PASADENA, CA (October 28, 2000) – Latin American Indian Ministries (L.A.I.M.), a group which is committed to encourage, strengthen and support the indigenous communities of Latin American in their efforts to evangelize and disciple their own people, has launched a life-giving project to provide wells for the Tikuna Indians of South America and also to help rebuild a Bible Institute to train Amazon Indian leaders.
In a dramatic sign that the Palestinians are leaning toward accepting US President Bill Clinton’s latest peace proposals, Yasser Arafat will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak in Egypt tomorrow.
GARDEN GROVE, CA (December 23, 2000) – Two ministry leaders from Orange County, California, have thrown their support behind President Elect George W. Bush, who met with religious leaders Wednesday (December 20) to discuss ways faith-based groups can provide social services.
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, (December 22, 2000) — Soldiers of the Government of Sudan’s Popular Defense Forces (PDF) systematically gang-raped enslaved black African women and girls during and after slave raids on villages in Southern Sudan. This report is according to the testimonies of numerous redeemed slaves, which was documented by Christian Solidarity International (CSI), and independent researchers.
Ehud Barak’s chances of remaining Israel’s prime minister increased dramatically in the middle of last night when the Knesset voted against holding general elections at this time.
Westlake Village, CA (October 18, 2000) The Government of Sudan’s Popular Defense Forces (PDF.) have again raided villages in Aweil West County of Northern Bahr-El-Ghazal. In one village alone, Goc Machar, they enslaved at least 21 black African women and children on October 7, 2000, according to the Civil Commissioner of Aweil West County, Simon Wol.
Events in Israel continue to swirl in an almost surrealistic dance today as new talk of peace mixes with more violence and final Knesset moves toward early elections next year.
Authorities Urged to Determine Whether Cults are ‘Harmful to Society’ by Alex Buchan LONDON (Compass) — The Chinese government sponsored an International Symposium on Evil Cults in Beijing November 8-10 that urged local authorities not to inquire too closely into the beliefs of accused cults. Instead, authorities were encouraged to assess whether they are “harmful to society” — a catch-all criterion that some house church leaders fear could lead to their own movements being classed as cults. Nearly 60 academics from all over the world attended the Beijing Symposium, and it was full of predictable denunciation of the Chinese folk … Read more
Nigeria came into the international limelight in the year 2000 as the country began a full year of democratic government following prolonged military rule. It also saw the rise of Islamic fundamentalism as several northern Nigerian states have moved to implement Islamic (sharia) law. The resulting Christian-Muslim conflicts have threatened to permanently divide Africa’s most populous nation.
The Russian-made MU2 Antonov aircraft, with Sudanese government markings, made six bombing runs on Thursday, March 23, over the grounds of the Christian Liberty Academy of Southern Sudan in Western Equatoria, dropping one or two 250-pound-shrapnel bombs at a time. This bombing mission by the Islamic-led government forces of Sudan inflicted numerous injuries on students and their parents.
Prime Minister Ehud Barak’s office has confirmed that the Israeli leader held another telephone conversation with US President Bill Clinton earlier this week regarding the peace process.
Turkmenistan’s political police evicted a Protestant Christian pastor with his wife and two children from their home near Ashgabad on December 9, confiscating their personal deed of ownership and sealing the gate to prevent their return.
SPRING LAKE, MI (December 4, 2000) – A bitter civil war and famine conditions have devastated the people in Sudan, Africa. International Aid has responded to the tremendous needs of the Sudanese people by shipping such relief supplies as vitamins, medicines, food and personal care items.
During the past two weeks, Turkmenistan’s political police have launched another harsh crackdown against its Protestant Christian citizens.
At least four known believers in the capital of Ashgabad have been subjected to repeated beatings, electric shocks, partial suffocation and other forms of torture while under interrogation, prosecution and ongoing harassment.
Maluku’s head of police admitted that authorities cannot dislodge the hundreds of Muslim jihad fighters scattered throughout eastern Indonesia’s Maluku province and who have escalated the inter-religious conflict as Christmas approaches. More than 100 Christians were reported killed in November fighting.
On 20 November, the day after US Assistant Secretary of State Susan Rice’s arrival in Marial Bai to meet with victims of slavery, the armed forces of the Government of Sudan executed seven black African school boys following a mid-morning slave raid on the nearby Guong Nowh Community Elementary School, according to Simon Wol, the Civil Commissioner of Aweil West County. Government soldiers also enslaved 24 other children, including six girls.
Nazareth, Israel (November 24, 2000) – Even amidst the turmoil in Israel, construction has started on the grounds of what will be the largest monument to peace on earth. The STAR OF PEACE, an international peace project located in Nazareth, Israel is designed to commemorate the 2000th anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ. To celebrate this occasion a universal monument to peace is being created. People from around the world will have the opportunity to have their name and message engraved in the memorial for the next millennium.
The head of the Nigerian Bible Society recently released the casualty figures of Christians killed and churches destroyed during the February and May religious clashes between Muslims and Christians in Kaduna, the capital city of northern Nigeria’s Kaduna state.
“If you want to save your lives, don’t show this film again.” This was the warning made to the Great Commission team after they had shown the Jesus film in Birnin Kebbi, capital of Nigeria’s Kebbi state. Kebbi, along with several other northern Nigerian states, has adopted “sharia” (Islamic law) to operate above the local and national legal systems.
The violent October protests that rocked Bolivia, causing 12 deaths, scores of injuries and millions of dollars in damages, embodied one more local clash in the international drug war. The conflict has pitted the government, which is implementing a plan to eradicate the coca plant, the raw material from which cocaine is produced, against peasant farmers from the tropical Chapare region, where 90 percent of the country’s illicit coca crop is grown.