From Turkey and Iran to the Philippines and Japan, International Workers’ Day saw thousands of people take to the streets for workers' rights, often faced with violent clampdowns. Key demands include higher wages, social equity, and peace as well as criticism of global economic policies, especially Trump's tariffs. In Istanbul, hundreds are arrested; in Iran, teachers are beaten, while in Hong Kong, labour protest is now a fading memory.
A hundred people have died in clashes between Druze and Sunni militias near Damascus and Suwayda. The spiritual leader of Syria’s Druze calls for international intervention. In Lebanon, groups hostile to Syria’s Islamist regime hold protest rallies. Jumblatt announces agreement in principle with Damascus. At dawn Israel struck near the Syrian presidential palace as a warning.
A US air raid against a detention centre last Sunday killed at least 68 people from Africa. Since mid-March, US and UK planes hit at least a thousand targets. Advocacy groups report at least 400 civilians killed. Pope Francis is among the few voices who spoke out against the tragedy of migrants in the region.
The upcoming vote will be the sixth since the fall of Saddam Hussein. This will occur against a background of intra-Shia divisions while incumbent Prime Minister al-Sudani is looking for a strong coalition to win a second term. The election appears competitive in Kurdistan, with opposition parties trying to break the KDP-PUK stranglehold. The Christian vote remains an unknown factor while doubts linger over representativeness.
The apostolic nuncio in Damascus - who turns 80 next January - is among the cardinals called to choose Bergoglio's successor. Despite the war and violence, he has never left his diplomatic mission or the Christian community. The ‘poverty bomb’, the tragedy of sanctions and the issue of the disappeared, which also affects the Syrian Church.
A Franciscan of Belgian origin, he received the cardinal's red hat on 7 December during the last consistory. The Iranian Church is a ‘peripheral’ reality, a small flock that is ‘transparent’ in its faith. Criticism of those who harbour a ‘preconceived’ view of a nation rich in ‘contrasts’. The desire to train ‘local pastors’.
