DAILY SABAH President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, Syriac Church clerics and dignitaries launch the construction of the Mor Ephrem Church in Istanbul, Aug.3, 2019. 

CHICAGO (WLS) — Immerse yourself in the culture that started it all! Experience the hospitality of the Assyrian people at the Morton Grove Park District on August 26th & 27th. Just about everything served at the Assyrian Festival is homemade by local Assyrians, using family recipes that have been used for generations, meaning you’ll have a truly authentic experience!

Kurdish fighters in Qamishli, Syria, take part in a military parade March 28, 2019. Groups representing Syriac Christians in northeast Syria are appealing for prayer, fearful that Turkey plans to make good its numerous threats to invade the region with its military forces. (Credit: CNS photo/Rodi Said, Reuters.)

NEW YORK, Aug. 16, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — After a decade of anonymity, Satoshi Nakamoto will break his silence in Part I of his “My Reveal”

By Tom O’Connor The United States and its coalition allies against the Islamist State militant group (ISIS) in Iraq have agreed to new, stricter airspace regulations issued by the government after a mysterious explosion that caused dozens of civilian casualties.

This man has lived in the U.S since he was three years old, but the Trump admin could put his life at risk by deporting him to Iraq.

Holy Land Ecumenical Foundation At the invitation of His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Mar Louis Raphael Sako, the annual Chaldean Synod was held at the Patriarchal summer

Pope Francis blesses an image of Mary in St. Peter’s Square May 3, 2017. Credit: L’Osservatore Romano By Courtney Grogan AddThis Sharing Buttons Share to Facebook Share to TwitterShare to WhatsAppShare to PinterestShare to PrintFriendlyShare to More Vatican City, Aug 15, 2019 / 05:30 am (CNA).- Pope Francis announced Thursday

The women fighters in the National Defence Forces of Al Sqeilbiyyeh – a Syrian Christian town at the border with Idlib. © Vanessa Beeley

Sarah Rahal ommunity members share a moment of silence at a vigil to remember Jimmy Al-Daoud on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019 at the Chaldean Community Foundation in Sterlings Heights. Al-Daoud, of Detroit, was found dead in Iraq earlier this month after he was deported. Elaine Cromie, Elaine Cromie for The Detroit News

By Bethann Flynn Iraq (MNN) — ISIS was defeated in Iraq 18 months ago. However, the Nineveh Plains has another problem—the local Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) Shiite militia.

Nineveh Plains Christians To the north of the Nineveh Plains sits the Kurds, and to the east is Iran. To the south and west is the rest of Iraq. Due to the geography, Christians in this region have historically been trapped between the three forces. Now, the militia in this area has taken it upon itself to enforce the rule of the land. Kurdish soldiers prepare for battle outside Kirkuk in northern Iraq. (File photo, Boris Niehaus, Wikimedia obtained via Christian Aid Mission) In efforts to disentangle the militia from Iranian influence, Iraq’s prime minister recently issued an executive order. The order is meant to integrate the militia with Iraq’s formal armed forces, but it could end up impacting local Christians. “You have this central government that has never stood up for this minority that is lived there for centuries. So, whenever there’s a problem with ISIS or whatever, it always seems to start in the same area, that’s no accident. It’s because the central government is either weak or is unable or unwilling to stand up for the Christian minorities,” Dr. David Curry with Open Doors USA explains. “These militias gain in strength. They want to take over territory, or they become a law unto themselves. So, it’s continually happened, what we what we’d like to see is for the Iraqi government to stand up for the Christian minorities.” Since ISIS was pushed out of the area, some Christians have returned to their homes. However, the Christian population in the region is a fraction of what it was before ISIS. Curry believes some Christians are postponing their return while waiting to see if the central government will protect Christians in the Nineveh Plains. They also want to determine that ISIS fighters really are clear of the area. Responding With Prayer “I would love to see believers praying for the Iraqi believers because they really are salt and light in a very difficult area,” Curry urges. pray; prayer (Photo courtesy of Nathan Dumlao via Unsplash) “Their strength, their courage is amazing. But we need to pray for their boldness [and] their security. We want to see Christians in Iraq and Iran, throughout the Middle East, strong in their faith, able to share their faith and live in peace.” Pray for the Iraqi believers’ strength, boldness, and safety. Also, pray for God’s Word to go forth in this region and change lives for the better. Pray for this area to know the Gospel and respond to it. Header image was taken in April 2017 during a UNESCO mission to Nineveh, Iraq, which was heavily destroyed and excavated by ISIS. Header image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Forty-one lawmakers, led by Democratic Rep. Andy Levin of Michigan, note that the administration has repeatedly been asked to end the deportations but refused. | Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo

By TNH Staff  Archbishop Elpidophoros met with members of the Standing Conference of the Oriental Orthodox Churches (SCOOCH). Among those members was His Grace Bishop David (Coptic), SCOOCH President; His

This is one of the Scythian type arrowheads found in the destruction layer from 587/586 BCE. / Mt Zion Archaeological Expedition/Virginia Withers

Dozens of Iraqi Chaldeans were detained in US immigration raids in 2017. [Getty] Jimmy Aldaoud’s tragic death casts light on the plight of Iraqi Chaldean deportees, a community that once saw Donald Trump as their saviour.

Christians and other religious minorities are among the migrants making the dangerous journey across the Channel in an attempt to reach Britain’s shores, according to a report.

By Dale Gavlak • Catholic News Service Cardinal Louis Sako, the Chaldean Catholic patriarch, celebrates a liturgy in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican in this Feb. 4, 2013, file photo. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

From the leaders of the Iraqi Church the hope of a return of families displaced by ISIS and a strengthening of the reconstruction process. A “just representation” of Christians in

by Julia Duin This is a news story about religion, mental illness, the U.S. government, deportation and Iraq. Perhaps you’ve already heard about the heartbreaking story of Jimmy Aldaoud, the

Iraqi Christians attend a mass during a Christmas Eve celebration at al-Tahira al-Kubra Church in Karakosh in 2018. (Photo by AMMAR SALIH/EPA/MAXPPP)