Making sense of the new dawn in a post-Assad nation

When I wrote to you last weekend, it was with amazement at the speed of the rebel advance in Syria that had already stormed key cities such as Aleppo. Less than a day or so later, Damascus had fallen too and the bloody reign of the Assad family was finally, but suddenly, over. By Monday, Syrians were taking selfies in the presidential palace.

This is, of course, an extremely precarious moment for a nation crushed by war and violence. But, for now, these scenes of history offer a sense of fragile hope. Writing for us this week, the Syrian academic Ammar Azzouz captured it powerfully: “I couldn’t stop crying over all the pain, psychological and physical, that we have been exposed to. For our entire lives, we have lived in fear; it is liquid in our blood.”

Our correspondents helped make sense of the moment.

Reporter William Christou had an incredible week and was one of the first western journalists to enter Damascus as the regime fell and had the first account from Sednaya, Assad’s notorious prison torture complex, as it was opened up by the rebels. Some strong videos, too.

William also filed a series of gripping dispatches capturing the sense of disbelief among Syrians as many were reunited for the first time in years and spoke to Michael Safi about what he’d witnessed on a must-listen episode of Today in Focus.

However, as Bethan McKernan reported from the public funeral of Mazen al-Hamadah, one of Syrian’s missing prisoners, for many families of those vanished by the regime, the sense of hope has quickly turned to grief.

Peter Beaumont wrote a definitive account of the life and downfall of Bashar al-Assad, from London-trained eye doctor to butcher of his own people. Jason Burke expertly profiled Syria’s new leader and asked which of his personas would take charge: Abu Mohammed al-Jolani (his nom de guerre), the former jihadist, or Ahmed al-Sharaa (his real name) a man who has recently gone out of his way to signal his organisation will not attack the west.

We covered in depth the wider global impact, too. Ruth Michaelson wrote evocatively about exiled activists in Turkey dreaming about returning home. And we heard from Syrians in Berlin and the UK, excited by the prospect of one day heading home.

The fall of Assad led Syria’s neighbour Israel to attack Syrian weapons sites and to drive further into the buffer zone between the two countries in the Golan Heights. Peter Beaumont reported from Majdal Shams, where the end of the Syrian regime has led to complicated emotions and fear about what will come next.

Readers may also be aware our website has looked a little different for the past 48 hours. This was due to industrial action taken by journalists in the UK in response to the Guardian’s sale of the Observer to Tortoise Media, which was agreed in principle last week. We will continue to be open with readers about the progress of the sale.

Finally, I want to remind you about the Guardian and Observer’s end of year appeal, which is raising money for Médecins Sans Frontières, War Child and education charity Parallel Histories, and is now in its second week. We’re extremely grateful for the generosity of our readers for getting it off to such a strong start.

Until next week.

With the impending return of Donald Trump to the White House, our correspondents assessed how key nations are preparing. Shaun Walker reported on the complex picture in Ukraine, where, despite a notable lack of public support for Kyiv from Team Trump, there is increased acceptance for a push for a peace deal. Andrew Roth examined the quandary for Washington in pursuing an isolationist policy towards Syria.

The Ukrainian city of Bakhmut has been destroyed by Russia, but Emma Graham-Harrison and Artem Mazhulin reported on the inspiring Svitlana Ovcharenko, editor of the town’s newspaper. She is trying to keep the idea of Bakhmut alive by continuing to publish, despite all of its surviving residents fleeing.

Paris correspondent Angelique Chrisafis has been covering the horrors of the trial of Dominique Pelicot since it began in September. As we approach its conclusion, Angelique looked back in depth at the case of one of the worst sexual predators in history, as France – and the world – reflected on how his depravity was allowed to happen. If you only read one piece on the case, this should be it.

Following Monday’s arrest of a suspect in the New York killing of the health insurance executive Brian Thompson, police found a 3D-printed “ghost gun” among his possessions. That revelation came two days after we published this grimly fascinating feature by Samira Shackle about the growing threat of these homemade weapons, from their use by far-right cells to jihadists. Meanwhile, the intense focus on the US healthcare insurance industry after the Thompson shooting continues. In this expert analysis, Jessica Glenza assessed a landscape marked by policy gridlock, special interests and record profits, creating a level of dissatisfaction and grievance that spilled over into political violence.

Simon Goodley revealed that a group of Vodafone franchise operators in the UK were launching a £120m legal claim against the phone company after accusing it of “unjustly enriching” itself at their expense (a claim Vodafone “strongly refutes”). Some of the operators spoke to Simon about the deep financial and emotional strain that they say was caused by moves including slashed commission fees and fines for seemingly minor administrative errors.

Our in-depth Courts in crisis series examined the unprecedented backlogs and chaos in the legal system in England and Wales, with dire consequences for all and even justice itself.

Over the past eight months, the Observer’s Shanti Das has been investigating the rising number of rape cases in England and Wales that have collapsed after the defendant has claimed to be suffering from “sexsomnia”, a rare medical condition that can cause sufferers to engage in sexual activity while in non-REM sleep. After the Observer’s previous investigations, the Crown Prosecution Service promised to improve its handling of sexsomnia claims. But last weekend, Shanti discovered it has failed to keep any data on sexsomnia cases and does not know how often it is used as a defence.

Henry Belot covered the rise in antisemitism in Australia and the fear and anger among the Jewish community after the firebombing last week of a Melbourne synagogue.

The 2034 men’s Fifa World Cup was awarded to Saudi Arabia by a process that left it as the sole bidder. Barney Ronay was damning about this vote without a vote: “Football has now committed an extraordinary act of violence. Not to mention a show of total disdain for governance, democracy, care, love, hope and good sense.”

You might have heard of 15-minute cities: walkable neighbourhoods with nearby conveniences (and the baffling conspiracies attached to them). Denmark has gone 10 minutes better with a “five-minute city” in a revolutionary neighbourhood in Copenhagen. Steve Rose took a (short) stroll around Nordhavn.

One more thing … I love Marina Abramović and I love the BBC Radio 4 series This Cultural Life, so the Serbian conceptual artist’s appearance on the show was a treat. “I am hilarious,” she deadpanned, in one of several laugh out loud moments.

Cook this | Toffee with milk chocolate, pistachios, candied lemon and barberries

These treats by Camilla Wynne take a few hours to prepare and make perfect Christmas gifts, with minimal hands-on time and at a fraction of the price of shop-bought versions. The sweetness of the rich toffee is tempered by tart barberries and bitter lemon peel. For more ideas like these, download our excellent Feast app.

Listen to this | The English town that fears losing its high street to climate change

Flooding in Tenbury Wells, a small town in Worcestershire, used to be a once in a generation event, but now it’s happening increasingly frequently. Today in Focus asks: can its high street survive?

Watch this | The ‘war’ on disabled people and my fight for an independent life

Disability services in the UK have been consistently cut after 14 years of Conservative rule and austerity, but with the promise of change from a new Labour government, musician and activist John Kelly is concerned that politicians are still not listening to disabled voices.

The Guardian’s crosswords and Wordiply are here to keep you entertained throughout the weekend.