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Syria’s embassy in Lebanon suspended consular services Saturday, a day after two relatives of were arrested at the Beirut airport with allegedly forged passports. Also on Saturday, Lebanese authorities handed over dozens of Syrians — including former officers in the Syrian army under Assad — to the new Syrian authorities after they were caught illegally entering Lebanon, a war monitor and Lebanese officials said. The embassy announced on its Facebook page that consular work was suspended “until further notice” at the order of the Syrian foreign ministry. The announcement did not give a reason for the suspension. Two Lebanese security officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said the suspension was ordered because the at the embassy. Assad’s uncle, Rifaat Assad — who has been indicted in Switzerland on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity — had flown out the day before on his real passport and was not stopped, the officials said. The U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported Saturday that 70 Syrians, including former army officers, were handed over by a Lebanese security delegation to the security forces of the new Syrian government, led by the former insurgent group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS. Three Lebanese judicial officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the report. Regional countries have been quick to establish ties with Syria’s new rulers. Delegations of Libyan and Bahraini officials arrived in Damascus on Saturday on official visits. HTS leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, has largely succeeded in calming fears within and outside of Syria that his group would unleash collective punishment against communities that supported Assad’s rule or attempt to impose strict Islamic law on the country’s religious minorities. However, in recent days, sporadic clashes have broken out between the HTS-led security forces and pro-Assad armed groups. The country’s new security forces have launched a series of raids targeting officials affiliated with Assad and have set up checkpoints in areas with significant populations of the Alawite religious minority to which the former president belongs to search for weapons. There have also been ongoing tensions and clashes in northeastern Syria between Kurdish-led forces and armed groups backed by Turkey. Many Kurds have viewed the new order in Damascus, which appears to have strengthened Turkey’s hand in Syria, with anxiety. Ankara sees the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces — a key U.S. ally in the fight against the Islamic State group — as an affiliate of its sworn enemy, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which it classifies as a terrorist organization. The U.S. State Department said Saturday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken had spoken with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to “discuss the latest developments in Syria.” “Secretary Blinken emphasized the need to support a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process that upholds human rights and prioritizes an inclusive and representative government,” the statement said, adding that they “also discussed the shared goal of preventing terrorism from endangering the security” of Turkey and Syria. On Saturday, hundreds of protesters convened by Kurdish women’s groups participated in a demonstration in the northeastern city of Hasaka to demand women’s rights in the new Syria. Perishan Ramadan, a participant from Hasaka, said the new government “is worse than Bashar” and that its leaders are Islamist extremists who “don’t accept any role for women.” While the country’s new leaders have not attempted to impose Islamic dress or other conventions, it remains to be seen what role women will have in the new order and whether they will hold political or government positions. “Women must be present in the new constitution for Syria,” said Rihan Loqo, spokeswoman for the Kongra Star women’s organization. “... Women’s rights should not be ignored.” ___Retailers coax Black Friday shoppers into stores with big discounts and giveaways NEW YORK (AP) — Retailers in the U.S. have used giveaways and bigger-than expected discounts to reward shoppers who ventured out on Black Friday. The day after Thanksgiving still reigns for now as the unofficial kickoff of the holiday shopping season even if it’s lost some luster. Analysts reported seeing the biggest crowds at stores that offered real savings. They say many shoppers are being cautious with their discretionary spending despite the easing of inflation. Stores are even more under the gun to get shoppers in to buy early and in bulk since there are five fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. Online sales figures from Thanksgiving Day gave retailers a reason to remain hopeful for a lucrative end to the year. Southwest Airlines says it is ending cabin service earlier to reduce chance of injury Southwest Airlines is ending its cabin service earlier starting next month. Beginning on Dec. 4, a company spokesperson says flight attendants will begin preparing the cabin for landing at an altitude of 18,000 feet instead of 10,000 feet. The company says it's making the changes to reduce the risk of in-flight turbulence injuries. For passengers, that means they will need to return their seats to an upright position or do other pre-landing procedures earlier than before. While turbulence-related fatalities are quite rare, injuries have piled up over the years. Why your favorite catalogs are smaller this holiday season PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — While retailers hope to go big this holiday season, customers may notice that the catalogs arriving in their mailboxes are smaller. Many of the millions of catalogs getting sent to U.S. homes were scaled down to save on postage and paper. Some gift purveyors are sending out postcards. In a sign of the times, the American Catalog Mailers Association rebranded itself in May as the American Commerce Marketing Association. Despite no longer carrying an extended inventory of goods, industry experts say catalogs help retailers cut through the noise and still hold their own in value because of growing digital advertising costs. Canada's Trudeau returns home after Trump meeting without assurances that tariffs are off the table WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is returning home after his meeting with Donald Trump without assurances the president-elect will back away from threatened tariffs on all products from the major American trading partner. Trump says the dinner talks Friday night at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida were “productive.” But he signaling no retreat from a pledge that Canada says unfairly lumps it in with Mexico over the flow of drugs and migrants into the United States. Trudeau spoke of “an excellent conversation” but offered no details. Trump said in a Truth Social post later Saturday that they discussed “many important topics that will require both Countries to work together to address.” Trump and Republicans in Congress eye an ambitious 100-day agenda, starting with tax cuts WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans swept to power on Election Day and now control the House, the Senate and the White House, with plans for an ambitious 100-day agenda come January. Their to-do list includes extending tax breaks, cutting social programs, building the border wall to stop immigration and rolling back President Joe Biden's green energy policies. Atop that list is a plan to renew some $4 trillion in expiring tax cuts that were a signature domestic achievement of Republican Donald Trump’s first term as president. It's an issue that may define his return to the White House. The ruble's in a slump. For the Kremlin, that's a two-edged sword Russia’s ruble is sagging against other currencies, complicating the Kremlin’s efforts to keep consumer inflation under control with one hand even as it overheats the economy with spending on the war against Ukraine with the other. Over time a weaker ruble could mean higher prices for imports from China, Russia's main trade partner these days. President Vladimir Putin says things are under control. One wild card is sanctions against a key Russian bank that have disrupted foreign trade payments. If Russia finds a workaround for that, the ruble could regain some of its recent losses. Iceland votes for a new parliament after political disagreements force an early election REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) — Icelanders are electing a new parliament after disagreements over immigration, energy policy and the economy forced Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson to pull the plug on his coalition government and call early elections. This will be Iceland’s sixth general election since the 2008 financial crisis devastated the economy of the North Atlantic island nation and ushered in a new era of political instability. Opinion polls suggest the country may be in for another upheaval, with support for the three governing parties plunging. Benediktsson, who was named prime minister in April following the resignation of his predecessor, struggled to hold together the unlikely coalition of his conservative Independence Party with the centrist Progressive Party and the Left-Green Movement. Massachusetts lawmakers push for an effort to ban all tobacco sales over time BOSTON (AP) — A handful of Massachusetts lawmakers are hoping to persuade their colleagues to support a proposal that would make the state the first to adopt a ban meant to eliminate the use of tobacco products over time. Other locations have weighed similar “generational tobacco bans.” The bans phase out the use of tobacco products based not just on a person's age but on birth year. Lawmakers plan to file the proposal next year. If approved, the bill would set a date and ban the sale of tobacco to anyone born after that date forever, eventually banning all sales. Vietnam approves $67 billion high-speed railway project between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam has approved the construction of a high-speed railway connecting the capital Hanoi in the north with the financial capital of Ho Chi Minh in the south. It is expected to cost $67 billion and will stretch 1,541 kilometers (957 miles). The new train is expected to travel at speeds of up to 350 kph (217 mph), reducing the journey from the current 30 hours to just five hours. The decision was taken by Vietnam’s National Assembly on Saturday. Construction is expected to begin in 2027 and Vietnam hopes that the first trains will start operating by 2035. But the country has been beleaguered by delays to its previous infrastructure projects. Inflation rose to 2.3% in Europe. That won't stop the central bank from cutting interest rates FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Inflation in the 20 countries that use the euro currency rose in November — but that likely won’t stop the European Central Bank from cutting interest rates as the prospect of new U.S. tariffs from the incoming Trump administration adds to the gloom over weak growth. The European Union’s harmonized index of consumer prices rose 2.3 percent, up from 2.0% in October, according to EU statistics agency Eurostat. However, worries about growth mean the Dec. 12 ECB meeting is not about whether to cut rates, but by how much. Market buzz says there could be a larger than usual half-point cut in the benchmark rate, currently 3.25%.Daily scores two TDs to help No. 25 Army hold off UTSA 29-24

The Bank of Scotland’s business barometer poll showed 73% of Scottish businesses expect to see turnover increase in 2025, up from 60% polled in 2023. Almost a quarter (23%) of businesses expect to see their revenue rise by between six and 10% over the next 12 months, with just over a fifth (21%) expecting it to grow by even more. The poll found that 70% of businesses were confident they would become more profitable in 2025, a two per cent increase when compared with the previous year. Revenue and profitability growth was firms’ top priority at 52%, though 40% said they will be targeting improved productivity, and the same proportion said they will be aiming to enhance their technology – such as automation or AI – or upskill their staff (both 29%). More than one in five (22%) want to improve their environmental sustainability. Other areas businesses are hoping to build upon AI-assisted technology (19%), and 24% will be investing in expanding into new UK markets and 23% plan to invest in staff training. The business barometer has surveyed 1,200 businesses every month since 2002, providing early signals about UK economic trends. Martyn Kendrick, Scotland director at Bank of Scotland commercial banking, said: “Scottish businesses are looking ahead to 2025 with stronger growth expectations, and setting out clear plans to drive this expansion through investments in new technology, new markets and their own teams. “As we enter the new year, we’ll continue to by their side to help them pursue their ambitions and seize all opportunities that lie ahead.”The silent hero beneath our feet

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'You're tripping': Trump's own fans disagree with his latest political statementUS President-elect Donald Trump has filed a brief urging the Supreme Court to pause a law that would ban TikTok the day before his January 20 inauguration if it is not sold by its Chinese owner ByteDance. “In light of the novelty and difficulty of this case, the court should consider staying the statutory deadline to grant more breathing space to address these issues,” Trump’s legal team wrote, to give him “the opportunity to pursue a political resolution”. Trump was fiercely opposed to TikTok during his 2017-21 first term, and tried in vain to ban the video app on national security grounds. The Republican voiced concerns – echoed by political rivals – that the Chinese government might tap into US TikTok users’ data or manipulate what they see on the platform. US officials had also voiced alarm over the popularity of the video-sharing app with young people, alleging that its parent company is subservient to Beijing and that the app is used to spread propaganda, claims denied by the company and the Chinese government. Trump called for a US company to buy TikTok, with the government sharing in the sale price, and his successor Joe Biden went one stage further – signing a law to ban the app for the same reasons. Trump has now, however, reversed course. At a press conference last week, Trump said he has “a warm spot” for TikTok and that his administration would take a look at the app and the potential ban. Earlier this month, the president-elect met TikTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. Recently, Trump told Bloomberg he had changed his mind about the app: “Now (that) I’m thinking about it, I’m for TikTok, because you need competition.” “If you don’t have TikTok, you have Facebook and Instagram – and that’s, you know, that’s Zuckerberg,” he added. Facebook, founded by Mark Zuckerberg and part of his Meta tech empire, was among the social media networks that banned Trump after attacks by his supporters on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. The ban was driven by concerns that he would use the platform to promote more violence. Those bans on major social media platforms were later lifted. In the brief filed on Friday, Trump’s lawyer made it clear the president-elect did not take a position on the legal merits of the current case. “President Trump takes no position on the underlying merits of this dispute,” John Sauer wrote in the amicus curiae – or “friend of the court” – brief. “Instead, he respectfully requests that the court consider staying the act’s deadline for divestment of January 19, 2025, while it considers the merits of this case, thus permitting President Trump’s incoming Administration the opportunity to pursue a political resolution of the questions at issue in the case.” A coalition of free speech groups – including the American Civil Liberties Union – also filed a separate brief to the Supreme Court opposing enforcement of the law, citing censorship concerns. “Such a ban is unprecedented in our country and, if it goes into effect, will cause a far-reaching disruption in Americans’ ability to engage with the content and audiences of their choice online,” the rights groups’ filing read, in part. The US apex court agreed last week to hear TikTok’s appeal against Biden’s move to force its owner to divest from it or face a ban. With oral arguments scheduled for January 10, the case would have to be heard at a breakneck speed. TikTok argues that the law, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, violates its First Amendment free speech rights. AFP, among more than a dozen other fact-checking organisations, is paid by TikTok in several countries to verify videos that potentially contain false information. TikTok has more than 170mn US users. Bytedance has previously said the Justice Department has misstated its ties to China, arguing its content recommendation engine and user data are stored in the United States on cloud servers operated by Oracle Corp while content moderation decisions that affect US users are made in the United States as well. Related Story Al Majd Law Firm holds workshop on combating counterfeit auto parts Trump scores emphatic victory over HarrisBowser scores 16, Furman takes down South Carolina State 68-64

A 'demon-face' cloud appeared on the skies of Turkey following a storm, as has been alleged by multiple X (formerly called Twitter) accounts. One account, by the name of UFO Mania posted the video, with the caption, "Panic in Turkey Due to the Appearance of a DEMON FACE in the Sky During a Great Storm!!" However, it has been clarified that the video was taken from a Turkish weather account named "HavaForum" which was posted on the 19th of September 2021. The thunder, cloud formation and the alleged 'demon-face' was a phenomenon from nearly three years ago. Another account, named Tara Bull, also posted the same video, with the caption, "Demon looking face appears in the clouds of a violent storm in Turkey." Strange cloud formations are not uncommon in Turkey's skies. In January 2023, an unusual cloud formation that looked like an unidentified flying object (UFO) was seen drifting above Bursa, Turkey, on Thursday morning. As reported by The Guardian, the nearly circular cloud, referred to as a lenticular cloud, stayed unchanged for roughly an hour. Numerous internet users recorded the unusual occurrences on their devices. It emerged at dawn and had a big opening in the center. The footage and photos of the strange-looking cloud quickly spread around the globe. Numerous social media users remarked that the cloud resembled a UFO. Nevertheless, Turkey's state Meteorological Service allegedly clarified that the unusual occurrence was merely a "lenticular cloud". As reported by NDTV, lenticular clouds are recognized for their curved shape resembling flying saucers. They are typically located at elevations ranging from 2,000 to 5,000 meters. Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from World and around the world.

HIV: Take the right(s) pathVodafone Idea plans for 5G migration NEW DELHI: Telecom major Vodafone Idea on Friday said it has “sufficient spectrum” to support the migration of its entire 4G subscriber base to 5G. The company’s scrips were up 1.78 per cent and 1.52 per cent at the National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange, respectively, on Friday after it released a presentation stating that it has 6.8 MHz of 5G spectrum holding per million 4G subscribers. The corresponding numbers for peers Airtel and Jio were 8.3 and 6 MHz, respectively, the presentation said. Vodafone Idea’s total spectrum holding in 700MHz and 3300 MHz bands to offer 5G services is 825 MHz with a 4G subscriber base of 125.9 million. The telecom major said that a late adaptation of 5G is a boon as the company is embracing latest and advanced technology products with the benefit of cost efficiency. The presentation was released ahead of its scheduled EGM on January 7 to seek shareholder nod on the issuance of equity shares of Rs 1,980 crore along with appointment of one non-executive director and one independent director. At the Q1FY25 earnings call, Akshaya Moondra, CEO of Vodafone Idea, had said that the rollout of 5G in key geographies will start in Q4FY25. Vodafone Idea highlighted four key strategies in its investor presentation to take on Airtel and Jio. These include — focused network investments to drive coverage and capacity expansion, market initiatives to drive ARPU (average revenue per user) improvement and customer retention, focus on business services through telco-to-techco transformation and strategic collaborations to monetise digital opportunities. The telecom service provider has identified 17 priority circles, including Calcutta and Bengal, for its focussed investments. The company has planned a capex spend of Rs 50,000-55,000 crore over the next three years for the launch of 5G services and expansion of 4G services. In the first six months of FY25, the company has spent more than Rs 2,000 crore to increase its 4G data capacity and coverage. The expected capital spend in the second half is around Rs 8,000 crore. Agencies