SyriacPress English

20/11/2025

Lost relic of world’s earliest known Goddess unearthed by researchers

NINEVEH PLAINS, Beth Nahrin — Excavations have been discovering ruins of the Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian civilization in the depths of Beth Nahrin (Mesopotamia). Recently, a long-lost image of the world's oldest goddess, Ishtar, goddess of love, war and fertility, was found etched into a star-shaped stone fragment buried in the ruins of her temple. More than a decade after the Islamic State (ISIS) blew up the ancient site of Nimrud which led to the destruction of temples, palaces and inscriptions dating back thousands of years, archaeological missions have returned to uncover what remains of those civilizations....

NINEVEH PLAINS, Beth Nahrin — Excavations have been discovering ruins of the Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian civilization in the depths of Beth Nahrin (Mesopotamia). Recently, a long-lost image of the world’s oldest goddess, Ishtar, goddess of love, war and fertility, was found etched into a star-s...

20/11/2025

Netanyahu visits Israeli forces deployed on the Syrian side … Syrian government condemns the visit as a violation of the country’s sovereignty

SOUTHERN SYRIA, GOLAN HEIGHTS — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Israeli forces stationed inside Syrian territory on Tuesday, according to a statement provided to AFP by an Israeli government spokesperson. The visit took place in areas seized by Israeli forces last year, beyond the boundary line demarcated between the two countries under the 1974 Disengagement Agreement. According to the spokesperson, Netanyahu was accompanied by Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Defense Minister Israel Katz, Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, and Shin Bet director David Zini. ...

SOUTHERN SYRIA, GOLAN HEIGHTS — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Israeli forces stationed inside Syrian territory on Tuesday, according to a statement provided to AFP by an Israeli government spokesperson. The visit took place in areas seized by Israeli forces last year, beyond th...

20/11/2025

Australian government officially recognizes Syriac as an ethnic group

AUSTRALIA — In line with its long-standing policy of welcoming diverse communities, promoting their representation, and supporting the formation of cultural and political organizations that reflect their heritage, Australia has now recognized the Syriacs as a distinct ethnic people. This step follows the July 2025 decision by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters to add the Syriac language…...

AUSTRALIA — In line with its long-standing policy of welcoming diverse communities, promoting their representation, and supporting the formation of cultural and political organizations that reflect their heritage, Australia has now recognized the Syriacs as a distinct ethnic people. This step foll...

20/11/2025

SDF shoots down two drones launched from areas held by central government

RAQQA, North and East Syria — Each time negotiations inch forward on implementing the March 10 agreement signed by the SDF and the central government in Daramsuq (Damascus), especially the parts dealing with military integration, the Syrian government tends to obstruct the process. The progress made at the table is repeatedly undercut: either through attacks on SDF positions—of which the Syriac Military Council (Mawtbo Fulhoyo Suryoyo, MFS) is one of the founding components— through unsubstantiated accusations that the SDF is “escalating,” or by allowing extremist groups to stage provocative assaults on the Region of North and East Syria. ...

RAQQA, North and East Syria — Each time negotiations inch forward on implementing the March 10 agreement signed by the SDF and the central government in Daramsuq (Damascus), especially the parts dealing with military integration, the Syrian government tends to obstruct the process. The progress ma...

20/11/2025

Aid to the Church in Need World Report: Iraq — Fragile Religious Freedom Amid Legal Disputes, Sectarian Pressure, and Persistent ISIS Threats

20/11/2025

Chaldean Patriarch Mar Louis Sako speaks of ‘promising beginning’ regarding the relationship with other Syriac churches

By SyriacPress Editorial Team BAGHDAD — Patriarch of the Chaldean Church Mar Louis Raphaël I Sako inaugurated the 2025 Synod of the Chaldean Church on 17 November with morning prayer and Divine Liturgy at the Patriarchal See in Al-Mansour district, Baghdad. In his opening address to the gathered bishops, Patriarch Sako, who is also a Cardinal in the Catholic Church and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches, addressed a wide range of topics, including leadership in the Church, spiritual self-examination, the crisis of vocations, and relations with Muslim authorities, the Iraqi government, and other Churches. ...

By SyriacPress Editorial Team BAGHDAD — Patriarch of the Chaldean Church Mar Louis Raphaël I Sako inaugurated the 2025 Synod of the Chaldean Church on 17 November with morning prayer and Divine Liturgy at the Patriarchal See in Al-Mansour district, Baghdad. In his opening address to the gathered ...

20/11/2025

Israeli settler violence again targets Christian village of Taybeh, Holy Land

TAYBEH, Holy Land — In another disturbing and increasingly frequent incident against the Christians of the Holy Land, specifically in the West Bank, Israeli settlers on 19 November 192025 vandalized a vehicle in Taybeh village, east of Ramallah. The settlers also stole construction equipment in Turmus Ayya town to the north. The vandalized vehicle belongs to Iyad Ayoub, a resident of Taybeh, which is the last entirely Christian village on the West Bank. ...

TAYBEH, Holy Land — In another disturbing and increasingly frequent incident against the Christians of the Holy Land, specifically in the West Bank, Israeli settlers on 19 November 192025 vandalized a vehicle in Taybeh village, east of Ramallah. The settlers also stole construction equipment in Tu...

19/11/2025

Former Lebanese minister Alain Hakim: Lebanon’s future is not being shaped in Beirut, but in the capitals now working toward long-term regional de-escalation

BEIRUT — As the region undergoes rapid and unpredictable shifts, Alain Hakim—former Lebanese minister and senior figure in the Kataeb Party—positions himself against the dominant rhetoric circulating in Beirut. He argues that what’s unfolding is no longer a matter of border skirmishes or temporary escalations, but part of a broader international trajectory steering the region toward economic deals and political openness—a trajectory Lebanon cannot escape, no matter how long it tries....

BEIRUT — As the region undergoes rapid and unpredictable shifts, Alain Hakim—former Lebanese minister and senior figure in the Kataeb Party—positions himself against the dominant rhetoric circulating in Beirut. He argues that what’s unfolding is no longer a matter of border skirmishes or tem...

19/11/2025

Michael Merdoyo: Iraq’s Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian representation ‘hijacked’ by sectarian power structure

19/11/2025

Rising violence against Christians in Syrian Government- controlled areas amid security collapse

HMOTH / DAYRO ZCURO / DARAMSUQ — Over the past few months, Syrian government- held areas have witnessed a rising wave of security breakdowns, disproportionately affecting underrepresented groups, including Christians, who have faced a series of violations ranging from grave desecrations to armed assaults and overt sectarian incitement, with no clear signs of accountability or deterrent measures. In western Hmoth (Homs) countryside, the…...

HMOTH / DAYRO ZCURO / DARAMSUQ — Over the past few months, Syrian government- held areas have witnessed a rising wave of security breakdowns, disproportionately affecting underrepresented groups, including Christians, who have faced a series of violations ranging from grave desecrations to armed a...

19/11/2025

Syriac Women’s Union hosts lecture in Beth Zalin, North and East Syria, to combat violence against women

BETH ZALIN, North and East Syria — With the participation of members of the Syriac Women’s Union (Huyodo d’Neshe Suryoye b’Suriya, HNSS) in Syria, as well as several women from the Syriac (Aramean–Assyrian–Chaldean) community, the HNSS organized a lecture on combating violence against women at the Family Center in Beth Zalin (Qamishli), within the Democratic Autonomous Administration of the Region of North and East Syria (DAARNES)....

19/11/2025

Catholic Council of Syria holds meeting in Holeb (Aleppo)

HOLEB, Syria — Catholic bishops in Syria convened yesterday for their annual meeting in Holeb (Aleppo). The Syriac Maronite Archdiocese of Holeb is hosting this year's meeting, which began with an opening prayer at the Syriac Maronite Mar Elias Cathedral after which the meeting started at its archbishopric in Al-Saliba. The meeting was attended by Syriac Catholic Patriarch Mor Yawsef III Younan and the Apostolic nuncio in Syria. ...

HOLEB, Syria — Catholic bishops in Syria convened yesterday for their annual meeting in Holeb (Aleppo). The Syriac Maronite Archdiocese of Holeb is hosting this year’s meeting, which began with an opening prayer at the Syriac Maronite Mar Elias Cathedral after which the meeting started at its ar...