Poslední vývoj (dle Associated Press) se nese ve znamení protestů tisíců přívrženců vlády, kteří obklopili velvyslanectví USA v Abidjanu a žádali, aby Washington vyslovil nesouhlas s mírovým ujednáním, které přiznává příliš velkou moc povstaleckým silám. 6.000 lidí mávajících americkými vlajkami žádalo Washington o zablokování Francouzi dojednaného rozdělení moci mezi vládu a povstalce kontrolující asi polovinu území Pobřeží Slonoviny. Americké ministerstvo zahraničí nicméně již dříve vyjádřilo podporu této dohodě a vyzvalo obě strany k souhlasu. Pochod k americké ambasádě následoval po výzvě prezidenta Laurenta Gbagho k jeho stoupencům, aby přestali bouřit proti mírovému ujednání, které představuje konec občanské války v zemi. Ujednání bylo oznámeno v pátek a od soboty rozvášněné skupinky lidí bijí západní cizince, napadají francouzské velvyslanectví a další francouzská zařízení. Dlouho s obavami očekávané etnické násilí se nakonec dnes objevilo v Abidjanu, mimo obchodní centrum města. Výsledkem je šest mrtvých a vypálená mešita.

*Místní úřadovna HCJB World Radio pro subsaharskou Afriku je umístěna právě v Abidjanu na Pobřeží Slonoviny. Fréquence Vie (Vlna Života), partnerská FM stanice provozovaná v Abidjanu misií SIM a místními sbory, pokračuje ve vysílání slov naděje a povzbuzení. Stanice vysílá 17 hodin denně francouzsky a některými místními jazyky.

*Nejnovější zprávy v originální anglické verzi jsou vždy ZDE (klikněte).

Fifteen Christian literacy students in central India were shot to death by police on Saturday, Jan. 25, after they were reportedly mistaken to be members of an extremist group. Reports indicate that most of the 15 were associated with one of Mission India's literacy programs. "The incident was a tragic accident," said Mission India President John DeVries. Spokesman John DeGroot agreed, "This is a case of mistaken identity. From everything we've heard, this is not another case of ongoing persecution." The incident occurred in a politically unstable area where extremists are known to be active. First reports indicate that the victims were "mistaken by the police to be extremists and were killed by gunfire." The 15 believers were members of a Christian fellowship and were walking through the jungle to a town where a Sunday-morning worship service was to be held. A police party was apparently patrolling the area to curb extremist movements when they thought the group was terrorists and opened fired on them from behind. Most of the victims died immediately, and "several others were injured." (Mission India/Mission Network News)

ONGOING UNREST IN CÔTE D'IVOIRE JEOPARDIZES MISSIONARY SCHOOL

Continuing unrest in the West African country of Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) is jeopardizing the future of the International Christian Academy in Bouake. Evangelical Baptist Mission's Dr. Paul Jackson says school personnel had hoped for calm, but in light of the ongoing situation, the school board will meet this week to make some tough decisions. "I think there is a general sense by everyone that we are praying for the peace process to continue, and for the campus to return to the Ivory Coast," Jackson said. "But I think they're looking at a point here where they're going to have to have some kind of direction as to what they're going to do for 2003." Fighting forced the evacuation of the school four months ago following a failed coup attempt.

In the latest developments, Associated Press reported that thousands of government loyalists surrounded the U.S Embassy in Abidjan today to demand that Washington oppose a peace deal they say concedes too much power to rebel forces. Waving U.S. flags, 6,000 people appealed to Washington to block the French-brokered power-sharing accord with rebels who control about half of Ivory Coast. The U.S. State Department said earlier that it supports the accord and has urged both sides to comply. The march came after President Laurent Gbagbo appealed to his supporters to stop rioting against the peace deal that seeks to end Ivory Coast's civil war. The deal was announced Friday, and since Saturday mobs have beaten Westerners and attacked the French Embassy and other French targets. Long-feared ethnic fighting also flared in Abidjan today as riots outside the commercial capital left six persons dead and a church and mosque burned. (Mission Network News/AP)

* HCJB World Radio's regional office for Sub-Saharan Africa is in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. Fréquence Vie (Frequency Life), a partner FM station in Abidjan operated by SIM and local churches, continues to air programs of hope and encouragement. The station broadcasts 17 hours daily in French and some local languages.

DELEGATION VOICES CONCERN ABOUT LOSS OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN RUSSIA

A top-level religious freedom delegation from Washington on Friday wrapped up a weeklong fact-finding trip to Russia by expressing concern for the plight of religious minorities in the overwhelmingly Orthodox Christian nation. "I must say the situation is a fragile one," said Felice Gaer, a human rights expert with the American Jewish Committee who heads the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. "We're confident that our concerns have been heard and the future will be different." The commission, which advises the U.S. president, secretary of state and Congress on foreign religious freedom matters, spent the week in the Russian capital meeting with government officials, religious leaders and human rights activists. The last year has been one of the most difficult for religious freedom in Russia since the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union. At least 10 Protestant missionaries, four Catholic priests and a Catholic bishop were expelled from Russia without explanation. In December a leaked draft government report identified Catholics as the "No. 1 religious threat" to Russia's national security, outranking Protestants, Muslims and Satanists. (Religion Today)

FAMINE IN MOZAMBIQUE WORSE THAN INITIAL REPORTS HAD INDICATED

World Relief President Clive Calver returned last week from Mozambique where he said the famine is even worse than earlier reports had indicated. Calver traveled to Chicualacuala, an isolated, virtually uninhabitable area in southern Mozambique near Zimbabwe and South Africa. "There is a grotesque unawareness about what is happening in the remote areas of southern Africa where the people in need are difficult to reach," he said. What Calver encountered in Chicualacuala was horrific. "There were people lying beneath trees dying, while others were eating worms and vegetation that normally only the elephants would eat," he said. A village pastor told Calver about a couple who died in the famine, leaving three orphaned children. The U.S. Agency for International Development estimates that 590,000 people are at risk of starvation in the country. However, the Mozambique National Disaster Management Institute projects that the number of people at risk could rise to 1.4 million because of a lack of rain during the planting season in late 2002. Calver said churches are key in the response to the crisis because they are some of the only institutions that exist in remote areas such as Chicualacuala. "Churches understand the needs of their communities better than outsiders do and can distribute aid more effectively," he said. (World Relief)

VERDICT DELAYED FOR PERPETRATORS OF 'MILLENNIUM MURDERS' IN EGYPT

The families of the 21 victims of religious violence in El-Kosheh, Egypt, three years ago will have to continue to wait for justice. Twenty-one Christians and one Muslim were killed in violence that broke out in January 2000 -- the worst massacre of Egyptian Christians in decades. An earlier verdict that acquitted the 96 murder suspects was overturned and a retrial, which began last May, was to have given its verdict on Monday. Amid heavy security in a session lasting only five minutes, Judge Lotfy Suleiman announced that the verdict would be postponed until Feb. 27 at Sohag Criminal Court. None of the 96 defendants was present in court. Egypt's Coptic Christians expressed disappointment at the events. Mamdouh Nakhla, a lawyer representing several of the families of those murdered, said the lack of a verdict reflects regional sensitivities. "This delay is primarily due to political and social considerations as the general environment is not suitable for pronouncing such a verdict due to the tense and volatile situation in the Middle East in general," he said. (Christian Solidarity Worldwide)

35,000 HEAR GOSPEL AT CITYWIDE CHRISTIAN CONCERT IN CAMBODIA

A ministry team led by Christian musician Bobby Michaels presented the gospel to thousands of Cambodians via music and distributed tons of rice to needy residents this month. Highlighting the three-week trip Jan. 8-27, Florida-based Musicianaries International presented a citywide concert in Battambang. "We expected 5,000 people, but the reported official police estimate of the crowd at 35,000," Michaels said. "There were several hundred team members from the local churches passing out Gospels while evangelizing one-on-one in the crowd as we shared our music and testimonies from the stage." This was the first concert featuring Western Christian artists in the city's history. On Saturday, Jan. 25, the band played Christian songs on a national television network watched by more than 5 million Cambodians. During the trip, the ministry also worked with local partners to hand out tons of rice to residents devastated by floods that destroyed rice fields and left hundreds of thousands homeless. Another highlight was meeting with 81-year-old Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk. "We presented the king with 30 tons of rice which the palace distributed to flood victims the following day," Michaels said. Local host Setan Lee presented Sihanouk with a Greek New Testament as requested since Greek is one of the many languages which he is studying. The ministry is planning outreaches to Cuba in February and Uzbekistan in April, joining the Tashkent State Philharmonic. (Musicianaries International)

* HCJB World Radio, in cooperation with Campus Crusade for Christ, worked with a local partner to plant Cambodia's first Christian radio station in 1998. New Life Radio in the capital city of Phnom Penh broadcasts the gospel in Cambodian and English.

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