The Sayda al-Qush shrine in al-Qush, pictured here, is north of Mosul. PRESS PHOTO
By Khidhir Domle
The Kurdish Globe

Christians continue to leave Iraq at a time when there is growing optimism of a bright future and an attempt at unity in the upcoming provincial councils.

By Waleed Ibrahim

BAGHDAD, July 23 (Reuters) - President Jalal Talabani on Wednesday rejected a provincial election law as unconstitutional after Iraq’s Kurdish lawmakers boycotted the parliament session that ratified it.

Vatican City, Jul 23, 2008 / 10:10 am (CNA).- As part of an effort to bolster Iraq’s diplomatic relations in Europe, Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki is making stops in Germany and Italy this week. On Friday he will pay a visit to Pope Benedict XVI to brief him on efforts to protect the Christian community in Iraq and to promote values of equality, justice and reconciliation.

By Deal W. Hudson
7/23/2008
Inside Catholic (www.insidecatholic.com)

“Most of the stories of Christians — even children — being crucified or cooked alive are acts of Al-Qaeda, not of indigenous Iraqis.”

BAGHDAD (AFP) — Iraq’s parliament said on Tuesday it passed a key draft provincial election law that would allow voting to take place in the country’s 18 provinces later this year.

By Judy Dempsey

BERLIN: Eager to attract technological know-how and investment, Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki of Iraq appealed Tuesday to German industry to put aside reservations over security and help modernize Iraq’s energy infrastructure.

Germany has taken the initiative to tackle the Iraqi refugee crisis. The German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble proposed to his EU colleagues a plan to accept more Iraqi refugees in Europe and to step up member states aid efforts for the region. So far, majority of all national ministers and governments remain silent. Europe cannot ignore and overlook the largest refugee crisis in the Middle East since 1948 no longer: 4.5 million Iraqis were forced to leave their homes under the most brutal conditions. More than 2 million of the Iraqi refugees have found shelter in neighboring countries.

By GEIR MOULSON –

BERLIN (AP) — Iraq’s prime minister said Tuesday that improved security means his country is now ready to welcome foreign firms, using a trip to Germany to encourage investment from Europe’s biggest economy.

July 22 (Reuters) - Jerusalem, where a Palestinian bulldozer driver on Tuesday injured 16 Israelis ahead of a visit by U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, lies at the heart of conflicts in the Middle East.

Nizar Latif, Foreign Correspondent
Barack Obama and David Petraeus, the top US military commander in Iraq, ride in a helicopter in Baghdad yesterday. AP
BAGHDAD // Barak Obama, the Democrats’ presumptive contender for the White House and a long-time opponent of the war in Iraq, was in Baghdad yesterday for meetings with US military commanders and senior Iraqi politicians.

Press Release / 9 A.M. GMT, 21st July 2008

RICHMOND, SURREY, 19TH JULY, 2008: A musicale soiree, organised by ICIN, was held in the presence of Her Worship the Mayor of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, Councillor Helen Lee-Parsons, to raise awareness and much needed funds for the Iraqi displaced Christians. Iraqi musical talent performed jointly with British professional musicians to a packed audience.

SWITZERLAND - On Sunday, July 6 2008, approximately 100 people from all over the world participated in the climb of the Rigi mountain in Switzerland. The climb was marked by the commemoration of the victims during the Assyrian Genocide of 1915.

Below are excerpts from an article by a minister in the present Australian government. The previous government had similar concerns

Shawn D. Lewis / The Detroit News
DETROIT — The longest running Arab and Chaldean American cultural event was held at Hart Plaza on Saturday and Sunday. Visitors from across Canada and the United States came to the Arab and Chaldean Festival to watch performances, taste a variety of Middle Eastern foods, visit the booths and view art exhibits.

At the concluding mass for WYD in Sydney, Benedict XVI tells young people to be witnesses of life and love in the Spirit, to overcome “interior emptiness”, the “fear” and “desperation” present in the world. “Do not be afraid” of the call to priestly and consecrated life. Confirmation conferred on 24 young people from all over the world. Appointment announced for Madrid in 2011. The complete text of the pope’s homily.

In the dioceses of Erbil and Amadiyah a thousand young people, together with pilgrims from France, Lebanon, and Australia, celebrated WYD at the shrine of the Iraqi martyr Soultana Mahdokhte. A Lebanese singer intoned selections from the Syrian and Maronite Christian tradition.

Çınar Kiper
MARDIN - Turkish Daily News

Mardin, once the home of Turkey’s Suryanis, or Aramaic-Syriac people, has lost most of its population at a time when it is in need of its sons and daughters, according to the Syrian Orthodox leader of the southeastern city’s dying community.

Source: Reuters
 MOSUL, Iraq, July 15 (Reuters) - Attacks in the northern city of Mosul have halved since security forces moved to drive al Qaeda from its last urban stronghold in Iraq, but the militant group is far from finished.

Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Gary Trudeau lampoons coverage of Assyrian refugees.
Susan Wunderink

Gary B. Trudeau’s Doonesbury, which newspapers publish either with the comics or

LAYLA HAROON (Contributor)

Iranian-Assyrian artist Hannibal Alkhas has developed and mastered a unique style of painting deeply inspired by Ancient Assyria, Babylon and Daric-Persia.