stars of 2024.

A man is shown sitting in a chair near a microphone while two men are seated nearby.

A photograph provided by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham showing Ahmed al-Shara, the rebel leader, in Damascus yesterday. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham

Syria’s rebel leader called for lifting sanctions

Ahmed al-Shara, the leader of the rebel coalition that swept to power in Syria last week, urged the U.S. and other nations to lift sanctions against the country, saying in an interview with journalists yesterday that his urgent priority was rebuilding.

The same day, the country’s ousted president, Bashar al-Assad, appeared to break his silence about his decision to flee to Russia. In a statement posted to social media accounts, al-Assad said he was evacuated by Russian forces as the rebels advanced on Damascus. But he insisted that he had wanted to stay and fight.

Diplomatic maneuvering over Syria’s future has intensified. The rebel leader urged the U.S. and other countries to remove their terrorism label for Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, his militant group, and to suspend sanctions that had been placed on the Assad regime. We have live updates here.

More airstrikes: The U.S. said it conducted airstrikes yesterday targeting Islamic State forces in areas of central Syria, killing 12 people. Israel also carried out a heavy wave of airstrikes overnight on Syria’s coastal region.

Russia: President Vladimir Putin has yet to publicly comment on the collapse of the Assad government, his close ally. The silence underscores the uncertainty surrounding the future of Russia’s military bases in Syria.

Olaf Scholz, wearing a dark suit, staring toward the camera, as other members of his cabinet talked.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany Clemens Bilan/EPA, via Shutterstock

Germany’s government collapsed

German lawmakers voted to dissolve Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government yesterday, deepening a leadership crisis in Europe after France’s government fell earlier this month.

Scholz lost a no-confidence vote that he had called after his three-party coalition splintered in November, leaving him without a parliamentary majority to pass laws or a budget. The country’s economy, the largest in Europe, is now in the hands of a caretaker government. Snap elections are expected in February.

Looking ahead: Seven parties will enter the campaign for Parliament with a realistic chance of gaining seats. The conservative Christian Democrats are poised to win the most, but some parties on the political fringes — especially on the right — are projected to have strong showings, according to polls. Scholz is widely expected to be ousted as chancellor. Here’s what else to know.

President-elect Donald J. Trump speaking at a lectern.

President-elect Donald Trump during his news conference, yesterday. Maddie McGarvey for The New York Times

Trump held his first post-election news conference

In his first news conference since the election, President-elect Donald Trump gave wide-ranging remarks for about an hour yesterday at Mar-a-Lago on several topics, including border security, drone sightings and the war in Ukraine. He also announced a $100 billion investment from SoftBank, a Japanese technology company, in U.S. projects.

The news conference was in many ways a return to the past, when Trump relished seizing the world’s attention with question-and-answer sessions that meandered from topic to topic. But in a rare moment of self-reflection, Trump suggested that he is being treated better as he enters his second term, with more of the Republican Party firmly under his dominance and some chief executives rushing to court him.

More on U.S. politics

Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick to lead the Defense Department, said he would release a woman who has accused him of sexual assault from a confidentiality clause in their financial settlement.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s pick for health secretary, will meet with Republicans on Capitol Hill, where he will likely be questioned about his longtime anti-vaccine advocacy.
Here’s the latest on the next U.S. administration and a list of Trump’s cabinet picks so far.

MORE TOP NEWS

A police SUV and other emergency vehicles parked outside a building, with a few people standing nearby.

The site of the shooting the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wis., yesterday. Scott Bauer/Associated Press

U.S.: A juvenile opened fire at a Christian school in Madison, Wis., killing at least two people, and then was found dead inside the school, the police said.
Mayotte: Officials on the island, off the eastern coast of Africa, said the number of people killed by Tropical Cyclone Chido could be much higher than the 14 confirmed dead.
Canada: Chrystia Freeland, the deputy prime minister, resigned abruptly in a stinging rebuke to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Indonesia: The last five members of the so-called Bali Nine, a group of Australians who were convicted of smuggling heroin nearly two decades ago, were released from prison.
Bangladesh: The ousted prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, orchestrated a program of mass disappearances, a preliminary government report found.
Trade: The Biden administration is preparing a trade investigation into China’s production of older-model semiconductors.
Georgia: Twelve people were found dead of suspected carbon monoxide poisoning in Gudauri, a ski area in the Caucasus Mountains.
Lebanon: In September, when people fled Israeli bombing, some left behind the migrant women who cleaned their houses, washed their clothes and cooked their meals.
Business: Greg Glassman, who sold CrossFit amid sexual harassment complaints, has a new health and fitness venture. It sounds a lot like his old one.
Health: Seeking relief from brain injury symptoms, some veterans are going abroad for psychedelics that are illegal in the U.S.

Sports

Guinea stadium disaster: Two weeks after a tragedy that killed at least 56 people and perhaps many more, those affected spoke to The Athletic.
Basketball: LeBron James said he felt “pretty good” after his nine-day, two-game absence from the Los Angeles Lakers.
Soccer: The Austrian player Guido Burgstaller suffered a fractured skull after he was attacked in Vienna.

MORNING READ

A city skyline with a river running along the street.

Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city. Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Nearly four years into a grinding civil conflict, Myanmar’s economy is in ruins. The calamity has forced a new cadre of women into sex work, including doctors, teachers, nurses and other educated professionals. The rise in prostitution is another blow to the status of the country’s women. Read more.

Lives lived: Zakir Hussain, the Indian percussionist and composer whose work forged global musical hybrids, died. He was 73.

CONVERSATION STARTERS

A portrait of Guillaume Diop, a young man with short-cropped hair and oversize glasses, sitting on a couch. He has one hand on his head and the other on his leg, making his body a geometric shape in the frame.

Julien Mignot for The New York Times

A modern prince: Guillaume Diop has reached the highest level in the Paris Opera Ballet and become a symbol of a more diverse France.
New holiday albums: Our critics reviewed the latest Christmas records from Jacob Collier, Megan Moroney, two “American Idol” alums and more.
Naked feet: Angelina Jolie’s shoeless talk-show appearance led a reader to ask about going barefoot in public. Our chief fashion critic weighed in.

Tell us about your holiday traditions

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ARTS AND IDEAS

A collage of artists doing different poses.

The breakout stars of 2024

The artists, actors and musicians who rose to the top in 2024 pushed boundaries and took bold, even risky, choices. The Times made a list of the top 10 performers who shook up their scenes and resonated with fans this year.

Our list includes Chappell Roan, who has become a pop phenomenon (or “Femininomenon,” as one of her songs is titled); Richard Gadd for his award-winning Netflix show, “Baby Reindeer”; and Mikey Madison, who delivered “a star-making turn” in the movie “Anora.” See who else made our list.

RECOMMENDATIONS

A large crème brûlée with its burned sugar crust broken.

Kate Sears for The New York Times

Bake: This family size crème brûlée ditches formality in favor of fun.

Celebrate: We’ve gathered our favorite gift ideas to delight any dad on your list.

Watch: “The War of the Rohirrim” is an anime adaptation of “The Lord of the Rings.”

Play: Spelling Bee, the Mini Crossword, Wordle and Sudoku. Find all our games here.

That’s it for today. See you tomorrow. — Gaya

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