Mindy Belz

Mindy wrote WORLD Magazine's first cover story in 1986 and went on to serve as international editor, editor, and now senior editor. She has covered wars in Syria, Afganistan, Africa, and the Balkans, and she recounts some of her experiences in They Say We Are Infidels: On the Run from ISIS with Persecuted Christians in the Middle East. Mindy resides with her husband, Nat, in Asheville, N.C. Follow her on Twitter @mcbelz.

A historic agreement

International | The U.S.-brokered Arab-Israeli deal represents a key victory for President Trump

by Mindy Belz
Posted 8/13/20, 05:41 pm

ISRAEL and the United Arab Emirates announced they are establishing full diplomatic ties in a U.S.-brokered agreement—the first Arab country to formalize a relationship with Israel in more than 25 years. The agreement is a key victory for President Donald Trump and represents dramatic changes in the Arab world, where shared concerns about Iran have overtaken traditional support for the Palestinians.

An apocalyptic moment

Middle East | Massive blast hit a Lebanon that was already in crisis

by Mindy Belz
Posted 8/13/20, 01:31 pm

Muthanna and Fahed worked the front desk at the Golden Tulip Hotel in midtown Beirut when they heard what sounded like a bomb. They headed toward the hotel’s floor-to-ceiling glass entryway to see what was happening when the true explosion struck.

Nearly 3,000 metric tons of ammonium nitrate ignited in Beirut’s main port downtown at about 6 p.m. on Aug. 4, sending an orange mushroom cloud and a powerful shock wave over the city.

Lebanon’s long road ahead

International | Protesters demand change as lawmakers and Cabinet ministers resign

by Mindy Belz
Posted 8/10/20, 10:40 am

LEBANON: American officials are in Beirut this week, with U.S. military transports delivering relief and medical supplies as part of $15 million pledged toward recovery from last week’s massive port explosion.

Lebanon’s aftermath

International | France offers its assistance to the shellshocked citizens of Beirut

Mindy Belz | 8/06/20, 04:28 pm

LEBANON: France is taking a lead among Western nations, with the United States making tentative (my take) offers of help in the wake of Tuesday’s catastrophic explosion in Beirut. The official death toll stands at 137, with more than 5,000 injured and at least 350,000 made homeless in a blast triggered by a fire that exploded nearly 3,000 metric tons of ammonium nitrate at the city’s port.

Explosion cripples crumbling Lebanon

Lebanon | Massive blast kills dozens, injures thousands, and levels neighborhoods

Mindy Belz | 8/04/20, 10:22 pm

Tom Atema was working remotely in the United States rather than from his office in Beirut, Lebanon, when news of Tuesday’s blast reached him. The head of Heart for Lebanon—a Christian nongovernmental organization that’s worked with churches in the capital city and with Syrian refugees stranded in Bekaa Valley—sent local teams into the downtown area right away to assess the damage and ways they could serve.

What they saw: Bloodied victims looking for help, windows in every downtown building blown out by the early evening blast, and so much rubble they couldn’t cross some streets.

Melbourne’s bad day

International | Officials call for additional restrictions in Australia’s second-largest city because of COVID-19

Mindy Belz | 8/03/20, 01:05 pm

AUSTRALIA: Melbourne is under a state of emergency with business closures added to a nighttime curfew, as the country’s second-largest city tries to restrain the spread of the coronavirus. Overnight Saturday, 13 people died of COVID-19.

Eid on lockdown

International | The Muslim holiday begins as COVID-19 cases continue to rise

Mindy Belz | 7/30/20, 07:17 pm

SAUDI ARABIA: Celebrations for Eid al-Adha, the Muslim “feast of sacrifice,” began on Thursday amid a surge of coronavirus cases in the Middle East. Mosques are widely closed and many countries are restricting in-home gatherings.

Are historic churches only buildings?

Crime | Churches under attack this summer are symbols of what’s central in community life

Mindy Belz | 7/29/20, 10:40 pm

We Protestants often approach the “sacred spaces” of worship a little conflicted. The Reformers prioritized the inner life of the believer over the outward rituals of the faith. They replaced the altar with the communion table, and gathered in caves when the religious authorities hunted them down.

My own church meets in a school gymnasium, and some of the most vibrant congregations I know gather in concert halls, libraries, and other repurposed venues.

A sword of conquest at Hagia Sophia

International | Erdogan officially reopens the ancient church as a mosque

Mindy Belz | 7/27/20, 05:30 pm

TURKEY: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recited prayers on Friday from Hagia Sophia, officially opening again as a mosque the 900-year-old church that authorities a century ago had turned into a museum.

U.S. holds militants who killed Westerners

International | Parents of slain Americans demand justice

Mindy Belz | 7/23/20, 01:45 pm

SYRIA: Parents of four Americans killed by Islamic State (ISIS) are demanding the Trump administration transfer to the United States two surviving ISIS leaders to face trial.

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