Syria's new foreign minister has met with his Qatari counterpart and Qatar's prime minister in Doha, as Syria's new de facto authorities under Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, establish diplomatic ties with regional and global governments.

Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani posted Sunday on X that he's also set to visit Jordan and the United Arabs Emirates to develop strategic partnerships, and support Syria's security and economic recovery.

A fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah has held up for over a month, even as its terms seem unlikely to be met by the agreed-upon deadline.

The deal struck on Nov. 27 to halt the war required Hezbollah to immediately lay down its arms in southern Lebanon and gave Israel 60 days to withdraw its forces there and hand over control to the Lebanese Army and U.N. peacekeepers.

Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, is starting the new year with her first Instagram account since 2020.

The Associated Press confirmed Wednesday that @meghan belongs to the Duchess of Sussex. Her first post is a black and white video of herself at the beach, wearing white and drawing 2025 in the sand on an overcast day. The account already has more than 200,000 followers.

The Golden Globes will return Sunday with major star appeal thanks to a slew of big name nominees, including Zendaya, Timothée Chalamet, Angelina Jolie, Daniel Craig, Denzel Washington, Ariana Grande and more.

Nominations for the 82nd awards ceremony were made last month. The show will be televised by CBS and streamed on Paramount+.

Actor Blake Lively has sued "It Ends With Us" director Justin Baldoni and several others tied to the romantic drama, alleging harassment and a coordinated campaign to attack her reputation for coming forward about her treatment on the set.

The federal lawsuit was filed in New York just hours after Baldoni and many of the other defendants in Lively's suit sued The New York Times for libel for its story on her allegations, saying the newspaper and the star were the ones conducting a coordinated smear campaign.

European shares fell on Friday after a mixed trading session in Asia, as mainland Chinese markets extended their losses for the first week of the new year.

Germany's DAX shed 0.3% to 19,967.34 and the CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.7% to 7,345.59. Britain's FTSE 100 edged 0.1% lower, to 8,256.98.

Christian Pulisic appears to be healthy again following injuries to his calf and ankle and could return for AC Milan against Juventus in the Italian Super Cup semifinals on Friday.

The United States international has been out since tearing a muscle in his right calf nearly a month ago. Then he had a minor ankle issue.

Trent Alexander-Arnold is fully committed to Liverpool, manager Arne Slot said Friday, amid interest in the England right back from Real Madrid.

Alexander-Arnold's contract with Liverpool expires at the end of the season so he is now free to sign a pre-contract agreement with another club if he wishes.

January could be a crucial month in determining Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique's future at the club.

While runaway league leader PSG is unbeaten in domestic competition heading into Sunday's Trophée des Champions (the French super cup) against Monaco, it is a far different story in the Champions League.

2024 was a brutal year for the Amazon rainforest, with rampant wildfires and extreme drought ravaging large parts of a biome that's a critical counterweight to climate change.

A warming climate fed drought that in turn fed the worst year for fires since 2005. And those fires contributed to deforestation, with authorities suspecting some fires were set to more easily clear land to run cattle.