Monday Briefing: Al-Assad’s final days in power

View in browser|nytimes.com

December 23, 2024

	By Gaya Gupta

Good morning. We’re covering al-Assad’s final days in power and the Christmas market attack in Germany.

Plus, parody as protest in South Korea.

A banner of former President Bashar al-Assad hanging north of Hama, Syria, was defaced after his ouster this month. David Guttenfelder/The New York Times

Inside the final days of the Assad regime

As rebels advanced toward the Syrian capital of Damascus in early December, the staff in the hilltop Presidential Palace prepared for a speech they hoped would lead to a peaceful end to the 13-year civil war. Aides to President Bashar al-Assad brainstormed messaging ideas. A film crew set up cameras and lights nearby. Syria’s state-run television station was ready to broadcast an address by al-Assad announcing a plan to share power with members of the political opposition.

They had all been deceived. After dusk, the president slipped out of the capital, flying covertly to Moscow, according to several government and security officials. Al-Assad left his country so secretively that some of his aides remained in the palace hours after he had left, waiting for a speech that never came. After midnight, word came that the president was gone, and they fled in a panic, leaving the palace gates wide open for the rebels who would storm in a few hours later.

This account of al-Assad’s fall, much of which has not been previously reported, is based on interviews with Syrian, Iranian, Iraqi and Turkish officials; Damascus-based diplomats; associates of al-Assad; and rebels who participated in his ouster. Read more here.

A service for the victims on Saturday night in Magdeburg. Annegret Hilse/Reuters

German authorities struggle to understand motives behind Christmas market attack

Officials in Germany were trying yesterday to piece together the complicated profile of the man suspected of killing five people by driving an S.U.V. into a crowd at a Christmas market two days earlier. The victims in the assault, which took place in the eastern city of Magdeburg, were a 9-year-old boy and four women aged 45 to 75, the police said. More than 200 others were wounded.

The authorities have described the suspect in custody as a 50-year-old Saudi doctor who had been living in Germany for nearly two decades and who worked as a psychiatrist in a closed ward. A frequent critic on social media of the German government and of radical Islam, he appeared to live most of his life on the internet.

A memorial service was held on Saturday night, while at the same time, in a square nearby, several hundred people attended a rally where demonstrators chanted “Deport! Deport!”

Here’s what else we know.

Women requesting taxis on a app during a blackout in Tehran. Arash Khamooshi for The New York Times

Iran’s energy crisis hits a ‘dire’ point

Although Iran has one of the biggest supplies of natural gas and crude oil in the world, it is now in a full-blown energy crisis after years of sanctions, mismanagement, aging infrastructure, wasteful consumption — and targeted attacks by Israel. Government offices are closed or operating at reduced hours. Schools and colleges have moved all classes online. Manufacturing has been brought to a near halt.

The energy crisis has hit as Iran’s regional status as a power player has been severely diminished because of the collapse of the al-Assad government in Syria and Israel’s decimation of Hezbollah in Lebanon. The country’s currency, the rial, has plunged to its lowest rate ever against the dollar.

Jeenah Moon for The New York Times

Tell us about your most successful New Year’s resolution

As we approach 2025, many of us are planning to use the new year as a starting point to make positive changes in our 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 the Morning Briefing.

The site of a plane crash in Gramado, Brazil, on Sunday, in a photograph released by the Rio Grande do Sul Fire Department. Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Sports

A memorial for Muriel Furrer. Michael Buholzer/EPA, via Shutterstock

The New York Times

As South Koreans took to the streets this month demanding the removal of their president, some turned to jokes and satire. The idea was to use humor to build solidarity against President Yoon Suk Yeol, who has vowed to fight his impeachment over his ill-fated declaration of martial law.

Lives lived: Rickey Henderson, widely regarded as the greatest leadoff hitter in baseball history, died at 65.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times.

André 3000 performing in The New York Times office in Manhattan. Andre D. Wagner for The New York Times

After this interview, I watched André 3000 play in our newsroom

Two decades ago, André 3000 won the Grammy Award for album of the year as one half of the rap duo Outkast. He’s again nominated in that category, but on quite different terms. He’s up as a solo artist, for “New Blue Sun,” an album of improvised music on which he plays a variety of wind instruments and speaks no words.

This week, he sat down with Popcast, the Times music podcast, for an interview about his journey from platinum-selling rapper and pop star to experimental flutist. “I only started doing all types of music because the people I listened to, they kind of did all types of music, right?” he said. “I felt like, well, I should try in that way.”

After his interview, André 3000 and the band behind “New Blue Sun” performed an improvised piece in The Times’s newsroom. I got the chance to watch — and it was unforgettable. Take a listen.

David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Cook: This is the simplest way to make fluffy, creamy scrambled eggs for more than a few people.

Read: “A Century of Tomorrows” is one of five new books we recommend.

Watch: Here’s our list of the best TV episodes of 2024.

Travel: These tested strategies can help you actually sleep on an airplane.

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

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

We welcome your feedback. Send us your suggestions 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: Asia Pacific Edition from The New York Times. To stop receiving Morning Briefing: Asia Pacific 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