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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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Alma al Shaab in Lebanon
Image:
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.

Anton Konsul
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Anton Konsul: ‘When you wake up… you think, thank God, we are still alive’

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
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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
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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.”

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Kilmar Abrego Garcia: Man wrongly deported from US to El Salvador has been returned to face criminal charges

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Kilmar Abrego Garcia: Man wrongly deported from US to El Salvador has been returned to face criminal charges

A man who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration has been returned to the US to face criminal charges.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia was charged in an indictment filed in federal court in Tennessee with conspiring to transport illegal immigrants into the US, attorney general Pam Bondi said on Friday.

Court records have shown the indictment was filed on 21 May, more than two months after he was deported from the US under a controversial 18th-century wartime law.

Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks as Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche listens during a news conference about Kilmar Abrego Garcia at the Justice Department, Friday June 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
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US attorney general Pam Bondi, alongside her deputy Todd Blanche, outlined the charges at a news conference. Pic: AP

In a statement, Abrego Garcia’s lawyer Andrew Rossman said it would now be up to the US judicial system to ensure he received due process.

“Today’s action proves what we’ve known all along – that the administration had the ability to bring him back and just refused to do so,” he said.

Salvadoran Abrego Garcia, 29, was deported from Maryland despite an immigration judge’s 2019 order granting him protection after finding he was likely to be persecuted by local gangs if he was returned to his native country.

The indictment alleges Abrego Garcia worked with at least five co-conspirators to bring immigrants to the US illegally and transport them from the border to other destinations in the country.

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On Friday, Ms Bondi outlined the charges at a news conference, saying: “The grand jury found that over the past nine years, Abrego Garcia has played a significant role in an alien smuggling ring.

“He made over 100 trips, the grand jury found – smuggling people throughout our country… MS-13 [international criminal gang] members, violent gang terrorist organisation members… throughout our country.

“He will be prosecuted in our country, sentenced in our country if convicted and then returned after completion of his sentence.”

Ms Bondi said Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele agreed to return Abrego Garcia to the US after American officials presented his government with an arrest warrant.

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Chris Van Hollen (R) speaks with Kilmar Abrego Garcia (L). Pic: Press Office Senator Van Hollen/AP
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Chris Van Hollen (R) speaks to Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Pic: Press Office Senator Van Hollen/AP

Democrat senator Chris Van Hollen travelled to El Salvador in April to meet Abrego Garcia, arguing his constitutional rights to due process were being ignored.

Critics of Donald Trump have pointed to the deportation of Abrego Garcia as an example of the excesses of the Republican president’s aggressive immigration policies.

US District Judge Paula Xinis has opened a probe into what, if anything, Mr Trump’s administration has done to secure his return, after his lawyers accused officials of stonewalling their requests for information.

Jennifer Vasquez Sura (R). Pic: AP
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Jennifer Vasquez Sura (R) filed a legal complaint over the deportation of her husband. Pic: AP

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Officials responded by alleging that Abrego Garcia was a member of the MS-13 gang – something his lawyers have strongly denied.

In a separate statement, Pam Bondi also attacked what she called the “Fake News Media” and repeated the – yet unproven – allegations against Abrego Garcia.

“The Justice Department’s Grand Jury Indictment against Abrego Garcia proves the unhinged Democrat Party was wrong, and their stenographers in the Fake News Media were once again played like fools.

“Abrego Garcia was never an innocent ‘Maryland Man’- Abrego Garcia is an illegal alien terrorist, gang member, and human trafficker who has spent his entire life abusing innocent people, especially women and the most vulnerable.”

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White House officials to meet Chinese delegation in London for next round of trade talks

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White House officials to meet Chinese delegation in London for next round of trade talks

Senior White House officials will meet with a Chinese delegation in London on Monday for the next round of trade talks, US President Donald Trump has said.

The meeting comes after a phone call between Mr Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday, which the US president said was “very positive” – lasting about an hour and a half.

Speaking to reporters on Friday from Air Force One, the president added that it was a “good talk”, describing the deal as “complicated”, but one that “will bring us a lot of money”.

He also said: “I get along well with Xi and China.”

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US and China reach agreement on tariffs

Writing on his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump said the upcoming London meeting “should go very well” and added that treasury secretary Scott Bessent, commerce secretary Howard Lutnick and trade representative Jamieson Greer would represent the US at the talks.

It is unclear who will represent China.

The two countries are at an impasse over tariffs and a dispute involving critical rare earth mineral exports, in which China remains the dominant producer.

On 12 May, China and the US struck a 90-day deal in Geneva to pause retaliatory tariffs placed on each other since Mr Trump was inaugurated in January.

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The US president said the move was part of a “total reset” in relations.

The agreement prompted a global surge in stock markets and US indexes that were in, or approaching, bear market levels.

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US and China end trade war

The temporary deal saw the US reduce its 145% tariff to 30% on Chinese goods.

China also agreed to reduce its 125% retaliatory tariffs to 10% on US goods.

However, sector-specific tariffs, such as the 25% tax on cars, aluminium and steel, are still in place.

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The Chinese foreign ministry said the US president initiated the call, and they had asked him to “remove the negative measures” in place against China.

It also said that Mr Trump said “the US loves to have Chinese students coming to study in America”.

This is despite his administration previously saying it will “aggressively” revoke the visas of Chinese students studying in the US.

Since Mr Trump’s re-election, the president has frequently issued threats of punitive trade measures against US partners, only to backtrack at the last minute.

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Gaza marks start of Eid with outdoor prayers in rubble – as Israel warns of intensive new military operations

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Gaza marks start of Eid with outdoor prayers in rubble - as Israel warns of intensive new military operations

Israel has issued a fresh warning to civilians in northern Gaza, saying its military is about to carry out intensive operations there.

It comes after Israel said rockets were fired from the area.

Palestinians across the war-ravaged Gaza Strip have marked the start of one of Islam’s most important holidays, amid little hope the conflict will end any time soon.

Much of Gaza lies in ruins, with men and children forced to hold the traditional Eid al Adha prayers in the open air, and as food supplies dwindle.

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UN: 500,000 are food insecure in Gaza

Food and aid were blocked from entering the Palestinian territory for more than two months, but a trickle of supplies has been allowed in over the last few weeks.

The UN said it cannot distribute much of the aid, due to the risk of looters and restrictions on movement.

“This is the worst feast that the Palestinian people have experienced because of the unjust war against the Palestinian people,” said Kamel Emran after attending prayers in the southern city of Khan Younis.

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“There is no food, no flour, no shelter, no mosques, no homes, no mattresses… The conditions are very, very harsh.”

The Islamic holiday begins on the 10th day of the Islamic lunar month of Dhul-Hijja, during the Hajj season in Saudi Arabia.

It is the second year Muslims in Gaza have been unable to travel to the country to perform the traditional pilgrimage.

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Israel confirms arming gangs to combat Hamas

The war broke out after the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas-led militants. Some 1,200 people were killed and around 250 others were abducted and taken to Gaza.

Hamas is still holding 56 hostages, with a third of them believed to be alive. The rest have been released in ceasefire agreements, with forces rescuing eight living hostages from Gaza and recovering dozens of bodies.

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Situation in Gaza ‘utterly intolerable’

Israel has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in its military campaign, according to the Gaza health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians or combatants in its figures.

Around 90% of the population of two million has been displaced.

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