Sacred Nation
Christians in historic town in Syria reflect on new moment in the country
Last December, after more than a decade of fighting, forces opposing President Bashar al-Assad ousted him from power. Some people in Maaloula, long a center for Christianity in Syria, shared their concerns and hopes for the future under the new government, which has a conservative, Islamist past.
In Mexican border cities, the migrants are gone
Shelters are nearly empty, and local humanitarian groups are scrambling to survive. The new reality is a stark reflection of the sweeping changes in US immigration policy under President Donald Trump. It follows the administration’s termination of the CBP One app, a tool that allowed migrants to schedule asylum appointments at US ports of entry.
Ukrainian military chaplains tend to soldiers and others at risk amid the ongoing fighting
Peace talks between the US, Russia and Ukraine appear to have stalled. But far away from the negotiation table, Russian aerial attacks continue — and Ukrainians still fear for their lives, including soldiers and military chaplains, who visit front-line areas for their work.
How a deeply Buddhist Bhutan keeps religion and politics from mixing
Bhutan is officially a Buddhist kingdom. It’s also a fledgling democracy trying to establish a balancing act to honor its Buddhist identity while maintaining a separation between religion and government. The compromise the country has settled on for now excludes clergy from political life.
