After an Iraqi cardinal said Tuesday that the U.S. government has "done nothing" to aid beleaguered Christians in his country, a Trump administration official on Wednesday insisted that "the U.S. is helping a tremendous amount, by any measure.
GENEVA (AP) -- A U.N. humanitarian aid official said Thursday that Syria's government has withdrawn a controversial law that allowed authorities to seize property left behind by civilians who fled the country's civil war, calling it a good sign that "diplomacy can win -- even in Syria." Jan Egeland said he was told of the decision by Russia, a key ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
In September of 2008 I went to Syria for a few weeks. I only had two contacts in the country, and one of them was F, a middle class Christian and the prominent owner of local bakeries and a local pizzeria who lived in Syria's Western province of Latakia. I had never met F before, but according to friends at the University of Leuven, F would most likely be willing to take me in for a few days.
ROME (AP) -- A senior American diplomat briefed the leader of Iraq's Chaldean Catholics on U.S. development aid Wednesday after the cardinal accused the United States of failing to help rebuild Christian villages devastated by the Islamic State group.
At last, after months of deadlock following national elections in May, Iraq is on its way to a new government. The president, Barham Saleh, and prime minister, Adil Abdul Mahdi, are both veteran Iraqi politicians known as technocrats and reformers.
Christianity has been around in Iraq for approximately 2,000 years -- one of the oldest Christian heritages. However, Iraqi Christians are teetering on the knife's edge of extinction, according to Chaldean Archbishop Habib Nafali of Basra. The Archbishop suggests that all it would take is one more wave of persecution to wipe out Christianity from the country entirely. It's not hard to imagine.
The United States has warned of a heightened risk of countries attacking one another over the war in Syria, where recent international incidents have raised new concerns that a wider conflict could be sparked. U.S. Special Representative for Syrian Engagement James Jeffrey recounted to reporters on Wednesday "five examples of state-on-state violence" over the past six weeks in Syria.
VATICAN CITY (AP) -- The head of Iraq's Chaldean Catholic Church complained on Tuesday that promised U.S. aid for religious minorities in Iraq hasn't materialized, issuing an unusual public rebuke of the United States on the same day Washington announced a new infusion of assistance.
With the post-election political situation in Sweden still uncertain, questions remain as to what direction the Scandinavian country is heading. There are major concerns about the rising star of the far-right anti-immigration Sweden Democrats party, which won 17.5% of the vote in the recent election. However, in ethnic minorities' favour, there are five ethnically Assyrian MPs in Sweden's Riksdag.
The Mor Samuel (Shmuel) Church, located in the Anıtlı (previously known as the "Hah") village in the Midyat district of the southeastern province of Mardin, hosted its first religious ceremony in the last 60 years on Oct. 15. "Mor Samuel Church has been among the places in which the deeds were given back with a legal regulation carried out by the cabinet.
With input from Bank of America's Rena DeSisto and the Brooklyn Museum's Lisa Bruno, Arts & Collections takes a detailed look into the Art Conservation Project and its ongoing efforts to restore six Assyrian reliefs Since 2010, Bank of America has provided grants for not-for-profit museums to facilitate the conservation of significant artwork and historical treasures.
A new collaboration between the Knights of Columbus and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) promises to expedite the material support Christians of the Near East require to rebuild and return to their homes in the wake of the Islamic State persecution.
Berlin (AINA) -- In a letter sent to the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) President Nechirvan Barzani on October 4th, 2018, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) and the Assyrian Federation in Germany and European Sections (ZAVD) urged Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq to respect Assyrian rights and political participation in the KRG region and to give pro-active support for Assyrians...
(AINA) -- Father Athanasis Toma, who lives in Los Angeles, returned recently from a trip to Iraq, his country of origin. Fr. Athanasis is an Assyrian, a chorbishop in the Ancient Church of the East, with a diocese in San Fernando, CA. Fr.
On January 2, 2018, Judge Goldsmith from the federal court in Michigan ordered the release of Assyrian (also known as Chaldean or Syriac) Christian detainees who had been held for deportation. In his decision, the judge cited that the country conditions in Iraq precluded the possibility of returning the refugees to their homes safely.
Berlin (AINA) -- By an overwhelming majority, the German parliament (Bundestag) passed a symbolic and long overdue resolution on Thursday, June 2, 2016, recognizing the 1915 massacre of Armenians by the Ottoman government as a genocide.
(AINA) -- When speaking about the Ottoman Empire and Turkey today, it is not their contribution to civilization that comes to mind. Instead it is human rights violations, confiscation of land and property, genocide and genocide denials that are most frequently discussed in the public discourse. Today's Turkey is still far from being ruled by democratic principles.
(AINA) -- Much has been swirling around on social media about an EU Conference (AINA 2017-06-24) organized by Swedish MEP Lars Adaktusson alongside sponsors such as Demand For Action. No sooner had I heard about it did I also see that it had been boycotted by the Assyrian Democratic Movement (ADM) and the Chaldean Church, together with various other Assyrian parties and organizations, including...
Baghdad -- It does not seem that the 3,000-year-old Royal Library of Ashurbanipal in Mosul will reopen soon, even though international institutions and universities pledged to donate hundreds of titles to the project. This library was one of the victims of the war and the fighting between the Islamic State and the Iraqi forces and Popular Mobilisation Forces. The library stopped operating in 2014.
Early in the eighth century b.c.e., the nation of Assyria was weak politically and militarily. It was under the dominion of its northern neighbor, Urartu. When a weak king came to power in Urartu in 746--745 b.c.e., Assyria rebelled and a new ruler emerged. Pulu (or Pul) assumed the name Tiglath-Pileser iii after one of Assyria's greatest kings.