Turkey Warns Russia Not To 'Play With Fire'

President Recep Erdogan says he does not want to harm relations with Russia and hopes to meet Mr Putin "face to face" in Paris next week.

But the Russian President is refusing to contact Mr Erdogan directly because Ankara does not want to apologise, a Putin aide said.

In another development, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow would suspend the visa-free scheme with Turkey from the New Year. 

Mr Lavrov said Turkey had "crossed the line".

Relations between the former Cold War antagonists have hit a low after Turkey shot down the jet near the Syrian border earlier this week.

Russia Deploys S-400 Missile System In Syria

Mr Erdogan warned Mr Putin about "playing with fire" in a speech in northeast Turkey, broadcast live on television.

He responded after Mr Putin dismissed as "rubbish" Turkey's claim that it would not have shot down the jet if it had known it was Russian.

Mr Putin also said that America - an ally of Turkey on Syria - had known the flight path of the downed Russian jet.

"The American side, which leads the coalition that Turkey belongs to, knew about the location and time of our planes' flights, and we were hit exactly there and at that time," Mr Putin said.

He added that Russian planes were easily identifiable and Turkey was making excuses for its actions.

"They [our planes] have identification signs and these are well visible," Mr Putin said.

"Instead of [...] ensuring this never happens again, we are hearing unintelligible explanations and statements that there is nothing to apologise about."

Mr Putin's accusations came at a news conference on how to defeat IS, with French counterpart Francois Hollande at the Kremlin.

Mr Putin and Mr Hollande said their forces will share more intelligence and target strikes only on IS and other jihadi groups.

Russia has previously been accused of also striking at anti-Assad rebels in order to prop up the regime.

"What we agreed, and this is important, is to strike only terrorists and Daesh (Islamic State) and to not strike forces that are fighting terrorism," said the French President.

"We will exchange information about whom to hit and whom not to hit," Mr Hollande added.

Both countries have recently suffered devastating attacks by IS-supporting terrorists.

The Paris Memorial Service

family members have been invited to the official tribute at Les Invalides, in the heart of the city.

A number of those wounded in the attacks are also expected to attend. French president Francois Hollande has flown home from a meeting in Moscow with Russia's Vladimir Putin to attend the event.

He is expected to make a 20-minute address at the one-hour ceremony, which will be shown live on television.

There is expected to be a minute's silence, and names of victims will be read. 

Among those attending will be the parents of Nick Alexander, a Briton killed in the attacks.

They issued a statement for the first time since his death.

"Words cannot express the sadness we feel at the loss of our precious Nick," the statement read.

"This is just the beginning of a long road where we will have to get used to the absence of his physical presence around us - a physical presence that we loved so much, that made us laugh, that we loved being with, and always held us close wherever he was.

"The outpouring of love from around the world has been a great comfort to us and makes us even more proud to have had Nick as our son.   We will love and miss him forever.

"We extend our love and condolences to all those who have been affected by this indiscriminate act, and are proud to stand with them in unity at the memorial service on Friday.  Our lives are intrinsically linked forever."

In the run up to the commemoration, Mr Hollande has called on French citizens to hang out the Tricolour.

"Every French citizen can take part (in the tribute) by taking the opportunity to deck their home with a blue, white and red flag, the colours of France," Mr Hollande said.

But one family has called for a boycott of the service, angry at what they see as the collective failure of the French government and security services to prevent the attacks.

Emma Prevost, who lost her brother Francois-Xavier in the rampage, set out her views in a widely-read Facebook post.

She wrote: "So no thank you Mr President, politicians, your tribute we do not want.

"You were partly responsible for what happened to us. It was earlier that there was a need to act. The attacks in January should have been sufficient."

The American band, Eagles of Death Metal, have said they would like to be the first to play at the Bataclan concert hall when it re-opens.

Eighty-nine people were killed at the venue when heavily-armed terrorists stormed it 30 minutes into their set.

The terrorists also set off bombs outside the Stade de France, and opened fire at bars and restaurants, killing 130 people in all.

Security across the city remains tight, especially as two alleged members of the terror cell - Salah Abdeslam and Mohamed Abrini - are still on the run.

Some 11,000 police officers will be deployed across Paris from Sunday as the city gets ready to welcome world leaders for Monday's climate change conference.

Putin: US Knew Flight Path Of Downed Russian Jet

Mr Putin dismissed as "rubbish" Turkey's claim that it would not have shot down the jet if it had known it was Russian.

The accusations came at a joint news conference on how to defeat Islamic State (IS) with French counterpart Francois Hollande at the Kremlin.

"The American side, which leads the coalition that Turkey belongs to, knew about the location and time of our planes' flights, and we were hit exactly there and at that time," Mr Putin said.

He added that Russian planes were easily identifiable and Turkey was making excuses for its actions. 

"They [our planes] have identification signs and these are well visible," Mr Putin said.

"Instead of [...] ensuring this never happens again, we are hearing unintelligible explanations and statements that there is nothing to apologise about."

Meanwhile, Mr Putin and Mr Hollande said their forces will share more intelligence and target strikes only on IS and other jihadi groups. 

Russia has previously been accused of also striking at anti-Assad rebels in order to prop up the regime.

"What we agreed, and this is important, is to strike only terrorists and Daesh (Islamic State) and to not strike forces that are fighting terrorism," said the French President.

"We will exchange information about whom to hit and whom not to hit," Mr Hollande added.

Both countries have recently suffered devastating attacks by IS-supporting terrorists.

Russia raiding Turkish firms

Russian police have been raiding Turkish companies in different regions of Russia and, in some cases, have suspended their operations, two Turkish businessmen with investments in the country have told Al Jazeera.

Moscow has also started sending back Turkish trucks loaded with exports at the border and stopped Turkish tourists - who normally do not need visas  - entering the country, at least two businessmen said.

Turkish companies in Russia, particularly construction companies, are being raided. Turkish businessman

Turkish and Russian foreign ministries, contacted by phone, had not replied to Al Jazeera's questions at the time of the publication of this story.

Moscow's move comes after Turkish fighter jets shot down a Russian Sukhoi Su-24 warplane on Tuesday for allegedly violating Turkish airspace.

The two sides, who are at odds over the Syrian crisis, have opposite claims over whether the airspace breach is true or not.

"Turkish companies in Russia, particularly construction companies, are being raided," a Turkish executive with a manufacturing company active in Russia told Al Jazeera, on condition of anonymity.

"They check if anyone with expired or no working visas is actively working in these companies or not. They check if working regulations were implemented or not.

"There have been serious breaches in this area within construction companies and Russian authorities know it. Activities of some companies have been frozen on these grounds."

Cevdet Seylan, a businessman with trade relations in the city of Kazan, also confirmed that police had been raiding Turkish companies there.

Trucks returned

Osman Bagdatlioglu, the chairman of Turkey's Ornamental Plants and Products Exporters Union, said that several trucks loaded with flowers returned back to Turkey on Wednesday after Russian authorities blocked their entry into the country.

"Six trucks came back yesterday. We stopped all deliveries. We stopped deliveries by planes as well.

"Officially there are no obstacles, but we come across unofficial ones. This will have a massive impact on our commercial segment in short and middle terms. In Europe, one of our largest partners is Russia," he said.

The goods blockage was also reported by Adnan Dalgakiran, a member of the Turkish Exporters Assembly, who tweeted on Wednesday evening: "Entry of Turkish goods has been blocked at Russia customs." 

Another businessman, who wished to remain anonymous, said that all trucks suspected of carrying Turkish products are asked to wait at the border, regardless of their license plate.

"At the border, they check every single truck, whatever license plate it carries. They check everything about the product," he said.

"They count the products, check their weight, etc, and find an excuse to make them wait or send them back."

Meanwhile, several Turkish citizens confirmed to Al Jazeera that Russia was sending back Turkish tourists trying to enter the country by finding "excuses" and was delaying entry of Turks with work or residence permit.

Turkish and Russian tourists have been able to travel between the two countries without a visa since 2011, following an agreement signed between the two countries.

Wait at customs

Seylan, the businessman, said that Russian authorities made him and other Turkish nationals wait at Kazan's airport for an hour while entering the country on Wednesday.

"Police went to our residence addresses, checked our information and then we were allowed to go into the country," Seylan told Al Jazeera.

"On [the evening of] November 24, there have also been raids on Turkish residences and cafes that Turks go to.

"Students and professionals were detained. They were released after being questioned."

Turkish Airlines officials told Al Jazeera that Turkish authorities did not warn the company about any restrictions over using Russian air space. The state-owned carrier added flights continued as normal.

Russian authorities had hinted at new commercial measures against Turkey following the downing of the country's warplane.

Russia carried out its first air strikes in Syria on September 30, saying the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and "other terrorist groups" were the targets.

Turkey has long been campaigning for the ousting of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and has joined other countries in criticising Russia's air campaign, saying the strikes are mainly hitting rebel groups opposed to Assad rather than ISIL.

Turkey had warned Russia over violations of its airspace multiple times before Tuesday's downing by Turkish air forces, Ankara says.

Retailers Braced For Black Friday Frenzy

Internet spending today will hit £1.07bn - a 32% increase on last year's £810m, according to Experian-IMRG.

The Centre for Retail Research is predicting a slightly more modest figure of £966m.

But it anticipates total Black Friday sales, including at high street stores, will reach £1.39bn - and climb to £3.49bn with the proceeds from the weekend and Cyber Monday.

Retailers made cut-price deals available online from midnight and many spent the night preparing to open their doors early to customers desperate to snap up discounted stock.

Staying home to shop online during Black Friday has become so big there has been a 5% reduction in the number of accidents and thefts on the day, says the motor insurance branch of the Co-operative.

Retail analyst Greg Bromley from Conlumino, said online and in-person shoppers were often after a different sales experience, adding: "Online shopping is more considered - you can compare the prices.

"The more impulsive buyer who just wants to look and see, those buying clothing, for example, will likely head to the department stores."

It is thought another reason for the increase in home shopping on Black Friday could be the sight of people fighting over electrical appliances last year.

The shop workers' union, USDAW, which reported a two-thirds increase in abuse and violence against retail workers on Black Friday 2014, is urging bargain-hunters to "keep your cool".

Police are asking stores to make sure they have adequate security measures in place. 

Last year, Black Friday overtook Cyber Monday for the first time as Amazon UK's busiest day, when it sold more than 5.5 million items at a rate of 64 per second.

Visa Europe predicts shoppers will spend £721m online on its cards today, up from £616m last year.

However, consumer advocates are urging shoppers to exercise caution in the rush for bargains.

Bullying Culture At UK's Biggest Ambulance Trust

Inspectors rated it as inadequate, blaming a culture of bullying and problems with poor emergency response times.

England's Chief Inspector of Hospitals, Professor Sir Mike Richards, said putting the trust in special measures was a necessary step for improvement.  

"The trust has been performing poorly on response times since March 2014.

"This is a very serious problem, which the trust clearly isn't able to address alone, and which needs action to put right."

He praised the frontline staff as dedicated, hardworking and compassionate but said they were not being properly supported to do their jobs.

"Some reported a culture of harassment and bullying and we found that in many cases there just weren't enough properly trained staff, or that the proper equipment wasn't available to them."

Inspectors found dirty equipment, a lack of staff training and poor leadership.

Some black and minority ethnic staff told the inspectors that at times they felt "humiliated" and "ignored" by managers.

Some claimed they were overlooked for promotion.

The response time for the most urgent calls - Category A to be responded to within eight minutes - is the worst in the country.

The trust has not hit the target once since May 2014. 

Sir Mike said: "While we do have significant concerns about the performance of the ambulance service, I want to provide Londoners with some reassurance.

"Urgent steps are being taken - and improvements have already been made - to ensure that everyone who relies on this service receives excellent, timely care and that London has the ambulance service it deserves."

UNISON general secretary, Dave Prentis, said: "This is a shocking indictment of the lack of funding that has gone to the ambulance service over the last five years. This is a particular problem in London where demand has soared in recent years."

The trust says it has now taken action to address the failings.

Corbyn Facing Revolt Over Syria Airstrikes

comes after David Cameron made his case for extending military action against Islamic State,

saying "every day we don't take action is a day ISIL grows stronger".

Mr Corbyn said while he is "determined to see the defeat" of IS, "the issue now is whether what the Prime Minister is proposing strengthens, or undermines, our national security".

In a letter to MPs, sent after a shadow cabinet meeting, he added: "I do not believe that the Prime Minister today made a convincing case that extending UK bombing to Syria would meet that crucial test.

"Nor did it satisfactorily answer the questions raised by us and the Foreign Affairs Select Committee."

And the letter has angered some who see it as an attempt to pre-empt Monday's shadow cabinet meeting while appealing over the head of MPs to the grass roots members who swept Mr Corbyn to the leadership.

Shadow international development secretary Diane Abbott insisted the shadow cabinet was not entitled to vote down the leader and said she was confident they would come to the "right decision".

"Jeremy appoints the shadow cabinet - not the other way round. You cannot have a shadow cabinet voting down the leader of the Labour Party who has just been elected with the biggest mandate in history."

However, shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn said Mr Cameron had set out "compelling arguments" for Britain to join other nations in extending airstrikes against IS into Syria.

"I'm very clear in my mind that there's a real threat to the UK from ISIL Daesh...

"I think we have a responsibility to take effective action to deal with that threat."

When asked if shadow cabinet members will be forced to vote against airstrikes, he added: "It's important for people to make their decision as a member of Parliament."

Mr Corbyn has now pulled out of a planned visit to campaign in the Oldham West by-election this weekend in order to deal with the situation.

The Prime Minister has said there would be no vote in the House of Commons unless he was assured there was a clear majority in favour.

And with some Conservative MPs still opposed to the plans, he may need support from a significant number of Labour members.