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

Brutal attacks by Hindu militants in eastern India's Orissa state last week put six national missionaries in the hospital. Gospel for Asia President K.P. Yohannan, who just returned to the U.S. after visiting the affected area, said members of the a Hindu fundamentalist group had threatened the missionaries, ordering them to leave a local community, but they refused to comply. "Our brothers felt that the Lord sent them there, and they should not run away, especially [since they had just planted a church there] and the new believers need care." The men are expected to make a full recovery and plan to return to their ministry. Yohannan said the persecution is related to the rapid growth of the church in Orissa. "A large number of people are coming to Christ in this state, and people are being baptized," he said. "The Hindu militants are saying, 'You should renounce your faith and come back to their faith of their forefathers, otherwise we'll treat you like the missionaries.'" New believers are required to sign affidavits declaring their conversion before they can be baptized. "Nevertheless, by the grace of God, people who are truly coming to Christ are willing to do that," Yohannan said. "These believers are saying, 'We are grateful to the Lord for the privilege to suffer for His sake.'" As thousands of Indians turn to Christ, the ministry is also raising more than $3 million to buy paper to print more Bibles. (Mission Network News)

* "The Voice of the Great Southland," the shortwave station operated by HCJB World Radio-Australia, airs more than 44 hours of weekly English programming across India. Two half-hour programs in Urdu, airing Monday through Saturday, went on the air in July 2003, and a daily 15-minute program in Hindi began in January. A studio with programming and a follow-up center has been established in New Delhi. In partnership with FEBA Radio, HCJB World Radio also airs weekly Christian programs to eastern India via shortwave in three languages: Bhojpuri, Chattisgarhi and Mundari.

PAKISTANI CHRISTIAN TEEN FORCED INTO HIDING TO AVOID RECAPTURE

A Pakistani Christian teenager who had been in captivity for more than two weeks in November has been forced into hiding to avoid recapture by Muslim extremists. Leaders of a fanatic Islamic school have vowed to send Zeeshan Gill, 16, to fight in Kashmir as a newly converted Muslim jihadi (holy warrior). Kidnapped on Nov. 7 on his way home from school in Sargodha, the boy was taken to the Jamia al Qasim al Aloom Islamic school. Kept there under guard, Gill was forced to recite the Islamic creed, an act that makes one a Muslim under the tenets of Islam. The boy was beaten by his captors, who declared that they would kill him if he tried to run away or convert back to Christianity. In late November, four days before they planned to send him to Kashmir, the boy returned home to tell his mother what had happened. The two then fled the city, and Gill remains in hiding. Joseph Francis of the Lahore-based Center for Legal Aid and Assistance Settlement said that the Gill family's dilemma is not unusual among Pakistan's tiny Christian minority. (Compass)

CHRISTIAN SCHOOL IN PAKISTAN TO REOPEN 2 YEARS AFTER DEADLY ATTACK

Despite continuing acts of violence against Christians in Pakistan, plans are being made to reopen Murree Christian School, 30 miles east of Islamabad, which was shut down following a terrorist attack on Aug. 5, 2002. Interserve's John Kennedy says the multi-agency school will reopen next fall after new staff members are hired and heightened security measures are implemented. The modifications have prompted questions about the staff's ability to continue an open witness for Christ. "With some of the changes that have to be made, it's going to change the whole environment, atmosphere and context," Kennedy said. "Witnessing will not be impossible, but it will be a lot more difficult." In the original attack, more than four masked men with AK-47 assault rifles entered the school and shot five staff members and a visitor to death and injured at least three others persons. No students were killed. In July 2003 Pakistani police arrested Abdul Jabbar, head of the outlawed Jaish-e-Mohammed group, for allegedly masterminding the attack. He is also suspected of coordinating two other deadly terrorist attacks in Pakistan. (Mission Network News/Barnabas Fund/AP/Reuters)

LAO OFFICIALS THREATEN CHRISTIANS WITH DEATH

Christians in villages of Laos's Attapue province are being told they must renounce their faith in Christ, leave their villages, or face being beaten to death. Confidential sources in the region said last week that 11 believers who were released from prison Jan. 9 are facing renewed pressure by authorities to renounce their faith. Another 34 believers who had fled but returned to their villages were facing similar pressure. The threats have allegedly been made by the deputy district head of Sanamsai district and the head of religious affairs for Attapue province. It was reported that on Jan. 18 they started digging pits, saying if believers did not deny Christ, they would be buried. Believers in Dongsung village also were told they could deny Christ, leave the area, or face death. The next day these same two officials were reported to have led non-Christian villagers to two other villages and threatened believers there the same way. (Missions Insider)

450,000 EUROPEAN EVANGELICALS PARTICIPATE IN WEEK OF PRAYER

More than 450,000 evangelicals in Germany, Switzerland and Austria joined together in the Evangelical Alliance's Week of Prayer Jan. 11-18 -- an interdenominational movement that dates back to 1846. Hartmut Steeb, general secretary of the German Evangelical Alliance, perceives a growing desire for Christian unity. He said that more and more local churches are worshiping together, ranging from conservative Lutherans to charismatics and Seventh-day Adventists. Steeb delivered a sermon in the historic St. Mary's Church in Wittenberg, Germany, where Martin Luther preached. Steeb called on Christians to fight individualism and moral indifference. (IDEA)

CHRISTIAN BROADCASTERS HONOR MEDIA VETERAN ON AUSTRALIA DAY

As part of today's Australia Day celebrations, FM 103.2 Chairman Roger Climpson was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in the general division for "services to the media, particularly through the Christian Broadcasting Association and to the community through a range of service groups." A veteran of the Australian media, Climpson began his career in radio theater in the early 1950s before joining channel 9 in Sydney at its inception in 1956. Later he became the voice and face of channel 7 news in Sydney for 20 years, receiving numerous awards. Climpson has dedicated much of his time throughout his career to charities such as World Vision Australia, Rotary Club, Bible Society, and the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia. He has served with the Christian Broadcasting Association since 1983, including chairman since 1995. (Christian Broadcasting Association Ltd.)

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