The Gateway to the East

Northern Cyprus’s president-elect won over 62 per cent of the vote, beating incumbent President Ersin Tatar, who was backed by Erdoğan. Turkey’s far right is calling for the vote to be invalidated, pushing for reunification. For his part, Turkey’s president is more cautious, adopting a conciliatory tone. At issue are the island's future and its ties with Europe and the Middle East. Meanwhile, Erdoğan is set to travel to the Persian Gulf on a three-day visit.

The Chaldean Patriarch launches an appeal less than a month before the general election, inviting people to choose candidates ‘suitable to serve the people without discrimination’. The issue of the fight against corruption and the power struggle between groups. The choice of Christian candidates and the risk of infiltration. The unresolved issue of the political participation of Iraqi minorities after 2003.

In northern Syria, the first elections since the fall of Assad were followed by renewed violence. Kurdish authorities say that government troops have imposed a siege, while attacks on checkpoints were reported in Damascus. A witness in Aleppo spoke to AsiaNews about a “terrible night” with people “holed up in their homes.” The understanding for the control of Rojava is at an impasse, while voting was not held in Kurdish areas and Suwayda governorate.

Yesterday, a France-Saudi proposal to recognise full Palestinian sovereignty alongside Israel was presented at the UN. So far, 152 of 193 countries are in favour, but the United States remains opposed. One of the points outlined by Macron in his address is an “International Stabilization Mission”. For Misk, the vote puts the spotlight back on Palestine, but it is only "the first phase”; “other actions" are needed. In the future Palestine, “Muslims, Christians, and Jews must be equal before the law”.

Five kilometres from the border with Israel, the institute founded under the Ottoman Empire in 1881 for Christian girls is fighting for survival. Fr Youssef Nasr: Catholic schools welcome around 190,000 students, 20% of the total and 30% of private schools. Non-Christians account for 30%, although in some areas the figure exceeds 60%. The economic challenge for survival and post-war ethnic tensions.

During the night, a drone attacked one of the boats off the coast of Tunisia. Suspicions point to Israel. A dozen Asian countries have joined the international initiative of the Global Sumud Flotilla, a symbol of “resilience” as its name suggests in Arabic. Filipino activist: it is important to show “our solidarity”.

Cardinal Pizzaballa and Greek Orthodox Theophilus III reject the prospect of "evacuation" in the face of the Israeli military operation already underway. “There can be no future based on imprisonment, the displacement of Palestinians, or revenge,” they say. The Sisters of Mother Teresa, who arrived in 1973 after the killing of the local parish priest, serve a community devastated by hunger and war. In Tel Aviv, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum is marking a “National Day of Struggle”.

According to the Jordanian scholar, the Netanyahu government's ultimate goal ‘goes beyond’ defeating Hamas and redrawing borders. The West Bank becomes an ‘opportunity to be exploited’ with a view to annexation. The weakness of the Palestinian Authority and the international community, the new paradigm of the Abraham Accords. Among the nations of the region, ‘more tactics than alliances’.

Parliament is discussing a bill that aims to regulate the right to protest and express dissent. Activists and NGOs fear that the text, which has not yet been made public, risks undermining personal and civil liberties in a country heading for elections. Between January and June, at least 20 people were charged with peacefully exercising their “freedom of expression”.

The vote is scheduled for mid-September to signal a return to normalcy, but a third of parliamentarians will still be appointed by al-Sharaa, there are no political parties, and the current constitution does not provide for autonomy for certain provinces. The issues in Rojava, the Kurdish-majority region, and the southern governorate of Suwayda, home to the Druze. Meanwhile, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has denounced abuses against Alawite women.

In a week of clashes between Druze, Bedouins and government forces, over a thousand civilians and combatants were killed, including Christian families and the Druze evangelical pastor Khalid Mezheri. The Latin Church and the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate are calling for urgent intervention by the international community and denouncing the role of militias that still escape Damascus' control and external interference. L'Œuvre d'Orient reports hundreds of displaced persons without food or water. Apostolic Vicar of Aleppo Hanna Jallouf: ‘Only dialogue can save Syria.’

President Trump's envoy Tom Barrack, of Lebanese origin, is in Beirut seeking an answer to the request for dismantling Hezbollah’s military wing, a process that is closely linked with consolidating the country's political institutions. Some of the unresolved issues are the departure of Israeli forces, end of attacks, and the release of Lebanese prisoners.