News

     Turlock, California – modbee — Donny George Youkhanna, an Assyrian archaeologist and scholar who was instrumental in recovering many of the artifacts looted from the National Museum in Baghdad during the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, will speak at California State University, Stanislaus, on Dec. 13 at 2 …

VATICAN CITY – zenit — What better time than Christmas for Christians to reunite with their families and return to their homes, says the Chaldean archbishop of Kirkuk. Archbishop Louis Sako is asking Iraqis to do “everything possible so that Christians can live in peace and serenity” and proposing that …

By Abdulmesih BarAbrahem Tur Abdin, Turkey – ADO — Kurdish leaders from the villages of Yayvantepe, Eglence and Candarli, in cooperation with influential members of the ruling Justice and Development party (AKP), are continuing their so-called “lawful means” campaign to confiscate the land of the Assyrian monastery of St. Gabriel, …

By Sandro Magister ROMA – catholic — The Islamic terrorist attack in Mumbai has erupted while the Christians in India are still reeling from the Hindu violence in Orissa and other regions. The raw figures from the two offensives are similar. More than 190 were killed in a single day …

By Chris Herlinger Baghdad – Ekklesia — The family of 60-year-old Basil Mati Koriya Kaktoma and his wife, Ekram Ishak Buni Safar, aged 55, have lived in Syria since July 2006. Refugees such as these are adamant they will never return to their homeland given their experience of threats, physical …

     Damascus – Totalcatholic — Sawsan Hussin was worried about her son, Mustafa. The 10-year-old had brought the horror of Iraq with him when the family fled to Syria. He had nightmares and would cower at the slightest noise, his hands over his ears. Hussin knew he needed help, but …

     Northern Iraq – AINA — Nearly 300 Assyrian policemen in the Nineveh plain in northern Iraq protested on the 21 November outside the office of the local governor, in the city of Baghdede, against what they see as attempts to rid the area of the Assyrian police force which …

By Denis D. Gray TAL KAEEF, Iraq – AP — Young Christian women in tight jeans mingle easily with Arab matrons draped in black, head-to-toe robes. Both church spires and mosque minarets rise above the low-slung houses. Violence is rare. “The people here look out for each other — Arabs, …

By By Gary Marx MOSUL, Iraq – Chicago Tribune — A month after thousands of Christians fled this northern Iraqi city in terror, many of the refugees have returned home, but some fear a new wave of sectarian violence, church leaders say. Iraqi police now guard churches throughout this tense, …

     LONDON – AFP — Britain re-established high-level intelligence links with the Syrian authorities as Foreign Secretary David Miliband visited Damascus, the Times newspaper said Wednesday citing senior Syrian officials. The newspaper said the move could be hugely beneficial for Britain, as Syria has one of the best intelligence-gathering systems …