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Episode details

World Service,18 Apr 2026,23 mins

Lebanon ceasefire: an uneasy calm

From Our Own Correspondent

Available for over a year

Pascale Harter introduces stories from Lebanon, Israel, Hungary and Japan. The truce announced between Israel and Lebanon provides some respite from the bombings in Beirut and southern Lebanon - but how far will Hezbollah keep to its terms? Hugo Bachega reports from the Lebanese capital on the impact of the deadliest day of the most recent round of conflict. In northern Israel, some towns have already endured repeated attacks from Hezbollah - and while people have adapted to living in the firing line, there are questions over how safe the ceasefire can keep them in future. Nick Beake hears from the residents of Metula, Israel's northernmost town. Peter Magyar's Tisza party has swept the board in Hungary's election, and is promising to govern the country differently. Nick Thorpe examines how the change it promises might trickle down to the local level. The Japanese island of Okinawa is known for its unusually high concentration of centenarians - people who've made it to 100 years of age and beyond. A healthy diet, allotment gardening, and lots of social contact all play their part, but Christine Finn found that the key might be something more nebulous: a sense of living with purpose. (Image: First responders stand amid rubble at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut. Credit: AFP via Getty Images)

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