‘We are afraid’: Village in Lebanon caught in crossfire between Israel and militants ‘could turn into battlefield’
There is a place in Lebanon called Alma al Shaab which clings to the sunburnt hills that rise up from the Mediterranean.
The community is surrounded by olive groves and trees with ripe oranges, yet this a nerve-shredding time to live there.
In fact, the vast majority of its 900 residents have already left for cities like the capital Beirut as the rockets and shells fly over their heads.
Their village is now situated in the warzone, as militant factions like Iran-backed Hezbollah, as well as fighters belonging to groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, launch munitions over the border into Israel.
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Damage to a building in Alma al Shaab
Using the trees and hills that surround the community, their operations are increasing and the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, says he is introducing powerful new weapons to the battlefield.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Hezbollah is making a “fatal mistake”, while his defence minister Yoav Gallant has threatened to send Lebanon back “to the stone age”.
Despite the war of words – or perhaps because of them – the conflict is quickly escalating.
Those residents who remain in largely Christian Alma al Shaab have found themselves caught in the crossfire.
They gather every morning at the local shop to drink thick Lebanese coffee and talk about what happened overnight.
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Anton Konsul is the headteacher at the local high school.
He said: “When I tell you we’re not afraid, we are afraid, you don’t want to know what’s going to happen. When you wake up in the morning you think, thank God, we are still alive.”
“Is this your war?” I asked. “Is this a battle you have a stake in?”
He replied: “It has nothing to do with us, this is the problem, it’s sad, but what can you do?”
On the question of blame, no one we spoke to in the village was prepared to point fingers – and that seems like a reasonable precaution.
Alma al Shaab is the only Christian village among 104 communities in southern Lebanon – the others are largely Shia Muslim.
When I asked the group at the local shop whether they have seen militants from Hezbollah operating in the district, no one seemed keen to talk.
Milad Eid points out damage to a building
“Maybe, like 20 days ago,” said Milad Eid, who runs the local guest house. “We stay in our homes. They don’t come near.”
He added: “You can’t blame anyone, well, it’s difficult to say. It’s happened, it’s happened.”
This small band of residents seems determined to stay put for as long as they possibly can.
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Monseigneur Maroun Ghaffari: ‘I will stay with our people’
Sipping coffee in a black shirt was the head of the local Maronite Church, called Monseigneur Maroun Ghaffari.
His friends at the shop joked that Monseigneur Ghaffari had “lost himself a lot of customers” since the conflict broke out and the church leader admitted that his once buoyant congregation has fallen to six.
“I am from the village and have (much) experience of Lebanon’s wars, so I will stay with our people, there are old people, they have nobody, we must be near them during this tragic situation,” he says.
Monseigneur Ghaffari pointed out that neither side had hit the centre of town and he hoped they would outlast the war.
He said: “I am not suicidal, but the situation is still bearable. We believe that if we leave the village it could turn into a battlefield.”
Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada have come into effect, as has an additional 10% on Chinese products, bringing the total import tax to 20%.
The US president confirmed the tariffs in a speech at the White House – and his announcement sent US and European stocks down sharply.
The tariffs will be felt heavily by US companies which have factories in Canada and Mexico, such as carmakers.
Mr Trump said: “They’re going to have a tariff. So what they have to do is build their car plants, frankly, and other things in the United States, in which case they have no tariffs.”
There’s “no room left” for a deal that would see the tariffs shelved if fentanyl flowing into the US is curbed by its neighbours, he added.
Mexico and Canada face tariffs of 25%, with 10% for Canadian energy, the Trump administration confirmed.
And tariffs on Chinese imports have doubled, raising them from 10% to 20%.
Canada announced it would retaliate immediately, imposing 25% tariffs on US imports worth C$30bn (£16.3bn). It added the tariffs would be extended in 21 days to cover more US goods entering the country if the US did not lift its sanctions against Canada.
China also vowed to retaliate and reiterated its stance that the Trump administration was trying to “shift the blame” and
“bully” Beijing over fentanyl flows.
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What is America’s trade position?
Mr Trump’s speech stoked fears of a trade war in North America, prompting a financial market sell-off.
Stock market indexes the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite fell by 1.48% and 2.64% respectively on Monday.
The share prices for automobile companies including General Motors, which has significant truck production in Mexico, Automaker and Ford also fell.
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Consumers in the US could see price hikes within days, an expert has said.
Gustavo Flores-Macias, a public policy professor at Cornell University, New York, said “the automobile sector, in particular, is likely to see considerable negative consequences”.
This is due to supply chains that “crisscross the three countries in the manufacturing process” and ” because of the expected increase in the price of vehicles, which can dampen demand,” he added.
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The Trump administration is gearing up to bring in other tariffs in the coming weeks.
On 2 April, reciprocal tariffs will take effect on all countries that impose duties on US products.
He is also considering 25% tariffs on goods from the EU “very soon” after claiming the bloc was created to “screw the United States”.
A truck has collided with a bus in southern Bolivia, killing at least 31 people, according to police – just two days after a deadly crash claimed at least 37 lives.
Officers said the bus rolled some 500m (1,640ft) down a ravine after the collision on Monday, which took place on the highway between Oruro, in the Bolivian Altiplano, and the highland mining city of Potosi.
The driver of the truck has been arrested, while the cause of the accident is under investigation.
Police spokesperson Limbert Choque said men and women were among the dead, and 22 people suffered injuries.
Rescue teams operating at the site of the crash. Pic: Bolivia’s attorney general/Reuters
Bolivia’s President, Luis Arce, expressed condolences for the victims on social media: “This unfortunate event must be investigated to establish responsibilities,” he said in a post on Facebook.
“We send our most sincere condolences to the bereaved families, wishing them the necessary strength to face these difficult times.”
The crash happened between Oruro and Potosi
On Saturday morning, a crash between two buses killed more than three dozen people in the same region.
It happened between Colchani and the city of Uyuni, a major tourist attraction and the world’s largest salt flat.
People stand near the wreckage of one of the two buses involved in a crash on Saturday. Pic: Reuters/Potosi Departmental Command
Coincidentally, one of the buses was heading to Oruro, where one of the most important carnival celebrations in Latin America is currently taking place.
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More than 30 people were also killed after a bus crash on 17 February.
In that crash, police said the driver appeared to have lost control of the vehicle, causing it to drop more than 800m (2,600ft) off a precipice in the southwestern area of Yocalla.
Bolivia’s mountainous, undermaintained and poorly supervised roads are some of the deadliest in the world, claiming an average 1,400 fatalities every year.
The Pope has had two episodes of “acute respiratory failure”, the Vatican has said.
The 88-year-old has been in hospital since 14 February with a severe respiratory infection that triggered other complications.
The Vatican said the respiratory failures were caused by “significant accumulation” of mucus in his lungs and a “bronchospasm”, akin to an asthma attack.
Doctors were then required to perform two bronchoscopies – a test which sees medics use a long, thin, telescope with a light to look into the lungs – to evaluate the Pope’s air passages, the statement said.
“In the afternoon, non-invasive mechanical ventilation was resumed,” the Vatican continued. “The Holy Father has always remained vigilant, oriented and collaborative. The prognosis remains reserved.”
Vatican sources said the situation had been calm this morning, before becoming worse this afternoon.
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Behind the scenes at the Vatican
The respiratory issues the Pope suffered today are due to an ongoing infection rather than a new one but he is not out of danger, they added.
Asked if the Pope is in good spirits, they gave no answer. When asked if the Vatican’s apartment is getting ready to welcome Francis back, the source said it was too premature to discuss this.
His clinical picture remains complex, they said.
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Earlier on Monday, Pope Francis issued a written message after Vatican officials begged him to let his voice be heard following more than two weeks out of public view.
He thanked his doctors for their care and well-wishers for their prayers, before praying for peace in Ukraine and elsewhere.
“From here, war appears even more absurd,” he wrote.
People at a nightly rosary prayer for the Pope in St. Peter’s Square yesterday evening. Pic: AP
This has become the longest public absence of his 12-year papacy.
Cardinal Konrad Krajewski presided over the evening rosary prayer in St Peter’s Square on Sunday night.
“Let us pray together with the entire church for the health of the Holy Father Francis,” he said.
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