betfred horse racing
BEIRUT (AP) — Insurgents’ stunning march across Syria accelerated Saturday with news that they had reached the suburbs of the capital and that government forces had withdrawn from the central city of Homs. The government was forced to deny rumors that President Bashar Assad had fled the country. The loss of Homs is a potentially crippling blow for Assad. It stands at an important intersection between Damascus and Syria’s coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus — the Syrian leader’s base of support and home to a Russian strategic naval base. The pro-government Sham FM reported that government forces took positions outside Syria’s third-largest city, without elaborating. Rami Abdurrahman who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said Syrian troops and members of different security agencies have withdrawn from the city, adding that rebels have entered parts of it. The capture of Homs is a major victory for insurgents, who have already seized the cities of and , as well as large parts of the south, in a lightning offensive that began Nov. 27. Analysts said Homs falling into rebel hands would be a game-changer. The rebels’ moves around Damascus, reported by the monitor and a rebel commander, came after the Syrian army withdrew from much of southern part of the country, leaving more areas, including several provincial capitals, under the control of opposition fighters. The were among the largest in recent years by opposition factions, led by a group that has its origins in al-Qaida and is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the United Nations. In their push to overthrow Assad’s government, the insurgents, led by the group, or HTS, have met little resistance from the Syrian army. For the first time in the country’s long-running civil war, the government now has control of only three of 14 provincial capitals: Damascus, Latakia and Tartus. The U.N.’s special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, on Saturday called for urgent talks in Geneva to ensure an “orderly political transition.” Speaking to reporters at the annual Doha Forum in Qatar, he said the situation in Syria was changing by the minute. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, whose country is Assad’s chief international backer, said he feels “sorry for the Syrian people.” In Damascus, people rushed to stock up on supplies. Thousands went to Syria’s border with Lebanon, trying to leave the country. Many shops in the capital were shuttered, a resident told The Associated Press, and those still open ran out of staples such as sugar. Some were selling items at three times the normal price. “The situation is very strange. We are not used to that,” the resident said, insisting on anonymity, fearing retributions. “People are worried whether there will be a battle (in Damascus) or not.” It was the first time that opposition forces reached the outskirts of Damascus since 2018, when Syrian troops recaptured the area following a yearslong siege. The U.N. said it was moving noncritical staff outside the country as a precaution. Assad’s status Syria’s state media denied social media rumors that saying he is performing his duties in Damascus. He has had little, if any, help from his allies. Russia, is busy with its . Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which at one point sent thousands of fighters to shore up Assad’s forces, has been weakened by a yearlong conflict with Israel. Iran has seen its proxies across the region degraded by regular Israeli airstrikes. U.S. President-elect Donald on social media that that the United States should avoid engaging militarily in Syria. Pedersen said a date for talks in Geneva on the implementation a U.N. resolution, adopted in 2015, and calling for a Syrian-led political process, would be announced later. The resolution calls for the establishment of a transitional governing body, followed by the drafting of a new constitution and ending with U.N.-supervised elections. Later Saturday, foreign ministers and senior diplomats from eight key countries, including Saudi Arabia, Russia, Egypt, Turkey and Iran, along with Pederson, gathered on the sidelines of the Doha Summit to discuss the situation in Syria. No details were immediately available. The insurgents’ march Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said insurgents were in the Damascus suburbs of Maadamiyah, Jaramana and Daraya. Opposition fighters were marching toward the Damascus suburb of Harasta, he added. A commander with the insurgents, Hassan Abdul-Ghani, posted on the Telegram messaging app that opposition forces had begun the “final stage” of their offensive by encircling Damascus. HTS controls much of northwest Syria and in 2017 set up a “salvation government” to run day-to-day affairs in the region. In recent years, has sought to remake the group’s image, cutting ties with al-Qaida, ditching hard-line officials and vowing to embrace pluralism and religious tolerance. The shock offensive began Nov. 27, during which gunmen captured the northern city of Aleppo, Syria’s largest, and the , the country’s fourth largest city. Opposition activists said Saturday that a day earlier, insurgents entered Palmyra, which is home to invaluable archaeological sites had been in government hands since being taken from the Islamic State group in 2017. To the south, Syrian troops left much of the province of Quneitra including the main Baath City, activists said. Syrian Observatory said government troops have withdrawn from much of the two southern provinces. The Syrian army said in a statement that it carried out redeployment and repositioning in Sweida and Daraa after its checkpoints came under attack by “terrorists.” The army said it was setting up a “strong and coherent defensive and security belt in the area,” apparently to defend Damascus from the south. The Syrian government has referred to opposition gunmen as terrorists since conflict broke out in March 2011. Diplomacy in Doha The foreign ministers of Iran, Russia and Turkey, meeting in Qatar, called for an end to the hostilities. Turkey is a main backer of the rebels. Qatar’s top diplomat, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, criticized Assad for failing to take advantage of the lull in fighting in recent years to address the country’s underlying problems. “Assad didn’t seize this opportunity to start engaging and restoring his relationship with his people,” he said. Sheikh Mohammed said he was surprised by how quickly the rebels have advanced and said there is a real threat to Syria’s “territorial integrity.” He said the war could “damage and destroy what is left if there is no sense of urgency” to start a political process. ____ Karam reported from London. Associated Press writers Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria and Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad contributed to this report.Sam Altman may be playing Santa with OpenAI’s – a series of splashy product releases that kicked off Thursday – but with the news that Donald Trump plans to appoint investor and former COO working closely with Elon Musk as head of a Department of Government Efficiency, Altman may soon find himself facing a two-headed Grinch. The Musk-Sacks duo have been publicly critical of OpenAI, and there's a fair amount of contentious history among the Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. Musk, of course, nine years ago but left after a power struggle and has since launched rival company xAI. (Musk has also filed multiple lawsuits against OpenAI, including the latest which seeks to stop OpenAI from transitioning from a "capped-profit" company into a fully for-profit enterprise). Sacks' VC firm Craft Ventures has invested an undisclosed amount of money in Musk’s xAI. And Sacks has not been shy in expressing his disdain for some of OpenAI’s recent moves, saying on his last month that OpenAI has "gone from nonprofit philanthropy to piranha for-profit company.” What could a Musk-Sacks one-two punch do to harm a competitor like OpenAI? In theory, as earlier this week, Trump's new billionaire advisors could use their positions and influence to steer government AI contracts to their own companies, and to push the government to crack down on competitors like OpenAI. In addition to wearing the AI and crypto , Sacks will lead the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), which makes science, technology, and innovation policy recommendations to the President and the White House. Musk, meanwhile, could use his to eliminate governmental hurdles facing xAI or artificial intelligence more broadly, said Richard Schoenstein, vice chair of litigation practice at law firm Tarter Krinsky & Drogin, who called Musk’s dual role as businessman and Trump advisor a “dangerous combination." It's no wonder Altman is trying to make nice. At the this week, Altman said he was “tremendously sad” about tensions with Musk, and dismissed the idea that Musk could use political power to hurt competitors and advantage his own businesses. “It would be profoundly un-American,” he said. And when Trump anointed Sacks as AI czar on Thursday evening, Altman quickly posted a congratulatory message on . If the intent was to make a public gesture of goodwill however, it had the opposite effect, and only further confirmed Altman's predicament: All of this comes at a delicate moment for OpenAI. The $157 billion-valued startup is not only working on a plan to that is not controlled by a non-profit board, but is also reportedly hoping for more investment by removing the infamous 'AGI' clause with , which is OpenAI’s largest shareholder thanks to a $13 billion investment. The AGI clause was implemented to keep powerful artificial general intelligence from being exploited by commercial interests and OpenAI’s nonprofit board exclusively determines when AGI is achieved. By removing the clause and transitioning OpenAI to a for-profit, Altman could be in a position to gain significant equity in the company, something investors are “pushing hard” for, a source familiar with the situation told Fortune recently. The technical challenges that must still be overcome to achieve AGI are immense. But as OpenAI pushes ahead on its mission, the role of government regulation will become increasingly important. And on that front, Sacks and Musk have each made nuanced comments that make it difficult to predict what kind of policies they might push for in the Trump administration. Sacks, for example, in which he said that while he was in favor of accelerating technological progress he found “something unsettling” about OpenAI’s declared mission to create AGI. “I doubt OpenAI would be subject to so many attacks from the safety movement if it wasn’t constantly declaring its outright intention to create AGI. To the extent the mission produces extra motivation for the team to ship good products, it’s a positive. To the extent it might actually succeed, it’s a reason for concern," Sacks . Musk, for his part, has frequently voiced concerns about AGI falling into the wrong hands and, earlier this year, predicted that AI could surpass human intelligence by the end of 2025. In March 2023, he signed an on developing AI systems more powerful than GPT-4, warning of "profound risks to society and humanity." Scientist Max Tegmark, who authored the letter for his nonprofit Future of Life Institute, recently praised Musk’s potential influence on Trump, suggesting it might lead to stronger AI safety standards. These positions could bolster the argument that Musk might take steps to slow OpenAI’s path to AGI, particularly since Musk also supported the , which was meant to regulate the development and use of the largest and most powerful AI models. That said, Altman might yet benefit from Sacks’ views on accelerating AI development and loosening restrictions. Many have predicted, for example, that Trump will do away with . And if Sacks’ own X posts are any indication, the EO's days could be numbered. When the executive order was announced, Sacks tweeted that “the U.S. political and fiscal situation is hopelessly broken, but we have one unparalleled asset as a country: cutting-edge innovation in AI driven by a completely free and unregulated market for software development." With the Biden AI order, , "that just ended." This story was originally featured on
Chiefs Named No. 1 'Nightmare' Opponent
Plans for a huge new truck showroom and workshop have been given the green light. The 38,000-square-foot commercial facility is being built on the "iconic" site of a former Scottish steelworks. The new Motus Commercials facility, work on which is expected to start on the Ravenscraig site in January, will provide purpose-built space for the sales, service and parts support of DAF Trucks. Motus Commercials is the largest dealer group in the UK for DAF Trucks, a leading brand on the market. Read Scott Wright's analysis here Scottish economy decline revealed as UK impact flagged Kate Forbes (Image: PA) The Scottish economy contracted in October ahead of Labour’s Autumn Budget. Publishing the data this week, the Scottish Government’s chief economist directorate flagged a dampening impact as businesses anticipated the October 30 Budget from Chancellor Rachel Reeves. Scotland’s onshore gross domestic product fell by 0.2% month-on-month in October, a slightly greater decline than one of 0.1% in the UK as a whole revealed in figures published by the Office for National Statistics. Onshore GDP in Scotland had risen by 0.3% in September. This was in contrast to a 0.1% decline in GDP in September in the UK as a whole. Read Ian McConnell's story here Scottish builder and manufacturer opens new £6m window and door factory The factory has been unveiled (Image: CCG) A Scottish builder and manufacturer has unveiled a new window and door manufacturing facility. The 25,000-square-foot facility forms part of a wider £6 million investment into the expansion of CCG’s manufacturing subsidiary. The business makes a range of enhanced window and door sets, and directly employs 60 skilled trade and technical staff at the Cambuslang manufacturing site. CCG has been mainstream in the fabrication of window and door products since 1995. Its precision-engineered products cater to CCG’s construction projects and large-scale housing improvement programmes in collaboration with housing associations and local authorities across Scotland. Read Brian Donnelly's story here AROUND THE GREENS Golf's answer to Wonka's chocolate factory Some of Scotland's busiest ranges use the Trackman technology (Image: Trackman) This article appears as part of Kristy Dorsey's Around the Greens series Trackman's iconic orange box is a familiar sight on tour ranges and fitting bays and is helping to drive the proliferation of tech-laden facilities offering players the opportunity to improve their game. The system was developed over several years and initially demonstrated to golf equipment manufacturers in the US. The first unit launched in 2004 and is said to be the first to track a golf ball's entire flight. In October the company released Virtual Golf 3, the latest evolution of its graphics engine for Trackman simulators. Steven Carmichael, director of strategic alliances, says there's plenty more yet to come.A judge on Monday rejected a request to block a San Jose State women's volleyball team member from playing in a conference tournament on grounds that she is transgender. The ruling by U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Kato Crews in Denver will allow the player, who has played all season, to compete in the Mountain West Conference women's championship opening this week in Las Vegas. The ruling comes in a lawsuit filed by nine current players against the Mountain West Conference challenging the league's policies for allowing transgender players to participate. The players argued that letting her compete was a safety risk and unfair. While some media have reported those and other details, neither San Jose State nor the forfeiting teams have confirmed the school has a trans woman volleyball player. The Associated Press is withholding the player's name because she has not commented publicly on her gender identity. School officials also have declined an interview request with the player. Crews' ruling referred to the athlete as an "alleged transgender" player and noted that no defendant disputed that the San Jose State roster includes a transgender woman player. San Jose State will "continue to support its student-athletes and reject discrimination in all forms," the university said in a statement, confirming that all its student-athletes are eligible to participate under NCAA and conference rules. "We are gratified that the Court rejected an eleventh-hour attempt to change those rules. Our team looks forward to competing in the Mountain West volleyball tournament this week." The conference did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. The players filed a notice for emergency appeal with the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Crews said the players who filed the complaint could have sought relief much earlier, noting the individual universities had acknowledged that not playing their games against San Jose State this season would result in a loss in league standings. He also refused a request to re-seed the tournament without the forfeited losses. The judge said injunctions are meant to preserve the status quo. The conference policy regarding forfeiting for refusing to play against a team with a transgender player had been in effect since 2022 and the San Jose State player has been on the roster since 2022 -– making that the status quo. The player competed at the college level three previous seasons, including two for San Jose State, drawing little attention. This season's awareness of her reported identity led to an uproar among some players, pundits, parents and politicians in a major election year. Crews' ruling also said injunctions are meant to prevent harm, but in this case, he argued, the harm has already occurred. The games have been forfeited, the tournament has been seeded, the teams have made travel plans and the participants have confirmed they're playing. The tournament starts Wednesday and continues Friday and Saturday. Colorado State is seeded first and San Jose State, second. The teams split their regular-season matches and both get byes into Friday's semifinals. San Jose State will play the winner of Wednesday's match between Utah State and Boise State — teams that both forfeited matches to SJSU during the regular season. Boise State associate athletic director Chris Kutz declined to comment on whether the Broncos would play SJSU if they won their first-round tournament game. Utah State officials did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment. The conference tournament winner gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. San Jose State coach Todd Kress, whose team has not competed in the national tournament since 2001, has said his team has been getting "messages of hate" and that has taken a toll on his players. Several teams refused to play against San Jose State during the season, earning losses in the official conference standings. Boise State and Wyoming each had two forfeits while Utah State and Nevada both had one. Southern Utah, a member of the Western Athletic Conference, was first to cancel against San Jose State this year. Nevada's players stated they "refuse to participate in any match that advances injustice against female athletes," without elaborating. Nevada did not qualify for the conference tournament. The nine current players and others now suing the Mountain West Conference, the California State University Board of Trustees and others include San Jose State senior setter and co-captain Brooke Slusser. The teammate Slusser says is transgender hits the volleyball with more force than others on the team, raising fear during practices of suffering concussions from a head hit, the complaint says. The Independent Council on Women's Sports is funding a separate lawsuit against the NCAA for allowing transgender women to compete in women's sports. Both lawsuits claim the landmark 1972 federal antidiscrimination law known as Title IX prohibits transgender women in women's sports. Title IX prohibits sexual discrimination in federally funded education; Slusser is a plaintiff in both lawsuits. Several circuit courts have used a U.S. Supreme Court ruling to conclude that discriminating against someone based on their transgender status or sexual orientation is sex-based discrimination, Crews wrote. That means case law does not prove the "likelihood of success" needed to grant an injunction. An NCAA policy that subjects transgender participation to the rules of sports governing bodies took effect this academic year. USA Volleyball says a trans woman must suppress testosterone for 12 months before competing. The NCAA has not flagged any issues with San Jose State. The Republican governors of Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming have made public statements in support of the team cancellations, citing fairness in women's sports. President-elect Donald Trump likewise has spoken out against allowing transgender women to compete in women's sports. Crews was a magistrate judge in Colorado's U.S. District Court for more than five years before President Joe Biden appointed him as a federal judge in January.
None
‘The Gorge’ Trailer: Anya Taylor-Joy and Miles Teller Are International Snipers United to Take on a Sci-Fi Villain