*Tato a další zprávy jsou (pouze v aktuální den) v originální anglické verzi zde.

Pastor Sergei Nizhegorodtsev, leader of an unregistered Baptist church in the village of Georgievka in eastern Kazakhstan, will not face prosecution for continuing to lead services in defiance of a court-ordered ban. Prosecutors withdrew the criminal case against him on May 28, local Baptists reported. "The case against Nizhegorodtsev was withdrawn for absence of the substance of a crime," said deputy procurator Erzhan Zharylgapov, adding that he had received appeals "from everywhere" in support of the pastor. "Tell people to stop sending these letters!" Nizhegorodtsev was informed on May 12 that he faced a criminal case for refusing to comply with a court-ordered ban on holding services at his unregistered church. The move came two weeks after the church's Easter service was raided. (Forum 18 News Service)

'INSIGHT FOR LIVING' TO CUT BACK INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTS

An international radio ministry is being forced to cut several programs due to a lack of funds. Because of a $2.1-million shortfall, Insight for Living International announced that it will be ending its programs in Swahili, French, Tamil, Telagu, Bengali and Malayalam -- languages that cover parts of Africa and India. Chuck Swindoll's daily 30-minute radio program, "Insight for Living," can be heard in 16 languages on more than 2,100 outlets around the world. (Mission Network News)

CHURCH LEADERS URGE ZIMBABWE TO RELAX FOOD IMPORT LAWS

As famine worsens in the drought-stricken parts of southern Zimbabwe, church leaders are appealing to the government to relax its food import laws. Rev. Charles Chiriseri, a spokesperson for the Heads of Christian Denominations, said a number of churches had received offers of maize donations from their overseas partners and international donor agencies but could not import the grain "because of existing legal restrictions." Maize is Zimbabwe's staple food crop, and its importation and distribution are regulated by the government-run Grain Marketing Board. "The church as a civic organization has an obligation to provide aid in times of need, and we are appealing to the government to relax the law further to enable churches and church-related charities to import and distribute maize to the needy," said Chiriseri in an interview with The Daily News. The food situation has improved in parts of the country but remains critical in areas near the border with Zambia. Drought has been blamed in large part for the food shortages. (Episcopal News Service)

SUDANESE COURT PUNISHES 15-YEAR-OLD GIRL FOR FAILING TO WEAR SOCKS

Aziza Salih Adam, 15, was sentenced to 30 lashes by a Sudanese court Sunday, June 1, for failing to cover her feet with socks. The sentence, handed down by the District Court in Western Darfour, was carried out the same day. Adam, who works as an assistant to street vendor selling tea in the Wehda district of Nyala, was arrested on the street where she was working near a local police station. Regulations mandate that all female street vendors -- especially those selling food -- must wear socks. In her defense, Adam explained that she could not afford to purchase socks. The Sudan Organization Against Torture expressed concern about this kind of punishment which is becoming increasing common in the country. "Punishments such as whippings and amputations constitute cruel, inhuman and degrading punishments according to the U.N. Convention Against Torture and the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights," the organization stated in an e-mail report. (Sudan Organization Against Torture)

SENEGAL MINISTRY SETS PLAN TO REACH THOUSANDS OF STREET CHILDREN

An indigenous mission in Senegal has a plan to save the hundreds of thousands of hopeless street children there. The mission houses 29 children in a facility where they receive food, clothing and schooling, learning skills that will help them advance in life. The primary text used to teach them is the Bible, so from a young age they are ingrained with biblical truth. Since poverty is the root cause of their condition, some of their mothers are taught to read, and given professional and vocational training. The ministry also houses 21 adults. Young unwed mothers-to-be have been rescued from a destructive path and shown Christ's love and how to provide for themselves and their offspring. This outreach began when the leader felt a burden for the more than 300,000 street children of Senegal. Often poverty-stricken parents turn their children over to Muslim marabouts (spiritual guides), thinking that they are pleasing God and providing a better life for their children. However, the marabouts abuse their wards, often forcing them to beg on the streets for their own gain. Little headway has been made despite international recognition of the problem. The mission's purpose is to "bring people to the saving knowledge of Jesus and to train up future godly leaders." (Religion Today)

* HCJB World Radio works in partnership with Brethren Assemblies and SIM in Dakar, Senegal, to make weekly Christian broadcasts available across the country on an FM network. More than 3 million people speak Wolof.

U.S. HOUSE VOTES TO BAN PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTIONS

Religious conservatives in the U.S. savored a victory eight years in the making after the House voted Wednesday, June 4, to ban partial-birth abortions. The House voted 282-139 to prohibit the late-term procedure that critics call "barbaric." Abortion proponents vowed a swift legal challenge once President George W. Bush signs the law. "When President Bush signs this bill into law, it will be the most significant blow to the pro-choice, pro-death agenda since the landmark decision of Roe vs. Wade 30 years ago," said Richard Land, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. The bill imposes a two-year prison sentence for any doctor who aborts a partially delivered baby whose head is outside the mother's body, or in the case of a breech delivery, whose trunk beyond the navel is outside the birth canal. The legislation, as passed, contains an exception that allows the procedure if it is deemed necessary to save the life of the mother. Ken Connor, president of the Family Research Council, pronounced the new law "constitutionally sound," despite abortion demanding the new law is a violation. (Religion Today)

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