The international community's focus is now on Rafah, while Israel gets ready for a ground assault. For Jordanian scholar Amer Al Sabaileh, the Palestinian cause has given way to global jihad. Hamas is politically divided while Shia groups are beholden to Iran. Saudis could play the role of mediators, transcending the Abraham Accords.
For Card Sako, the time of fasting and prayer offers a “new horizon" that invites us to let "the Holy Spirit change us from within." The vicar of southern Arabia speaks of a "path" of hope, mercy and forgiveness. The Maronite patriarch asks the faithful to pray for the "divisions, conflicts, hatred" in Lebanon. Mar Younan mentions the "process of repentance through the Holy Spirit.”
Today's news: Netanyahu rejects Hamas' truce proposal and orders troops to head for Rafah; Kataib Hezbollah commander in Iraq killed in US raid; Pyongyang rips up all trade and cooperation agreements with Seoul; In Uttarakhand, the Civil Code is standardised, eliminating distinctions between believers of different religions.
Out of 7,000 families that once made up the community, only 350 remain today. Out of 17 churches, at least nine have been closed and two set on fire. Many chose to emigrate to Iraqi Kurdistan or the diaspora. From those who are left comes a call for expats to return, for this is also "our land".
Iran struck first in Iraqi Kurdistan, then into Pakistani territory, fuelling tensions with Islamabad, while China calls for "restraint". A Christian businessman from Mosul was among the victims in Erbil. In solidarity with the victims, Pope Francis calls for "good relations between neighbours." For the Chaldean primate, Card Sako, Iraq is a "divided" country, its people "tired and beaten”. The path of diplomacy is increasingly fragile.
Today's news: Two of the three hostages featured in the Hamas video dead; North Korean hackers share clandestine money laundering networks with fraudsters and traffickers in Southeast Asia; An Iranian court handed down an additional 15-month sentence to Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi; Tajikistan and Uzbekistan 'do not recognise' the outcome of the vote in Taiwan.