Dario Salvi

The Patriarchs and Heads of Churches issue an appeal amid escalating violence between Israelis and Palestinians. The risk of “further atrocities and anguish” will undermine “sought-after peace and stability”. Christians too have recently been attacked. A Palestinian man was killed this morning in Hebron. Netanyahu wants to arm Israelis.

Israeli action left 10 people dead in the West Bank yesterday, nine in a raid against a refugee camp, and a protester killed north of Jerusalem. Israel also carried out airstrikes in Gaza in response to rocket fire. For Fr Deibes, the “matter-of-factness” of these events is cause for shame.

Today's headlines: Thai court sentences a man to 28 years in prison for lese majesty; at least 162 victims in Afghanistan of the exceptional cold wave; Tokyo announces Spring downgrade of Covid-19 to a common respiratory infection; India launches its first vaccine in the form of a nasal spray; Seoul and Pyongyang violate armistice by encroaching on hostile territory; warning Russia faces a medicine shortage by 2023.

In the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the Latin primate recalls the conflicts that wear one down and the expectation of hope. A mission to which all Churches are called, leaving aside "competition and division". Schools, hospitals, houses are "our way of working for justice". At St Paul Outside the Walls, Pope Francis' warning against "indifferent misunderstanding" and "sacrilegious violence".

Today's headlines: Yemen and Lebanon sites included on Unesco's endangered heritages list; Taiwan's 71-year-old former vice-president Chen Chien-jen, a Catholic, will be the new prime minister; police arrest four student leaders for attempting to screen the BBC documentary critical of PM Modi; the Duma approves the law extending the genomic registration requirement to everyone.

Increasingly, criminal gangs are abducting migrants for ransom with impunity. Victims’ relatives are asked to pay as little as US$ 500. Iran’s crackdown against protests sparked by the Mahsa Amini affair is overshadowing the migrants issue. Meanwhile, Turkey continues its policy of repatriating refugees.

The Chaldean bishop of Alqosh celebrated the inauguration of the building and the adjacent preschool, destroyed by jihadists and rebuilt thanks to the efforts of international NGOs. A work that goes beyond 'stones and bricks', but is a symbol of a community that wants to start again. An appeal to those who have migrated to return to their land.

Today's headlines: Pyongyang imposes a five-day lockdown for cases of unspecified 'respiratory illness'; Hanoi wants to open up the arms market to foreign companies; A cold wave hits north-east Asia halting transport halted and leaving one victim in Japan; Russia classifies the Andrei Sakharov foundation as an 'undesirable organisation'.

Presidential and parliamentary elections will be held on 14 May, with a run-off two weeks later if no one gets 50 per cent in the first round. The Economist slams the Turkish leader for bringing the country “to the brink". The Kurdish vote, the migrant issue, and Islamic nationalism are expected to play a major role. A silent international community is ready for business as usual, source tells AsiaNews.

30 women currently in prison sign an open letter to say 'no' to summary trials and hangings of peaceful protesters. Sara Ahmadi and Malihe Nazari are serving eight and six years for membership in prayer houses. Three other female journalists arrested in recent days for reporting on the ayatollahs' repression.

Today's headlines: WHO opens investigation into contaminated cough syrup produced in India and Indonesia, the probable cause of the deaths of more than 300 children; an appeal by a headmaster in Kabul urging fathers to accompany their daughters to school; Taiwan's president in a letter to the Pope rules out the "option" of war with Beijing; the first woman pastor ordained in the Holy Land.

A blockade and isolation from the Arab world were put in place since the start of Syria’s civil war more than a decade ago. Sugar and petrochemicals from Saudi Arabia will now be able to enter Syria. Rumours of a resumption of diplomatic relations are intensifying, but so far there is no official confirmation. At present, bypassing Western sanctions is the main goal.