of Homs during that country's civil war. In common with other newspapers, The Sunday Times has been hit by a fall in circulation, which has declined from a peak of 1.3 million to just over 710,000. It has a number of digital-only subscribers, which numbered 99,017 by January 2019. During January 2013, Martin Ivens became 'acting' editor of The Sunday Times in succession to John Witherow, who became the 'acting' editor of The Times at the same time. The independent directors rejected a permanent position for Ivens as editor to avoid any possible merger of The Sunday Times and daily Times titles. Online presence The Sunday Times has its own website. It previously shared an online presence with The Times, but in May 2010 they both launched their own sites to reflect their distinct brand identities. Since July 2010, the sites are charging for access. An iPad edition was launched in December 2010, and an Android version in August 2011. Since July 2012, the digital version of the paper has been available on Apple's Newsstand platform, allowing automated downloading of the news section. With over 500 MB of content every week, it is the biggest newspaper app in the world. The Sunday Times iPad app was named newspaper app of the year at the 2011 Newspaper Awards and has twice been ranked best newspaper or magazine app in the world by iMonitor. Various subscription packages exist, giving access to both the print and digital versions of the paper. On 2 October 2012, The Sunday Times launched Sunday Times Driving, a separate classified advertising site for premium vehicles that also includes editorial content from the newspaper as well as specially commissioned articles. It can be accessed without cost. Related publications The Sunday Times Travel Magazine This 164-page monthly magazine is sold separately from the newspaper and is Britain's best-selling travel magazine. The first issue of The Sunday Times Travel Magazine was in 2003, and it includes news, features and insider guides. Notable stories Some of the more notable or controversial stories published in The Sunday Times include: Thalidomide, a drug prescribed to pregnant women to treat morning sickness, was withdrawn in 1961 following reports that it was linked to a number of birth defects. The Sunday Times spent many years campaigning for compensation for the victims, providing case studies and evidence of the side-effects. In 1968, the Distillers Company agreed to