For 20-odd days last autumn, Lt Col Alok Kumar Singh and his 70 fellow UN peacekeepers were trapped at their Unifil base in Shebaa village as fighting between Israel and Hezbollah raged around them.
From their vantage point 1,385 metres above sea level, they were able to observe the culmination of a nearly year-long war between the Israeli military and the Iran-backed Lebanese armed group that reduced many towns and villages across southern Lebanon to rubble.
“We saw the movement of various Israeli vehicles in the vicinity of this post. And then there was a tank which was firing from that [hilltop],” Lt Col Singh says, pointing into the distance and then to a map showing where artillery shells had landed in the area.
“It was difficult, definitely it was difficult. But we were following the procedures, the alert levels,” he says. The peacekeepers spent many hours sheltering in the base's fortified bunkers, unable to conduct their usual patrols or receive fresh supplies.
More than six months later, the Unifil soldiers are back on their patrols amid the comparative calm that has followed a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel in November. Lt Col Singh says the patrols are conducted in co-ordination with the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), which has increased its deployment in southern Lebanon to ensure the withdrawal of Hezbollah from the region, collect its weaponry and dismantle its military sites; all conditions of the US-brokered truce.
Video: Tracking Hezbollah's tunnels in the mountains of south Lebanon
However, Israel has continued to conduct air strikes inside Lebanon on a near-daily basis. The Israeli army says the attacks target Hezbollah figures, weapons and military sites, but they have also killed civilians and destroyed infrastructure. On Friday, at least one civilian was killed and 20 were injured in Israeli strikes near the city of Nabatieh.
Despite these attacks, residents of the south who fled the war have returned to their wrecked homes and villages.
Lt Col Singh points to an Israeli base on a ridge opposite the Unifil base, from where Israeli soldiers opened fire a week ago. In the valley below sits Shebaa Farms, an Israeli-occupied sliver of land claimed by both Syria and Lebanon that has long been the scene of sporadic clashes between Hezbollah and Israeli troops.
His finger moves left to Mount Hermon in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, an area seized from Syria during the 1967 Middle East war. Another UN peacekeeping force is deployed there to monitor a buffer zone between Israeli-occupied territory and Syria, established under a ceasefire agreement following a war between the two countries in 1973. Despite this, Israeli troops invaded the zone after former Syrian president Bashar Al Assad was toppled in December.
Mount Hermon is also visible from Deir Mimas – a small Lebanese village to the south-west that sits about 2km from the UN-demarcated border between Israel and south Lebanon.
Israeli troops entered the village in late September as Israel ramped up its response to Hezbollah's cross-border fire with a ground invasion of border areas and intensified bombardment across Lebanon. Footage emerged of Israeli soldiers desecrating a church in the village.
The end of September should have been the time of the olive harvest in the picturesque village, perched above a steep valley from where Hezbollah would launch rockets at Israel. Instead, its residents fled.
“Some trees were damaged by the missiles,” said Michel Bechara, an olive farmer from Deir Mimas who decided to remain in Beirut. “Others don't carry olives because of the bombs that came.
“Some people moved back to the south, but definitely life is not that stable there."
Though Israeli troops have left the village, they continue to occupy five points of Lebanese territory along the border, in another violation of the ceasefire.
'We've had enough'
Beirut resident Hassan Fakih says Israel's continuing attacks weigh on his mind as he awaits the arrival of his brother with his family for their annual visit to the family home in south Lebanon.
His concerns rose after Israel launched devastating air strikes on Iran on June 13 and Iran responded with drone and missile attacks. The 12-day war sparked fears of a wider regional conflict before it ended this week after US President Donald Trump declared a ceasefire.
The war provided Lebanese with the rare sight of Tel Aviv being struck. “People were running in Tel Aviv. A lot of people's homes are destroyed, it looks like south Lebanon,” said Mr Fakih, who admitted to a sense of satisfaction at seeing the tables turned.
“But I'm happy it was not Hezbollah doing it. We've had enough,” he said.
The same sentiment was expressed by Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in Qatar's capital on Tuesday. Like aircraft across the region, his flight to Doha was diverted the previous evening as Iran launched missiles at the Al Udeid American airbase in Qatar in retaliation for the US bombing of its nuclear sites at the weekend.
"We thank God for having succeeded, over the past two weeks, in preventing Lebanon from being drawn into a new war. We now aspire to open a new page of diplomatic action," Mr Salam told reporters.
'Normality has returned'
Hezbollah, severely weakened by Israel's attack's, ultimately did not intervene in support of its patron. The group has vacated its most threatening positions in the south and much of its arsenal is believed to have been destroyed by Israel.
On the outskirts of a town to the north of Nabatieh, near a bridge across a small ravine, a mound of dirt visible in the distance indicates where a major Hezbollah tunnel was destroyed earlier this year, according to a local.
“It was big,” he says. “But not Emad-4,” he adds, referring to a large underground tunnel facility seen in a video Hezbollah released last year.
As incoming missiles triggered sirens across northern Israel during the war with Iran, farmers across the border in Lebanon were harvesting fields of wheat that line the road running north of the battered town of Khiam and then east to the Unifil base in Shebaa
“The difference between now and the [Hezbollah] war is that at that time the LAF was not here, the civilians had moved out. Shebaa, the village, was empty," Lt Col Singh says.
“But after the war, the LAF came in, they have occupied all the posts that were there. The civilians have come – they are now into a normal routine and have celebrated Eid and had their festivals.
“Normality, we can call it, has returned.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Biog
Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara
He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada
Father of two sons, grandfather of six
Plays golf once a week
Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family
Walks for an hour every morning
Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India
2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group C
Liverpool v Napoli, midnight
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
Company%20Profile
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More coverage from the Future Forum
Read more about the coronavirus
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
THE BIO
Ms Davison came to Dubai from Kerala after her marriage in 1996 when she was 21-years-old
Since 2001, Ms Davison has worked at many affordable schools such as Our Own English High School in Sharjah, and The Apple International School and Amled School in Dubai
Favourite Book: The Alchemist
Favourite quote: Failing to prepare is preparing to fail
Favourite place to Travel to: Vienna
Favourite cuisine: Italian food
Favourite Movie : Scent of a Woman
How it works
1) The liquid nanoclay is a mixture of water and clay that aims to convert desert land to fertile ground
2) Instead of water draining straight through the sand, it apparently helps the soil retain water
3) One application is said to last five years
4) The cost of treatment per hectare (2.4 acres) of desert varies from $7,000 to $10,000 per hectare
House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
- Camden, London
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Islington, London
- Kensington and Chelsea, London
- Highlands, Scotland
- Argyll and Bute, Scotland
- Fife, Scotland
- Tower Hamlets, London
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
How to become a Boglehead
Bogleheads follow simple investing philosophies to build their wealth and live better lives. Just follow these steps.
• Spend less than you earn and save the rest. You can do this by earning more, or being frugal. Better still, do both.
• Invest early, invest often. It takes time to grow your wealth on the stock market. The sooner you begin, the better.
• Choose the right level of risk. Don't gamble by investing in get-rich-quick schemes or high-risk plays. Don't play it too safe, either, by leaving long-term savings in cash.
• Diversify. Do not keep all your eggs in one basket. Spread your money between different companies, sectors, markets and asset classes such as bonds and property.
• Keep charges low. The biggest drag on investment performance is all the charges you pay to advisers and active fund managers.
• Keep it simple. Complexity is your enemy. You can build a balanced, diversified portfolio with just a handful of ETFs.
• Forget timing the market. Nobody knows where share prices will go next, so don't try to second-guess them.
• Stick with it. Do not sell up in a market crash. Use the opportunity to invest more at the lower price.
Profile
Company name: Jaib
Started: January 2018
Co-founders: Fouad Jeryes and Sinan Taifour
Based: Jordan
Sector: FinTech
Total transactions: over $800,000 since January, 2018
Investors in Jaib's mother company Alpha Apps: Aramex and 500 Startups
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The years Ramadan fell in May
Results
2pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 40,000 (Dirt) 1,200m, Winner: AF Thayer, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).
2.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,200m, Winner: AF Sahwa, Nathan Crosse, Mohamed Ramadan.
3pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,000m, Winner: AF Thobor, Szczepan Mazur, Ernst Oertel.
3.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 2,000m, Winner: AF Mezmar, Szczepan Mazur, Ernst Oertel.
4pm: Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Cup presented by Longines (TB) Dh 200,000 (D) 1,700m, Winner: Galvanize, Nathan Cross, Doug Watson.
4.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,700m, Winner: Ajaj, Bernardo Pinheiro, Mohamed Daggash.
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
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TO%20CATCH%20A%20KILLER
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How it works
Each player begins with one of the great empires of history, from Julius Caesar's Rome to Ramses of Egypt, spread over Europe and the Middle East.
Round by round, the player expands their empire. The more land they have, the more money they can take from their coffers for each go.
As unruled land and soldiers are acquired, players must feed them. When a player comes up against land held by another army, they can choose to battle for supremacy.
A dice-based battle system is used and players can get the edge on their enemy with by deploying a renowned hero on the battlefield.
Players that lose battles and land will find their coffers dwindle and troops go hungry. The end goal? Global domination of course.
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Infobox
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the next stage of qualifying, in Malaysia in August
Results
UAE beat Iran by 10 wickets
Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia by eight wickets
Oman beat Bahrain by nine wickets
Qatar beat Maldives by 106 runs
Monday fixtures
UAE v Kuwait, Iran v Saudi Arabia, Oman v Qatar, Maldives v Bahrain
SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday (All UAE kick-off times)
Cagliari v AC Milan (6pm)
Lazio v Napoli (9pm)
Inter Milan v Atalanta (11.45pm)
Sunday
Udinese v Sassuolo (3.30pm)
Sampdoria v Brescia (6pm)
Fiorentina v SPAL (6pm)
Torino v Bologna (6pm)
Verona v Genoa (9pm)
Roma V Juventus (11.45pm)
Parma v Lecce (11.45pm)
Apple%20Mac%20through%20the%20years
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