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John Healey said that the Government’s “interest” in Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), is “that they live up to their promises to protect” rights, when he spoke to reporters after a Cobra meeting on Thursday. HTS is banned in the UK because of its past association with al Qaida, the terrorist organisation once led by Osama bin Laden. But its leader, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, cut ties with al Qaida years ago and has sought to present his group as a more moderate and inclusive organisation, leading some to suggest the group should no longer be proscribed. When asked whether the Government was considering the status of the group, Mr Healey said: “Proscription is not a matter for now. “It doesn’t stop us talking to all the parties, and our interest in HTS is that they live up to their promises to protect the rights of all individuals and all groups, to respect international law and to prevent Syria becoming a base for a fresh terrorist threat.” Mr Healey said that Thursday’s meeting was “about making sure we have, as a Government, a laser focus on the role that we can play with allies to see a stable, peaceful transition. “So that the Syrians get the government they need for the future, and the region can see the stability in the future that it also needs.” Cobra meetings are called when ministers or officials need to respond to urgent matters. Following the toppling of the Bashar Assad regime over the weekend, the UK has paused decisions on asylum applications from Syria. Thousands of Syrians have been granted asylum in the UK but, earlier this week, the Home Office said decisions on applications would be paused while events unfold in Damascus. When asked how long the system would be paused for, and whether the move was fair, Mr Healey said on Thursday: “This is early days. “It’s a measure in response to rapidly changing developments, and the most important thing for us now is that the UK plays and will continue to play a full role with allies to see a stable, peaceful, orderly transition and that requires a political process. “It requires dialogue at the heart of it, and today’s ministerial meeting, the Cobra meeting, was about making sure that we do just that.” Earlier on Thursday, G7 leaders said that they “stand with the people of Syria” and “denounce terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms”. In a statement, Sir Keir Starmer and his counterparts said: “The G7 will work with and fully support a future Syrian government that abides by those standards and results from that process.” It went on: “After decades of atrocities committed by the Assad regime, we stand with the people of Syria. We denounce terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms. “We are hopeful that anyone seeking a role in governing Syria will demonstrate a commitment to the rights of all Syrians, prevent the collapse of state institutions, work on the recovery and rehabilitation of the country, and ensure the conditions for safe and dignified voluntary return to Syria of all those who were forced to flee the country.”SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — A political party in North Macedonia on Saturday demanded authorities ban social networks whose content incites violence and self-destructive behavior after several young people were seriously injured in connection with the popular “Superman challenge” on TikTok. Health authorities said at least 17 students, ages 10 to 17, were brought to hospitals in the capital Skopje and other towns over the past week with broken bones, contusions and bruises. The children were injured after being thrown into the air by their friends to fly like superheroes and get applause on the internet. The Liberal-Democratic Party, which was part of the left-led coalition that ruled the country from 2016 to earlier in 2024, issued a press statement Saturday strongly condemning “the irresponsible spread of dangerous content on social media, such as the latest TikTok ‘challenge’ known as ‘Superman,’ which has injured six children across (the country) in the past 24 hours.” “The lack of adequate control over the content of social media allows such ‘games’ to reach the most vulnerable users,” the party statement said. It demanded the “immediate introduction of measures to ban content that incites violence and self-destructive behavior, increase surveillance, and sanction platforms that enable dangerous trends.” North Macedonia’s education minister Vesna Janevska said students should focus on education, not TikTok challenges. “The ban on mobile phones in schools will not have an effect. Phones will be available to children in their homes, neighborhoods and other environments,” she said. Psychologists have warned that the desire to be “in” with the trends on social networks, combined with excessive use of mobile phones, is the main reason for the rise in risky behaviors among children. They urged parents and schools to talk with students.
LOS ANGELES — Until he sustained a season-ending knee injury last week in the Western Conference final, Galaxy playmaker Riqui Puig was having a tremendous season. So I heard. I watched Puig play only twice this year, once in the Galaxy's season-opening 1-1 draw with Inter Miami and a second time in his team's Fourth of July defeat to LAFC at the Rose Bowl. Outside of short highlight clips on social media, I never saw the former Barcelona prospect, not even when he assisted on the goal that sent the Galaxy to the MLS Cup final. That wasn't a reflection of my interest. Some of my friends will make fun of me for publicly admitting this, but I like Major League Soccer. I covered the league in my first job out of college and have casually kept up with it since. I take my children to a couple of games a year. My 11-year-old son owns Galaxy and LAFC hats but no Dodgers or Lakers merchandise. When flipping through channels in the past, if presented with the choice of, say, college football or MLS, I usually watched MLS. But not this year. While the MLS Cup final between the Galaxy and New York Red Bulls will be shown on Fox and Fox Deportes, the majority of games are now exclusively behind a paywall, courtesy of the league's broadcasting deal with Apple. MLS Season Pass subscriptions were reasonably priced — $79 for the entire season for Apple TV+ subscribers, $99 for non-subscribers — but I was already paying for DirecTV Stream, Netflix, Amazon Prime, PlayStation Plus and who knows what else. MLS became a casualty in my household, as well as in many others, and the possibility of being out of sight and out of mind should be a concern for a league that is looking to expand its audience. Which isn't to say the league made a mistake. This was a gamble MLS had to take. Now in the second year of a 10-year, $2.5 billion deal with Apple, MLS did what Major League Baseball is talking about doing, which is to centralize its broadcasting rights and sell them to a digital platform. Regional sports networks have been decimated by cord cutting, making traditional economic models unsustainable. The move to Apple not only increased the league's broadcast revenues — previous deals with ESPN, Fox and Univision were worth a combined $90 million annually, according to multiple reports — but also introduced a measure of uniformity in the league. The quality of the broadcasts are better than they were under regional sports networks. Viewers know where to watch games and when, as every one of them is on Season Pass and most of them are scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. local time either on Wednesday or Saturday. "That's been fueling our growth and driving our fan engagement," MLS Commissioner Don Garber said Friday at his annual state of the league address. Apple and MLS declined to reveal the number of League Pass subscribers, but the league provided polling figures that indicated 94% of viewers offered positive or neutral reviews of League Pass. The average viewing time for a game is about 65 minutes for a 90-minute game, according to Garber. In other words, the League Pass is well-liked — by the people who have it. The challenge now is to increase that audience. The launch of League Pass last year coincided with the arrival of Lionel Messi, which presumably resulted in a wave of subscriptions. But the league can't count on the appearance of the next Messi; there is only one of him. MLS pointed to how its fans watch sports on streaming devices or recorded television than any other U.S. sports league, as well as how 71% of its fans are under the age of 45. The league also pointed to how it effectively drew more viewers to the Apple broadcast of Inter Miami's postseason opener with a livestream of a "Messi Cam' on TikTok, indicating further collaborations with wide-reaching entities could be in its future. Garber mentioned how Season Pass is available in other countries. The commissioner also made note of how Apple places games every week in front of its paywall. "What we have, really, is a communication problem," Garber said. "This is new, and we've got to work with Apple, we've got to work with our clubs and we've got to work with our partners to get more exposure to what we think is a great product." The greatest benefit to the league could be Apple's vested interest in improving the on-field product. MLS insiders said Apple has not only encouraged teams to sign more high-profile players but also pushed the league to switch to a fall-to-spring calendar more commonplace in other parts of the world, reasoning that doing so would simplify the process of buying and selling players. The on-field product is what matters. The on-field product is why MLS continues to face competition for viewers from overseas leagues. The on-field product is why the league hasn't succeeded in converting every soccer fan into a MLS fan. And ultimately, if casual viewers such as myself are to pay to watch the Galaxy or LAFC on a screen of some kind, the on-field product will be why. Get local news delivered to your inbox!Devendra Fadnavis: The man behind the surgeCanadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust Un stock falls Wednesday, underperforms market
FOR millions of Filipinos living in poverty, a single opportunity to build a sustainable livelihood can open the door to a brighter future. Pure Bayanihan, a US-registered 501(c)3 nonprofit, aims to combat poverty in the Philippines. The organization has started a nationwide effort with the objective of establishing 1 million new livelihoods to solve the ongoing economic difficulties that many Filipinos, particularly those living in rural regions, experience. Register to read this story and more for free . Signing up for an account helps us improve your browsing experience. OR See our subscription options.Mellott throws 4 TD passes to lead top-seeded Montana State past UT Martin 49-17 in FCS playoffsDevendra Fadnavis: The man behind the surge
Something to look forward to: Following months of rumors, AMD has stopped just short of confirming plans to launch two Radeon RX 8000 graphics cards early next year. While the company hasn't officially named the GPUs, recent firmware code and comments from AMD leave little doubt of an impending CES announcement. A recent update on AMD's ROCm GitHub page contains the company's first direct mention of the Radeon RX 8800 and 8600, two graphics cards from the upcoming RDNA4 lineup. The company has also announced that it will discuss gaming and other subjects at a January 6 CES keynote, stoking anticipation for a GPU unveiling. A commit from last week on AMD's public xla development page lists the two cards under the label "gfx12," which follows a "gfx11" designation assigned to RX 7900, indicating that "gfx12" is a codename for the company's next-generation GPUs. Rumors have long suggested that RDNA4 will see an early 2025 launch, but a complete picture of AMD's plans is still materializing. During the company's earnings call for the third quarter of 2024, CEO Lisa Su confirmed that the first RDNA4 cards are set for early 2025, promising new AI features and dramatic increases in ray tracing performance. The comments substantiate earlier reports that AMD is working to catch up with Nvidia in those two areas. Ray tracing runs significantly faster on Team Green's RTX GPUs, and tests show that Nvidia's machine learning-based DLSS upscaling technology handles lower resolutions better than AMD's spatial FSR method. These gaps are a likely factor behind Nvidia's commanding 88 percent market share in the discrete graphics sector. Jack Huynh, senior vice president of AMD's Computing and Graphics Business Group, previously confirmed that the next stage of FSR, FSR4, will incorporate AI-based upscaling and frame generation. The technology aims to enhance energy efficiency, possibly in order to improve battery life on handheld PCs using the company's upcoming Ryzen Z2 Extreme APU. Furthermore, leakers recently described an RX 8800 XT that outperforms the 7900 XTX by around 45 percent in multiple games featuring ray tracing. The so-called "epic" improvement allegedly makes the 8800 XT a match for Nvidia's RTX 4080 Super and possibly the upcoming 5070. The RDNA4 card includes 16GB of VRAM, draws 220W, and enters mass production later this month. The company intends to focus on the mid-range and mainstream GPU sectors, conceding next year's enthusiast race to Nvidia's RTX 5080 and 5090, which are also expected to appear at CES. So an RX 8900 seems unlikely for now. However, a three-way mainstream graphics card competition is brewing between RDNA4, the RTX 5060, and Intel's recently unveiled Arc Battlemage lineup.
Pritzker ‘disappointed’ in Lion Electric, blames Trump's 'pressure' on EV market
STORZ & BICKEL Makes History as First Vaporizer Brand to Sponsor NYLON House During Miami Art WeekComedian Bill Maher, host of , revealed in a podcast recorded before the election that he “may quit” because of a second Trump presidency. He told actress Jane Fonda during the Club Random podcast, which noted the conversation took place at least a month ago, that he was “bored” by President-elect Donald Trump. “I’m shi**ing my pants,” Maher said. “It’s hard to believe.” “I mean, I may quit,” Maher continued. “Because I don’t wanna do another — I did Trump. I did all the Trump stuff before anybody. I called him a con man before anybody. I did, ‘he’s a mafia boss.’ I was the one who said he wasn’t gonna concede the election. I’ve done it.” Maher added that he’s “seen this f***ing s-” before Fonda questioned whether Trump had been hostile to the comedian. “He’s very hostile to me. He tweets about me every week,” Maher said. Toward the end of September, Trump posted on social media platform Truth Social that he marveled at “fake laughter” whenever he watched “Low Rated Bill Maher.” Eight days earlier, Trump wrote “the ratings challenged Bill Maher, on his increasingly boring show on HBO, is really having a hard time coping with TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.” “Every week, he accidentally watches my show and then, ‘low ratings loser,’ ” Maher said, apparently imitating Trump’s voice. “But, I mean, I just, I’m bored with it.” Fonda then suggested the comedian “find a new thing to do and not do Trump,” to which Maher replied that there’s “no other thing” since focuses on politics. “And he’s gonna dominate the news like he always does,” Maher said.
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — The United States will provide nearly $1 billion more in longer-term weapons support to Ukraine , Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Saturday as the Biden administration rushes to spend all the congressionally approved money it has left to bolster Kyiv before President-elect Donald Trump takes office next month. The latest package will include more drones and munitions for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, that the U.S. has provided. While these weapons are critically needed now , they will be funded through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which pays for longer-term systems to be put on contract. The weapon systems purchased are often intended to support Ukraine’s future military capabilities, not make an immediate difference on the battlefield. The $988 million package is on top of an additional $725 million in U.S. military assistance , including counter-drone systems and HIMARS munitions, announced Monday that would be drawn from the Pentagon’s stockpiles to more quickly get to the front lines. The U.S. has provided Ukraine with more than $62 billion in military aid since Russia’s invasion in February 2022. “The baton will soon be passed,” Austin said. “Others will decide the course ahead. And I hope that they will build on the strength that we have forged over the past four years.” Ukraine is facing an intensified onslaught by Russia, which is now using thousands of North Korean troops to augment its fight to take back the Kursk region. Moscow also has launched an intermediate-range ballistic missile and regularly strikes Kyiv’s civilian infrastructure. With questions about whether Trump will maintain military support to Ukraine, the Biden administration has been trying to spend every dollar remaining from a massive foreign aid bill passed earlier this year to put Ukraine in the strongest position possible. “This administration has made its choice. So has a bipartisan coalition in Congress. The next administration must make its own choice,” Austin said in a speech at an annual gathering of national security officials, defense firms and lawmakers at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. Trump had a hastily arranged meeting Saturday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and France’s Emmanuel Macron while in Paris for the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral. Macron and other European leaders are trying to persuade Trump to maintain support for Ukraine. Trump, a longtime admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has criticized U.S. aid for Ukraine and called for bringing a quick end to the war, raising concerns in Ukraine about what terms may be laid out for any future negotiations. Austin said he was “confident that President Reagan would have stood on the side of Ukraine, American security and human freedom.” It was one of Austin’s last major speeches as President Joe Biden’s defense secretary and a cap to his more than 41 years serving as a soldier and general. Under Austin’s watch, the Pentagon in 2022 launched a regular meeting that now counts more than 50 countries to figure out how to get the tens of millions of rounds of ammunition and billions of dollars in advanced weaponry to Ukraine. Without that flow of support, it’s possible the country would have fallen to Russia after it invaded. “Together, we have helped Ukraine survive an all-out assault by the largest military in Europe,” Austin said. Austin and Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, the longtime Republican leader, were honored at the conference for their lifetime of service, and they used the opportunity to press for the U.S. to continue to build and support its alliances, a sharp contrast to Trump’s “America First “ policy. Austin called the Ukraine Defense Contact Group “the most consequential global coalition since the time of President George H.W. Bush and Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait,” showing that “America and our friends have become the arsenal of Ukrainian democracy.” Before Saturday’s announcement, there was roughly $8 billion left to use to pull existing weapons out of U.S. stockpiles and to put additional weapons on contract to help Ukraine. “We’re not going to stop Putin by telling Ukraine we aren’t going to give you anything more,” Rep. Adam Smith of Washington state, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said at a panel at the Reagan National Defense Forum.Fact-checking OFWs' contribution to the economy