The vicar of Aleppo expresses concerns after yesterday’s raid against the Iranian embassy in Damascus that killed General Mohammad Reza Zahedi. “Here too we have counted 35 dead in an attack that seems to have been coordinated with the rebels and terrorists who control Idlib,” said the prelate who thanks Pope Francis for citing Syria’s suffering in his Easter message. To survive, “people are constantly looking for a piece of bread,” said Maronite Archbishop Nassar.
The autonomous region is expected to go to the polls on 10 June in a vote postponed several times due to disagreements between the min Kurdish parties. A ruling by Iraq's Federal Supreme Court is causing chaos after it abolished minority quota seats. Both the Chaldean patriarch and the Shura Council of Kurdistan have criticised the court’s ruling, which puts at risk the crucial, yet fragile balance exists between various groups.
Turkey is developing a US$ 17 billion, 100,000-job project to connect Asia and Europe by rail and road, competing with rival Israel and the United Arab Emirates. This is why Turkey’s military is planning a summer campaign against the PKK in Iraqi Kurdistan. A high-level meeting between Turkish and Iraqi officials was held today in Baghdad.
Over the weekend, the bells at Ibrahim Al-Khalil Church chimed for the first time. Its inaugural Mass will take place by Easter. Speaking to AsiaNews, the engineer who conceived and financed its construction calls for peace in Gaza, saying that the Church will be a place full of symbolism to "show the world" our Christian "identity”. Many now hope that it will draw pilgrims to “rediscover their land”.
The victim is the Chaldean Hanna Saka, who died while returning to Baghdad after the Swedish expulsion order. The fatal illness on board the plane, but problems had already emerged before boarding. For his brother, his condition worsened after the rejection of his asylum application. Iraqi Christians and migration, an ever-present issue.
On 20 February, the Chaldean Patriarch took part in the Saudi government's third forum on the media as "bridges" of peace, the Kaiciid a partner in the event. The relationship between Christians and Muslims in a nation in "evolution". The call for a form of 'synodality' also for Islam. The "wise" position of Riyadh in the war in the Holy Land. And to the Holy See: "We must dialogue, discuss" with the Saudis.
