By Abdulmesih BarAbraham
A documentary film on the Assyrian Genocide (also known as Sayfo, "the sword"), released recently in France, highlights the Assyrian tragedy during World War I. It is entitled Les Genocides D'Orient: La Tragédie Des Assyriens [Genocide in the Orient: The Tragedy of the Assyrians].
Growing unease is spreading among Syria's Christian communities as reports of targeted violence against civilians multiply across several regions. Activists warn that "security complacency" and "official silence" are fueling fear, mistrust, and a sense of abandonment among citizens. In the city of Jaramana, on the outskirts of Daramsuq (Damascus), a brutal killing has shaken the local population.
By Patrick Hudson
Vatican officials do not understand the situation of Christians and must learn to "work with the local churches, not above", according to the head of the Chaldean Catholic Church. The Chaldean Patriarch of Babylon Cardinal Louis Raphaël I Sako told The Tablet that the Dicastery for Eastern Churches fails to treat Eastern Catholic patriarchs as heads of their own sui iuris Churches.
Discontent is growing among Iraq's Christian community. Many cite years of marginalization, poor services, and doubts over whether their parliamentary quota seats still truly represent them. Out of 329 total seats in the Iraqi Parliament, five are reserved for Christians, distributed across Baghdad, Nineveh, Kirkuk, Dohuk, and Erbil.
Church schools in northeast Syria will keep teaching the Syrian Ministry of Education curriculum after the Council of Churches and the Autonomous Administration's Education Authority reached an agreement, ending a dispute over education policy.
On 1 November 1849, in the city of Urmia in contemporary Iran, the first Assyrian-language newspaper in history, Zahrire d'Bahra "Rays of Light", was published. Printed in the Assyrian language, it covered a wide range of topics for many years.