Celebrations for Akitu, the Babylonian-Assyrian New Year have been cancelled in Iraq due to the ongoing war in the region, the Assyrian Democratic Movement (Zowaa) announced Saturday. This year's Akitu comes amid near-daily drone and missile attacks across Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, as the country has been subjected to attacks from both sides of the US-Israel war with Iran.
Suqaylabiyah, Syria (AP) -- An argument between two men in a Christian town in central Syria led to sectarian attacks that caused widespread damage to homes, shops and cars in a reminder of religious violence that followed the fall of longtime leader Bashar Assad two years ago.
Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East for the Syriac Orthodox, has joined the campaign calling for the recognition of the Syriac language and urged its adoption as an official language in Syria.
Tel Tamar, Syria -- Flooding in Hasakah province has become an urgent test of the response capabilities of local authorities and the Syrian Ministry of Disasters and Emergencies, as affected residents search for temporary shelter and call for long-term solutions to prevent recurring crises.
Armenia is the most homogenous country in the post-Soviet world, with 98% of its citizens identified as ethnic Armenians. Nevertheless, other ethnic groups live in the country, including Russians, Kurds, Greeks, Jews, Ukrainians and Assyrians. Assyrians are indigenous to Mesopotamia, where they have lived for thousands of years.
Chaldean Catholics were surprised this month, when the Eastern Catholic Chaldean Patriarch Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako saw his resignation accepted March 10 by Pope Leo XIV. Sako told Catholics that he had resigned "so that I could devote myself quietly to prayer, writing, and simple service.