The Day After Assad (Natasha Hall and Joost Hiltermann)

For more than half a century, the Assad dynasty appeared to have an impregnable hold over Syria. Relying on a formidable security apparatus, brutal use of force, and powerful allies such as Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah, it had withstood multiple uprisings, and even a terrible civil war in which hundreds of thousands were killed and …

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How Turkey Won the Syrian Civil War (Gonul Tol)

Assad’s Downfall Is a Boon for Erdogan—at Least for NowIn most capitals across the Middle East, the news of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s fall sparked immense anxiety. Ankara is not one of them. Rather than worrying about Syria’s prospects after more than a decade of conflict, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sees opportunity in a …

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End game in Ukraine (Julian Barnes)

No matter who won the presidential election, the war in Ukraine was likely to end next year. Both Ukraine and Russia are running out of troops and struggling to call up more young men for the front lines. That reality always meant that 2025 would be a year of negotiations. Donald Trump’s victory will hasten …

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The Eight Headwinds Threatening Global Growth in 2025 (Dambisa Moyo)

As geopolitical tensions spike and the global economy continues to fracture, several powerful forces and trends threaten to impede GDP growth, leading to social and political instability. Policymakers and investors will need to adjust to an era of heightened uncertainty and increasing fragmentation. NEW YORK – As we enter the second quarter of the twenty-first century, …

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6 of the Longest‑Living Creatures on Earth (Dave Roos)

From a buck-toothed rodent to a shark that doesn’t reach puberty until age 150, find out what creatures have the make-up for exceptional longevity.When it comes to life expectancy, the mere 80 or so years that humans have on Earth is just the blink of an eye compared to the Greenland shark or glass sponge. …

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An unprecedented surge [in Immigration] (David Leonhardt)

My colleagues and I worked with government officials and outside experts in recent weeks to analyze the magnitude of the recent immigration surge in the United States. We published the results of that analysis this morning. In today’s newsletter, I’ll give you seven highlights, with help from charts by Albert Sun, a graphics editor at The Times. …

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China says it has completed its giant ‘green belt’ project to halt desertification (Anders Lorenzen)

According to Chinese state media, a 46-year project to cover China’s largest desert with trees as part of a campaign to halt desertification and curb sandstorms has been completed. The ‘green belt’ covers a staggering 3,000 km around the Taklamakan desert in the northwestern region of Xinjiang, where workers planted the final 100 metres of trees …

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