Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Israeli air strikes on the Syrian city of Palmyra killed at least 36 people and injured dozens more on Wednesday, state media reported.
The strikes, launched at around 1.30pm from the Tanf area south of Palmyra, targeted residential buildings, Syria's Sana news agency reported, citing a military source.
"The aggression resulted in the death of 36 martyrs, the injury of more than 50 others, and the infliction of significant material damage to the targeted buildings and the surrounding area," the source said.
Palmyra is located in the desert in central Homs, Syria's largest province that extends from the border with Lebanon in the west to the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, which borders Iraq. Israel has claimed several recent air strikes in Homs, mainly in areas close to Lebanon, on what it says are targets linked to the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah and its weapons supply routes from Iran.
The Israeli military did not acknowledge the strikes on Palmyra, a Unesco heritage site famed for its ruins.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said there were strikes on three targets, including a warehouse for weapons in the city's industrial area.
The dead included "four non-Syrian fighters from pro-Iran groups and seven of Syrian nationality", it said.
Israel's strikes on Iran-linked targets in Syria, including on the capital Damascus, have escalated since late September after it launched an intensive bombing campaign and ground invasion against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
Famous left-handers
- Marie Curie
- Jimi Hendrix
- Leonardo Di Vinci
- David Bowie
- Paul McCartney
- Albert Einstein
- Jack the Ripper
- Barack Obama
- Helen Keller
- Joan of Arc
Ibrahim's play list
Completed an electrical diploma at the Adnoc Technical Institute
Works as a public relations officer with Adnoc
Apart from the piano, he plays the accordion, oud and guitar
His favourite composer is Johann Sebastian Bach
Also enjoys listening to Mozart
Likes all genres of music including Arabic music and jazz
Enjoys rock groups Scorpions and Metallica
Other musicians he likes are Syrian-American pianist Malek Jandali and Lebanese oud player Rabih Abou Khalil
A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
Start-up hopes to end Japan's love affair with cash
Across most of Asia, people pay for taxi rides, restaurant meals and merchandise with smartphone-readable barcodes — except in Japan, where cash still rules. Now, as the country’s biggest web companies race to dominate the payments market, one Tokyo-based startup says it has a fighting chance to win with its QR app.
Origami had a head start when it introduced a QR-code payment service in late 2015 and has since signed up fast-food chain KFC, Tokyo’s largest cab company Nihon Kotsu and convenience store operator Lawson. The company raised $66 million in September to expand nationwide and plans to more than double its staff of about 100 employees, says founder Yoshiki Yasui.
Origami is betting that stores, which until now relied on direct mail and email newsletters, will pay for the ability to reach customers on their smartphones. For example, a hair salon using Origami’s payment app would be able to send a message to past customers with a coupon for their next haircut.
Quick Response codes, the dotted squares that can be read by smartphone cameras, were invented in the 1990s by a unit of Toyota Motor to track automotive parts. But when the Japanese pioneered digital payments almost two decades ago with contactless cards for train fares, they chose the so-called near-field communications technology. The high cost of rolling out NFC payments, convenient ATMs and a culture where lost wallets are often returned have all been cited as reasons why cash remains king in the archipelago. In China, however, QR codes dominate.
Cashless payments, which includes credit cards, accounted for just 20 per cent of total consumer spending in Japan during 2016, compared with 60 per cent in China and 89 per cent in South Korea, according to a report by the Bank of Japan.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
