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

New Tribes Mission evacuated its last few missionaries from the West African country of Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) last weekend as they made their way through the strife-torn commercial capital of Abidjan to the airport to leave the country. NTM had kept less than a dozen people in Ivory Coast to look after mission interests, waiting for the political situation to stabilize. Instead, it only got worse as anti-French and anti-Western riots broke out in Abidjan last week, putting foreigners at greater risk. NTM spokesman Dave Zelenak said the riots began after peace talks in Paris gave control to rebel forces in parts of the country. "This didn't go well with the people back in Ivory Coast," he said. "So it really stirred up rioting. People in Ivory Coast got quite hostile to the French who have been holding it together. It's not safe for our people right now." It's uncertain when the missionaries will return to Ivory Coast.

In recent developments, the Associated Press reported that thousands of Ivorian women -- waving tree branches and singing, with their faces painted -- surrounded the French Embassy today to protest a French-brokered peace accord. Female leaders from the ruling party and its allies accused French President Jacques Chirac of forcing the agreement on Ivory Coast's government. They called for the deal to be abandoned or renegotiated with rebels who captured half of the country after a failed coup last September. "The accord is null and void," said Marie-Odette Lorougnon, president of the women's league of the governing Ivorian Popular Front party. "We are a sovereign nation that cannot be pushed around by France. We won't be forced to give in to the rebels." France, Ivory Coast's former colonial ruler, reiterated calls Monday for President Laurent Gbagbo to respect terms of the deal under which rebels and the government would share power until new elections are held. (NTM/Mission Network News/AP)

* Fréquence Vie (Frequency Life), an HCJB World Radio 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.

CATHOLICS SKEPTICAL OF RUSSIAN PRESIDENT'S WARM GREETING TO VATICAN

Russian President Vladimir Putin had warm words last Thursday for Roman Catholics at a time when the religion is experiencing its worst persecution since the end of the Soviet era. "Russia is in favor of developing a political dialogue with the Vatican," Putin told Archbishop Antonio Mennini, the pope's new envoy to Russia, reported the Moscow-based ITAR-TASS news agency. Putin's comments came after the Russian government last year expelled four Catholic priests and a bishop -- all foreigners. Despite a personal appeal from Pope John Paul II, the Kremlin refused to explain the expulsions or allow the clergy to return. In December a leaked Russian government report identified the Roman Catholic Church as the "No. 1 religious threat to Russia's national security." At least one observer of Russia's religious scene said that Putin's words had little significance for Russia's estimated 600,000 Catholics. "I don't see anything new in this," said Anatoly Krasikov, head of the Russian branch of the U.S.-based International Association for Freedom of Religion. "When Putin met with the pope, his words were very warm then, too." (Religion Today)

ROMANIAN TV PROGRAM AIRS ON 27 LOCAL STATIONS, NATIONAL CHANNEL

A Christian TV ministry in Romania called Alfa Omega is presenting the gospel to this former communist nation through a weekly program called, "The Way, the Truth and the Life." The hour-long program includes such things as discussions on Bible teachings, reports of Christian events and interviews with recognized Christian leaders from different denominations. The program is aired by 27 local secular TV stations in Romania as well as a national coverage channel, Tele 7 ABC. The program is also included in the Romanian block aired daily on Trinity Broadcasting Network in Europe. "This is a program through which God's Word is revealed to Romanians across the country," said a spokesman from the broadcasting ministry. "In 2002 God blessed Alfa Omega and opened doors like never before. He expanded our territory and gave us favor to spread His Word in Romania and beyond its borders." Alfa Omega is developing a Christian news agency for Romania and southeastern Europe, the spokesman added. (Assist News Service)

* HCJB World Radio broadcasts the gospel locally in six Romanian cities via the Radio Voice of the Gospel network, a cooperative effort with the Evangelical Alliance of Romania and the Romanian Missionary Society. A seventh station in Brasov is expected to go on the air soon, pending final government approval.

MINISTRY TO EXPAND TO INDONESIA'S UNREACHED GROUPS DESPITE UNREST

An evangelical missionary organization is planning to expand into Indonesia despite the unrest there. Stephen Lonetti, director of White Field, says the need dictates increasing ministry in the country. "I had the opportunity to do surveys in eastern Indonesia and discovered that there are literally hundreds of tribal groups that have never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. I don't think the unrest in the world should deter us from ministering the gospel to people." White Field supports indigenous church planters for up to four years, allowing them to gradually become self-sufficient. (Mission Network News)

WILD FIRES IN AUSTRALIA ONLY BUILD COMMUNITY SPIRIT

Wild fires may have devastated the Canberra area of Australia in January, but it failed to squelch people's "community spirit" as residents in the city of 300,000 work to rebuild their lives and homes. "I now know the name of the family down the street, folk that I have not even noticed before," said a local resident. "Their house, like mine, was saved as the firestorm raced through our area at 60 mph." Youth pastor Jon McIntyre of New Creation Ministries Center commented, "The community spirit has drawn us together, and now we are sharing our experiences, plans and the future. Previously we complained about people not coming into our church, and we discussed how we could reach out to them. The walls seemed to keep us separate. People wouldn't come inside, and we didn't go out to them. Now we have no walls -- and we are able to reach out as never before." The fire destroyed eight of 10 buildings at the site of the church, including the main sanctuary and administration building. When journalists asked how McIntyre felt as he watched his house burn down, he replied, "Welcome to our 'house warming'!" Members of the Canberra's largest Pentecostal church, attended by nearly 1,000 people weekly, said they had planned to rebuild even before the fire hit, but felt they couldn't afford to demolish the 18-year-old buildings. "Now they don't have to worry about that!" McIntyre said. "The buildings are mounds of brick and metal, ready to be cleared away!" Church members have been meeting outdoors at a park three miles from the site since the fire. (Assist News Service)

U.S. PRESIDENT COMFORTS NATION AFTER 7 DIE IN SHUTTLE CRASH

U.S. President George W. Bush tried to comfort a nation in mourning Saturday, Feb. 1, after all seven astronauts aboard the space shuttle Columbia died when the vehicle broke up at high altitude, 15 minutes before a planned landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. "The Columbia is lost, there are no survivors," said Bush, fighting back tears as he addressed the nation from the White House. Bush stressed that although the world saw destruction in the skies, "we can see there is hope." Quoting Scripture, the president said, "The same creator who names the stars also knows the names of the seven souls we mourn today. They are not lost. The crew of the shuttle Columbia did not return safely to earth, but we can pray they are safely home." (Assist News Service)

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