Lebanese refugees return home as the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah enters its fourth day. Housing costs loomed large in yesterday's parliamentary elections in Ireland. What the newly emboldened Republican state lawmakers in Texas want this session.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Chapter 1: What is the situation for Lebanese refugees returning home?
As the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon continues into its fourth day. I'm Scott Simon. And I'm Eric Deggans. And this is Up First from NPR News. In many cases, the homes the refugees are headed to are no longer there. We'll have more on that story. Plus, Ireland is counting the votes from an election that revolved largely around housing.
It's very difficult to get out of the home in Ireland. All of my mates live at home with their parents, even the ones in good jobs.
And we'll check in on Texas Republicans who have strengthened their majority in the statehouse.
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The Israeli military has ordered Lebanese refugees to keep away from the southern part of the country for now.
But many of them are traveling there anyway, despite the security risks.
And here's Lauren Frayer in the southern Lebanese city of Nabatea. Lauren, thanks for being with us.
Thanks for having me, Scott.
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Chapter 2: What are the main issues in the Irish elections?
Chapter 3: How are Texas Republicans positioning themselves this session?
This message comes from Bloomberg Businessweek's newest podcast, Everybody's Business, hosted by Stacey Vanik-Smith and Max Chafkin. The big business stories of the week are just a starting point to their discussion on what's really going on with the economy. Listen every Friday, wherever you get your podcasts.
The Israeli military has ordered Lebanese refugees to keep away from the southern part of the country for now.
But many of them are traveling there anyway, despite the security risks.
And here's Lauren Frayer in the southern Lebanese city of Nabatea. Lauren, thanks for being with us.
Thanks for having me, Scott.
What do you see?
I'm in a village called Kfar Tibneet on a hill across from a crusader castle. This area has lots of history. Every building has been damaged. Most of them have no windows. The balconies have been blown off. There's a car that's burned on the road right next to me. There's a 250-year-old mosque that was hit by an Israeli airstrike. I'm looking at this white stone minaret toppled on its side.
Loudspeakers that normally broadcast the call to prayer are bent and twisted. I met a man whose home was destroyed in the last Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006. Hezbollah paid to rebuild his house. Now it's been destroyed again. He's confident that same Hezbollah agent with a clipboard will show up, survey the damage and give him a check.
But the pace of rebuilding could be a lot slower this time because the damage is just orders of magnitude greater.
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Chapter 4: What is the current status of the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah?
How does the truce seem to be holding?
I mean, both sides say it is holding, but there have been several Israeli airstrikes. There's been artillery fire. There's been gunfire. Israel says it's detected violations by Hezbollah and is acting to enforce this ceasefire. Lebanese officials accuse Israel of breaking it. They say returnees with Cars loaded up with belongings are being mistaken for militants.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave one of his first interviews since the ceasefire took effect. He spoke to Israeli media saying this ceasefire may well be very short and that Israel is prepared for an intensive war if Hezbollah violates its terms.
Lauren, let me ask you about the renewed fighting this week in Syria because rebels say they now control much of Aleppo. What do you know about this?
Yeah, so this is the latest chapter in fighting that really began with Syria's civil war in 2011 and has continued on and off ever since. Opposition forces have been battling their way toward Aleppo, Syria's second largest city, for days and now they've entered the city.
And that's the first time that they have attacked Aleppo with such strength since 2016 when opposition forces insurgents were ousted from Aleppo by government forces. It might sound like an unrelated matter, but the Syrian government forces are backed by Iran, and so is Hezbollah.
So the idea is that while Iran and its proxies, Hezbollah, have been so preoccupied with Lebanon and the war here, they've lost real ground elsewhere. There are other interests in the region.
And Paris Lauren Frayer in southern Lebanon. Thanks so much.
You're welcome, Scott.
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Chapter 5: What do voters in Ireland think about housing issues?
Chapter 6: What is the significance of the election results in Ireland?
So we've got the exit poll which came out last night just as the polls closed and that's given us an indication of the vote share and then vote counting began this morning. The initial suggestion from the exit poll is that Sinn Féin, this is the party that used to be the political wing of the Irish Republican Army... the IRA, has a narrow lead over the two big centre parties.
That's Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil. But it is pretty tight between all three. Turnout also looks to be down on last time. Yesterday was really quite wet and windy. And from the exit poll data, it does look like that affected how many people turned out.
And I know you've spoken with voters. What did they tell you that was on their minds?
Yeah, so I spoke to voters yesterday outside a polling station in Dublin and they pretty much all said that the biggest issue for them was housing, no matter their age or background. Here's Valerie Shields. Housing is the main issue and there's a lot of families with small children living in guest houses and hotels. And 24-year-old Owen McNeill said the same.
Housing, like, I have no hope of, like, I mean, well, not no hope, but it's very difficult to get, like, the home in Ireland. Like, all of my mates basically, yeah, live at home with their parents, even the ones in good jobs.
Ireland is actually a very rich country. It's generated a huge income from corporation taxes, which has made it one of the richest in Europe. But people aren't really feeling it. The high cost of living was actually the second biggest issue for voters, according to the exit poll.
And did any of the parties in particular campaign on lowering housing prices?
Yeah, housing is the issue that's really helped propel Sinn Féin. In fact, commentators here this morning were saying we can even look at the vote for Sinn Féin as a housing vote, a single issue vote. And that's especially true among young voters. Sinn Féin has a lot of support among younger voters. And the party has made big gains in recent years because of its promises on housing.
Whatever happens in the next couple of days, it's clear that the days of Two parties dominating Irish politics are over. Sinn Féin was on the up in the last election in 2020 when it surprised everyone and it won the popular vote. And this time round, it looks like it's confirmed its place at the top with the two traditional parties.
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