PLAN TO SET UP SALVATION ARMY CENTRES BY MC DONALD'S HEIR MAY FAIL
New York: At her death in 2003, Joan B. Kroc, the widow of the founder of the McDonald's Corporation, left a grand idea and $1.8 billion to make it happen. She wanted the Salvation Army to build some 30 lavish community centres around the nation, like the $87 million complex she paid for in San Diego, with three swimming pools, an indoor ice skating arena and a 600-seat theatre. READ MORE

HOUSE CHURCHES ATTACKED IN CHINA
Beijing: At approximately 9:15 a.m. on June 14, 2009, several dozen officials from the Municipal Bureaus of Religion and State Security broke into a house church in Zhengzhou City, Henan province, China, and arrested several believers, according to reports. READ MORE

CHRISTIAN WOMAN FACING BLASPHEMY CHARGES IN PAKISTAN
Islamabad: Thirty seven year old Asia Bibi was recently arrested by police on allegations of blasphemy in the village of Ittanwali, Punjab province. On June 19, 2009, some of the Muslim women who work with Bibi on a farm owned by a local Muslim engaged in a heated discussion with Bibi about Islam. Bibi told them that Christ died on the cross for their sins and asked them what Mohammed had done for them. "Our Christ is the true prophet of God and yours is not true," Bibi said. READ MORE

CHURCH OF ENGLAND TO BROADEN ITS APPEAL TO YOUNGSTERS
London: The ideas for alternative-style worship are part of an initiative launched by Dr. Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, to appeal to the younger generation. They are set out in a new book compiled by the Church's Fresh Expressions programme, which aims to boost church attendance with more relevant and exciting services. READ MORE

CHRISTIAN WOMAN RELEASED IN ZHEJIANG PROVINCE, CHINA
Beijing: According to recent reports, a Christian woman sentenced in December 2006 to three and a half years in prison for protesting the government's destruction of a church building in Xiaoshan, Zhejiang province, was released on March 4, 2009. READ MORE

A CHILD BRINGS AN ENTIRE FAMILY TO FAITH
Managua (Nicaragua): One night Chema Lopez, a JESUS Film team leader, was sitting outside his home in Nicaragua with his daughter. A young man approached them, introducing himself as Gabriel Antonio Madrigal. Gabriel explained that he was a Christian because of a presentation Chema did at his school seven years ago when he was in fifth grade. READ MORE

UNIVERSITY REQUIRES PERMIT TO DISTRIBUTE BIBLES
Giving away Bibles on the campus of Bucknell University is at your own peril, since the school requires a permit for such an activity, according to a new dispute that arose involving the school's Conservatives Club. The organization has attempted to make several political statements on campus, and has been shut down by officials with the university repeatedly, said a complaint letter assembled by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. READ MORE

CHRISTIAN CHILDREN ORPHANED BY CYCLONE NARGIS HIDING IN MYANMAR’S JUNGLES
Orphaned by a devastating cyclone in 2008, thousands of children in Myanmar (Burma) are engaged in a deadly game of hide and seek with Burmese soldiers. Barnabas Fund, a U.K. based interdenominational Christian aid agency, estimates that up to 3,000 Karen villagers, including orphaned children, have fled their mountain communities in recent weeks due to renewed confrontations with the Burmese military.“ READ MORE