Thursday Briefing: Syrian soldiers step toward amnesty

Plus, market turbulence in the U.S.

View in browser|nytimes.com December 19, 2024 By Natasha Frost Good morning. We're covering the latest from Syria and Russia, and a bumpy road for U.S. markets. Plus: The duality of Dominique Pelicot. A former member of Bashar al-Assad's security forces handing over his weapons. Ivor Prickett for The New York Times Al-Assad's former soldiers are lining up for the future Hundreds of soldiers and police officers who served under Bashar al-Assad heeded the call of Syria's new rulers to formally relinquish their ties to his ousted regime. More than 600 people showed up on Sunday when a so-called reconciliation center opened in the city of Latakia. Many more came throughout the day, hoping for a chance at amnesty. Temporary IDs were created, and photographs were taken. The men answered questions about what they had done while in al-Assad's service, and many handed in weapons. The rebel coalition has promised to hunt down senior officials implicated in the regime's crimes but to spare rank-and-file conscripted soldiers. It will be some time before any of the men who showed up on their own know their fate. The Times spoke to some of them as they waited in line. Watch here. Back to business: A Syrian Air flight from Damascus landed in Aleppo, becoming the first domestic flight since the Assad regime fell. A fragile truce: Battles between Kurdish and Turkish-backed fighters in northern Syria threatened to upend an already shaky cease-fire. The Dow Jones industrial average fell for a 10th straight day. Justin Lane/EPA, via Shutterstock Markets plunged in the U.S. Stocks slumped and the U.S. dollar soared as the Federal Reserve dialed down expectations for interest rate cuts next year, given the continued strength of the U.S. economy. Fed officials yesterday made their third and final rate cut of the year, and they forecast two fewer rate reductions in 2025 than they had previously expected. The S&P 500 index dropped 3 percent, its biggest decline since the start of August, and the Dow Jones industrial average fell for a 10th straight day, its longest losing streak since October 1974. Here's the latest. Uncertain times: The U.S. economy is ending 2024 in arguably its most stable condition since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. But the sweeping policy changes proposed by President-elect Donald Trump have left the outlook as murky as ever. Related news: Trump's repeated vows to impose hefty tariffs on imported goods have unsettled the olive oil industry. The stopgap spending bill Republicans and Democrats agreed on this week to prevent a government shutdown is in jeopardy after Trump condemned it. Investigators at the scene of the bombing that killed Lt. General Igor Kirillov. Associated Press Russia detained a man suspected of killing a general The Russian authorities said yesterday that they had detained a suspect in the killing of a senior military officer, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov. The general, who died in a bombing on Tuesday, was the target of the most prominent political assassination in Russia since the invasion of Ukraine. The suspect is a 29-year-old citizen of Uzbekistan whose name was not released. He was captured in a village outside Moscow, a spokeswoman for the Russian prosecutor's office said. She said he had confessed that Ukrainian intelligence recruited him to kill Kirillov, who was in charge of the protection forces for the Russian military's nuclear and chemical weapons. Analysis: The assassination spread fear among Russia's military and political elites. It also eliminated a top military leader who, according to Ukraine, had ordered the use of banned chemical substances. But it won't do anything to help Ukraine's forces on the battlefield, who are steadily losing ground, my colleague Michael Schwirtz writes. Diplomacy: Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, was in Brussels yesterday to meet with the head of NATO. He will address E.U. leaders during a summit today. MORE TOP NEWS Axel Schmidt/Reuters Germany: Polls show the next chancellor could be Friedrich Merz, who wants to get the German economy humming again. Afghanistan: The Taliban ordered a ban that has all but eliminated illicit drugs, doing in two years what the U.S. failed to do in 20 — but coming at a heavy economic cost. Health: Measles is killing thousands of children in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where there are problems getting vaccines to families. Gaza: William Burns, the C.I.A. director, arrived in Qatar yesterday for talks on a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas. China: A Pentagon report said that Beijing's nuclear arsenal and its military had grown robustly despite corruption scandals affecting the top ranks. California: The governor declared a state of emergency over the outbreak of bird flu among the state's dairy cattle. Tech: The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear TikTok's challenge to a law that could ban its American operations. Britain: A court ruled that the police could seize about $2.5 million from bank accounts associated with Andrew Tate, the misogynistic online influencer. SPORTS NEWS Soccer: Workers' rights in Saudi Arabia are still an issue ahead of the 2034 World Cup, an international human rights group warned. Formula 1: The 2024 season has come and gone. The Athletic looks back on its predictions for the year. Tennis: When should you hitch your hopes to an up-and-coming player? Joao Fonseca seems like a pretty safe bet. Broadcasting: Lee Fitting rose to the heights of ESPN despite a long record of making inappropriate comments to women who worked for him, colleagues said. MORNING READ Dmitry Kostyukov for The New York Times After months of testimony, judges and lawyers have tried to grasp the enigma that is Dominique Pelicot, who said he had invited dozens of strangers to join him in raping his drugged wife. Friends and family members described him as a dedicated grandfather, father and husband. But his therapists said he was perverse, incapable of empathy, addicted to sex and a person who saw others as objects to use or bend to his will. A verdict is expected this week. For more: On The Daily, our correspondent Catherine Porter talks about Pelicot's wife, Gisèle, who has become a feminist hero in France. CONVERSATION STARTERS Oscar buzz: Which films have the best chances at the Oscars? Very steamy: A writer took a 750-mile road trip in search of sauna nirvana. Make mine a steak: Is protein powder a scam? Peaceful exit: Patients are turning to psychedelic treatments to help cope with end-of-life distress. LOOKING BACK ON 2024 The year in pictures Wounded Russian soldiers treated on the front lines. A presidential candidate narrowly avoiding assassination. Thousands of Syrians celebrating the end of a brutal regime. Times photographers captured extraordinary, history-making moments in extraordinary, history-making images. Look back at some of the most powerful and evocative shots to see the biggest stories of 2024 through our photographers' eyes. We hope you've enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times. RECOMMENDATIONS Christopher Testani for The New York Times Cook: This miso-marinated pork roast tastes and smells like the holidays. Read: These books make great gifts. Learn: Apple's new photos app is confusing. We have some tips. Luxuriate: This poem is one of the best things that our critic read this year. 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 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