News

  By Gerald Butt Iraq – churchtimes — Working for interfaith dialogue will be a top priority for the newly-appointed Bishop of Cyprus & the Gulf, the Rt Revd Michael Lewis, when he takes up his post in November (News, 17 August). The new Bishop also intends to immerse himself …

  By Charles Rice   Iraq – ndsmcobserver — The Assyrians have lived in Iraq since 5,000 B.C. Ethnically distinct from Arabs and Kurds, they are Christians and speak neo-Aramaic, similar to the language of Christ. They include Chaldean Catholic, Apostolic Catholic and Syriac Orthodox churches. “In Iraq,” Chaldean Archbishop …

  By Charles Rice   Cairo – newkerala — An Egyptian court has extended the jail term of two Christian human rights activists who were arrested and imprisoned on charges of defaming Islam last month, a member of a Christian group said Wednesday. The human rights activists, Adel Fawzy Faltas …

     Stuttgart – DPA — An Iraqi Kurd who transferred thousands of euros to bombers in Iraq was jailed in Germany Wednesday for two and a half years under a tough new policy of catching second-line supporters of terrorism. At the same time, a trial date was set for …

  By Doreen Abi Raad EIRUT – Catholic News Service — Lebanon’s Catholic bishops said the country “is on the verge of (an) abyss” and warned that if a new president was not elected within the constitutional schedule “the fate of the nation would be grim.” In a statement, the country’s …

  By John R. Bolton Washington – Wall Street Journal — The six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear weapons program are set to resume on Sept. 27 in Beijing. Since the last session, a raft of “working group” meetings and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea propaganda events have purportedly shown …

  By John R. Bolton Lebanon – The Daily Star — So far, so good: The “ice-breaking” session in Lebanon’s Parliament on Tuesday worked out as well as anyone could have dared to hope. There was the usual showmanship, of course, but the participants engaged in far less rhetorical bravado …

        Syria – bostonherald — Israel has just given the world a good example of the virtues of speaking softly and carrying a big stick. This past week Israel launched airstrikes over northern Syria and said absolutely nothing. At last, Syria has to pay real penalties for its aid …

        Nineveh – ESNA — A member of the Assyrian General Conference (AGC), in the Nineveh district of north Iraq, was attacked by members of the Kurdish Peshmergas (military) on September 4, near the Nineveh hotel. The unidentified man was beaten, verbally abused and taken to a Peshmerga center …

        USA – ESNA — The U.S. Government needs to take action. That was the message from the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent, bipartisan federal agency. In a letter from Chairman Michael Cromartie to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, he urges the U.S. government to …