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

Violence in Colombia continued to escalate last week as four Christians were murdered in the northern town of Tierralta the evening of Tuesday, May 6. Twenty-five armed men entered a rural evangelical church and murdered its 80-year-old pastor and three other believers, reported Compass Direct. Those killed include Miguel Mariano Posada, pastor of Sardis, a church in the Association of Caribbean Evangelical Churches denomination; teacher and church treasurer Ana Berenice Girardo Velásquez; 80-year-old Natividad Blandón, the wife of another pastor; and 17-year-old Julio Torres, who was visiting the church. Police said all the victims were apparently known to the murderers. The attackers slit the throats of Posado and the church treasurer and shot the other two victims before fleeing. Since neither of the country's main guerrilla organizations (FARC and ELN) are known to have a presence in the area, it is believed the attackers were paramilitaries loyal to the government. The Council of Evangelical Churches of Colombia has issued a statement calling for armed groups to respect life, expressing concern about the latest killings and the need for justice and equality in the country. (Voice of the Martyrs)

* Together with local partners, HCJB World Radio broadcasts the gospel on FM stations in four Colombian cities. The ministry also continues to air Spanish programs across the country and all of Latin America via shortwave from Quito.

YEMENI MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING 3 AMERICAN MISSIONARIES

A Yemeni court sentenced a suspected al-Qaeda militant to death May 10 for killing three U.S. missionaries, reported the Associated Press. Abed Abdul Razak Kamel, 30, was sentenced in the Dec. 30 shooting deaths of Kathleen Gariety, Martha Myers and William Koehn, said Kamel's lawyer, Mahrous Oqba. The verdict was handed down in Jibla, 125 miles south of the Yemeni capital of San'a where the killings took place at the Southern Baptist-run hospital. Oqba said he will appeal the verdict. Kamel, who was arrested the day of the shooting, said in an April 20 hearing that he coordinated the attack with Ali al-Jarallah, another suspected Muslim extremist accused of gunning down a Yemeni politician two days before the Jibla hospital attack. Kamel said he had planned his attack for 18 months and often consulted with al-Jarallah and often staked out the remote hospital. Yemeni security officials said they believe both Kamel and al-Jarallah belonged to a terrorist cell linked to al-Qaeda. Kamel told the court he killed the missionaries "out of a religious duty . . . and in revenge from those who converted Muslims from their religion and made them unbelievers." (Assist News Service)

ANOTHER 56 ERITREAN BELIEVERS ARRESTED FOR HOLDING PRAYER MEETINGS

Despite a formal statement made by the Eritrean government on May 1 that "no groups or persons are persecuted in Eritrea for their beliefs or religion," security police arrested two full-time evangelists and another 54 members of the Rema Church during the evening of Wednesday, May 7, in Asmara. Police accused them of conducting "illegal prayer meetings" in two homes of church members. More than 300 Protestant Christians in Eritrea have been arrested, beaten and sentenced to death in the last three months for holding religious meetings without government permission. A year ago the Eritrean government revoked official status for all religious groups in the country except the four "recognized" religions: Orthodox Christian, Muslim, Roman Catholic and Evangelical Lutheran. (Voice of the Martyrs)

2 BAPTIST CHURCHES AMONG HUNDREDS OF TORNADO-DAMAGED BUILDINGS

A series of tornadoes ripped across 35 miles of central Oklahoma Thursday, May 8, damaging hundreds of houses and buildings, injuring more than 100 people and prompting response by Southern Baptist Disaster Relief units. At least two Southern Baptist church campuses were damaged, one severely. Gloria McCreary, wife of the pastor at Trinity Baptist Church in Moore, Okla., said the church building is "pretty much destroyed. We're not going to be able to have services there. Of course, we don't have the assessment on it yet." Her husband, Ed, was cleaning the church in place of an injured custodian who unwittingly left just 10 minutes before the tornado struck, she said. The twisters also damaged Mashak Baptist Church in southeastern Oklahoma City. No reports were available on the severity of the damage. At about 5:30 p.m. the storm cut a path about one-fourth of a mile south of First Southern Baptist Church of Del City where former Southern Baptist Convention President Tom Elliff is pastor. The sprawling campus was not damaged and is serving as a central command post for civil authorities and the news media. Disaster Relief Units of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma were at First Southern and worked with the Red Cross to serve 3,000 meals to displaced families the day after the storms. Some 300 tornadoes have been reported in the U.S. this month, killing more than 45 people, injuring hundreds and causing massive damage. (Baptist Press/AP)

RADIO MINISTRY PURCHASES CHRISTIAN STATION IN ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA

Far East Broadcasting Co. (FEBC) has purchased a Christian AM radio station in St. Petersburg, Russia's second largest city. The purchase of the station, called Radio Teos (Radio God), was completed on April 30, enabling the ministry to establish a presence in this strategic city. Daily programs from 7 a.m. to midnight began airing May 1 on 1089 kHz using a 20 kw transmitter. "The people are in desperate need of a station that is Christ-centered and of service to the community," said Rudi Wiens, director of FEBC Russian Ministries. "Our main goal is to let some 5 million people in St. Petersburg know that God loves them and help them choose a good church to attend." The programming emphasizes evangelism and building bridges between the community and churches. Programs include Bible teaching, counseling, talk shows and music. (FEBC)

* In 2000 HCJB World Radio helped launch the first Christian Russian radio satellite network (operated by Christian Radio for Russia) which reaches across Euro-Asia. Downlinks have been installed with more than 26 partners in Russia alone, and many more are planned. HCJB World Radio began sending gospel broadcasts across Russia via shortwave in 1941. In the early 1990s the ministry began working to "plant" local radio ministries in Russia and now works with partners in more than a dozen cities.

PERSECUTION 'DRIVING FORCE' AS THOUSANDS TURN TO CHRIST IN INDIA

Thousands of people are turning to Christ, and increasing persecution may be the driving force, says John DeVries, founder and president of Mission India, a ministry based in Grand Rapids, Mich. He estimates than 3,000 people a day are giving their lives to Christ through the mission's many programs in India. "This number would be far less if persecution had not been there. Mahatma Ghandi understood it well. He said, 'Don't persecute Christians. When you do they grow like weeds.' There's a lot of truth to that, and the persecution that has occurred has just fanned the commitment of these new believers to witness for Jesus Christ." The ministry expects more than have 3 million Indian young people to enroll in its Children's Bible Club program this summer. (Mission Network News)

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