Britain’s Foreign Office has updated its travel advisories for 15 countries, including Israel, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, warning of Iranian, US- and Israeli-linked strikes, Saudi-Houthi strikes, and risk of sudden flight cancellations and widespread travel disruptions.

Damascus really needs to calm things down! Syria cannot afford a needless confrontation with Jordan, especially while ISIS and other jihadist networks remain a threat! There is far too much misinformation flying around about Monday’s airstrikes. First of all, look at the pictures published by Syria’s own state media, SANA. They show destroyed buildings and houses, alongside tents and temporary shelters. The strikes hit structures and buildings, not simply tents as some claims suggest. We need to look at the actual targets and establish the facts. Jordan says it killed around 20 ISIS militants. Other reports claim that children and a woman were among those killed. These are serious allegations, and we still need a clear picture of how many civilians were killed and how many ISIS members were eliminated. But let’s be precise. The civilian casualties must be investigated, but they do not automatically mean the entire operation was unjustified! And here is the double standard: when Jordan struck Israeli-backed drug cartels in Suwayda, many applauded. Now, after a deadly attack on Jordan’s Christian community, Jordan launches an anti-terror operation against suspected ISIS targets, and suddenly the Kingdom is being portrayed as Syria’s enemy?! Think about that for a moment! I have far more confidence in Jordanian intelligence than in Syria’s at this stage. Syria is still rebuilding after years of war, with fragmented security structures, organized crime and jihadist networks. What Damascus has achieved so far is impressive, but establishing real state control and reliable intelligence takes time. Jordan is not Syria’s enemy, and it has no interest in becoming one! It did not send its air force into Syria simply because it could. It was an anti-terror operation following a major terrorist attack against Jordan’s Christian community. That does not mean civilian casualties should be brushed aside. Investigate what happened, establish the facts and address any failures. But do not turn this into a political crisis that benefits jihadists and those who want to destabilize the region! Syria and Jordan need cooperation, not hostility. They need stronger border security, better intelligence-sharing and a united front against jihadism! Damascus should be working to make that happen- not inflaming tensions with a neighbouring Kingdom that has every reason to want a secure and stable Syria!

"Arabs vote same as Israelis" - Who will tell him?

Iran’s tentacles reach deep into the Gulf! Kuwait’s Criminal Court has sentenced Hussein Abdullah Al-Matouq, Hassan Abdulhadi Hajieh and Abdulreza Haidar Dehqani to death over a plot to assassinate Kuwait’s First Deputy PM and Interior Minister, involving espionage for Iran and links to Hezbollah. Six suspects confessed to espionage and terrorist activities, including assassination training. Five were Kuwaiti citizens. Another 14 suspects were identified abroad, including Kuwaiti, Lebanese and Iranian nationals. This is not just Kuwait’s problem. Iran’s intelligence networks and proxy militias threaten the sovereignty, security and stability of the entire Gulf. The region cannot afford to underestimate this threat.

Jordanian Communications Minister: We regret the civilian casualties in the airstrikes on ISIS sites in Syria

Jordan has bombed Syria in the name of counterterrorism following Friday’s horrific attack on Christian mourners in Karak. Nine people were killed and dozens injured. Nobody should minimise that atrocity. But the response raises serious questions that cannot be ignored. Jordan says the terrorists behind the Karak massacre were connected to terrorist networks in southern Syria and that its airstrikes were coordinated with Damascus. The Syrian government says otherwise: no prior coordination took place, and the strikes killed civilians, including children. These conflicting accounts matter. Fighting terrorism cannot become a justification for ignoring Syrian sovereignty or the lives of innocent people. Let’s be honest about the bigger picture. Damascus still struggles to establish effective control over southern Syria, where armed factions, smuggling networks and criminal groups exploit the security vacuum. Israel’s expanding military footprint and its support for separatist armed actors and drug cartels are part of this equation. A fragmented, unstable southern Syria is far easier to manipulate than a sovereign state capable of securing its own borders. Israel benefits strategically when Syria remains divided and unable to establish full control over its territory. We must also recognise how extremist Salafi networks can be manipulated by outside actors. When ideological fervour takes precedence over strategic interests, groups become vulnerable to anyone who speaks their language and exploits their convictions. We have already seen how ideological narratives are weaponised on social media! These dynamics cannot be ignored. The answer is not more chaos. It is stronger Syrian–Jordanian security cooperation! Intelligence-sharing, coordinated border operations and a serious crackdown on terrorism and smuggling are essential. Damascus and Amman must build trust, establish clear mechanisms for joint action and prevent outside actors from exploiting the security vacuum to advance their own agendas. Jordan has a legitimate responsibility to protect its citizens. Syria has an equally legitimate right to protect its sovereignty and its people. These interests should reinforce one another, not become another source of conflict. My thoughts and prayers are with the innocent children killed in the Jordanian airstrikes, their families and everyone affected. They should never have paid the price for the failures, rivalries and ambitions of others. Southern Syria needs security, sovereignty and stability- not another cycle of violence.

Quite a constructive proposal... But is it doable? Is it too late? Have the Houthis become too radicalized?

Yesterday, I received some harsh reactions to my post about Syria’s “new” curriculum. So let me explain where I’m coming from. I want what’s best for Syria. I want the country to become part of a modern, prosperous world, with progress, opportunity and dignity for all Syrians! Education is fundamental to that future. And honestly, I struggle to see how the new curriculum, with its emphasis on religious indoctrination, represents meaningful progress. That’s my opinion. But let me be clear: Syria’s future belongs to Syrians. Outsiders like myself can express our views, but ultimately it is the Syrian people who must decide what kind of country they want to build. As @ReemRifai_ points out, this is an internal Syrian debate. And the fact that Syrians can now challenge government decisions and criticise the curriculum without automatically facing the kind of torture and repression associated with the Assad regime is, in itself, real progress. That freedom matters. It must be protected. Yesterday, I also argued that Syria’s pluralistic society is a strength. Let me explain why I believe that. The Assad regime exploited sectarian and ethnic divisions to maintain power. It used Alawites and other minorities within its system of rule to help suppress the Sunni Arab majority. At the same time, the regime also targeted minorities when it suited its interests. The Arab Belt policy in Kurdish areas is one example. The result was a country in which mistrust and division became deeply entrenched. Look at Syria’s ethnic and sectarian geography, including in major cities such as Damascus, and you can see how communities often became concentrated in different areas. These patterns have multiple historical causes, but the conflict, repression and displacement of the Assad era further damaged the bonds between communities. You cannot build a unified nation by perpetuating the divisions that helped destroy it. Every Syrian should be equal before the state, regardless of ethnicity, religious belief or sect. That means building a shared Syrian identity based on citizenship, common responsibility and national belonging. This is why I believe Damascus should put far greater emphasis on civic patriotism and Syrian national identity, and far less on religious indoctrination in schools! A curriculum that elevates one religious identity above others risks creating a hierarchy in which Sunni Islam becomes the default national identity and everyone else is treated as somehow less Syrian. That would be a serious mistake! It would risk replacing one sectarian power structure with another rather than breaking the cycle altogether. Syria does not need a new version of the old system, with different people at the top and the same divisions underneath. It needs modern textbooks that teach critical thinking, science, history and mutual respect. It needs schools that prepare children for the world they will actually live in, not indoctrinate them into a narrower ideological identity. Above all, it needs a government that sends a clear message to every child in Syria: the era in which the state exploited sectarian and ethnic divisions to maintain power must be over. This is a new chapter, and it belongs to all Syrians - Sunni, Alawite, Druze, Christian, Kurd, Arab, Assyrian, Turkmen and everyone else. I know this will not happen overnight. Rebuilding trust after decades of authoritarian rule and years of war will take many years of serious work. But if Syria genuinely wants to heal, rebuild and prosper, it must create a country in which no child is taught that their sect makes them more Syrian than their neighbour. That is the kind of Syria I want to see. Not a Syria defined by religious or ethnic divisions, but a confident, modern nation in which diversity is a strength and citizenship unites everyone. That is my humble opinion. And I believe it is a debate worth having.

I have so much respect for Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel. In a time where so much of Christianity has devolved into partisan politics and or shallow, commercialized fluff, his sermons hit with the raw, uncompromising weight of the Early Church Fathers. He speaks truth without apologizing, and that’s why so many of us are drawn to him. That’s why seeing this news today made me genuinely happy: St. George’s Parish in Jönköping, Sweden (Ancient Church of the East) has officially affiliated with Christ The Good Shepherd Church under Bishop Mar Mari’s spiritual guidance. What I respect most about this move is that it isn’t about chasing novelty. Their ancient liturgy, doctrine, and holy feast days remain 100% untouched, while maintaining full respect for Patriarch Mar Gewargis III Younan.