Dario Salvi

The Maronite archbishop of Damascus assures prayers for an end to the attacks on Kiev. The Syrians, he underlines, "support Russia in words, but in their hearts they are close to the Ukrainian people". The value of sharing and helping poor families. In Iraq, fasting and prayer for those suffering from "conflicts and pandemics". In Jerusalem a Mass for reconciliation.

Today's headlines: dozens of priests and deacons from the Moscow Patriarchate sign an appeal for an end to the "fratricidal war"; Chinese companies operating in Russia have started asking for advance payments; Pyongyang hid the invasion of Ukraine for days and blamed the imperialist West; Hong Kong activist convicted under anti-sedition law; in India four Christians arrested on false conversion charges.

Yesterday the pontiff received representatives of Iraq’s different Christian Churches one year after his apostolic journey to the land of Abraham. For Patriarch Sako, the memory of the event is still alive among Christians and Muslims. Al-Sistani’s recognition that Christians belong to the same homeland still resonates. Once an Islamic state stronghold, Mosul is now a symbol of religious and cultural rebirth.

Today's headlines: A Christian family in Laos attacked on charges of practising a "foreign religion"; opposition parties in Georgia call for the blocking of TV broadcasts from Moscow; more than 3,000 Russians arrested for protesting against the war in Ukraine; Hong Kong ejects dozens of domestic workers because Covid-19 positive; migrant workers and Afghan, Indian and Nepalese students flee from Ukraine.

AsiaNews meets the mayor of Turkey's economic and commercial capital on the sidelines of the "Mediterranean Frontier of Peace" event. He calls the Russian invasion of Ukraine a "shame" and hopes for a "solution" through "dialogue". The focus is on young people and the weaker sections of the population. Religions are a resource, the State must be secular.

Today's headlines: Pyongyang's new missile test for the development of spy satellites; Baghdad hosts its first official football match in years, to qualify for the 2022 Qatar World Cup; Nepal's parliament passes a controversial rule on US funding that triggers street protests; Russian teachers' petition against the war; at least 12,000 people evacuated in Malaysia due to flooding.

The Latin primate of Jerusalem expresses “bitterness and disappointment” as well as “concern” given Russia’s “important role” in the Middle East. Card Sako mentions Shia leader al-Sadr who is surprised by “conflict between Christian countries”. For the Armenian patriarch, ordinary people will feel the consequences.

Jordanian and French researchers have uncovered a sanctuary dating back some nine thousand years. Inside is a series of traps used for hunting gazelles. The site provides new information on the hunting strategies, defined as "sophisticated". For Amman's Minister of Tourism it is a "spectacular addition" to the country's "archaeological gems".

The Assyrian cathedral dedicated to the Holy Apostles Mar Thomas, Mar Addai and Mar Mari will rise near the citadel. Construction was put on hold for the past 10 years, but now the community is back in “its land” after a long exile. Yesterday also marked the 7th anniversary of an attack by the Islamic State against Assyrian Christians in the Khabour plain in which scores of Christians were killed and their places of worship were devastated.

The figure in a study recently published by the International Organisation for Migration. The escalation of tension between Moscow and Kiev is also worrying because of repercussions on grain supplies. A 12-year-old girl was killed in a Médecins Sans Frontières hospital in a bombing raid; all the wounded were civilians.

This date is complementary to the existing national holiday, 23 September. The new anniversary marks the day in 1727 when Muhammad bin Saud became the emir of Diriyah. The alliance with the religious leader Mohammed ibn Abd al-Wahhab is downplayed. Celebrations included music and dancing, a new stage on bin Salman's process of reform.

Since its formation in January 2021, the body wanted by the Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr has facilitated the return of part of the assets and properties expropriated by the "real estate mafia". The return took place after a review of documents. The hope for a "prompt return" of the displaced.