Middle East

Vicar General Naaman's golden cross, keys, phone, and other personal belongings were taken. Two men claiming to be members of a security service attacked and injured him. Activists speak out against the country's new leaders, who are incapable of protecting minorities. In Idlib, the Church of Saint Anna reopens after 14 years.

According to UNHCR, in just under nine months, over 200,000 have chosen to return. Some for the first time since 2011. For the authorities in Beirut, the departures “lighten” the Land of the Cedars from a “substantial demographic burden”. But there is also a counter-exodus: from Alawites fleeing the coast to Christians who dream of leaving after the attack on the church in Damascus.

CHP provincial chairman Özgür Çelik and his team have been removed from office, replaced by interim officials, led by Gürsel Tekin, a longtime party member who has been less critical of the government. The party’s national leader Özgür Özel expelled Tekin from the party, pledging the same fate for anyone who accepts to be court-appointed.

In a reflection for AsiaNews, Archbishop Mathieu criticises the ‘colonial hegemony’ that distorts the reality of an ‘intrinsically multipolar’ region. ‘Peace cannot be built on the ideology of a so-called free interventionist world that dehumanises parts of populations that are not aligned with them.’ Tension rises over nuclear issue: “E3” countries want to reactivate snapback mechanism, Tehran threatens to withdraw from Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The UN Security Council has extended UNIFIL’s mandate for one final year, until 31 December 2026, after the United States rejected further extensions. Present in Lebanon since 1978, UN peacekeepers now number 10,800. President Joseph Aoun was grateful towards the UN mission, while Israel reiterated its misgivings.

Dubai’s statistical agency released the data today. In 1975, the population stood at 175,000. The emirate is increasingly a popular among the super-rich from Europe, Asia, and Africa, with a boom from the United Kingdom. The emirate’s 2040 development plan focuses on liveability, a city where everything can be found in “20 minutes”.

Talks between Iran and the E3 countries on sanctions resumed yesterday in Geneva. Iran’s foreign minister says his government is open to "indirect talks" with the US if the latter abandons the military option. Domestic tensions are growing between camps divided over the nuclear programme and talks. According to HRANA, executions increased by 54 per cent between July and August in 2025 over the same period last year.

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”.

The photojournalist killed today in Gaza along with four other colleagues in a double Israeli raid on al-Nasser Hospital wrote about this in her accounts. Her photos and reels captured the everyday faces of suffering in Khan Yunis. Reporters Without Borders expressed their outrage over the 200 journalists killed in Gaza, asking how long the slaughter will continue? Caritas Internationalis slams “empty platitudes”, calls for an immediate ceasefire.

Fr Romanelli says that "the entire Gaza Strip is dangerous," but Gaza City is "even more so." There are “constant bombardments”, but the parish has not yet received an "evacuation order." The Custody of the Holy Land and the Latin Patriarchate are with Pope Leo fasting and praying for peace. According to Israeli military sources, 83 percent of the deaths in the Palestinian enclave are civilians.

The Maronite patriarch said that the pontiff is expected by “December”. This visit could be part of the trip to Nicaea, in the footsteps of John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis. The Holy See has not provided any official information. A cautious approach prevails due to tensions in the southern Lebanon (one death today) and the controversy over Hezbollah's demilitarisation.

Eighty representatives of the Modern Orthodox movement, led by Rabbi Yosef Blau, have launched an appeal calling for "moral clarity" and "responsibility" based on the values of Jewish tradition. While condemning Hamas, they call for a "response" to the tragedy in Gaza and criticise the "disturbing proposals" of Smotrich and Ben Gvir. For the rabbis, they must “speak out when our government’s actions contradict the Torah’s moral imperatives”. The Latin Patriarchate warns of evacuation orders in neighbourhoods near Gaza Catholic parish.