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

The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak that has put China, Singapore, Hong Kong and now the rest of the world on alert has claimed the life of an Assemblies of God pastor. Simon Loh, the 39-year-old Chinese pastor of Faith Assembly of God in Singapore, died of SARS after going to the hospital to pray for a patient who had the disease. Russell Turney, the denomination's missions director for the Asia/Pacific region, said that governments in the region are taking the outbreak seriously, shutting down schools and ordering people who have been exposed to SARS to stay home. "Apparently the virus can survive in the air for several hours," Turney said. Many churches in Singapore have canceled Sunday school and youth meetings to help prevent the spread of the disease. He requested prayer for pastors as they minister to those affected by SARS. "We have four missionary families in Singapore," Turney said. "They are aware of the outbreak and taking precautions, but SARS is a very dangerous and very real health threat." More than 1,100 cases of SARS have been recorded in the China where the outbreak began, resulting in at least 43 deaths. (Assemblies of God News)

* HCJB World Radio is working to establish an office in Singapore this year as the hub for the ministry's newest region, Asia/Pacific.

OFFICIALS INVADE CHURCH SERVICE IN BHUTAN, INTERROGATE PASTOR

No one was injured when authorities in the Himalayan country of Bhutan invaded the service of a church founded by Gospel for Asia (GFA). GFA officials said the pastor was interrogated, but nothing else happened. The pastor of the church has been persecuted and imprisoned repeatedly since receiving Christ, but continues to boldly preach the gospel. GFA representatives urge believers to pray for God's protection as government representatives threaten to conduct similar raids at the ministry's Bible school in the region. (Mission Network News)

FIRST REFUGEES FROM IRAQ BEGIN TRICKLING INTO JORDAN

The first group of refugees from the Iraq war -- many of them Africans -- ended up in a camp across the border in Jordan where they expressed deep fears and despair about their future, reported the British Christian relief and development agency, Tearfund. About 200 refugees huddled in tents on a bleak, cold landscape in blinding sandstorms. A Sudanese couple said that they had left behind their five children when they escaped from Baghdad by bus. They said their lives have been destroyed. "Where are we supposed to go?" asked a refugee named Milewan. "We do not want to go back to Sudan because of fighting between the military and different tribes. And we cannot go back to Baghdad." Another Iraqi father, born and raised in Baghdad, fled with his wife and three children soon after the war began. "We heard a bomb detonating, and we ran from our apartment down to the basement with many other people in the house," he said. "We are afraid for our friends in Baghdad. We are thankful that we can stay here. We get good food, and we have fresh water. But our tent is cold at night." A network of churches in Jordan supported by Tearfund is feeding the refugees. So far the expected mass exodus from Iraq to Jordan has not materialized. "We are ready and waiting should thousands more refugees flee Iraq and head this way," said Mark Smith of the Jordanian Evangelical Community for Relief and Development. (Episcopal News Service)

IRAQI CHRISTIANS SEE CONFLICT AS 'MIXED BLESSING'

"Your prayers for us have made a difference and continue to lift our spirits," say Christians in Iraq even as they experience the bombardment of coalition forces, reported Compass. "The morale among people we have spoken to is higher than we expected," said a Christian in contact with the church in Iraq. "Last Sunday some of our friends went to church in the morning. During the Lord's Prayer, as they finished the words, 'and deliver us from evil,' they heard a terrible explosion not far away. They know that God is with them, protecting and encouraging them." One man said that at the beginning of the conflict, everyone in the congregation was feeling drained and worn down with fear, but as they felt God speaking to them, telling them to be encouragers for others, their strength returned, and they now feel stronger than they did before the war started. "We trust in God's support, His protection and strength," said one Iraqi believer. For the many unofficial churches in Iraq, the start of hostilities has been a "mixed blessing." With the attention of the Iraqi authorities focused on the invasion and the aerial bombardment, there is somewhat less pressure on Christians. (Religion Today)

MUSLIMS VIEW WAR IN IRAQ AS BATTLE BETWEEN ISLAM, CHRISTIANITY

The war in Iraq isn't making it any easier to reach Muslims with the gospel, says Gangadin Hannoe, a World Team missionary reaching out to Muslims in London, England. "If you hurt one Muslim, the rest of the Muslim world feels that," he says. "Muslims think of America as a Christian country, even as Britain is a Christian country. So they think this is a war between religions. If we have a link with the U.S., many times they see us as enemies." (Mission Network News)

CHICAGO-AREA CHURCH WINS RIGHT TO WORSHIP FREELY

A Chicago-area church prohibited from worshiping in its own building, but allowed to hold parties, has won its suit against local officials, reported Charisma News. Federal Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer ruled Monday, March 31, that the City of Evanston violated the rights of Vineyard Christian Fellowship in denying the church's use of its own building for worship services. "This is a great day for the First Amendment and a great victory for the church," executive pastor William Hanawalt said. "We have been diligently praying for justice to be served, and we are overjoyed by the judge's ruling in our favor." Since buying a former office building for $1.2 million in 1997, the congregation has had to lease a local high school for weekend services. The congregation sued the city in 2001 over a zoning ordinance that permits parties, plays and pageants at the church's facility, but no worship or prayer meetings. Vineyard's lawsuit contended that the ordinance violated the church's First Amendment and legal rights because although religious activities are not permitted in the area, cultural facilities are automatically permitted, and membership organizations are allowed by special use. (Religion Today)

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