Already three petitions have been filed with the High Court against the controversial law pushed by Israel’s radical right and a prime minister under investigation. The opposition pledges to scarp the law as one of its first acts after the next election. Appeals are made to Israeli President Herzog not to sign the bill. Palestinians take to the streets in Gaza against Hamas.

Dialogue and mutual exchange are the Holy See’s “weapons”, the apostolic nuncio to Jordan told AsiaNews. The Jordanian government is committed to “paths of reconciliation”. Aid is flowing constantly from Jordan to Gaza. Syrian refugees are cautious but eager to return home. Some 50,000 have already made the trip. The new Latin church on the Jordan River shows the “vitality of the Christian community”.

The Patriarch of Jerusalem visited the Gulf country, which is part of the Apostolic Vicariate of North Arabia. Accompanied by Bishop Berardi, the cardinal met with local communities and leading figures of the kingdom. The cardinal led the Mass in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia and took part in a conference at the King Hamad Global Center for Peaceful Coexistence.

At least seven deaths in a border area. The fragility of a frontier that has long been a free zone for trafficking and illicit trade. Fears of an escalation with the Jewish state and US manoeuvres for ‘normalisation’. In the spirit of the Abu Dhabi declaration, Christians and Muslims celebrate the feast of the Annunciation today.

Stories filter out of Istanbul reeling from the mayor’s arrest. While the city’s main sites are cordoned off by police, supporters of Erdoğan’s main rival continue to protest in more peripheral streets and alleys. Still Turkish public opinion is split, but most Istanbulites stand with Imamoğlu who was voted by almost 15 million people in the opposition CHP presidential primary.

Hundreds of people took to the streets in protest over the arrest of Istanbul’s mayor. So far Turkish President Erdoğan has remained silent, while the police respond to the protest with new arrests. Tensions and social unrest are likely to increase, while Imamoğlu's fate in the upcoming presidential race remains uncertain.