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.”Everything you need to know about Sydney's New Year's Eve fireworks: Best vantage points around Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge, how to get to the harbourside waterfront, weather warning and more... More than one million expected to watch fireworks show in person Attendees urged to plan ahead and arrive at their spot early READ MORE: Robbie Williams to headline Sydney's New Year's Eve celebrations By FREDDY PAWLE FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA Published: 00:55, 30 December 2024 | Updated: 00:55, 30 December 2024 e-mail View comments Revellers planning to watch Sydney 's world-famous New Year's Eve fireworks show have been urged to find their spot early with more than one million tipped to attend. More than nine tonnes of fireworks are going to light up Sydney's sky from 264 firing points across Sydney Harbour for this year's highly-anticipated event under the theme 'Forward with Heart'. The first fireworks will be launched during the children's fireworks session, now renamed the Calling Country show, at 9pm before the main event at midnight. Those hoping to see the fireworks in person without spending a fortune can find a space at 35 free waterfront vantage points. But there will be huge competition for the free viewing spots, with the City of Sydney estimating more than one million people to flock to the harbour. Attendees have also been urged to pack an umbrella or poncho with the Bureau of Meteorology expecting 'heavy bursts of rain' to dampen celebrations. Rainfall is also expected earlier in the day, leading to muggy conditions as the mercury is set to rise to 27C in the city and 29C in the Western Suburbs. While public transport will continue to operate throughout the day, authorities have warned attendees to expect 'long queues' for their trip home. Partygoers hoping to watch this year's New Year's Eve fireworks in Sydney have been urged to find their vantage spot early (pictured, revellers during last year's event) More than one million people are expected to flock to the city in order to see more than nine tonnes of fireworks fireworks in person (pictured, last year's event) WHERE YOU CAN WATCH THE FIREWORKS FOR FREE Circular Quay and the Rocks East and West Circular Quay Sydney Opera House The Rocks Hickson Road Reserve Dawes Point Park Campbell's Cove Royal Botanic Garden and The Domain Mrs Macquarie's Point Fleet Steps Bennelong Lawn Tarpeian Lawn Darling Harbour and Barangaroo Darling Harbour Barangaroo Reserve Observatory Hill North Sydney Blues Point Lavender Bay Parklands Bradfield Park and Mary Booth Reserve Eastern suburbs Rose Bay Foreshore Embarkation Park Yarranabbe Park McKell Park Murray Rose Pool and Blackburn Gardens Duff Reserve Dumaresq Reserve Pyrmont Pyrmont Bay Park Giba Park Giba Park Balmain Simmons Point Birchgrove Park Mort Bay Park Yurulbin Park Elkington Park Illoura Reserve Thornton Park Lookes Avenue Reserve Opening times and if alcohol is prohibited or available for sale varies. Credit: City of Sydney Advertisement This year's display is expected to exceed previous spectacles with new technology being used to create ever-more stunning visuals. Foti International Fireworks, behind Sydney's New Year's Eve fireworks since 1997, said they have put more than 4500 hours of preparation into this year. The family-owned business promised fireworks that turn into shapes like fish and sharks while others falling from the bridge like a waterfall will spell 'Sydney'. Attendees can also expect artificial intelligence and four drone-powered pyrotechnic platforms to help create the stunning visuals seen around the world. 'We are always looking at ways we can evolve our show and believe this will be one of the most innovative New Year's Eve fireworks displays in the world,' Fortunato Foti told the Daily Telegraph . The most popular vantage points for the show, the Royal Botanical Gardens, Mrs Macquaries Point and the Sydney Opera House, are expected to pack out well before nightfall. Their close view of the Harbour Bridge led to the popular Royal Botanical Gardens and Mrs Macquaries Chair quickly reaching capacity before gates opened last year. Attendees have been warned to bring their own entertainment for the long wait, as many vantage points, even quiter ones, don't allow re-entry after leaving. This year's rendition has promised AI projections and drone-powered platforms to enhance the visual spectacle (pictured, last year's event) NSW Police have warned attendees to not start 2025 'in the back of a police truck' with a massive police operation planned across the state (pictured, last year's revellers) The Bureau of Meteorology expects a 'slight chance of a shower in the afternoon and evening' for New Year's Eve in Sydney. There is also a chance of the rain to be followed by a thunderstorm, but it is most likely to fall over the Western Suburbs. Read More New Year's Eve, Australian style: Travel chaos and wild weather smash major cities - and some revellers keep the party going until dawn Transport for NSW coordinator general Howard Collins said attendees should 'get to their destination early' and patiently hold their spot. 'It's important to understand that we want to walk you into the city and walk you out again,' he said. Sydney Trains chief executive Matt Longlan added that transport to and from areas around the Harbour Bridge will likely be 'very busy'. NSW Police's Operation New Year's Eve 2024 Commander Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna urged partygoers to be safe this year. The operation will see large numbers of uniformed and plain-clothed officers patrolling New Year's Eve events across the state. 'We want everyone to enjoy their New Year's Eve celebrations in a safe and responsible way,' Assistant Commission McKenna said. 'People planning on coming to the city for free vantage points are urged to get in early to avoid missing out. If a location becomes full, do not attend and find an alternative location. 'Police will not tolerate dangerous, criminal or anti-social behaviour. 'We ask people to drink responsibly, know their limit and avoid starting 2025 in the back of a police truck.' Share or comment on this article: Everything you need to know about Sydney's New Year's Eve fireworks: Best vantage points around Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge, how to get to the harbourside waterfront, weather warning and more... e-mail Add comment

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Trump Nominates Harmeet Dhillon To DOJ's Civil Rights DivisionIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that he would recommend his Cabinet adopt a United States-brokered ceasefire agreement with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, as Israeli warplanes struck across Lebanon, killing at least 23 people. The Israeli airstrikes and evacuation warnings were in a sign that Netanyahu aims to inflict punishment on Hezbollah in the final moments before any ceasefire takes hold. Hezbollah, meanwhile, had resumed its rocket fire into Israel, triggering air raid sirens across the country's north. More than 3,760 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon the past 13 months, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The bombardment has driven 1.2 million people from their homes. Hezbollah began attacking Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, a day after Hamas’ attack on southern Israel, in support of the Palestinian militant group. That has set off more than a year of fighting escalated into all-out war in September with massive Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon and an Israeli ground invasion of the country’s south. Hezbollah has fired thousands of rockets into Israeli military bases, cities and towns, including some 250 projectiles on Sunday. It’s not clear how the ceasefire will affect the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, where more than 44,000 people have been killed and more than 104,000 wounded in the 13-month war between Israel and Hamas, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. ——— Here's the Latest: JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that he would recommend his Cabinet adopt a United States-brokered ceasefire agreement with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, as Israeli warplanes struck across Lebanon, killing at least 23 people. The Israeli military also issued a flurry of evacuation warnings — a sign it was aiming to inflict punishment on Hezbollah down to the final moments before any ceasefire takes hold. For the first time in the conflict, Israeli ground troops reached parts of Lebanon’s Litani River, a focal point of the emerging deal. In a televised statement, Netanyahu said he would present the ceasefire to Cabinet ministers later on Tuesday, setting the stage for an end to nearly 14 months of fighting. Netanyahu said the vote was expected later Tuesday. It was not immediately clear when the ceasefire would go into effect, and the exact terms of the deal were not released. The deal does not affect Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, which shows no signs of ending. BEIRUT — Lebanon’s state media said Israeli strikes on Tuesday killed at least 10 people in Baalbek province the country’s east. At least three people were killed in the southern city of Tyre when Israel bombed a Palestinian refugee camp, said Mohammed Bikai, a representative of the Fatah group in the area. He said several more people were missing and at least three children were among the wounded. He said the sites struck inside the camp were “completely civilian places” and included a kitchen that was being used to cook food for displaced people. JERUSALEM — Dozens of Israeli protesters took to a major highway in Tel Aviv on Tuesday evening to call for the return of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, as the country awaited news of a potential ceasefire in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah. Protesters chanted “We are all hostages,” and “Deal now!” waving signs with faces of some of the roughly 100 hostages believed to be still held in Gaza, at least a third of whom are thought to be dead. Most of the other hostages Hamas captured in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack were released during a ceasefire last year. The prospect of a ceasefire deal in Lebanon has raised desperation among the relatives of captives still held in Gaza, who once hoped that the release of hostages from Gaza would be included. Instead of a comprehensive deal, the ceasefire on the table is instead narrowly confined to Lebanon. Dozens of Israelis were also demonstrating against the expected cease-fire, gathering outside Israel’s military headquarters in central Tel Aviv. One of the protesters, Yair Ansbacher, says the deal is merely a return to the failed 2006 U.N. resolution that was meant to uproot Hezbollah from the area. “Of course that didn’t happen,” he says. “This agreement is not worth the paper it is written on.” FIUGGI, Italy — Foreign ministers from the world’s industrialized countries said Tuesday they strongly supported an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah and insisted that Israel comply with international law in its ongoing military operations in the region. At the end of their two-day summit, the ministers didn’t refer directly to the International Criminal Court and its recent arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister over crimes against humanity . Italy had put the ICC warrants on the official meeting agenda, even though the G7 was split on the issue. The U.S., Israel’s closest ally, isn’t a signatory to the court and has called the warrants “outrageous.” However, the EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell said all the other G7 countries were signatories and therefore obliged to respect the warrants. In the end, the final statement adopted by the ministers said Israel, in exercising its right to defend itself, “must fully comply with its obligations under international law in all circumstances, including international humanitarian law.” And it said all G7 members — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States – “reiterate our commitment to international humanitarian law and will comply with our respective obligations.” It stressed that “there can be no equivalence between the terrorist group Hamas and the State of Israel.” The ICC warrants say there's reason to believe Netanyahu used “starvation as a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid and intentionally targeted civilians in Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza — charges Israeli officials deny. BEIRUT — An Israeli strike on Tuesday levelled a residential building in the central Beirut district of Basta — the second time in recent days warplanes have hit the crowded area near the city’s downtown. At least seven people were killed and 37 wounded in Beirut, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. It was not immediately clear if anyone in particular was targeted, though Israel says its airstrikes target Hezbollah officials and assets. The Israeli military spokesman issued a flurry of evacuation warnings for many areas, including areas in Beirut that have not been targeted throughout the war, like the capital’s commercial Hamra district, where many people displaced by the war have been staying. The warnings, coupled with fear that Israel was ratcheting up attacks in Lebanon during the final hours before a ceasefire is reached, sparked panic and sent residents fleeing in their cars to safer areas. In areas close to Hamra, families including women and children were seen running away toward the Mediterranean Sea’s beaches carrying their belongings. Traffic was completely gridlocked as people tried to get away, honking their car horns as Israeli drones buzzed loudly overhead. The Israeli military also issued warnings for 20 more buildings in Beirut’s suburbs to evacuate before they too were struck — a sign it was aiming to inflict punishment on Hezbollah in the final moments before any ceasefire takes hold. TEL AVIV, Israel — The independent civilian commission of inquiry into the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel has found Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly responsible for the failures leading up to the attack, alongside former defense ministers, the army chief and the heads of the security services. The civil commission presented its findings today after a four-month probe in which it heard some 120 witnesses. It was set up by relatives of victims of the Hamas attack, in response to the absence of any state probe. The commission determined that the Israeli government, its army and security services “failed in their primary mission of protecting the citizens of Israel.” It said Netanyahu was responsible for ignoring “repeated warnings” ahead of Oct. 7, 2023 for what it described as his appeasing approach over the years toward Hamas, and for “undermining all decision-making centers, including the cabinet and the National Security Council, in a way that prevented any serious discussion” on security issues. The commission further determined that the military and defense leaders bear blame for ignoring warnings from within the army, and for reducing the army’s presence along the Gaza border while relying excessively on technological means. On the day of the Hamas attack, the report says, the army’s response was both slow and lacking. The civil commission called for the immediate establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the Oct. 7 attack. Netanyahu has opposed launching a state commission of inquiry, arguing that such an investigation should begin only once the war is over. JERUSALEM -- The Israeli military says its ground troops have reached parts of Lebanon’s Litani River — a focal point of the emerging ceasefire. In a statement Tuesday, the army said it had reached the Wadi Slouqi area in southern Lebanon and clashed with Hezbollah forces. Under a proposed ceasefire, Hezbollah would be required to move its forces north of the Litani, which in some places is some 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the Israeli border. The military says the clashes with Hezbollah took place on the eastern end of the Litani, just a few kilometers (miles) from the border. It is one of the deepest places Israeli forces have reached in a nearly two-month ground operation. The military says soldiers destroyed rocket launchers and missiles and engaged in “close-quarters combat” with Hezbollah forces. The announcement came hours before Israel’s security Cabinet is expected to approve a ceasefire that would end nearly 14 months of fighting. BEIRUT — Israeli jets Tuesday struck at least six buildings in Beirut’s southern suburbs Tuesday, including one that slammed near the country’s only airport. Large plumes of smoke could be seen around the airport near the Mediterranean coast, which has continued to function despite its location beside the densely populated suburbs where many of Hezbollah’s operations are based. The strikes come hours before Israel’s cabinet was scheduled to meet to discuss a proposal to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. The proposal calls for an initial two-month ceasefire during which Israeli forces would withdraw from Lebanon and Hezbollah would end its armed presence along the southern border south of the Litani River. There were no immediate reports of casualties from Tuesday’s airstrikes. FIUGGI, Italy — EU top diplomat Josep Borrell, whose term ends Dec. 1, said he proposed to the G7 and Arab ministers who joined in talks on Monday that the U.N. Security Council take up a resolution specifically demanding humanitarian assistance reach Palestinians in Gaza, saying deliveries have been completely impeded. “The two-state solution will come later. Everything will come later. But we are talking about weeks or days,” for desperate Palestinians, he said. “Hunger has been used as an arm against people who are completely abandoned.” It was a reference to the main accusation levelled by the International Criminal Court in its arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister. Borrell said the signatories to the court, including six of the seven G7 members, are obliged under international law to respect and implement the court’s decisions. Host Italy put the ICC warrants on the G7 agenda at the last minute, but there was no consensus on the wording of how the G7 would respond given the U.S., Israel’s closest ally, has called the warrants “outrageous.” Italy, too, has said it respects the court but expressed concern that the warrants were politically motivated and ill-advised given Netanyahu is necessary for any deal to end the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon. “Like it or not, the International Criminal Court is a court as powerful as any national court,” Borrell said. “And if the Europeans don’t support International Criminal Court then there would not be any hope for justice,” he said. Borrell, whose term ends Dec. 1, said he proposed to the G7 and Arab ministers who joined in talks on Monday that the U.N. Security Council take up a resolution specifically demanding humanitarian assistance reach Palestinians in Gaza, saying deliveries have been completely impeded. “The two-state solution will come later. Everything will come later. But we are talking about weeks or days,” for desperate Palestinians, he said. “Hunger has been used as an arm against people who are completely abandoned.” It was a reference to the main accusation levelled by the International Criminal Court in its arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister. Borrell said the signatories to the court, including six of the seven G7 members, are obliged under international law to respect and implement the court’s decisions. Host Italy put the ICC warrants on the G7 agenda at the last minute, but there was no consensus on the wording of how the G7 would respond given the U.S., Israel’s closest ally, has called the warrants “outrageous.” Italy, too, has said it respects the court but expressed concern that the warrants were politically motivated and ill-advised given Netanyahu is necessary for any deal to end the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon. “Like it or not, the International Criminal Court is a court as powerful as any national court,” Borrell said. “And if the Europeans don’t support International Criminal Court then there would not be any hope for justice,” he said. (edited)Brightcom Group informed the exchanges in its weekly update on Sunday, December 8, that it has fixed the date for its Annual General Meeting for financial year 2024 as January 31, 2025. The company also said that the annual report will be dispatched to shareholders well before the regulatory deadline of January 10, 2025. Share Market View All Nifty Gainers View All Company Value Change %Change In its weekly update presentation, the Brightcom Group said that the announcement of the AGM, not being held in December, is not related to the revocation of its trading suspension timeline. "The revocation process is progressing as planned and the necessary applications are already in place at both exchanges. We are confident of meeting all compliance requirements within the stipulated time frame and ensuring that the suspension does not become permanent," the Brightcom Group said. The Brightcom Group said that it will not face any permanent suspensions as long as the active revocation applications are in the works. It mentioned that the BSE revocation form is prepared and is ready for submission and the efforts continue to remain ongoing to meet exchange circular requirements for trading restoration. It had earlier mentioned that it is confident of its trading suspension being revoked by the BSE and the NSE "well before" December 14, 2024. The latest weekly update does not share any timeline. It also highlighted that the results for the June quarter of financial year 2025 will be declared on Thursday, December 12, 2024. There will also be a price discovery session post the revocation of the trading suspension and the company said that it has no intention to propose a base price to the exchanges. "We will meet the exchanges next week to address any outstanding issues and have a check on the penalties levied and pay them all in one go," the Brightcom Group said. Brightcom Group shares have been suspended for regular trading for six months now, and has left over 6.5 lakh small shareholders in the lurch. They only trade in the trade-for-trade segment and are categorized in the 'Z' group of stocks, where trading takes place only on the first trading day of the week.