:00:05. > :00:10.After months of violence in Syria, a new horror as two car bombs
:00:10. > :00:13.explode in the capital. 40 people are killed. The opposition blames
:00:13. > :00:17.the government, saying it's trying to discredit the democracy
:00:17. > :00:27.protestors. The Syrian government rejects the charge and blames Al-
:00:27. > :00:27.
:00:27. > :00:32.Qaeda. This is immoral. The least I can say, this is purely immoral to
:00:32. > :00:34.accuse Syria of this. We would never sacrifice the life of our
:00:35. > :00:38.civilians. We'll be assessing whether there's
:00:38. > :00:39.any hope of an end to the violence or if today heralds a significant
:00:39. > :00:42.escalation. Also tonight:
:00:42. > :00:45.The Duke of Edinburgh is taken to hospital for "precautionary tests"
:00:45. > :00:49.after suffering chest pains. An end to credit and debit card
:00:49. > :00:52.fees on purchases such as cinema tickets, train tickets and holidays.
:00:52. > :00:59.As the Czech Republic mourns its former president Vaclav Havel,
:00:59. > :01:03.world leaders gather to pay their respects.
:01:03. > :01:13.And will the busiest shopping day of the year be enough to revive
:01:13. > :01:14.
:01:14. > :01:19.Coming up in sport on the News Channel, Gavin Henson makes a
:01:19. > :01:29.winning return to Welsh rugby on his debut for Cardiff Blues. They
:01:29. > :01:42.
:01:42. > :01:46.win 28-9 against Newport Gwent Good evening. The political
:01:46. > :01:50.uprising in Syria, which has seen nine months of carnage across the
:01:50. > :01:54.country, has taken an unexpected and diddly turn. Two car bombs have
:01:54. > :01:59.exploded in the capital, Damascus, this morning, killing more than 40
:01:59. > :02:02.people and injuring more than 100 others. State television has said
:02:02. > :02:06.it suspects Al-Qaeda is behind the attacks but opposition activists
:02:06. > :02:10.have accused the government of staging the blasts to influence an
:02:10. > :02:17.Arab League observer team who have arrived to monitor the treatment of
:02:17. > :02:22.anti- regime protesters. This was a devastating escalation
:02:22. > :02:27.of Syria's violence. We hear in Damascus, seems that evoked the
:02:27. > :02:31.terror of neighbouring Iraq. According to the government, two
:02:31. > :02:35.suicide bombers drove cars packed with explosives into state
:02:35. > :02:40.intelligence buildings on the west side of the city. Here, a vehicle
:02:40. > :02:44.mangled by the blast. And all of this happened in an area that
:02:44. > :02:52.should be one of the most secure in the country. The dead and wounded
:02:52. > :02:58.were said to include security personnel and civilians. Television
:02:58. > :03:02.broadcast images of the survivors as they recovered in hospital.
:03:02. > :03:07.TRANSLATION: I saw a black car, then an explosion, and after that I
:03:07. > :03:11.was taken to hospital. The attacks struck at the heart of President
:03:12. > :03:16.Bashar Al-Assad's security establishment. Within 20 minutes of
:03:16. > :03:19.the blast, Al-Qaeda was being blamed by the Government, and they
:03:19. > :03:24.attempted to implicate the opposition. This was not the way to
:03:24. > :03:28.achieve democracy, the regime said. But opposition activists today said
:03:28. > :03:31.the bombings had been fabricated by the Government to discredit the
:03:31. > :03:37.opposition in the eyes of Arab League observers who have just
:03:37. > :03:42.arrived in Syria. The government denounced the accusation. This is
:03:42. > :03:47.immoral. The least I can say, this is purely immoral to accuse Syria
:03:47. > :03:51.of this. We would never sacrifice the lives of our civilians.
:03:51. > :03:58.with independent media banned or severely restricted by the regime,
:03:58. > :04:02.it is not possible to investigate the claims and counter-claims. The
:04:02. > :04:06.Arab League observers were taken to witness the aftermath, but were
:04:06. > :04:13.warned by America not to allow what had happened to impede their
:04:13. > :04:18.investigations of human rights abuses in Syria. This woman, crying
:04:18. > :04:26.to God, is from a village in the north where the opposition accuses
:04:26. > :04:34.the army of massacring over 100 civilians. The bloody crackdown on
:04:34. > :04:40.the opposition continues unabated. In Homs, the citadel of resistance,
:04:40. > :04:44.men brave government snipers to try to retrieve the body. Elsewhere,
:04:44. > :04:51.rebel fighters shoot down a government flag. It is a potent
:04:51. > :04:55.symbol of a country spiralling into ever more unpredictable violence.
:04:55. > :04:59.The Duke of Edinburgh has been taken to hospital tonight for
:04:59. > :05:03.precautionary tests following chest pains. Buckingham Palace said
:05:03. > :05:07.Prince Philip, who is 90, when from Sandringham to the cardiothoracic
:05:07. > :05:12.unit at Papworth Hospital in Cambridge. The of Royal Family are
:05:12. > :05:16.spending Christmas at Sandringham in Norfolk. -- the Royal Family.
:05:16. > :05:21.Nicholas Witchell is here. What can you tell us? Not a lot. This is
:05:21. > :05:26.what we know. The pre-eminent fact is that the Duke of Edinburgh is 90.
:05:26. > :05:31.He has suffered chest pains, we are told, has been taken to Papworth
:05:31. > :05:34.hospital for precautionary tests. We do not know what the chest pains
:05:34. > :05:39.amount to a full stock obviously, given his age and what we are told
:05:39. > :05:43.has happened, there is a sense of concern. But there is not, and I
:05:43. > :05:46.stress, there is not any sense of alarm at Buckingham Palace. They
:05:46. > :05:50.are awaiting news from the specialists at Papworth Hospital.
:05:50. > :05:54.It must be assumed that he is staying in overnight, although that
:05:54. > :05:57.has not been confirmed. There is a pretty much complete absence of
:05:57. > :06:00.information to my from either the Palace or from Papworth Hospital.
:06:00. > :06:06.There is clearly a need for reassurance about his state of
:06:06. > :06:11.health, but up to now, very man of 90, he has been in remarkably good
:06:11. > :06:14.health. He was in Australia with the Queen two months ago. He was as
:06:14. > :06:19.active and robust as ever. It must be remembered, in the interview
:06:19. > :06:23.that he did with you on his 90th birthday, a few months ago, he said
:06:23. > :06:28.it was time to wind down. He has been doing that very slightly. So
:06:28. > :06:33.the situation tonight is that he has apparently suffered chest pains.
:06:33. > :06:38.He is in hospital. There is concern but there is not alarm. We await
:06:39. > :06:42.further information. Thank you. Airlines, train companies and
:06:42. > :06:46.retailers are to be banned from charging excessive credit or debit
:06:46. > :06:50.card fees. Some companies are charging up to �12 for a
:06:50. > :06:54.transaction that costs as little as 20p to process. The Government says
:06:54. > :06:59.it will change the law by the end of next year to bring in the new
:06:59. > :07:03.rules ahead of new EU regulations planned for 2014. Simon Gompertz
:07:03. > :07:07.has the details. Card surcharges have spread like
:07:07. > :07:11.wildfire. You get them when you go to the cinema, often when you book
:07:11. > :07:16.a train ticket. Most complained about our airlines. There
:07:16. > :07:20.surcharges alone add up to �300 million a year. Bernie Cook from
:07:20. > :07:27.Coventry took eight of his family on a holiday of a lifetime in the
:07:27. > :07:34.Caribbean, but when he came to pay, the holiday company wanted to
:07:34. > :07:43.charge 2.5% for using a credit card. It was disgraceful. It came to �175
:07:43. > :07:47.extra. For each couple, an extra �44 per couple. I could not see any
:07:47. > :07:52.way the holiday company could justify that kind of thief.
:07:52. > :07:57.booked with First Choice, which now Caps its credit card charge at �95
:07:57. > :08:01.per customer. Companies are being more open on their websites about
:08:01. > :08:07.the charges, but the Government dam would restrict them to levying no
:08:07. > :08:11.more than the actual cost of processing a payment. It is
:08:11. > :08:15.reasonable to enable service providers, airlines and others, to
:08:15. > :08:19.make some charge for the cost of using credit cards. But it has to
:08:19. > :08:23.be a reasonable charge, a fair charge to the consumer. So what is
:08:23. > :08:30.reasonable and fair? The cost to the customer of paying by credit
:08:30. > :08:35.card with easyJet is �12.95. It is �3.54 rail tickets from Trainline.
:08:35. > :08:39.To get your tax disc for the car with a credit card it costs �2.50.
:08:39. > :08:47.But the processing cost of paying by debit card is just 20p, and by
:08:47. > :08:51.credit card, up to 2%. And what if companies deny that it is a card
:08:51. > :08:56.surcharge? Ryanair says that its much-criticised charge of �6 per
:08:56. > :09:00.flight is just an admin charge. That shows are tricky this could
:09:00. > :09:05.become for the Government, having to define what really is a card
:09:05. > :09:10.surcharge, and then how big a charge can be justified. Even if
:09:10. > :09:15.that leads to card charge is being cut, companies might simply raise
:09:15. > :09:19.other prices to get the money back. The competitive pressure that will
:09:19. > :09:22.be applied because consumers will know what the real price is, that
:09:22. > :09:27.should keep that under check, but there is a risk that prices will go
:09:27. > :09:31.up as a result of this. A Europe- wide crackdown on ticket and other
:09:31. > :09:35.surcharges was planned anyway for a few years' time. The Government is
:09:35. > :09:40.bringing forward the UK ban on excessive charges to the end of
:09:40. > :09:45.next year. The French government is offering
:09:45. > :09:49.to pay for 30,000 women to have potentially defective breast
:09:49. > :09:52.implants removed. But here the Government says it has no plans to
:09:52. > :09:57.do the same for tens of thousands of British women affected. The
:09:57. > :10:03.implants from the French company PIP were available in Britain from
:10:03. > :10:07.2001 until 20th March 10. Fergus Walsh reports.
:10:07. > :10:11.France and Britain are now at odds over the road implants, banned last
:10:11. > :10:15.year because they contained non- medical great silicone. The French
:10:15. > :10:23.are recommending the implants be removed, even if they appear
:10:23. > :10:25.undamaged, and the state will pick up the bill. The French health
:10:25. > :10:31.ministry said the removal of the implants was a preventive measure
:10:31. > :10:36.and not urgent. Women who do not want them removed will be offered
:10:36. > :10:40.six-monthly scams. Let's look in more detail at the Medical position
:10:40. > :10:44.being taken in Paris and London on the PIP implants. The French say
:10:44. > :10:47.there is no increased risk of breast cancer, and the British
:10:47. > :10:52.agree. The French have found an increased rupture risk from the
:10:52. > :10:56.implants, but the medical watchdog here has not. That difference is so
:10:56. > :11:01.far unexplained. Finally, the French say the unauthorised gel
:11:01. > :11:05.filler could cause inflammation, whereas here, tests have shown no
:11:05. > :11:09.health risks. So the British Government will not be paying for
:11:09. > :11:15.their removal. Removing the implants requires an operation,
:11:15. > :11:19.anaesthesia, the degree of risk. So, from my point of view, taking
:11:19. > :11:24.expert advice, we are not in a position where we can recommend
:11:24. > :11:29.that a risk should be entered into where there is no safety concern
:11:29. > :11:33.that would justify taking that risk. Michelle Richardson from Berkshire
:11:33. > :11:37.is disappointed that Britain is not following France's lead. She says
:11:37. > :11:44.she has suffered health problems since having PIP implants. She was
:11:44. > :11:50.told it would cost �2,500 to replace them. I do not know if it
:11:50. > :11:56.has ruptured in me. All that I know is that it is not where it is
:11:56. > :11:59.supposed to be and it hurts. But nobody has done anything for me for
:11:59. > :12:04.that. Some surgeons here believe the British Government should
:12:04. > :12:09.follow the French example. They are not medical grade silicone. They
:12:09. > :12:13.have not been tested for biological compatibility. While some women may
:12:13. > :12:17.be happy to say on balance of risk they will keep them in for the time
:12:17. > :12:22.being, others might say, I prefer to have them removed. And women
:12:22. > :12:26.should be given that choice. French moves are likely to add to
:12:26. > :12:33.the worry and confusion felt by many British women, hundreds of
:12:34. > :12:37.whom are planning legal action over the implants.
:12:37. > :12:41.Estate funeral has taken place in the Czech capital for Vaclav Havel,
:12:41. > :12:44.one of the towering figures in the fall of communism in Eastern Europe.
:12:44. > :12:47.-- a state funeral. World leaders, including David Cameron and Bill
:12:47. > :12:57.Clinton, attended an thousands of others queued outside to pay their
:12:57. > :12:59.
:12:59. > :13:03.final respects to the former In the cathedral, they gripped his
:13:03. > :13:06.coffin in the flag of the country he led out of dictatorship. He was
:13:06. > :13:11.the reluctant politician. Now the unwanted limelight falls on his
:13:11. > :13:16.widow. The eyes of the world intrude on her private grief.
:13:16. > :13:20.Vaclav Havel's immense moral stature brought leaders of the
:13:21. > :13:27.democratic world here today. The former shipyard worker who toppled
:13:27. > :13:37.Polish communism, two British prime ministers, the French head of state,
:13:37. > :13:41.two US Secretaries of State and a former president. At noon, they
:13:42. > :13:50.sounded the sirens and the church bells across the Czech lands. The
:13:50. > :13:54.nation stood in quiet reflection. The former US Secretary of State,
:13:55. > :13:58.Madeleine Albright, Czech born, said he was a unique man who
:13:58. > :14:02.confronted his jailers with the truth. He had become one of the
:14:02. > :14:07.most respected men on the planet, she said, whose wit, intelligence
:14:07. > :14:10.and humanity spoke to all. Vaclav Havel was a playwright who emerged
:14:10. > :14:15.in the 1980s as the leader of a group of them dissidents determined
:14:15. > :14:19.to confront the Communist authorities. Day after day in 1989,
:14:19. > :14:24.he led thousands in protest on Wenceslas Square and to the
:14:24. > :14:29.Communist regime collapsed. He made the journey from prison cell to the
:14:29. > :14:34.presidency in a matter of weeks. Vaclav Havel's guiding belief was
:14:34. > :14:38.that the truth would always triumph over a lie. He was determined to
:14:38. > :14:42.live a life of truth, even if it meant going to prison. Today the
:14:42. > :14:50.people of this country have stopped to remember and pay tribute to the
:14:50. > :14:55.transforming effect that principled stand has had on their lives. What
:14:55. > :15:00.is his legacy? 22 years ago, this was a country that put poets and
:15:00. > :15:06.playwrights and priests in prison. The presiding Archbishop of Prague
:15:06. > :15:11.was himself jailed alongside have self. He embodied the values of
:15:11. > :15:15.democratic European mainstream. At the moment, those values needed
:15:15. > :15:23.their clearest articulation. Today, a free and democratic people paid
:15:23. > :15:32.their homage. Hugh coming up: the Christmas
:15:32. > :15:35.getaway has begun, as millions take off for the festive break.
:15:35. > :15:38.Retailers across the UK have enjoyed one of the busiest shopping
:15:39. > :15:43.days of the year, with millions of people making last-minute purchases
:15:43. > :15:48.before Christmas. Many leading retailers have been discounting
:15:48. > :15:51.heavily and took on extra staff to cope with demand. Our chief
:15:51. > :15:55.economics correspondent is outside a west London shopping centre that
:15:55. > :16:00.is staying open until midnight. they are still shopping away here.
:16:00. > :16:04.I can't remember anything like this, a retail centre staying open until
:16:04. > :16:08.midnight on two successive nights before Christmas. It is all about
:16:08. > :16:14.shops getting people to part with their money after a difficult year
:16:14. > :16:17.which has seen consumer spending power hit so hard by high inflation.
:16:17. > :16:21.Inside this shopping centre of this evening, there was no sign of
:16:21. > :16:24.numbers fallen away. Quite the opposite, with an obvious
:16:24. > :16:29.enthusiasm for last-minute Christmas spending. It is
:16:29. > :16:34.unbelievable. For such a big place, it is packed. It took me half an
:16:34. > :16:39.hour to find a place to park. some retailers are not enjoying the
:16:39. > :16:43.festivities. The lingerie chain La Senza called in administrators
:16:43. > :16:46.today because of financial troubles. The outdoor clothing group Blacks,
:16:46. > :16:50.which is up for sale, warned shareholders that they might not
:16:50. > :16:54.get money back. HMV is losing money and its future is uncertain, and
:16:54. > :16:58.the chocolate retailer Thorntons has admitted that life is tough.
:16:58. > :17:01.They have fallen victim to fierce competition. Price-cutting is
:17:01. > :17:06.widespread even before Christmas, as most stores battle to win
:17:06. > :17:11.business. A survey of leading retailers revealed that 76% are
:17:11. > :17:16.discounting goods, with the average price discount 48%. Many shoppers
:17:16. > :17:20.like those we spoke to in Wakefield today are watching every penny in
:17:20. > :17:27.the final countdown to Christmas. We are on a budget this year. �20
:17:27. > :17:31.each to spend on each other. I have cut down on a lot of presents with
:17:31. > :17:36.all my friends. The streets looked busy enough today, but we do not
:17:36. > :17:39.know how much people are buying. The Visa organisation estimates
:17:40. > :17:46.that consumer spending across the economy is down more than 2% on
:17:46. > :17:50.last year. This has been a subdued Christmas. December is flat to
:17:50. > :17:53.negative growth. I see no reason why that will have changed by the
:17:53. > :17:58.end of the year. What leading retailer told us that shoppers were
:17:58. > :18:02.now flocking in have a holding back until late in the day. The sales
:18:02. > :18:07.are picking up now particularly against last year. But that has
:18:07. > :18:11.only been in the last two weeks. will have to wait till the new year,
:18:11. > :18:16.when retailers report their takings in stores and online, before we
:18:16. > :18:20.know how happy this Christmas has been on the high street.
:18:20. > :18:23.And it is all-important going on here into the new year both for
:18:23. > :18:28.retailers, who really need to know if they have to cut prices even
:18:28. > :18:31.more to get people to spend, and important for the wider economy,
:18:32. > :18:38.which needs consumer confidence to hold up and it needs every source
:18:38. > :18:41.of growth it can find. The singer George Michael has
:18:41. > :18:45.spoken for the first time about being hospitalised with pneumonia.
:18:45. > :18:49.He said it was the worst month of his life and that he was lucky to
:18:49. > :18:53.be alive. Looking frail and tearful, he promised to resume the tour that
:18:53. > :19:01.had to be cancelled because of his illness. This report contains flash
:19:01. > :19:05.photography. George Michael on stage in Prague
:19:05. > :19:09.at the start of a tour that was to take him across Europe, accompanied
:19:09. > :19:14.by a symphony orchestra. A new departure for the singer, but last
:19:14. > :19:18.month the tour was cut short and he was admitted to hospital in Austria
:19:18. > :19:25.with pneumonia. Today back in London and looking frail, he spoke
:19:25. > :19:29.about how close he had come to dying. It was by far the worst
:19:29. > :19:33.month of my life. But I am incredibly fortunate to be here.
:19:33. > :19:40.For writing his emotions, he paid tribute to medical staff in Vienna
:19:40. > :19:44.who had treated him. I spent the last ten days since I woke up
:19:44. > :19:52.literally thanking people for saving my life. It is something I
:19:52. > :19:58.have never had to do before. I really, really, really, from the
:19:58. > :20:03.bottom of my heart, thank everybody who sent messages and everybody in
:20:03. > :20:07.that intensive care unit that make sure I was sorted out. At the
:20:07. > :20:12.hospital, the singer underwent a tracheotomy which he said still
:20:12. > :20:16.limited how much he could speak. George Michael is now back home,
:20:16. > :20:21.recovering. But it is not clear how long that will take all when he
:20:21. > :20:24.will next be able to perform on stage. But he says he will make up
:20:25. > :20:30.for the cancelled tour dates and sing for the doctors who saved his
:20:30. > :20:34.life. The American economy is struggling
:20:34. > :20:38.to avoid falling back into recession. Several states are
:20:38. > :20:42.facing bankruptcy as unemployment, poverty and debt take their toll.
:20:42. > :20:46.The state of the economy is likely to be the dominant issue in next
:20:46. > :20:50.year's presidential election. One of the hardest hit places is
:20:50. > :20:56.Detroit. Our North America correspondent has been to Detroit
:20:56. > :21:01.to see how residents are coping. This is a city in crisis, where
:21:01. > :21:07.even the mayor says the system is broken. The reality we are facing
:21:07. > :21:13.is simple. If we continue down the same path, we will lose the ability
:21:13. > :21:17.to control our destiny. Detroit has been ravaged by industrial decline,
:21:17. > :21:22.unemployment and crime. Every pair of shoes thrown over the power
:21:22. > :21:26.lines here commemorates someone killed in the street in violence
:21:26. > :21:33.that afflicts all neighbourhoods. Property prices have crashed, and
:21:33. > :21:37.the population of Detroit has collapsed. But not everyone has
:21:37. > :21:45.abandoned the city. Bernadine and James are survivors. Although they
:21:45. > :21:52.struggle for money, they refused to leave. I can't go. I have been here
:21:52. > :21:56.since 1957. And it is worse now. No jobs. It is hard for a young man to
:21:56. > :22:02.make money. Sometimes I get discouraged and weary and tell my
:22:02. > :22:07.husband to get out of here. They then I think we are ordained to
:22:07. > :22:13.stay, because the kids come to us and open up to us. I think God
:22:14. > :22:16.placed this here to do work. work they do was to provide food,
:22:16. > :22:20.shelter and real-world counselling in an area where poverty, drug
:22:20. > :22:28.dealing and violence are often a way of life. It is a downward
:22:28. > :22:36.effect. Basically, no jobs, they pick the gun up. No guidance, you
:22:36. > :22:42.run wild. It is so hard out here. You would not even know which way
:22:42. > :22:52.to step to go to the right direction. You have to learn
:22:52. > :22:56.
:22:56. > :22:58.humility. If you go solo, where else are you going but up? Religion
:22:58. > :23:03.runs through the good deeds that keep this community hanging
:23:03. > :23:07.together by a thread. Bernadine helps at the local church, where
:23:07. > :23:12.free food is handed out to the poor, who are stocking up for Christmas.
:23:12. > :23:15.The recession has undoubtedly made things worse, but a more
:23:15. > :23:20.fundamental shift is under way in a country built on the idea that all
:23:20. > :23:25.men are created equal. The gap between rich and poor in America is
:23:25. > :23:33.now bigger than it has been for 30 years. From north to south, we are
:23:33. > :23:38.seeing a country struggling to employ, house and feed its poorest.
:23:38. > :23:41.The annual Christmas getaway is well under way. 18 million
:23:41. > :23:45.motorists are believed to have taken to the roads in the last 24
:23:45. > :23:49.hours, and airports and railway stations across the UK have been
:23:49. > :23:54.busy. But there have been few hold- ups, partly down to the mild
:23:54. > :23:58.weather and the fact that some have opted to stay at home this year.
:23:58. > :24:02.Britain on the move - by road, rail and in the air, we have been
:24:03. > :24:08.travelling in our millions for the Christmas weekend. For the UK's
:24:08. > :24:12.road network, this was expected to be the busiest day of all, with 18
:24:12. > :24:16.million cars making journeys. In west London, part of the A4 was
:24:16. > :24:21.suddenly closed for engineering work. But most places have been
:24:21. > :24:28.surprisingly quiet, partly because Christmas Day falls on a Sunday, so
:24:28. > :24:32.traffic has been spread out. The AA says it is also because 70% of us,
:24:32. > :24:38.like the Joneses in Gloucester, have decided to stay put this year.
:24:38. > :24:44.We had to choose what to spend the money on. And by not spending it on
:24:44. > :24:49.fuel and travelling, we had more to spend on the children's presence.
:24:49. > :24:54.As they air travel, despite all the talk of economising, 4.3 million
:24:54. > :24:59.Brits are heading abroad for Christmas, a quarter of a million
:24:59. > :25:06.more than last year. What is the attraction? Sitting in the sunshine
:25:06. > :25:11.and drinking lots of wine. We are running away. This is what they
:25:11. > :25:16.were hoping to avoid. A year ago, snow and ice caused chaos. Maybe
:25:16. > :25:20.that is why the railways have had so many bookings this year. Around
:25:20. > :25:26.20 million train journeys will be taken in the next week, and in mild
:25:26. > :25:30.York, so far, so good. It has been a good day across the network. No
:25:30. > :25:35.cancellations on a major level. Thousands of people have travelled
:25:35. > :25:39.by train today and avoided the 18 million cars on the roads. Tonight,
:25:39. > :25:44.for the most part, the road networks seems to be moving freely.
:25:44. > :25:47.Like the M5 outside Bristol here, which is quieter than it would be
:25:47. > :25:56.on a normal Friday night. But travel experts say it could be