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The mass of Israeli tanks and armoured personnel carriers was impossible to hide.

Dozens of beige-coloured military vehicles had amassed in a dirt field in northern Israel, a few miles away from the border with Lebanon.

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They appeared overnight earlier in the week but were gone the next day.

The only evidence of their presence was a few crates of empty ammunition cases and tank tracks in the soil.

It was unclear where the unit disappeared to but, with hundreds of rockets fired by Hezbollah into this part of the country in the past three days alone, it is unsafe to stay in the same location for long – whether or not the heavy armour was bound for southern Lebanon.

Later in the day, we drove closer to the border. It was possible to see Lebanese homes on the hilly terrain on one side and Israeli houses on the other – communities combined by geography but divided by war.

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As we stood a few hundred metres away from the border, the sound of distant gunfire could be heard as Israeli ground troops battled against Hezbollah inside Lebanon.

There was also the boom of artillery rounds and the buzz of a drone overhead.

Blackened scorch marks scarred the ground around us – likely caused by some of the many Hezbollah rocket strikes in recent days.

The militant group – backed by Iran – began firing munitions into northern Israel the day after the 7 October atrocities in southern Israel by Hamas, which is also aligned with Tehran.

Since that moment, some 60,000 civilians have fled towns, villages and kibbutzim close to the border.

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Israel is ‘going for several targets’

Enabling all these families to return is a key goal of the widened Israeli operation against Hezbollah, which began last month and expanded into a ground offence in the past few days.

We travelled to Kibbutz Dan, just over a mile from the border. Famous for trout farming, this used to be a vibrant community of around 700 people, including children who would race around on bikes or play in a large swimming pool.

Today, there are only about 150 residents left. Among them are Shaul and Bilha Givoni, aged 80 and 79 respectively.

He has lived in the kibbutz his whole life, including during the 1948 war that followed Israel’s establishment as a sovereign state.

At that time, as a child, he had been forced to evacuate.

“After that, I said – this is my home, no one will ever evacuate me again,” Shaul said.

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He and his wife showed me their lovingly-decorated one-storey home, built next to an orchard, where pomegranate trees were heavy with fruit.

Lucky charms hung on the outside wall of the front of the house, as well as an ornament made out of a chunk of metal from Israel’s air defence system and a display on a shelf made from shrapnel from an incoming Hezbollah rocket.

As we spoke, the distant booms of war could be heard. Bilha admitted that she found it scary. “Fear, fear, fear – it’s a lot of fear. Fear affects our health, our psyche, our thoughts.”

Her husband then interrupted to say: “I’m not afraid.” His wife responded: “That’s why I sit close to Shaul, I can rely on him.”

Pointing to her head and then to her heart, she said: “Shaul works from here [his head] and I work from here [my heart]. We’ve been married since 1969, and together since 1965.”

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Shaul said he supports Israel’s offensive against Hezbollah inside Lebanon, but he and his wife doubt whether it will result in all of the families who fled northern Israel to return – which is one of the stated goals of the Israeli prime minister.

“Home is home, but when one is afraid you can’t force the fear out of him,” said Bilha.

“That’s what happened to many people here – even with the discomfort of being evacuated – they are dominated by fear.”

Her husband added: “I believe that some people won’t return – because of fear but also because it’s already been a year, people have moved on, found new schools for their children. Why should they return to all this mess?”

A day after we visited the couple, they told us that a Hezbollah rocket crashed into the ground close to their home – shattering the peace, but not their resolve to stand firm.

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Canada might be the second election Trump wins in six months

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Canada might be the second election Trump wins in six months

When Canada goes to the polls today, it might be the second election Donald Trump wins in six months.

The US president has transformed Canada’s political landscape, and the “Trump effect” looks like it will be the difference between winners and losers.

Tariffs, and his threat to annexe the country as the 51st state, have provoked a surge in Canadian nationalism, and it’s made a favourite of the candidate styled anti-Trump.

Step forward, Mark Carney: Former governor of the Bank of England, now Canadian prime minister.

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‘Canada will win’

His ruling Liberal party had been written off as an electoral contender. Canadians had turned their back on the party after a decade in power under Carney’s predecessor, Justin Trudeau.

The opposition Conservative Party, under the effective leadership of Pierre Poilievre, grew to a 25-point lead in the polls on the promise of change on the economy, crime and a chronic housing crisis.

However, his conservative politics are more aligned with the neighbour in the White House and, in Canada right now, it’s not a good look.

Read more: Everything you need to know about the election

Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre and his wife Anaida in Keene, Ontario. Pic: Reuters
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Pierre Poilievre led the Conservatives to a 25-point lead before Trudeau stepped down. Pic: Reuters

In a stunning reversal of fortune, the Conservative Party’s lead vanished within weeks, as Canadians turned to Carney as the choice to take on Trump.

If he wins, the swing from Conservative to Liberal will be the biggest swing in the polls in recent democratic history.

Carney, 60, is the former governor of the Bank of Canada, as well as England. He replaced Mr Trudeau as Liberal Party leader and Canadian prime minister after his predecessor stepped down last month.

Polls indicate that Canadians see Carney as a stronger choice to negotiate with Donald Trump. He is a veteran of economic turmoil, having dealt with the 2008 financial crisis and Brexit.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and liberal Leader Mark Carney shake hands after the English-language federal leaders' debate in Montreal. Pic: Reuters
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Pierre Poilievre and Mark Carney after an English-language leaders’ debate in Montreal. Pic: Reuters

At a weekend news conference, Sky News asked the Canadian prime minister what lessons he’d learned from Brexit that could be applied to his dealings with Donald Trump.

He replied: “The lessons of Brexit are beginning to be applied. When you break off, or substantially rupture, trading relationships with your major trading partners, including the most important trading partner of the United States, you end up with slower growth, higher inflation, higher interest rates, volatility, weaker currency, a weaker economy.

“We’re in the early stages of that in the United States, and that’s one of the important things here. With respect to influencing the president, with respect to the dynamics of a negotiation, America’s going to get weaker as time goes on, we’re going to get stronger.”

Canada’s vote is as close as it gets to a single-issue election.

Carney’s position as favourite is reinforced consistently by the opinion polls, although the gap narrowed as election day approached.

It could yet be tight.

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Trump ‘very disappointed’ in Russian strikes on Ukraine and calls for Putin to ‘sit down and sign a deal’

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Trump 'very disappointed' in Russian strikes on Ukraine and calls for Putin to 'sit down and sign a deal'

Donald Trump has said he’s “very disappointed” with Russia as he continues to push for a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine.

On Saturday, the US president met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Vatican for their first face-to-face meeting since their explosive White House summit.

The Ukrainian president said the meeting ahead of Pope Francis’s funeral could end up being “historic.” Hours later, Mr Trump questioned Vladimir Putin’s appetite for peace in a Truth Social post.

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From Saturday: Trump meets Zelenskyy at funeral

Speaking before boarding Air Force One on Sunday, Mr Trump again said the meeting went well, and that the Ukrainian leader was “calmer”.

“I think he understands the picture, I think he wants to make a deal,” he said, before turning to Mr Putin and Russia.

“I want him to stop shooting, sit down and sign a deal,” the US president said, adding he was “very disappointed that they did the bombing of those places (including Kyiv, where nine people were killed in a Russian airstrike on Friday) after discussions”.

However, Mr Trump said he thinks Mr Zelenskyy is ready to give up Crimea, which the Ukrainian leader has repeatedly said he would refuse to do.

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He added that “we’ll see what happens in the next few days” and said “don’t talk to me about Crimea, talk to Obama and Biden about Crimea”.

Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, while Barack Obama was president.

Meanwhile, US secretary of state Marco Rubio told Sky’s US partner network NBC News that a peace deal to end the war was “closer in general than they’ve been any time in the last three years, but it’s still not there”.

“If this was an easy war to end, it would have been ended by someone else a long time ago,” he added on the Meet the Press show.

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It comes after North Korea confirmed it had deployed troops to fight for Russia, months after Ukraine and Western officials said its forces were in Europe.

State media outlet KCNA reported North Korean soldiers made an “important contribution” to expelling Ukrainian forces from Russian territory, likely to be the Kursk region.

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KCNA said leader Kim Jong Un made the decision to deploy troops to Russia and notified Moscow, and quoted him as saying: “They who fought for justice are all heroes and representatives of the honour of the motherland.”

It also quoted the country’s ruling Workers’ Party as saying the end of the battle to liberate Kursk showed the “highest strategic level of the firm militant friendship” between North Korea and Russia.

Last June, Mr Kim and Mr Putin signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty after a state visit – his first to the country in 24 years.

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From June 2024: Putin drives Kim around in luxury limo during state visit

The North Korean leader promised at the time “full support and solidarity to the Russian government, army and people in carrying out the special military operation in Ukraine”.

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40 killed in blast at Iran’s biggest port as Tehran denies explosion ‘linked to fuel for missiles’

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40 killed in blast at Iran's biggest port as Tehran denies explosion 'linked to fuel for missiles'

At least 40 people have been killed and several hundred more injured after an explosion and fire at Iran’s largest port, according to state media.

The blast, at the Shahid Rajaei container hub near the southern city of Bandar Abbas, happened on Saturday as Iran held a third round of talks with the US in Oman about Tehran’s nuclear programme.

Shipping containers burned, goods inside were badly damaged and the explosion was so powerful that windows several miles away were shattered, reports said.

Iranian Red Crescent rescuers work at the site of the blast. Pic: Reuters
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Iranian Red Crescent rescuers work at the site of the blast. Pic: Reuters

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The blast at the Shahid Rajaei port happened as Iran and the US met for the third round of negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program.

Helicopters and aircraft dumped water from the air on the blaze and by Sunday afternoon it was 90% extinguished, the head of Iran’s Red Crescent Society told state media.

Officials said port activities had resumed in unaffected parts of Shahid Rajaei.

Out of the 752 people who had received treatment for their injuries, 190 were still being treated in medical centres on Sunday, according to Iran’s crisis management organisation.

Chemicals at the port were suspected to have worsened the blast, but the exact cause of the explosion was not clear.

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Iran’s defence ministry denied international media reports that the explosion may be connected to the mishandling of solid fuel used for missiles.

The reports were “aligned with enemy psyops [psychological operations]”, according to a ministry spokesperson, who told state TV the blast-hit area did not contain any military cargo.

Firefighters work to extinguish the fire. Pic: AP
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Firefighters work to extinguish the blaze. Pic: AP

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Pic: AP

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According to the Associated Press, British security company Ambrey said that the port in March received sodium perchlorate, which is used to propel ballistic missiles and the mishandling of which could have led to the explosion.

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The Financial Times previously reported two Iranian vessels had shipped from China enough of the ingredient to propel up to 260 mid-range missiles.

It was reportedly to help Tehran replenish stocks after its missile attacks on Israel in 2024.

Iran’s military has sought to deny the delivery of sodium perchlorate from China.

Iran’s state-run Irna news agency reported on Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin deployed several emergency aircraft to Bandar Abbas to provide help.

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