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Boris Trajkovski, the 47-year-old Macedonian president who was admired in many circles for his skills at peacemaking, died Thursday, Feb. 26, in a plane crash in southeastern Bosnia. Trajkovski had been en route to a regional economic conference in Mostar when air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane in poor weather conditions. Wreckage was later found in mountains about 50 miles south of Sarajevo. Six of Trajkovski's aides and two pilots were also killed. Trajkovski -- a recipient of the 2002 World Methodist Peace Award -- actively worked for peace and political stability, both in his own small nation and the entire Balkan region. He also tried to strengthen relations among various ethnic and religious groups, using his own Christian faith to guide him. "It's a tragic loss for the United Methodist Church and the whole Methodist family," Rev. Randy Day told the United Methodist News Service. "He was an active partner in the United Methodist global mission network. We will miss his warmth, humor and wise counsel." He leaves behind his wife, Vilma, and two children. (United Methodist News Service)

ISLAMIC MILITANTS SLAUGHTER 49 CHRISTIANS IN NIGERIA RAID

Islamic militants massacred 49 believers in a raid on the Christian town of Yelwa in Nigeria's Plateau state Tuesday, Feb. 24. Plateau Police Commissioner Innocent Ilozuoke told reporters that most of the victims had been shot as they ran to a church, desperately seeking refuge. The attackers are thought to have been mostly ethnic Fulani Muslims. Local security sources indicate that the merciless guerrilla tactics used in the assault suggest Islamist fighters from Chad and Niger may also have been involved. Police and army units were sent to the town to restore order. Local Christians in Plateau state have suffered repeated attacks from ethnic Hausa/Fulani Muslim settlers since September 2001. Hundreds have been killed in the violence. Local Christians believe militant elements within the Muslim community are working a strategy to drive out Christians and Islamize the entire state. (Barnabas Fund)

2 MORE CHINESE CHRISTIANS SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON

The South China Morning Post in Hong Kong reported Thursday, Feb. 26, that two Christian activists have been formally charged with collecting state secrets after documenting a crackdown on underground churches in China's Zhejiang province. The charges were laid against Liu Fenngang and Xu Yonghai in the provincial capital of Hangzhou, the newspaper reported. Police detained Fenngang, who was based in Beijing, in October while he was researching a crackdown on Christian groups in Hangzhou's Xiaoshan district. Authorities detained Yonghai, who was assisting the research, in November. The report claims that officials in Zhejiang province had turned a blind eye to the unregistered religious groups which proliferated amid loose controls. But local officials began cracking down last July, knocking down churches and temples and forcing groups to register. Information has been received that the two men received life sentences. Sources inside China reported that Fenngang's wife received a note informing her of the life sentence. (Voice of the Martyrs)

ADVENTIST PASTOR RECEIVES DEATH THREATS IN AZERBAIJAN

Police have refused to protect a Seventh-day Adventist pastor in Nakhichevan, Azerbaijan, who has been threatened by local men with death or being driven out of the community. "People phone and come to my house to threaten us but the authorities have refused to help," pastor Khalid Babaev reported. Babaev said there had been a threatening telephone call a week ago, followed by two more on Feb. 24. The next day, five men had come to his house, where the church meets, and told him that as Muslims they were ready to sacrifice him as a "holy duty" and halt the Adventists' religious activity in Nakhichevan. They threatened that if he held another service they would collect a mob of people to attack the house, then ordered him to leave town. "It is not clear if they were threatening to kill me or to drive me out," he said. Babaev fears for the safety of his wife and son, and does not know if it will be safe to hold a service as usual next Saturday. The Nakhichevan church -- which has some 17 members -- has faced repeated pressure from the authorities, including the deportation from the region of a previous pastor in June 2002. Babaev was installed as pastor in July 2003. (Forum 18 News Service)

YOUTHS WORLDWIDE TO JOIN IN PRAYER RELAY FOR PERSECUTED CHURCH

Millions of Christian youths from different countries are preparing to take part in a special day of prayer for persecuted Christians worldwide. On Thursday, March 5, Underground, the youth outreach of Open Doors International, will sponsor the third annual "Shockwave 2004," a 24-hour global "prayer relay" that will take place at prayer meetings and in Internet chatrooms. "I think that Shockwave has the potential to be the single most important event in history in mobilizing people to pray for the persecuted church," said Open Doors President Carl Moeller. Coordinator Jeff Shreve says Shockwave is an opportunity for young people to make a difference. "I know a lot of youth pastors, college groups, and others want to find a way to get involved, to help the persecuted church," he says. "But many times distance, geography, or whatever it may be makes it a little bit harder. Shockwave eliminates all of those things." Shockwave will start in New Zealand and work its way across the time zones, covering the world in prayer for the estimated 200 million persecuted believers worldwide. (Open Doors)

* SATELLITE DOUBLES IMPACT OF HCJB WORLD RADIO'S MEDICAL CONGRESS

Satellite technology enabled Hospital Vozandes-Quito to double the impact of its 17th annual Jornadas Médicas (medical congress) for Ecuadorian physicians Feb. 16-20. The title of this year's event was, "Toward an integrated model of health."

This year it was also presented as the fifth Regional Medical Congress for the Latin American Society of Family Medicine. More than 400 physicians came to Quito from across Ecuador and Latin America to attend the conference. Speakers came from Belgium, U.S., Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela, Peru and Bolivia.

Through the University of Loja, Hospital Vozandes-Quito presented this year's medical conference to the entire country via satellite to 21 virtual classrooms in each of Ecuador's 21 provinces. Nearly 400 medical workers took part in this way.

"Each province had a downlink in the virtual classroom where they could receive the live broadcast each day from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday," explained HCJB World Radio missionary Dr. John Boldt, a member of the organizing committee. "They could see the professor giving the lecture, and at the end of the conference present their questions to the professor. In the roundtable discussions the entire group of physicians around the country could enter into an interactive session.

"It was interesting to see for the first time the entire country involved in a medical roundtable discussion. For example, a physician from Riobamba would enter into a discussion with a physician in the north in Ibarra and in turn interact with the conference speaker in Quito. During the first day some of the medical conference was transmitted to Argentina, Mexico and to Washington. One of the conference speakers received several question from physicians in Argentina!"

The congress featured more than 50 conferences, and 20 different workshops were presented in various areas of primary care medicine, including the management of chronic pain, tuberculosis, tobacco, community-acquired pneumonia, AIDS and depression.

"A highlight was having special conferences that emphasized the spiritual care of patients and how to assist the dying patient," Boldt added. "Throughout the event several of the conference speakers shared a personal testimony of how they had integrated their faith in the Christ into their everyday practice. Others shared testimonies of patients' responses to the gospel and how a personal relationship with Him impacted their perspective of health."

Boldt was also glad to see the increased involvement of the Ecuadorian physicians at Hospital Vozandes-Quito who organized most of this year's entire event. "The missionary physicians were involved in the planning, but the majority of the planning was done by the national family physicians," he said. (HCJB World Radio)

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