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

North Korea remains atop Open Doors' "World Watch List" of countries where Christians are persecuted. The annual list ranks countries according to the intensity of persecution Christians face for actively pursuing their faith. Saudi Arabia holds the second spot followed by Vietnam. Other countries on the top-10 list where "severe persecution" takes place are Laos, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Bhutan, Maldives, Somalia and Iran. China is listed at 11th. For years little information about the North Korean church emerged from Kim Il Sung's harsh regime (now ruled by his son, Kim Jong Il). Some even wondered if the church had survived decades of severe oppression. However, a flood of North Korean refugees fleeing to China to escape famine report that the church has grown to some 400,000 Christians who worship in secret. Openly practicing the Christian faith could result in imprisonment and death. Saudi Arabia sees itself as the "guardian of Islam," requiring all citizens to be Muslims. A Saudi who converts to another religion faces the death penalty for apostasy. Even foreign residents have been imprisoned and deported for quietly practicing their faith. Oppression in Vietnam has increased in the last two years, especially in the central highlands and northwestern provinces. Most of the offending countries are dominated by Islamic, Buddhist or communist regimes. An estimated 200 million Christians worldwide suffer persecution for their faith with another 200 million to 400 million facing discrimination for being Christian. (Assist News Service)

PRAYER THRUST URGES REUNIFICATION OF 2 KOREAS, REVIVAL

The barbed wire and ideological controversies between North and South Korea are not the only walls that Christians in South Korea pray will fall. "Although the Korean church seems very much alive when viewed from the outside, denominationalism is like an aggressive rust in the Christian scene," says Richard Briggs, initiator of the "No More Walls" prayer initiative. At 6:30 a.m. every Monday Christians meet on "neutral ground" to pray that the "walls of isolation separating pastors and members of Christian churches will fall and that the Korean church will not be lamed by protectionism and in-fighting." The fear of "sheep stealing" is so great that some pastors even forbid members of their church to attend concerts organized by other churches. The newly formed prayer movement has three aims: that North and South Korea will be peacefully reunited; that the walls between the many denominations will collapse; and that true revival will return to the nation. (Friday Fax)

CHRISTIANS IN CÔTE D'IVOIRE FEEL BETRAYED BY FRENCH PEACE PLAN

Both Christians and Muslims have been killed in riots that broke out following the announcement of a French-brokered peace plan designed to end four months of bitter fighting in the West African country of Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast). The peace accord, signed in France Jan. 24, is widely seen by the country's majority-Christian population in southern Ivory Coast as a capitulation to the demands of the military rebels whose coup began the fighting last September. Under terms of the agreement, a government of national unity would be established with the rebels given the key interior and defense posts. Widespread protests have taken place in Abidjan and other parts of the Ivory Coast almost daily since the agreement was announced. On Jan. 28, Muslim mobs began to stone Christian protestors in Abidjan and Agboville, leading to fighting between the two groups in which 15 people are reported to have been killed, 40 wounded and several churches and mosques razed. On Feb. 2 several people were injured and churches attacked when Muslim mobs turned on local Christians in several suburbs of Abidjan following the murder of a well-known Muslim actor and member of the pro-Muslim political party Rally of the Republicans.

In the latest developments, Associated Press reported that the U.N. ordered all nonessential staff out of warring Ivory Coast on Thursday following evacuation by thousands of other foreigners amid violent loyalist riots and protests. Rebel groups, meanwhile, insisted that the French-brokered peace deal that sparked two weeks of protests by government supporters must stand. However, Ivory Coast President Laurent Ggagbo hinted at compromise on the deal -- one that would satisfy both rebels and his hard-core followers. He is expected to make an announcement on state television later today. Ivory Coast lost half its territory to rebels during the country's civil war. The French-brokered peace deal, reached after two weeks of talks, seeks to end the war by bringing rebels into a power-sharing government until 2005 elections. (Religion Today/Barnabas Fund/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.

MISSIONARIES SAFE DESPITE ANTI-THAI RIOTS IN CAMBODIA

Thailand says it will reopen its border with Cambodia this weekend as the two countries work to repair relations damaged by last week's anti-Thai riots in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh. People serving with New Tribes Mission in the city say they are in no danger, adding that they are grateful for prayers concerning the team's safety and protection. The team's evangelism ministry is relatively new, but continues to be received well. Thailand closed its border with Cambodia last week and downgraded diplomatic ties after the riots plunged relations between the two countries to their lowest level in decades, AP reported. Thailand Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said earlier that checkpoints would be reopened to Thais and Cambodians, but only for trade. The border remains open for travel by people of other nationalities. Thailand withdrew its diplomats Cambodia after mobs in Phnom Penh set fire to its embassy and Thai-owned businesses on Jan. 29. The riots started over rumors that a Thai actress had claimed that the Angkor temples, Cambodia's national symbol, should belong to Thailand. The rumors were widely reported by the Cambodian media and repeated by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, but were later found to be false. (Mission Network News/AP)

* 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.

WORLD PRAYER CENTER LAUNCHES WEB-BASED PRAYER INITIATIVE

Four years after it was opened to a fanfare, the World Prayer Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., has launched a low-key initiative intended to fulfill its vision of mobilizing global prayer for world evangelization. The complex is now home to the World Prayer Team, a round-the-clock Internet-based effort to link millions of intercessors around the globe. Members of the team can sign up for weekly e-mail prayer alerts, including major current events and personal concerns -- streamed live at the movement's website (worldprayerteam.org). Visitors are welcomed by the words, "Where 2 or 3 million are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them." For Ted Haggard, president of the center and senior pastor of New Life Church, the initiative is the fulfillment of a long-held vision. While on a prayer and fasting retreat in 1984 -- long before the advent of the World Wide Web -- God showed him a picture of someone using a computer to pray for the needs of the world. In recent years many people tried to run web-based prayer networks, "but nobody has been as successful as we know the Lord wants it to be," he said. Haggard says prayer can make a key difference in world events. "We will never have another shooter catch us off guard again," he said, referring to the Washington, D.C.-area sniper killings last year. "We will pray him out of the woods before he gets his second shot fired." Among the early prayer topics posted at the website, formally launched in December, were the need for peace in the Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) and a united evangelism effort by Boston-area churches. (Religion Today/Charisma News Service)

MEXICO'S INDIAN TRIBES PRESENT COMPLEX CHALLENGE TO MISSIONARIES Yugo Ministries' Wayne Freeland says witnessing to people in Mexico can be challenging. "Most people think of Mexico as speaking Spanish, and of course that is the official language of the country. However, it was originally inhabited by Indian populations, and there are actually 250 primary languages in Mexico. It makes it somewhat complex because in some areas where we would be speaking Spanish as a second language the people are also hearing us in their second language, which is Spanish." Because many of their short-term mission teams help physically, Freeland believes they have an easier time communicating. "They're interested in knowing why we have come to minister to them. So that desire on their part and the Holy Spirit, of course, helps us bridge the language barrier." (Mission Network News)

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