Year: 2001

Turkmenistan: Authorities Strip Closed Baptist Church Bare

The authorities of the Niyazov district of the Turkmen capital Ashgabad broke their own seals on the doors of the city’s Baptist church on 2 March and confiscated everything inside. The move was timed on the last working day before nearly a week of public holidays in the country. Keston News Service has been able to find no Turkmen local or national government official prepared to discuss why the contents of the country’s last Baptist church have been carted away in several lorry loads, despite repeated telephone calls.

Nigerian’s President Calls For Reconciliation

ABUJA, Nigeria, March 2 (Compass) — In a nationwide broadcast Wednesday night, March 1, Nigeria’s President Olusegun Obasanjo called for reconciliation between Christians and Muslims following two weeks of bloody clashes that have left hundreds dead.

Five Christians Released in Brunei

Five of seven Christians arrested in December and January for alleged “cult” activities and detained under Brunei’s Internal Security Act have been released. It was not known if any conditions were attached to their release, which occurred during the week of February 12, but they were reportedly told not to leave the country or talk about their detention, according to a source who did not want to be identified.

Strong earthquake jolts Seattle, Pacific Northwest

SEATTLE (BP)–A strong earthquake shook the Pacific Northwest on Feb. 28, sending hundreds of people fleeing into the streets of Seattle and causing widespread damage and at least 12 injuries.

Horrifying reports filed by team assessing persecution in Indonesia

MANADO, Indonesia (BP)–A Christian human rights leader from the United States and a five-member delegation he was leading were detained for a day and a half by security forces in Indonesia’s strife-ravaged Malukan island chain before being released Feb. 24.

Battle For The Airwaves in the U.K. Continues

J Peter Wilson, Director of VOICE FM in the West Bromwich area of the British Midlands, and former Station Director of 97.2 Stray FM in Harrogate, Yorkshire, reports: “We have recently received the news that the Radio Authority has declined our application for the West Midlands FM License.

Middle East Crisis Headlines – 2/20/2001

Israeli and US forces began a joint military exercise today to test Patriot missiles, used to intercept Iraqi Scud missiles during the Gulf War in 1991.

Prominent Columbia Pastor Kidnapped

On February 14, unidentified armed men kidnapped Pastor Jorge Enrique Gomez outside of Bogota, Columbia. Pastor Jorge Gomez is well known in Columbia. He is the pastor of the largest evangelical church in the country, with more than 20,000 members with a chain of eight radio stations located in different cities.

Middle East Crisis Headlines – 2/19/2001

Israel has sent a stern warning to Lebanon and Syria, after Hizbollah guerillas fired rockets at an Israeli patrol on the northern border Friday, killing an Israeli soldier.

Four Christians Released By Saudi Authorities

ISTANBUL, February 15 (Compass) — Saudi Arabia released four Filipino Christians in Riyadh yesterday, 40 days after their arrest by the country’s strict Islamic police for conducting Christian worship services in a private home.

International Aid To Send Blankets, Medicines to Victims of Second El Salvador Quake

SPRING LAKE, Michigan (Feb. 15, 2001) — (Assist) It had been slightly more than a month since a devastating earthquake rocked El Salvador, killing more than 800 people and leaving 200,000 more homeless. Yet the forces of nature weren’t through with the Central American people: A second quake — this one measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale — ripped through the country early Tuesday morning, killing 237 people and injuring approximately 1700 more, many of them children who had just reported for school.

Case Dropped Against ‘Nepal Four’

The case against four Christians detained since October 29 on trumped-up proselytism charges was dismissed February 11 in Rajbiraj, Nepal, after prosecution witnesses failed to appear in court. The judge ordered the four — three Nepali nationals and one Norwegian — to be released on February 15.

Worthy Christian News