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NEWS |
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KANDHAMAL: BJP CANDIDATE BOOKED FOR HATE SPEECH
BHUBANESWAR, April 12, 2009: After Pilibhit, it
is the turn of Kandhamal in Orissa to gather some
communal steam, with the district administration today
slapping a criminal case against the local BJP
candidate, charged with delivering a hate speech against
Christians at an election rally in the already troubled
Lok Sabha segment.
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RICK WARREN 'SHOCKS' US EVANGELICALS
 Irvine, CA: How did Pastor Rick Warren handle
the controversy that broke out when President elect Obama hand picked him to give the invocation at the
Presidential inauguration? Warren was known as an
outspoken critic of gay "marriage" and a supporter of
Proposition 8 that was put to vote in state of
California state Obama's supporters were furious with
the President for his choice of an anti-gay pastor.
Warren appeared on Larry King Live. Here are excerpts
from this interview.
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 KANDHAMAL:
PASTOR IN ELECTORAL FRAY
Kandhamal: A Christian pastor, Dheenabhandhu
Naik, filed nomination papers to contest in the Lok
Sabha polls from Kandhamal Lok Sabha constituency as an
independent candidate. Pastor Naik is a popular gospel
preacher with a prophetic gifting. He enjoys the support
of all Christians in Kandhamal district (30% of
population) and of all moderates among the Hindu
community. Therefore, he hopes to win this election.
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NATIONAL |
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POSTPONE POLLS IN KANDHAMAL: ARCHBISHOP TO CEC
Bhubaneswar: The Archbishop of
Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, Most Rev. Raphael Cheenath has
written to the Chief Election Commissioner requesting
him to postpone Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in
Kandhamal district of Orissa.
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STAINES'
KILLER IN FRAY
The news of Rabindra Kumar Pal alias Dara Singh
contesting election as an independent candidate from
Orissa's Ghasipura assembly constituency has come a
'shocker' to the Christian community in India. Dara
Singh is convicted in the brutal murder of Australian
missionary Graham Staines and two of his minor sons in
1999. Presently lodged in Keonjhar jail, Dara Singh
submitted his papers to the sub-collector of Anandapur
through an agent identified as Netrananda Mahanta.
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1130
CHRISTIANS CONVERTED TO HINDUISM IN MUMBAI
Over a thousand Christians were converted to Hinduism at
a ceremonial function in Maharashtra's Mumbai. According
to a trusted source, about 1130 Christians adopted
Hinduism during a function at Kalyan in the district of
Thane. The conversion was solemnised by Jagadguru
Narendra Maharaj, a Hindu saint spearheading a religious
campaign vying to reconvert Hindus as well as Dalits and
tribal people into Hinduism.
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MAOISTS, NOT CHRISTIANS BEHIND RSS ACTIVIST DEATH:
POLICE
The Orissa police on Friday dismissed claims of Sangh
Parivar linking Christians in the murder of a Hindu
activist in Kandhamal, March 18. After initiating the
investigation on the murder of Pravat Panigrahi, Orissa
state authorites warned saffron groups to refrain from
targeting the Christians for the crime. Referring to the
August 23 violence on Christians that was sparked by the
murder of VHP leader Laxmananda Saraswati, DGP Manmohan
Praharaj said, "A number of senior Maoist leaders had
earlier claimed responsibility of killing VHP leader
Saraswati.”
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INDIA
GOVERNMENT URGED TO TACKLE DEADLY VIOLENCE
Human rights investigators have urged India's government
to tackle extremist groups and to improve protection of
the country's Christian minority after "the most severe
anti-Christian violence seen in post-independence India"
which killed scores of people and displaced thousands,
mainly in the states of Orissa and Karnataka. In its
annual briefing on the situation of Christians in India,
Britain based advocacy group Christian Solidarity
Worldwide (CSW) said 2008 "saw a continued pattern of
religiously motivated violence perpetrated against the
Christian community across numerous states.”
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RAGGING
VICTIM ALMOST BLINDED
Coimbatore: What makes educated college
students in the country bully, beat up and humiliate
their juniors? Ragging just keeps happening despite the
laws and now it's nearly caused a 20-year-old first year
student his eyesight.
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ORPHANAGE BURNED IN ORISSA
Bhubaneshwar: An orphanage in Bargarh
district that was torched by Hindu militants last August
was burned to the ground a second time on March 20,
2009, according to reports.
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ICPF
INITIATES 'ONE MINUTE PRAYER MOVEMENT’
New Delhi: The Inter Collegiate Prayer
Fellowship, New Delhi has started a new initiative
called ONE MINUTE PRAYER MOVEMENT specially focusing on
the high schools, colleges and for the office going
people.
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CHRISTIAN KILLED IN ORISSA
Bhubaneshwar: A 23-year-old Christian man,
Gunjan Digal, was run over by a tractor and killed in
Gungibadi village in Kandhamal district, according to
reports. Police have claimed that the incident was an
"accident."
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PASTOR
ATTACKED
Bangalore (Karnataka): On April 5, Pastor
Yadal was attacked in the village of Vadarpalaya. Police
officers stopped Pastor Yadal while he was on his way to
preach at the House of Salvation church.
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MANIPURI CHRISTIANS ORGANISE PRAYER MOVEMENT
Christians in Manipur have decided to seek God's help in
transforming their troubled state. They have organised a
continuous prayer chain that will last till April 30,
2009.
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 ESV
STUDY BIBLE NAMED THE CHRISTIAN BOOK OF THE YEAR
The ESV Study Bible has been named the "Christian Book
of the Year" by the Evangelical Christian Publishers
Association, marking the first time the honor has been
given to a study Bible.
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BJP
FIELDS RIOT-ACCUSED AS CANDIDATES
Bhubaneshwar: The Christian community in
Orissa as well as some political parties have condemned
the BJP’s decision to nominate Kandhamal riot-accused
Manoj Pradhan as the party candidate from G Udaygiri
Assembly constituency of the riothit district.
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WORLD |
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PASTOR
DETAINED IN CHINA
Beijing:
At approximately 6:00 a.m. on March 21, 2009, police
arrested Pastor "Bike" Zhang Mingxuan, leader of the
Chinese House Church Alliance, in Yanjiao town, Hebei
province, according to delayed reports. Pastor Zhang was
staying at the home of a local Christian man after
baptizing a believer when more than a dozen police
officers arrived. The authorities took Pastor Zhang to
the local police station where he was searched,
interrogated and threatened with death. Bank cards and
three cell phones were confiscated.
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 COMPLETE ARABIC BIBLE TO BE RELEASED IN MAY
The full Arabic Bible will
be released this May in two Middle Eastern cities by the
World Bible Translation Center. The New Testament is
already available in Arabic and making headway in the
Middle East. The Old Testament has been highly
anticipated by many and will finally mark the completion
of the Bible in Arabic, the primary language of over 280
million people.
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MUSLIM-MAJORITY MOROCCO EXPELS 5 CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES
The overwhelmingly Muslim
North African country of Morocco expelled five Christian
missionaries for “illegally” trying to convert Muslims,
the Interior Ministry said Sunday. All five missionaries
were sent to Spain by boat after they were caught in a
meeting with Moroccan Muslims on Saturday in Casablanca,
The Associated Press reported based on a statement
carried by the official MAP news agency. Four of the
missionaries are Spaniards and the fifth is German. All
five are female.
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HOME
RAIDED, BELIEVERS FINED IN AZERBAIJAN
Baku: A Christian's home was raided in Agdash,
Azerbaijan on March 25, 2009 by the local official of
the State Committee for Work with Religious
Organizations, police officers and two camera-men,
according reports.
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 AMERICAN
CHRISTIANS EXPRESS SOLIDARITY WITH ISRAEL
More
than 100,000 American Christians have signed a petition
expressing solidarity with Israel. The petition,
organized by Pastor John Hagee's group Christians United
for Israel, was presented on March 24, 2009 to members
of Congress.
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CHRISTIANS EXPELLED FROM MOROCCO
Rabat: Five female Christians, four Spanish
and one German, were recently expelled from Morocco on
accusations of "proselytizing" Muslims. According to
reports the women were among a group of tourists who
were arrested by police while gathered for Bible study
in the city of Casablanca on March 28, 2009.
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IRANIAN CONVERTS SENTENCED
Teheran: On March 10, a court in the Iranian
city of Shiraz handed three converts to Christianity
from Islam eight-month suspended prison sentences with
five years probation, according to recent reports.
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TAJIKISTAN: PRESIDENT SIGNS RESTRICTIVE LAW
Dushanbe: Tajikistan's President, Emomali
Rahmon, has signed a repressive new religion law that
was first sent to parliament for approval in
mid-November, 2008. The legislation, which violates the
country's constitution and international human rights
obligations, has been harshly criticized by many human
rights groups, including the UN Special Rapporteur on
Freedom of Religion or Belief.
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BAGHDAD'S CHRISTIAN NEIGHBOURHOOD
“The
killing of four innocent people within the last two days
has put a renewed fear in our hearts,” said Julian
Taimoorazy, president of Iraqi Christian Relief Council,
in an interview with International Christian Concern.
“What is important is to keep these continuous
atrocities in the media and on the policy makers'
radars. What we need is a more safe and secure Iraq for
all of Iraqi's especially for the Christians who have
faced ethno-religious cleansing.”
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 RUSSIAN
ORTHODOX CHURCH BECOMING A GROWING POLITICAL FORCE
Moscow: The glittering Christ the Savior
Cathedral, a palewhite marble structure decorated with
bronze statuary and swaths of gold leaf, is more than
just Moscow's grandest and most opulent place of
worship. Built in the 1990s as a replica of a church
dynamited by Communists in 1931, the cathedral
symbolizes the Moscow Patriarchate's rising political
influence which may be greater today than at any time
since the 17th century. It also serves as global
headquarters of vast and expanding business operations
that experts say are worth several billion dollars.
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TWO YOUNG
CHRISTIAN WOMEN HELD IN N OTORIOUS
IRANIAN PRISON WITHOUT CHARGE
Teheran: Roommates Marzieh Amirizadeh
Esmaeilabad, 30, and Maryam Rustampoor,27, were arrested
March 5 by Iranian security forces who accused them of
being “anti-government activists,” reported Farsi
Christian News Network (FCNN), which recently received
news about their detainment.
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4 CHRISTIANS KILLED WITHIN 48 HOURS IN IRAQ
Baghdad: Four Iraqi Christians were murdered
within two days by unknown assailants, according
sources. Sha-bah Aziz Suliman was reportedly killed in
the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Apr. 1, and Nimrud
Khuder Moshi, Glawiz Nissan and Hanaa Issaq were
murdered thereafter in Dora, a historical Christian
neighborhood of Baghdad.
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ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY VOICES CONCERN
London: The Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan
William has urged the BBC not to neglect Christians in
its religious programming. Dr Williams voiced his
concern to the corporation's director general Mark
Thompson in a private meeting at Lambeth Palace.
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MUSLIM ATTACKS CHURCH, MOLESTS COPTIC GIRL
Cairo: In another series of the recurring
incidents of churches being attacked by mentally
deranged Muslims, and for the second time within 12
weeks, the same Muslim impinged on the church of St.
George in Mansheyet Eltahrir, Ain Shams.
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PARENTS SUE SCHOOL OVER RELIGIOUS SONG
Jacksonville (USA): Parents are suing the St.
Johns County School Board saying a teacher made their
children learn a religious themed song for an
end-of-the-year program. The lawsuit, filed last week in
federal court, says “In God We Still Trust,” interferes
with the parents' right to raise children according to
their own beliefs.
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'JOHN 3:16' NOT WELCOME AT NCAA
TOURNAMENT
Has
the Bible verse John 3:16 become too controversial to be
displayed at sporting events? Some might be asking that
question after a basketball fan at the NCAA Tournament
had his sign featuring the famous New Testament quote
snatched away from him by a security guard. The incident
took place last month during Round One of the annual
contest, as Siena College, a Catholic school, was taking
on Ohio State.
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REAGAN TRIED TO PERSUADE GORBACHEV?
Moscow: A new biography that draws on
recently declassified documents discloses a secret
exchange between the two leaders that left at least one
official present convinced that Reagan had tried to
persuade his counterpart of God's existence.
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IRANIAN CHRISTIAN RELEASED
Teheran: Delayed reports say that on February
25, 2009, 27-year old Hossein Karimi was released from
prison after placing his home as collateral. Hossein, a
new convert, had been arrested on charges of attending
home churches, evangelizing, storing Bibles and
converting to the Christian faith, FCNN reported.
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THREE ERITREAN CHRISTIANS RELEASED
Asmara: Three Christians were recently
released on bail in Eritrea. Two of the men, both in
their 80s, had been arrested in November and were being
held at the Mitire military prison camp in north-eastern
Eritrea. The third man had been held in a police station
for six months.
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 POPE
WARNS AGAINST WITCHCRAFT IN ANGOLA
Luanda: Pope Benedict XVI issued a warning
against witchcraft on March 21, 2009 during his visit to
Angola, after calling on African leaders to battle
corruption and drawing a tough line against abortion.
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CHINESE PRIEST BEATEN IN MAYOR'S OFFICE
Beijing: On March 16, 2009, Father Francis
Gao Jianli (39) was attacked while at the mayor's office
in Xiangong town in Chencang district where he had been
invited to discuss a disputed church property.
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CHRISTIAN
ORGANIZATIONS TO ASSIST ISRAEL
Jerusalem: The international Christian
community, under the auspices of the International
Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ), is ready to
step in and partially fill the void that could be left
if American funding is cut for Jewish social welfare
organizations and programmes in Israel and the Former
Soviet Union (FSU).
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CHRISTIANS UNDER FIRE IN UZBEKISTAN
Six
Christians were detained after police raided a home in
the town of Kurgantepe, Andijan region, Uzbekistan,
where believers had gathered to share a meal together,
according to recent reports. Three Christians were
detained at the Kurgantepe Rehabilitation Centre for
Homeless Persons for not having their identification
documents with them.
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 KHMER
ROUGE TORTURER FINDS CHRIST
Phnom Penh (Cambodia): Once a devoted Khmer
Rouge communist, the regime's former chief executioner
traded leftist ideology for Jesus, and now, with his
trial going on, presents himself as a pious, contrite,
and cooperative old man.
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ALSO IN
THIS ISSUE... |
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PRAISE THE ALMIGHTY
10 YEARS CELEBRATION
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