Plus: China turns up the temperature on Taiwan, a new investigation into Chinese companies helping Russia on the battlefield, Serbia’s extradition deal, and much more.

In a sudden breakthrough in the Syrian civil war, rebel groups rolled into Damascus on Sunday and overthrew President Bashar al-Assad, putting an end to decades of his family’s dictatorial rule. There has been much commentary about the impact of the rebels’ victory on Syria’s relationship with China—which has acted as one of Assad’s few

Oil futures rose Monday, finding modest support after China eased its overall monetary-policy stance for the first time in 14 years, as the nation’s Politburo vowed more forceful measures to boost the economy of the world’s largest crude importer.

Wall Street barely budged early Monday as geopolitics drew attention away from the economy and corporate earnings, which have been propelling markets to record levels.