Source: BBC
Security & Justice
Southern Lebanon Endures Massive Damage: 40,000 Homes Leveled Across 37 Towns
Israeli forces have systematically destroyed entire neighborhoods in southern Lebanon, leveling more than 37 towns and wiping out over 40,000 residential units, according to Lebanon's National News Agency.
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
Gaps in Coastal Radar Enabled Israeli Raid in Batroun, Army Commander Says
Lebanon’s army chief, General Joseph Aoun, detailed to Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati how Israeli forces likely exploited gaps in the country's coastal radar system during the recent raid carried out in Batroun. The briefing comes as Lebanese officials seek answers on how Israel’s elite Shayetet 13 unit carried out the landing undetected.
Monday, November 4, 2024
Opinion
The Emptying of Baalbek Is a Moment to Take Stock
“Large numbers of people continue to flee their homes every day, as Israel’s military operations in Lebanon have been going on unabated.” These disturbing words could be from almost any news report about Israel’s invasion of its northern neighbour over the past month. However, they can be found in a report by the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre issued on July 27, 2006.
Saturday, November 2, 2024
A Future Without Hezbollah
At the end of September, when Israel’s campaign to destroy Hezbollah was reaching its height, I met one of the group’s supporters in a seaside café in western Beirut. He was a middle-aged man with a thin white beard and the spent look of someone who had not slept for days. He was an academic of sorts, not a fighter, but his ties to Hezbollah were deep and long-standing.
Thursday, October 31, 2024
Sports
Tottenham Forward Son Heung-min Crowned Asia’s International Player of the Year
Tottenham forward Son Heung-min was crowned as Asia’s International Player of the Year for the fourth time by the Asian Football Confederation at its annual awards ceremony Tuesday.
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
Real Madrid Launch Investigation into Racist Insults After El Clasico Defeat
Real Madrid has launched an investigation into racist insults directed at players during Saturday’s 4-0 home loss to Barcelona in LaLiga, it said on Sunday.
Monday, October 28, 2024
Wednesday 3 November 2021 15:53:18
Netflix Launches First Games on Smartphones
Netflix is launching its first games worldwide as it seeks to break into the game subscription market.
Starting Tuesday, the company will roll out updates to its Netflix app on Android smartphones, showing what games are available for download.
To begin with, five mobile games are included for Netflix subscribers.
The company is promising more to come - with no adverts in the game and no in-app purchases like those common in other mobile games.
Of the five games launching with the service, two are linked to the streaming giant's popular Stranger Things series:
Stranger Things: 1984
Stranger Things 3: The Game
Card Blast
Teeter Up
Shooting Hoops
"While this is just the beginning of a long journey, we're excited to provide a gaming experience that is differentiated from what is available today - exclusive mobile games with no ads, no in-app payments, included with your Netflix membership," the company said.
While the initial games have relatively simple graphics and casual gameplay, Netflix says it is in very early stages, but plans to eventually create games "for every kind of player".
"Whether you're craving a casual game you can start from scratch, or an immersive experience that lets you dig deeper into your favourite stories, we want to begin to build a library of games that offers something for everyone," wrote Mike Verdu, the company's head of game development.
Mr Verdu was a major hire for Netflix, having worked at games giant EA and later at Facebook, where he worked on augmented and virtual reality.
Apple coming soon
This week's release is only for Android phones and tablets. Netflix said that games would come to iOS devices "in the coming months".
Apple has previously resisted attempts by other companies to put "stores inside stores" - particularly around gaming.
When Microsoft initially launched its Game Pass streaming service in 2020, Apple blocked the app from appearing in the iPhone App Store, arguing that the roughly 100 games included should all be listed in its store individually. Microsoft eventually resorted to streaming through Apple's mobile Safari browser instead.
Netflix did not say it was facing any similar issues with Netflix Games, saying that Android arriving first was down to the launch being "still in its early stages".
Despite the delay in reaching Apple customers, Microsoft has become the dominant figure in the game subscription market to date.
Its Xbox Game Pass service includes most of Microsoft's own game studio releases on the day they go on sale, many of which can be played on an Xbox, a gaming computer, or streamed over the internet to phones and tablets.
It is estimated to have tens of millions of subscribers paying between £7.99 and £10.99 a month, depending on the features they need.