MEXICO CITY (Compass) — Twenty-five evangelical families in a Chiapan village won’t be expelled from their homes now that agreements have been reached between Presbyterians, political party leaders and a group of men accused of encouraging violence against evangelicals.
To know Menno Simons was dangerous; to befriend him, deadly. For sheltering Menno, Tjard Reynders was broken on the wheel. A ferryman was executed for bearing Menno down the Meuse River. Surely Menno Simons must have been a desperate criminal for mere accomplices to receive such stiff sentences!
WASHINGTON (BP)–President Clinton vetoed legislation to remedy the penalty for married couples in the federal tax code, and Republican leaders in Congress promised to work to overcome his action.
WASHINGTON (BP)–President George W. Bush called for reduction of the tax penalty for married couples and elimination of the estate tax in his first address to a joint session of Congress Feb. 27.
GREENSBORO, NC (AgapePress) – It was a smaller than expected crowd, with only about half of the 2,400 tickets having been sold. So the evangelicals stood out all the more. Not because of their angry signs, but because of their own numbers and their gentle witness.
BAMAKO, Mali (Compass) — For some time, Muslim city authorities in Magnambougou planned for a beautiful new mosque in this new suburb of Bamako, the Malian capital. They acquired land in the middle of the urban dwellings and began to build a mosque that would dominate the area and accommodate more than 2,000 Muslims for prayers, much to the distress and dismay of local Christians.
In the Balkans, fear and tension fill the hearts of those who see a flare-up of the ongoing conflict between ethnic Albanians and the other peoples of the region. Rebels making almost daily mortar attacks and shootings surround Macedonia’s second largest city. Foreign workers have fled the tension-filled areas. The local population is scared and unsure of what the future holds. Yet a light is burning bright in the lives of many!
“I do not expect the tide of evil and immorality in America to ebb. We are cycling, as cultures and civilizations have always cycled, and are now on the down side of glory. Our once great and godly nation, having crested the hill of God’s grace, has begun a slow descent into the abyss of self destruction.”
Worried that his own regime may be at stake, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has warned that it is “now or never” for a landmark Mideast peace deal over the explosive issue of Jerusalem and placed the onus on Israel to make concessions to the Palestinians.
Facing a mounting backlash in the Arab/Islamic world for his apparent tilt towards Israel in recent weeks, US President George W. Bush is reportedly considering holding his first meeting with PLO chief Yasser Arafat on the sidelines of the opening session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in early September.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan opened the controversial Durban conference on racism on Friday, receiving his longest and loudest applause for remarks critical of Israel, an omen of the gathering’s festering antisemitic agenda that threatens to quickly drive away Jewish attendees and anyone else with their moral compass still intact.
Several pro-life advocates and their minor children filed a federal lawsuit today against an assistant city attorney and two police officers who ordered them to remove signs displaying images of aborted children. The case received national attention among pro-life groups when the assistant city attorney, accompanied by two police officers, ordered the signs removed, claiming the signs were a public safety hazard and violated the law. The plaintiffs had been displaying their signs in front of a Planned Parenthood abortion facility in the City of Great Falls.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon found lots of common ground on Tuesday with US President George W. Bush regarding his guarded approach to peace with the Palestinians, but Bush left it unclear whether PLO chief Yasser Arafat would get his own invite to the White House soon.
As the Knesset returned from its three-month summer recess on Monday, its first session since the Palestinian uprising started one month ago, embattled Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak faced a deeply divided parliament without an emergency unity government in place and in the throes of a fresh round of lethal assaults on Israeli targets.
Tensions remain high throughout Israel, as Palestinians staged violent riots and shooting attacks on Thursday and into Friday, when Israeli Arabs were more subdued in their annual “Land Day” protests.
Israel’s new Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has arrived in Washington for his first official visit with the Bush Administration, leaving behind the traditional “shopping list” of Israeli defense needs and yet another surge of Palestinian terrorism.
In yet another example of Arab leaders advocating terrorism and violence to settle disagreements, Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri said Lebanon has the right to fight for and “liberate by all means available” the disputed Sheba Farms area, including cross-border attacks by Hizb’Allah.
Anti-Syrian sentiment is rising among Christians in Lebanon, evidenced by bold comments by Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir in his visit to the US last week, and during protests at a Beirut university this week.
Saudi security forces stormed a hijacked Russian plane on Friday, ending a hostage situation that began when armed Chechen men commandeered the plane after takeoff from Istanbul yesterday. Three people were killed and several others were injured in the commando operation.
Despite Palestinian media reports blaming Israel for the suspected outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Palestinian areas, Israeli authorities handed over to Palestinian Authority officials 220,000 vaccines to inoculate their herds against the virus on Sunday morning.