With Syrian President Bashar al-Assad overthrown and now out of the country, Hamilton restaurateur Mohamad Tomeh says he's looking forward to reconnecting with friends and family he hasn't seen since leaving his home there more than 10 years ago. "I am sure that democracy and freedom are coming to Syria," said a joyful Tomeh, who came to Canada in 2018 and now owns two locations in Hamilton under the name Tomah. The political situation in Syria has changed drastically in the past two weeks. After a 13-year civil war that displaced millions of Syrians, rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a former al-Qaeda affiliate, seized power from President Bashar Al-Assad. Syrian Canadians cautiously optimistic for 'new era' after Assad regime toppled by rebels It took just 2 weeks for Syria's 50-year Assad regime to crumble. Here's how it happened On Sunday, Assad, whose family ruled Syria for over 50 years, fled to Russia , prompting celebrations by many, including Tomeh. Reacting to the news, Tomeh shared a photo on social media of him smiling and holding two baking sheets full of pastries. The caption declared: "Today, Syria is free! And so today, Tomah's Baklava is also free at both locations!" Tomeh told CBC Hamilton on Monday he can't explain how happy he was. He said he wanted to share dessert as well as joy with a community that has been good to him. He also wants to bring community members who welcomed his family in Hamilton to visit Syria in the future, so they can see what its people have struggled for, he said. His daughter helped to translate part of the conversation. WATCH | What Assad's fall means for Syria and the Middle East: The Breakdown | What Assad’s fall means for Syria and the Middle East 14 hours ago Duration 19:42 As Syrian rebels outline their vision for the future of the country, The National breaks down what reignited the fighting, and what the stunning collapse of the decades-old Assad regime means for Syria, the region, and the world. Because of the "dictator" and "bullies" who ruled Syria for so long, it was no longer safe for Tomeh's family when they left in 2013, he said. The war "broke everything," including his cheese-making business, which was reduced to rubble. Tomeh had five children at the time and didn't want them to grow up in a place where all they could strive for was survival, he said, so he and his wife took the family to Egypt, where they lived for five years, opening a new cheese factory and restaurant. It "was not the best," there, so in 2018, the family immigrated to Canada and settled in Hamilton, Tomeh said. While other countries closed their doors to Syrians, "Canada opened everything," Tomeh said. "I feel grateful for Canada and the people." Mohamad Tomeh is an experienced chef and cheesemaker. He immigrated to Canada in 2018 and opened his restaurant Tomah in 2019. (Aura Carreño Rosas/CBC) Once things settle down following Assad's ouster, Tomeh said he will visit family and friends in Syria. Unfortunately he said, some did not survive the past decade. "Maybe we'll find the place, but we won't find the people," he said. In 2022, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights reported that the conflict resulted in around 306,000 civilians being killed between 2011 and 2021. The office said it also documented thousands of cases including civilians being tortured, subjected to sexual violence and arbitrarily imprisoned. It also noted 38 instances of the use of chemical weapons, 32 of which it attributed to government forces. It's unclear what will happen in Syria now , but Tomeh said he's confident Syria is moving in the right direction. "I am sure the new government will be better than the dictatorship." Ultimately, Tomeh said, he wants Syrians to enjoy peace and tolerance as they rebuild. Marwah Kobieh, executive director of the Syrian Canadian Foundation told CBC Toronto many Syrians lost hope that they would ever see new leadership. "We're hoping that all the Syrians who are scattered across the world can come back to Syria and just hold each other's hand and rebuild the country that have been really facing so much for half a century," he said.NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Clara Strack scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Teonni Key had 16 points and 13 rebounds and No. 14 Kentucky defeated Arizona State 77-61 on Tuesday in the Music City Classic to remain unbeaten. Kentucky nearly had four players with double-doubles as Georgia Amoore added 20 points and nine rebounds and Amelia Hassett had eight points and nine rebounds for the Wildcats (6-0), who shot 42% and scored 13 points off 14 Arizona State turnovers. Jalyn Brown scored 16 points and Nevaeh Parkinson added 12 points and nine rebounds for the Sun Devils (3-3). Arizona State shot just 30%. The Sun Devils cut a 19-point deficit to 11 after three quarters but a 6-0 burst with baskets by Key, Amoore and Strack built the lead back to 15 midway through the fourth. Kentucky led 42-23 at halftime after outscoring the Sun Devils 27-9 in the second quarter, scoring the first 13 points of the period with Struck putting in the final seven in the run. A couple ASU free throws later, the Wildcats went on an 11-2 run capped by a Hassett 3 and the lead was 20. Strack scored 14 points and Key 10 in the half. The teams continue play in the Music City Classic on Wednesday with Kentucky playing No. 19 Illinois and Arizona State facing South Dakota. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketballNEW YORK (AP) — Keith Higgins Jr. had 16 points in Lehigh's 60-59 win over LIU on Saturday. Higgins also contributed three steals for the Mountain Hawks (4-6). Tyler Whitney-Sidney shot 4 for 12, including 2 for 5 from beyond the arc to add 11 points. Ben Knostman had 10 points and shot 3 of 4 from the field and 3 of 4 from the free-throw line. Jamal Fuller finished with 20 points and eight rebounds for the Sharks (4-11). LIU also got 16 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks from Shadrak Lasu. Blake Lander finished with 10 points. Higgins scored eight points in the first half and Lehigh went into the break trailing 35-28. Knostman led Lehigh with nine points in the second half as their team outscored LIU by eight points over the final half. Lehigh plays Neumann at home on Sunday, and LIU hosts Le Moyne on Friday. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by and data from . The Associated Press
Covenant Logistics Group Announces Quarterly Cash DividendLions receiver Jameson Williams won't be charged for having a gun in a carARTIFICIAL intelligence (AI) will be at the center of Asia Pacific-based organizations in their cybersecurity strategy in 2025, according to global cybersecurity provider Palo Alto Networks. “In 2025, our region will face a perfect storm of AI-driven cyber threats, escalating in scale, sophistication, and impact. The days of fragmented security approaches are over—organizations must pivot to unified platforms powered by transparent and trustworthy AI to stay ahead. As quantum attacks loom and deepfakes become mainstream tools of deception, businesses will either innovate or risk being outpaced by adversaries. The stakes have never been higher, and trust will be the ultimate currency in this new era of cybersecurity. Those who fail to adapt risk not just breaches but irreparable damage to their reputation and resilience,” said Simon Green, President, Asia Pacific and Japan at Palo Alto Networks. In its recent study, Palo Alto also outlined five key trends that cyber practitioners can expect to unfold in the coming 12 months and for which they can position their organizations for a more secure future. First prediction, according to Green: cyber infrastructure will be anchored around a single unified data security platform. In 2025, Green said the organizations will address heightened complexity by reducing the number of cybersecurity tools in use, and shifting to a unified platform, offering enhanced visibility and control. Nevertheless, the ongoing dearth in talented cybercrime experts will continue to accelerate this trend. On the other hand, Green said there is a benefit as a unified platform will provide end-to-end visibility and context, spanning code repositories, cloud workloads, networks, and security operations centers (SOCs). “Ultimately this creates a more holistic security architecture with fewer dashboards,” he said. Green said demolishing the silos and ensuring the confluence of all security layers onto a unified platform will optimize resources, improve overall efficiency, and enable organizations to build more resilient, adaptive defenses against evolving threats. According to Green, the second trend to watch is the proliferation of deepfakes which, he added, are already being used for nefarious purposes in the APAC region. While some have been used to spread political misinformation, Green said cybercriminals used it to target corporations for financial gain, like the employee at a Hong Kong engineering firm duped into wiring millions of dollars to a scammer who had used deepfakes to imitate the chief financial officer and executive team on a video conference. Classified as a synthetic media, deepfake is typically a video or image that has been edited using AI to replace a person’s likeness with someone else’s. Deepfakes are so deceiving that their manipulation, in skilled hands, can be incredibly convincing, making it difficult to distinguish between real and fake content. Deepfakes are created using advanced AI techniques, such as deep learning and generative adversarial networks (GANs). They can effectively manipulate facial expressions, speech, and even body language to create highly realistic and often deceptive content. Deepfakes can be used maliciously to spread misinformation, create fake news, or harm individuals’ reputations. While detecting deepfakes can be challenging, there are ongoing efforts to develop tools and techniques to identify them. Green said it’s important to be aware of deepfakes and to critically evaluate the information you encounter online. Green pointed out that clever criminals will capitalize on the ever-improving generative AI technology to launch credible deepfake attacks. He warned that the use of audio deepfakes will also become more prevalent in these attacks, as the available technology allows for highly credible voice cloning. “We can expect deepfakes to be used alone or as part of a larger attack much more often in 2025,” he said. In 2025, there will be a growth in quantum computing projects across APAC, with governments and venture capital firms investing heavily in local initiatives. While quantum attacks on widely used encryption methods are not yet feasible, Green warned that nation-state-backed threat actors are expected to intensify their “harvest now, decrypt later” tactics, targeting highly classified data with the intent to unlock it when quantum technology advances. “This poses a risk to governments and businesses, with the potential to jeopardize civilian and military communications, undermine critical infrastructure, and overcome security protocols for most internet-based financial transactions,” he said. “We will likely also see nation-state actors target organizations developing quantum computers themselves, in corporate espionage attacks,” he added. To counteract these threats effectively, Green urged all organizations to act and adopt quantum-resistant defenses, including quantum-resistant tunnelling, comprehensive crypto data libraries, and other technologies with enhanced crypto-agility. Transitioning to these algorithms will help secure data against future quantum threats. Organizations that require high security should explore quantum key distribution (QKD) as a means of ensuring secure communications. As quantum computing continues to become more and more of a reality and potential threats loom, Green said it will be essential to adopt these measures to keep pace with the rapidly evolving cyber landscape, prevent data theft and ensure the integrity of their critical systems. For now, he said CIOs can debunk any hype around this topic to the board. Though significant progress with quantum annealing has been made, he said military-grade encryption has still not been broken. Green said regulators in the APAC region are starting to focus on the data protection and cybersecurity implications of the growing use of AI models. Further, he said this is part of an overall bid to build trust in AI use and encourage AI-driven innovation. In 2025, expect APAC legislators’ AI focus on ethics, data protection and transparency to remain. However, Green said increased use of AI models will lead to greater emphasis being placed on AI security and the integrity and reliability of the data being used. “Transparency and proactive communication about AI model mechanics—specifically regarding data collection, training datasets, and decision-making processes—will be essential for building customer trust,” he said. In 2025, Green said organizations are expected to focus more on product integrity and supply chain resilience. Furthermore, Green said organizations will conduct much more thorough risk assessments, consider accountability and legal implications of business outages and review insurance arrangements. In cloud environments, where complexity and scale amplify risks, real-time visibility has become a necessity. “Expect to see greater focus on comprehensive monitoring involving continuous tracking of both infrastructure and application performance metrics,” he said. Oscar Visaya, Country Manager, Philippines, at Palo Alto Networks, said the Philippines has shown improvement in its standing as far as cybersecurity security is concerned. “As cybersecurity takes center stage across public and private sectors, reflected in the Philippines’ rise from 61st to 53rd in the 2024 UN Global Cybersecurity Index, these predictions aim to help organizations navigate 2025,” he said. “With local insights—such as deepfakes and cyberattacks fueled by rapid digitalization—and trends across Asia-Pacific, prioritizing unified security platforms and AI advancements will be critical to securing the Philippines’ digital future,” he added. Image credits: PASAN JAYASEKARA ARACHCHI VIA DREAMSTIME.COM , TERO VESALAINEN VIA DREAMSTIME.COM Rizal Raoul S. Reyes has covered technology, science, business, property and special reports. He had working stints with the Business Star, Manila Bulletin and Independent Daily News.
WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. (AP) — Abdi Bashir Jr. had 27 points in Monmouth's 88-74 victory against Fairfield on Saturday. Bashir shot 9 of 21 from the field, including 5 for 10 from 3-point range, and went 4 for 5 from the line for the Hawks (2-10). Jack Collins scored 13 points while going 5 of 8 (3 for 6 from 3-point range) and added five assists. Madison Durr shot 4 of 6 from the field and 4 for 5 from the line to finish with 12 points. Prophet Johnson finished with 19 points and 15 rebounds for the Stags (5-7, 1-1 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference). Braden Sparks added 16 points and two steals for Fairfield. Deon Perry finished with 12 points, six assists and three steals. Monmouth took the lead with 16:32 left in the first half and did not give it up. The score was 43-33 at halftime, with Bashir racking up 11 points. Monmouth outscored Fairfield by four points in the second half, and Bashir scored a team-high 16 points in the second half to help their team secure the victory. Monmouth plays Auburn on the road on Monday, and Fairfield visits Columbia on Saturday. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .
India-US civil nuclear deal will remain a crowning glory of Manmohan Singh's prime ministershipNative American patients are sent to collections for debts the government owes
Understanding Telescope Mounts: Alt-Azimuth vs. Equatorial
New details released on apparent return of EnronGaetz's withdrawal highlights how incoming presidents often lose Cabinet nominees MARTIN, Tenn. (AP) — Losing a Cabinet nominee to the confirmation process isn’t unheard of for incoming presidents — including for Donald Trump when he was elected the first time. Matt Gaetz’s decision to pull his name Thursday from consideration for attorney general — amid continued fallout over a federal sex trafficking investigation — represents the first indication of resistance that the president-elect could face from his own party to picks facing allegations of sexual misconduct or other questions. Other Trump picks have drawn negative attention as well, including Pete Hegseth for defense secretary and Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence. Vance takes on a more visible transition role as he works to boost Trump's most controversial picks WASHINGTON (AP) — After several weeks working behind closed doors, Vice President-elect JD Vance returned to Capitol Hill this week in a new, more visible role. He's been helping Donald Trump’s most contentious Cabinet picks try to win confirmation in the Senate, where he has served for the last two years. Vance spent part of Wednesday at the Capitol with Rep. Matt Gaetz sitting in on meetings with Trump’s controversial choice for attorney general. On Thursday, Vance was back, this time accompanying Pete Hegseth. Vance is expected to accompany other nominees for meetings over the coming weeks as he tries to leverage the two years he has spent in the Senate to help push through Trump’s picks. Beyond evangelicals, Trump and his allies courted smaller faith groups, from the Amish to Chabad Donald Trump’s lock on the white evangelical vote is legendary, but he didn't focus exclusively on large religious voter blocs. He and his allies also wooed smaller religious groups, away from the mainstream. He posted a tribute to Coptic church members on social media and met with members of Assyrians for Trump — two smaller Christian communities with Middle Eastern roots. He visited the grave of the revered late leader of an Orthodox Jewish movement. His allies sought votes from the separatist Amish community. While Trump won decisively, the outreaches reflected aggressive campaigning in what was expected to be a tight race. NATO and Ukraine to hold emergency talks after Russia's attack with new hypersonic missile KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — NATO and Ukraine will hold emergency talks Tuesday after Russia attacked a central city with a hypersonic ballistic missile that escalated the nearly 33-month-old war. Ukraine's parliament canceled a session Friday over the security threat. In a stark warning to the West, President Vladimir Putin said in a nationally televised speech Thursday that the attack with the intermediate-range Oreshnik missile was retaliation for Kyiv’s use of U.S. and British longer-range missiles capable of striking deeper into Russian territory. Putin said Russia is launching production of the Oreshnik, saying it's so powerful that several of them fitted with conventional warheads could be as devastating as a strike with strategic — or nuclear — weapons. Texas education board approves optional Bible-infused curriculum for elementary schools AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas’ education board has voted to allow Bible-infused teachings in elementary schools. The approval Friday follows other Republican-led states that have pushed this year to give religion a larger presence in public classrooms. The curriculum adopted by the Texas State Board of Education is optional for schools to adopt, but they’ll receive additional funding if they do so. Parents and teachers who opposed the curriculum say the lessons will alienate students of other faith backgrounds. Supporters argue the Bible is a core feature of American history and that teaching it will enrich learning. 2 men convicted of charges related to human smuggling after scheme led to an Indian family’s death FERGUS FALLS, Minn. (AP) — A prosecution spokesperson says a jury has convicted two men of charges related to human smuggling for their roles in an international operation that led to the deaths of a family of Indian migrants who froze while trying to cross the Canada-U.S. border during a 2022 blizzard. Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel and Steve Shand each faced four charges related to human smuggling before being convicted Friday. Patel is an Indian national. Shand is an American from Florida. They were arrested after the family froze while trying to cross the desolate border during a 2022 blizzard. Northern California gets record rain and heavy snow. Many have been in the dark for days in Seattle FORESTVILLE, Calif. (AP) — A major storm with heavy snow and record rain that's moving through Northern California has toppled trees, closed roads and prompted evacuations in some areas after knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of people in Washington and Oregon. Forecasters warn that the risk of flash flooding and rockslides will continue through Friday. The National Weather Service has extended a flood watch for areas north of San Francisco as a plume of moisture known as an atmospheric river inundates Northern California and the Pacific Northwest. Up to 16 inches of rain is forecast in Northern California and southwestern Oregon. The storm system unleashed winds earlier this week that left two people dead and hundreds of thousands without power in Washington. Colorado funeral home owners accused of letting 190 bodies decay plead guilty to corpse abuse COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — Colorado funeral home owners accused of stashing 190 decaying bodies and giving grieving families fake ashes have pleaded guilty to corpse abuse. Jon and Carie Hallford entered the plea on Friday. Prosecutors say the owners of the Return to Nature funeral home began improperly storing bodies in a building outside Colorado Springs as far back as 2019. They allege the couple gave grieving families dry concrete in place of their loved ones’ cremains. Over the years, the Hallfords spent lavishly, buying luxury cars and laser body sculpting. That ended when the bodies were discovered last year. What do hundreds of beavers have to do with the future of movies? NEW YORK (AP) — The low-budget movie “Hundreds of Beavers” has turned into a lo-fi legend. Mike Cheslik’s film, made for just $150,000 and self-distributed in theaters, has managed to gnaw its way into a movie culture largely dominated by big-budget sequels. It’s a wordless black-and-white bonanza of slapstick antics about a stranded 19th century applejack salesman at war with a bevy of beavers, all of whom are played by actors in mascot costumes. It’s been called “the future of cinema” — a proclamation that may sound extreme for a movie about a guy with a giant beaver hat. But in a shrinking movie industry, DIY microbudget filmmaking may increasingly be left to fill some of the void left by risk-adverse, corporate-driven Hollywood. Noodles and wine are the secret ingredients for a strange new twist in China's doping saga Blame it on the noodles. That's what one Chinese official suggested when anti-doping leaders were looking for answers for the doping scandal that cast a shadow over this year's Olympic swim meet. Earlier this year, reports that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive for a banned heart medication emerged. None were sanctioned because Chinese authorities determined the swimmers were contaminated by traces of the drug spread about a hotel kitchen. In a strange twist, the leader of China's anti-doping agency suggested this case could have been similar to one in which criminals were responsible for tainting noodles that were later eaten by another Chinese athlete who also tested positive for the drug.Hundreds of students have took part in the third and final day of Dundee University’s 2024 winter graduations. Students joined their family and friends at the Caird Hall on Friday to celebrate their achievements. Students from both the School of Health Sciences and School of Humanities Social Sciences and Law were rewarded for their work. It comes after the on Wednesday and the . Our photographer was on hand to capture some of the best moments on Friday.
WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. (AP) — Abdi Bashir Jr. had 27 points in Monmouth's 88-74 victory against Fairfield on Saturday. Bashir shot 9 of 21 from the field, including 5 for 10 from 3-point range, and went 4 for 5 from the line for the Hawks (2-10). Jack Collins scored 13 points while going 5 of 8 (3 for 6 from 3-point range) and added five assists. Madison Durr shot 4 of 6 from the field and 4 for 5 from the line to finish with 12 points. Prophet Johnson finished with 19 points and 15 rebounds for the Stags (5-7, 1-1 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference). Braden Sparks added 16 points and two steals for Fairfield. Deon Perry finished with 12 points, six assists and three steals. Monmouth took the lead with 16:32 left in the first half and did not give it up. The score was 43-33 at halftime, with Bashir racking up 11 points. Monmouth outscored Fairfield by four points in the second half, and Bashir scored a team-high 16 points in the second half to help their team secure the victory. Monmouth plays Auburn on the road on Monday, and Fairfield visits Columbia on Saturday. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .Gwen Stefani Reveals How Blake Shelton Won Her Over After Divorce With Gavin Rossdale