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Scores of residents flocked to a cramped shop in Hong Kong's old district to bid farewell to the city's "king of umbrellas", who is retiring after spending decades repairing umbrellas at his family business.Established in 1842 during the Qing Dynasty, the Sun Rise Company was founded by the Yau family in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.Current proprietor Yau Yiu-wai, 73, announced earlier this month that his 183-year-old family business would close its doors at year's end.The family-run shop has been passed down through five generations, but due to shifting consumer habits towards online shopping and his advancing age, it has to cease operations, Yau told AFP on Friday."We've upheld our family's reputation, and this legacy has come down to me... It truly pains me to end it," Yau said. "I'm sorry to my ancestors."After enduring wartime turmoil, the shop relocated to Hong Kong, eventually finding its place amid the bustling meat and vegetable vendors in Sham Shui Po district."(Today's) wheel of time rolled over me and crushed me beneath its weight," Yau said.News of the closure spread across social media, with one user calling it "another loss of a wonderful community business"."He genuinely cared about selling customers a good, practical umbrella," student Niki Lum told AFP, referring to Yau."I could tell he put his heart into running this shop," said the 20-year-old.Resident Peter Tam, 60, said witnessing the disappearance of these classic shops felt like the end of an era."It's such a pity... These are all pieces of history," he said. "And we ourselves are becoming history too."While most retailers rely on customers replacing damaged umbrellas with new ones, Yau said he aims for durability. "This is for environmental protection. It's a social responsibility."Those who brought umbrellas for repair included couples hoping to mend their relationships and married couples who had used umbrellas as tokens of affection.Yau said that fewer than five repairmen like him remain in Hong Kong practising this "barely profitable" umbrella trade.However, now Yau said he has no choice but to end the service he took pride in."I'm getting old. You have to forgive me, I just can't carry on any more," he said, adding he had suffered a stroke several years ago."The most important thing for you is to stay smart... and learn to be eco-friendly," he added. 

Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) index started Wednesday with a slight increase of 0.05%, gaining 5.45 points to rise to 11,112 points, compared to the previous session's close, backed by four sectors.Figures from QSE showed a positive performance in the Telecoms (+0.71), Banks and Financial Services (+0.29), Consumer Goods and Services (+0.11), and Real Estate (+0.01).In contrast, performance was negative in Transportation (-0.70), Insurance (-0.59), and Industrial (-0.37).As of 10:00 AM, QSE recorded a trading value of 81.263 million Qatari riyals, with 28.219 million shares exchanged across 3,752 transactions.

An Israeli strike flattened a high-rise in Gaza City Saturday — the second in as many days — after the military warned people to flee ahead of a planned offensive against the urban hub. Israel has been warning for weeks of a new assault on the territory's largest city, without issuing a timeline. It has stepped up air strikes and ground operations on the city's outskirts, sparking fears it could worsen already dire conditions. Saturday, Israeli aircraft dropped thousands of leaflets on western neighbourhoods calling on residents to evacuate, witnesses and an AFP journalist said. Nafez Anis, who has been living in a tent with his family in Gaza City, said he had read the leaflet, but was not planning on leaving. "Where should we go?" he told AFP. "We will wait, and when we see Israeli tanks approaching here, we will leave." Gaza civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that 55 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli fire during the day, including 18 near an aid distribution centre in the north. Saturday, the military struck a Gaza City high-rise, saying Hamas was using it "to monitor" Israeli troops and adding that it had taken "measures to mitigate harm to civilians". Witnesses identified the building as the Sussi residential tower and said it was destroyed. Hamas condemned the attack and denied using residential or civilian buildings for military purposes. The Israeli military has said it will target structures being used by Hamas, particularly tall buildings. It also issued an evacuation order for another high-rise Saturday, warning of an imminent strike and telling people to leave for the south. A military spokesperson had earlier called on residents to leave for Al-Mawasi, on the Mediterranean coast to the south. Israel first declared Al-Mawasi a safe zone early in the war, but has carried out repeated strikes on it since then, saying they targeted Hamas. Gaza City residents said they believed it made little difference whether they stayed or fled. "Some say we should evacuate, others say we should stay," said Abdel Nasser Mushtaha, 48. "But everywhere in Gaza there are bombings and deaths" he added, pointing, in particular, to the strikes on Al-Mawasi. "It no longer makes any difference to us," said his daughter Samia Mushtaha, 20. "Wherever we go, death pursues us, whether by bombing or hunger." Israel has faced mounting domestic and international pressure to end the nearly two-year war. Thousands demonstrated in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem Saturday evening to call for a ceasefire and hostage release deal. In Tel Aviv, protesters unfurled a massive banner saying: "President Trump, save the hostages now!" Hamas agreed last month to a proposal for a temporary ceasefire and staggered hostage releases, but Israel has demanded the group release all the hostages at once, disarm and relinquish control of Gaza, among other conditions. The UN estimates nearly 1mn people remain in and around Gaza City, where it declared a famine last month. It has warned of a looming "disaster" if the assault proceeds. Israel's offensive has killed at least 64,368 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the UN considers reliable.