world news
Iraqi Christians Create Syriac TV Channel

Iraq —After years of persecution and destruction, the Christian in community in Iraq takes a step forward as they start a new television channel conducted entirely in Syriac, the traditional language of Christians in the area.
The public TV channel may indicate a step forward in the wider acceptance of Christians across Iraq.
Syriac is an ancient language derived from the language of Aramaic which is most known as the language that Jesus spoke while He was here on Earth. Historically, Syriac has been used by Christians in schools and in church services.
Twenty years ago, there were 1.5 million Christians in the country. According to the United States’ yearly report on International Religious Freedom, this number is down to just 150,000 Christians in 2023 due to multiple wars and unrest. Many people sought to find safer places to reside, leaving the remaining Iraqi Christians secluded in the Northern portion of the country.
The creation of a Syriac television channel may be helpful to more than just Christians in Iraq. As many countries in the Middle East continue to be ravaged by persecution and violence, the creation of a Christian-specific television channel may encourage other neighboring countries to allow for similar avenues of accepting religious diversity.
The conditions for Christians in Iraq have improved in the last few years. The historic visit from the Pope and his meeting with Iraq’s former Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, established the National Day of Tolerance and Coexistence in Iraq. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) quoted one Iraqi resident experiencing this occasion as saying, “I can’t describe my happiness, it’s a historic event that won’t be repeated.”
After the visit from the Pope in 2021, NPR quoted a 59-year-old Iraqi schoolteacher saying, “It will attract people to the country. They will hear about it in Italy and France and elsewhere, that a senior cleric went to Iraq, and was protected, and came to no harm.”
As Iraq continues to demonstrate its acceptance of other religions, there is an increase in hope for the centuries-old Christan population to return to their home country – the home of Abraham, the home of our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Sources:persecution
world news
സൗദിയിൽ ഫഹസ് പരിശോധനയ്ക്ക് ബുക്കിങ് നിർബന്ധം; ഓൺലൈനായി അപ്പോയിന്റ്മെൻ്റ് എടുക്കണം

ജിദ്ദ: സൗദിയിൽ വാഹനങ്ങളുടെ ഫഹസ് എടുക്കാനുള്ള ആനുകാലിക സാങ്കേതിക പരിശോധന നടത്താൻ ഓൺലൈൻ അപ്പോയിന്റ്മെന്റ് നിർബന്ധമാക്കി. ബുക്കിങ് ഇല്ലാതെ പരിശോധനയ്ക്കെത്തിയ നിരവധി പേരെ അധികൃതർ മടക്കി അയച്ചു. വാഹന പരിശോധനാ കേന്ദ്രങ്ങളിലെ തിരക്ക് നിയന്ത്രിക്കുന്നതിന്റെ ഭാഗമായാണ് പുതിയ മാറ്റം.
vi.vsafety.sa/en/book എന്ന ഇലക്ട്രോണിക് പോർട്ടൽ വഴിയാണ് അപ്പോയിൻ്റ്മെൻ്റ് ബുക്ക് ചെയ്യേണ്ടത്. ഇലക്ട്രോണിക് പ്ലാറ്റ്ഫോമിൽ പ്രവേശിച്ച് വാഹന ഉടമയുടെ പേരും മൊബൈൽ നമ്പറും നൽകുന്നതോടൊപ്പം വാഹനം സംബന്ധിച്ച വിവരങ്ങളും നൽകണം. പരിശോധനയ്ക്ക് വാഹനവുമായി നേരിട്ടുപോകാൻ ഉടമയ്ക്ക് സാധിക്കാത്ത സാഹചര്യത്തിൽ മറ്റൊരാളെ ചുമതലപ്പെടുത്താനും സാധിക്കും.
ഈ സാഹചര്യത്തിൽ പരിശോധനയ്ക്ക് വാഹനം കൊണ്ടുപോകുന്ന ആളുടെ വിവരങ്ങളും സൈറ്റിൽ നൽകേണ്ടതാണ്. പരിശോധനയ്ക്ക് പോകാൻ ഉദ്ദേശിക്കുന്ന സ്ഥലവും സ്റ്റേഷനും ദിവസവും സമയവും ഈ പ്ലാറ്റ്ഫോമിൽ നിന്ന് തന്നെ തെരഞ്ഞെടുക്കണം. ഇതോടെ മൊബൈലിലേക്കെത്തുന്ന രഹസ്യ കോഡ്, ബുക്കിങ് പ്ലാറ്റ്ഫോമിൽ നൽകി അപ്പോയിൻ്റ്മെൻ്റ് ഉറപ്പിക്കാം.
അപ്പോയിൻ്റ്മെൻ്റ് എടുത്ത ശേഷം അതിൽ മാറ്റം വരുത്താനും ആവശ്യമില്ലെങ്കിൽ റദ്ദാക്കാനും ഇതേ പ്ലാറ്റ്ഫോമിൽ തന്നെ സൗകര്യമുണ്ട്. എല്ലാത്തരം വാഹനങ്ങൾക്കും പുതിയ ചട്ടം ബാധകമാണെന്ന് അധികൃതർ അറിയിച്ചു.
Sources:globalindiannews
world news
Archaeologists discover ‘very rare’ ancient inscription paraphrasing Psalm 86

Archaeologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem recently reported that an ancient inscription paraphrasing the first two verses of Psalm 86 was uncovered from a remote site in the Judean desert of Israel.
According to a statement from the university, the four-week excavation project in the Hyrcania Fortress occurred in May, spearheaded by Oren Gutfeld and Michal Haber of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in cooperation with Carson-Newman University and American Veterans Archaeological Recovery.
In the “pilot” season for the excavation, efforts were centered on two key areas of the fortress. In the southeast corner of the summit, a segment of a prominent upper fortification line was uncovered, dating to approximately the first or second century B.C. In the northeast corner, archeologists removed a deep layer of building stones that collapsed from the upper floor into an elongated basement hall.
A sizeable building stone lying on the plastered floor of the hall features lines of text painted in red with a cross at the top. The inscription was written in Koine Greek, the language the New Testament was written in.
The text was deciphered by epigraphist Dr. Avner Ecker of Bar-Ilan University, who says it is a paraphrase of Psalms 86: 1–2, also known as a “prayer of David.”
“Jesus Christ, guard me, for I am poor and needy,” the inscription reads.
The first two verses of Psalm 86 state, “Hear me, Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Guard my life, for I am faithful to you,” according to the New International Version.
Ecker said that Psalm 86 “is one of the most common psalms in the Christian liturgy in ancient times.”
“This psalm holds a special place in the Masoretic text as a designated prayer and is notably one of the most frequently recited psalms in Christian liturgy,” Ecker said in a statement. “Thus, the monk drew a graffito of a cross onto the wall, accompanied by a prayer with which he was very familiar.”
Gutfeld, a university teaching fellow, told The Washington Times that the discovery is the first time he can recall a phrase from the Psalms inscribed on a huge building stone.
“It’s very, very rare — a unique something [that’s] bigger than the inscription itself,” Gutfeld added.
Ecker said that “syntax errors made in the transcription” indicate that the writer of the lines “did not speak Greek as his mother tongue, but was a native of the area, perhaps even a local, and spoke a Semitic language.”
Researchers discovered another inscription at the site, but it has not yet been deciphered.
In the rubble of the excavation site, a small gold ring that appears to be child-like in size was uncovered. It has an oval turquoise stone engraved with Arabic Kufic script.
Another Arabic epigraphy expert was called to the scene to analyze the ring.
Nitzan Amitai-Preiss from the Hebrew University said a unique pattern in the script suggests the ring was also used as a seal.
“The script style is indicative of the early Islamic period, during the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates in the 7th and 8th centuries A.D.,” Amitai-Preiss said in a statement shared by the university.
In a joint statement, Haber and Gutfeld warned that “our excavations will draw the attention of looters.”
“The problem persists; it was here before us and will likely continue after us, underscoring the need for academic excavation — particularly in such a sensitive site as Hyrcania, though this is just one example. We are simply trying to stay a few steps ahead,” researchers reported.
Sources:Christian Post
world news
100 Dead, 150 Injured As Fire Breaks Out At Christian Wedding In Iraq

The regional rescue service office told Iraqi media that fireworks led to a fire inside the wedding hall, trapping over 700 guests and causing part of the hall’s ceiling to collapse.
A fire that raced through a hall hosting a Christian wedding in northern Iraq killed at least 100 people and injured 150 others, authorities said Wednesday, warning the death toll could rise higher. The fire ripped through a large events hall in the north-eastern region after fireworks were lit during the celebration, local civil defence said, according to Iraq media.
The regional rescue service office told Iraqi media that fireworks led to a fire inside the wedding hall, trapping over 700 guests and causing part of the hall’s ceiling to collapse.
Television footage showed flames rushing over the wedding hall as the fire took hold. In the blaze’s aftermath, only charred metal and debris could be seen as people walked through the scene of the fire, the only light coming from television cameras and the lights of onlookers’ mobile phones.
Health Ministry spokesman Saif al-Badr gave the casualty figure via the state-run Iraqi News Agency. “All efforts are being made to provide relief to those affected by the unfortunate accident,” al-Badr said.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ordered an investigation into the fire and asked the country’s Interior and Health officials to provide relief, his office said in a statement online.
Sources:christiansworldnews
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