The New York Times

Great powers have fought for centuries for influence in the territory known today as Syria, each seeing a prize in its strategic position. That struggle continues today.

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Given the complexity of Syria’s internal dynamics, some think that Assad’s departure is more likely to widen the rifts left by the country’s 13-year war than heal them.

US spy agencies are closely monitoring chemical weapons storage sites, looking for indications that forces loyal to President Bashar Assad are preparing to use them against rebel groups fighting to depose him.

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Forty years ago, the chemistry of pop stardom was irrevocably changed. The indelible albums of 1984 were turning-point releases, pivotal bits from acts decisively multiplying their impact.

The new generation of tech leaders — epitomised by Elon Musk — often has a right-wing ideology and a sense that they have an opportunity to shift the balance of power in favor of less-fettered entrepreneurship.

A number of patterns have emerged among the people President-elect Donald Trump has indicated he wants to fill his Cabinet and other senior-level positions in his administration.

THE NEW YORK TIMES: France’s Prime Minister, Michel Barnier, lost a no-confidence vote, leaving the country without a functioning government or a clear path to a budget as it enters the new year.

South Korea’s opposition, which controls the National Assembly, has threatened to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol if he does not resign after his ill-fated decision to impose martial law. Who will step in?

THE NEW YORK TIMES: In the desultory final days of his administration, Joe Biden finds himself repudiated, even by some Democrats, as the president who refused to step aside and who pardoned his son.

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Difficult as it was to achieve, the ceasefire in Lebanon was the easy part. The obstacles to peace beyond it, are formidable, and any regional realignment is likely to fall to Donald Trump.

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Syrian rebels reached the major city of Aleppo, according to the fighters, raising fears that the nation’s long-running civil war is reigniting with an intensity not seen in years.

THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN: Donald Trump left the White House nearly four years ago. Given his self-confidence, I suspect he is now thinking: ‘What could be so different? I’ve got this’.

Donald Trump's campaign has repeatedly heralded his ‘landslide’ win. But by traditional numeric measures, Trump prevailed with one of the smallest margins of victory in the popular vote since the 19th century.

Markets abhor uncertainty. That bit of Wall Street wisdom helps explain their ebb and flow since Donald Trump’s victory on Election Day, and even earlier.

The ascendance of Donald Trump as president-elect while Ukraine suffers losses on the battlefield means less room for Ukraine to manoeuvre.