Syria's Assad flees to Russia

Plus, Ukraine's drone-hunting judges fight on two fronts.

Sign up for Reuters newsletters  Daily Briefing Daily Briefing By Kate Turton Syrians awakened to a hopeful if uncertain future, after rebels seized the capital Damascus and President Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia. Here's how the rebels' stars aligned for Assad's ouster. Elsewhere, meet Ukraine's drone hunting judges and South Korea's President Yoon is banned from foreign travel. Plus, Lewis Hamilton says farewell to Mercedes with a champion's drive. Today's Top News   Syrian rebels toppled Assad who fled to Russia, shaking up the Middle East. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir The end of Assad rule After 13 years of civil war, Syria's opposition militias sensed an opportunity to loosen President Bashar al-Assad's grip on power when, about six months ago, they communicated to Turkey plans for a major offensive and felt they had received its tacit approval. Assad's fall wiped out a bastion from which Iran and Russia exercised influence across the Arab world. Listen to this episode of the Reuters World News podcast to hear how Washington may try to navigate the post-Assad era and open up lines of communication with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the main Syrian rebel group.  In other news South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been banned from leaving the country over a failed attempt at imposing martial law, a justice ministry official said, amid growing calls for him to step down and a deepening leadership crisis. Taiwan raised its alert level saying China has set up seven zones of reserved airspace and deployed naval fleets and coast guard boats in what a security source described as the first military drills across a broad swathe of the region's waters. This year will be the world's warmest since records began, with extraordinarily high temperatures expected to persist into at least the first few months of 2025, European Union scientists said. At least 110 people were killed over the weekend in Haiti's Cite Soleil area when a gang leader targeted elderly people he suspected of causing his child's illness through witchcraft, the National Human Rights Defense Network (RNDDH) said. American content creators on TikTok asked followers to subscribe to their channels on rival platforms like Instagram and YouTube after a federal appeals court ruled that the social media app could be banned if it is not sold to a US-based company by Jan. 19. John Dramani Mahama, who is returning as Ghana's president eight years after losing power, achieved his political comeback on a promise to mend the West African country's economy. Business & Markets   REUTERS/Peter Cziborra/File Photo France and Germany's political crises are a setback for efforts to modernize Europe's struggling economy and are already making it harder for companies to take the investment decisions they need to compete globally. A relentless rally in US stocks is showing few signs of slowing into year-end, even as rising valuations and signs of excessive speculation fuel worries that a pullback may be overdue. The killing last week of a powerful health insurance executive has ignited an outpouring of anger from Americans struggling to receive and pay for medical care. Intel should have focused on artificial intelligence rather than trying to become a contract chipmaker, the founder of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co said, in relation to the recent departure of Intel's CEO. President-elect Donald Trump's planned US government efficiency drive involving Elon Musk could lead to more joint projects between big defense contractors and smaller tech firms in areas such as artificial intelligence, drones and uncrewed submarines, according to interviews with company executives. China will adopt an "appropriately loose" monetary policy next year as part of steps to support economic growth, state media reported citing a Politburo meeting, marking the first such shift towards loosening since 2010. Regulators in mainland China and Hong Kong have told some of the world's biggest investment banks to help speed up Chinese companies' listings in the city, said sources, in a bid to boost fundraising overseas and revitalize the world's No. 2 economy. Ukraine's drone-hunting judges fight on two fronts   REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo When Ukrainian judge Vladyslav Tsukurov learned he could serve his country with both gavel and gun, he jumped at the chance. By day, he helps keep the wartime judicial system going, ruling over civil and criminal cases outside Ukraine's capital Kyiv. By night, he joins a volunteer force mostly made up of fellow judges, law enforcement officials and other public servants shining searchlights into the sky, trying to spot Russian drones and shoot them down with machine guns. Read more And Finally... Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton in his car after finishing fourth in his last race for Mercedes REUTERS/Jakub Porzycki Lewis Hamilton raced one last time for Mercedes, Formula One's most successful driver and team partnership ending in a cloud of tire smoke, a radio love-in and a performance worthy of a seven times world champion. Read more Sponsors are not involved in the creation of newsletters or other Reuters news content. Advertise in this newsletter or on Reuters.com Reuters Daily Briefing is sent 5 days a week. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here. Want to stop receiving this email? Unsubscribe here. To manage which newsletters you're signed up for, click here. 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