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

A Chinese house church leader is on the run from Public Security Bureau (PSB) officers after his church was raided on Monday, Feb. 9. Chu Wei, 40, leads a group of more than 50 house churches in China. He and his wife, Yin Yan-ling, 37, were among 12 people arrested when PSB officers raided their church in Huaibei City in Anhui province. The were held all day and interrogated by police who did not allow them food or water or the use of the toilet. Officers asked the Christians to sign a form renouncing their faith and their attendance at "evil cult" gatherings. PSB officers raiding the church did not present search warrants or any documentation to arrest the Christians. The next day, Yin was again taken to the police station for questioning and ordered not to talk about God -- even in the family's home. She also heard police say that her husband would be sent to a camp for so-called "re-education through labor." Upon her release, Yin warned her husband, and the two immediately went into hiding. Their two oldest children, a 15-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy, remained in the family home and reported that PSB officers came every night at midnight to question them. The Wei's youngest child, 11, is staying with relatives. Religious Affairs Bureau officers want Wei to register his meetings with the government. (Voice of the Martyrs)

BIBLE SCHOOL AFFECTED AS CHOLERA OUTBREAK THREATENS ZAMBIA

A deadly cholera outbreak in Zambia forced the country's Minister of Health to declare Lusaka and Mpulungu infected areas last month. The disease spread quickly, and Sam Vinton of Grace Ministries International (GMI) says the ministry's Lusaka Bible School campus was not immune. "We got word that they had this cholera epidemic, and there was even a matter of closing down certain things. I think one of the Bible school student's wives got very sick. We have a team going out there from Seattle this coming week. There were questions what to do about that." While the epidemic slowed GMI's ministry, it hasn't dimmed evangelistic vision. The good news is that quarantines appear to have been lifted in the ministry's area "We have a building we've purchased in the middle of town that we're converting into a bookstore," Vinton says. "A team will be involved in doing that. We're thankful that . . . although people have been ill, none of them have died." (Mission Network News)

* HCJB World Radio, in cooperation with In Touch Ministries and a local partner, added weekly Bemba programs in 2000. The programs air on Zambia's Radio One Network, covering the country and much of Malawi, going out via shortwave, AM and FM. In 2003, weekly half-hour programs were added in the Njanja language.

UZBEKISTAN OFFICIALS REVOKE REGISTRATION OF BAPTIST CHURCH

The administrative commission for northwestern Uzbekistan's Khorezm region removed the registered status of the Urgench Evangelical-Christian Baptist Church on Friday, Feb. 27, accusing the church of working with children and refusing to bring its statutes into line with the law on freedom of conscience and religious organizations. Article 3 of Uzbekistan's law on religion forbids the "enticement of underage children into religious organizations" as well as the "religious instruction of children against their parents' will." Pastor Oleg Bader said the children's work was taking place with parental consent. He also stressed that work with children was included in the church's statutes that had been registered with the same regional justice administration on Dec. 30, 1999. If the church revised its statutes, it would have to be re-registered. "The authorities will delay re-registration on various pretexts, and the Urgench church will be left operating illegally," he said. Bader believes that the authorities have been looking for an excuse to remove the church's registered status. Under the religion law, the activity of an unregistered religious community is forbidden. (Forum 18 News Service)

* HCJB World Radio airs weekly Uzbek broadcasts to Uzbekistan via shortwave. An estimated 15 million Uzbek-speaking people are within range of the broadcasts. Uzbek is also one of four languages that HCJB World Radio airs to Afghanistan from an AM station outside the country.

NOTED CHRISTIAN JOURNALIST, AUTHOR MARLIN MADDOUX DIES AT AGE 70

Noted journalist and author Marlin Maddoux, founder and president of the USA Radio Network, International Christian Media and the National Center for Freedom and Renewal, and host of "Point of View" radio talk show, has died at the age of 70. He passed away at 11:45 a.m. today at Baylor Medical Center in Irving, Texas, due to complications following recent heart bypass surgery. Maddoux was a frequent guest on national television and radio broadcasts and had been an invited guest at the White House, meeting presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush. Among his many books are America Betrayed, What Worries Parents Most, Free Speech or Propaganda?, and A Christian Agenda: Game Plan for a New Era. Maddoux began hosting his own local conservative Christian news talk program, "Point of View," in Dallas, Texas, in 1972. It is now heard on more than 360 radio stations nationwide and worldwide via shortwave. The USA Radio Network went on the air with its first newscast via satellite in 1985. The network has since expanded its programming and services to include a variety of content and has been recognized as an industry leader in national and international news reporting. Maddoux is survived by his wife of 49 years, Mary, as well as four adult children and 10 grandchildren. (USA Radio Network)

NEW 'JESUS' DVD EXPECTED TO BE POWERFUL EVANGELISTIC TOOL

Jesus Video Project America, a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ, has released its "Jesus" film in a digitally re-mastered and expanded-content DVD format, giving Christian workers a powerful new evangelistic tool. The new DVD features enhanced video quality and offers the film in seven languages and four subtitle languages, plus a scene-by-scene commentary. It also includes the movie, "The Story of Jesus for Children," and other features. "We have a divine window of opportunity in 2004 to convert the interest of this 'sight and sound' generation into decisions for Christ by distributing free copies of the new 'Jesus' DVD to as many homes as possible across America," said Kevin Mascaro, the project's executive director. "It gives viewers the opportunity to give their lives to Christ and encourages them to be connected to a local church." The original "Jesus" film, translated into more than 800 languages and viewed more than 5 billion times worldwide, is the most-watched film in history. Jesus Video Project America, founded in 1992 by the late Dr. Bill Bright, plans to mail free copies of "Jesus" to all 122 million homes in the U.S. using its volunteer "saturation evangelism" strategy. (Assist News Service)

YOUNG RADIO MINISTRY SEES RAPID GROWTH ACROSS LATIN AMERICA

Voz Cristiana (Christian Voice), an international radio ministry that marked its fifth anniversary last September, continues to see rapid growth across Latin America. The organization began broadcasting in Spanish in September of 1998 via its shortwave station in Chile. Soon after, the ministry added its first local affiliate, Radio Dynimas in San Juan, Argentina. "We don't sound religious, but we have a definite message," explained Juan Mark Gallardo, general manager of the Miami-based Christian broadcasting service that now provides programming via satellite to 123 stations across Latin America and the U.S. The station's Spanish program reaches an estimated 2.5 million listeners a day. The ministry also has developed a Portuguese language service delivered by satellite to three stations in Brazil. "Some of the stations are secular that look to us for programming," said Bernice Ramírez, program director for both language services. "We aren't political or doctrinal, we just want to share the love of Jesus Christ through our different programs." Programming, while distinctly Christian, is designed to cross denominational lines. "We have 130 stations throughout the region waiting to sign up," Ramírez said. "We want to help those stations that have the same vision and passion of touching their local audience with an uncompromising style of radio that is not frequently heard on the airwaves today." Voz Cristiana is operated by British-based Christian Vision. (Latin America Mission)

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