A ministry of HCJB World Radio

Today’s News Headlines:

PAKISTAN’S RELIGIOUS MINORITIES FACE CONTINUING THREATS U.S. DIPLOMATS BARRED FROM SITE OF BULLDOZED CHURCH IN BELARUS DALITS EAGER TO LEAVE HINDUISM, CONVERT TO CHRISTIANITY FIRST INTERNET RADIO STATION IN ESTONIAN TARGETS YOUNG LISTENERS COLLEGE FRESHMEN ESPECIALLY OPEN TO HEAR GOSPEL MESSAGE * COUP LEADER, TYCOON TO FACE OFF IN ECUADORIAN RUNOFF ELECTION

Today’s News Stories:

PAKISTAN’S RELIGIOUS MINORITIES FACE CONTINUING THREATS Pakistan’s religious and ethnic minorities continue to face threats of serious sectarian violence, a new report from Minority Rights Group International warns. The report recommends that those responsible for crimes of ethnic and religious hatred including recent killings, destruction of property and places of worship, and crimes of sexual violence, must be brought to justice and steps taken to instigate independent inquiries into these acts. The killing of seven Christian charity workers in Karachi on Sept. 25 was the latest in a number of attacks on religious minorities (including Christians, Hindus, Ahmadis and Shia Muslims) which have escalated in recent months. Pakistan’s Hindu minority, traditionally marginalized within Pakistan, have been further targeted due to continuing political discord between India and Pakistan regarding the disputed Indian state of Kashmir. (Minority Rights Group International)

U.S. DIPLOMATS BARRED FROM SITE OF BULLDOZED CHURCH IN BELARUS Two U.S. diplomats and their translator have been barred from visiting the site of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church which was bulldozed by authorities in the village of Pahranichny on Aug. 1. They were also not allowed to meet local parishioners. The diplomats were stopped on Oct. 9 by police who said they were violating a restricted border zone. Pahranichny is a few miles from Belarus’ western border with Poland. All roads into leading to the village were blocked by police, border guards and unmarked vehicles. It is thought that this happened because the diplomats had informed Vladimir Savchenko, chairman of the Hrodna regional administration, that they intended to visit Pahranichny. (Keston News Service)

DALITS EAGER TO LEAVE HINDUISM, CONVERT TO CHRISTIANITY A week after the controversial ordinance banning forcible religious conversions came into force in the southern India’s Tamil Nadu state, the Dalits (people outside of the caste system) in Koothirambakkam are bristling with defiance. “Let the government drag us to court or put us in prison, but we will not remain Hindus anymore,” said an 80-year-old man who was born a Dalit. “When the government cannot ensure that we are not treated like inferior animals by caste Hindus, why is it coming up with this anti-conversion law?” Many Dalit intellectuals view the ordinance as anti-constitutional. “It works against the Dalits,” said the coordinator of the Center for Dalit Studies in Hyderabad. (India Mail)

FIRST INTERNET RADIO STATION IN ESTONIAN TARGETS YOUNG LISTENERS Raadio 7, a Christian radio station based in Tallinn, Estonia, affiliated with United Christian Broadcasters International and supported by IBRA Radio in Sweden, has launched an Internet radio station called 24×7 aimed at Estonian youth. The first Estonian Internet radio station which began a trial transmission on Oct. 10, already has had thousands of hits. The official launch will be on Dec. 1. Anti Tiik, the project’s technical director, said the format of the programming is designed to attract young listeners. “In Estonia 40 percent of the population uses the Internet daily, which makes it possible to reach young people who are interested in computers, the Internet and music,” he says. The Internet station had more than 60,000 hits during the first week alone. The programming features about 80 percent music — mostly in Estonian and English — and 20 percent speech. To listen, visit http://www.24×7.ee. (Assist News Service)

COLLEGE FRESHMEN ESPECIALLY OPEN TO HEAR GOSPEL MESSAGE With colleges and universities in full swing across North America., many opportunities to share Christ with new students have opened up, says Phil Evans of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. “New students, especially freshmen, are very open to new ideas,” he says. “They’ve left home. They’re investigating and exploring new things. So if they can be introduced to Christians they are more likely to investigate the claims of Christ. There’s an openness in the fall that you might not get in the second semester or in the spring.” Evans expects the number of small-group Bible studies with students on campuses to keep growing. “Last year InterVarsity had more than 4,000 small-group Bible studies across the country. Approximately half of them were designed for non-Christian students, and we saw almost 2,000 students come to Christ. (Mission Network News)

* COUP LEADER, TYCOON TO FACE OFF IN ECUADORIAN RUNOFF ELECTION Ecuador’s presidential election in Ecuador Sunday, Oct. 20, appears headed to a second-round runoff with the possibility of a coup leader in the final vote becoming Ecuador’s next president, reports HCJB World Radio’s Ralph Kurtenbach in Quito. With 62 percent of the votes counted by early Monday morning, coup leader Col. Lucio Guti ©rrez, 45, was leading the pack of 11 candidates with 20 percent of the vote followed closely by Ecuador’s richest businessman, Alvaro Noboa, 51, with 17 percent. Noboa lost the 1998 runoff against former president Jamil Mahuad. He is no relation to the current president, Gustavo Noboa. The runoff election will be on Nov. 24.

In January 2000 Guti ©rrez helped lead an Indian insurrection that resulted in a short-lived ruling trio composed of him along with Indian leader Antonio Vargas and a Supreme Court judge. In just hours the group was replaced by the administration of Mahuad’s then-vice president Gustavo Noboa who did not run in this election. Vargas was a presidential candidate but did not place among the top vote-getters. Socialist Party Congressman Le ³n Rold ³s had 16 percent of votes cast while former president Rodrigo Borja had 15 percent. Xavier Neira and Jacobo Bucaram finished with 13 and 10 percent respectively. After the short-lived coup in 2000, Guti ©rrez was jailed but later granted amnesty. He founded his political party, calling it the January 21st Patriotic Society — referring to the coup. He dismisses comparisons with populist Venezuelan President Hugo Ch ¡vez who led a botched coup before winning office at the ballot box.

Guti ©rrez is backed primarily by leftist groups while Noboa finds support among Ecuador’s poor masses. Ecuador has suffered a decade of tumultuous politics that saw two presidents and a vice president run out of office. The economy collapsed three years ago, causing a turn to the U.S. dollar to stabilize the country’s finances. But prices soared in 1999, and Ecuadorians are still feeling the pinch. The nation of 12 million has a foreign debt of $11.4 billion and little outside investment to help pay it off.

HCJB World Radio provided national coverage of the election from 6:30 a.m. until 10:30 p.m. with five blocks of programming. “We had an hour break every now and then to allow for some rest for the on-air team,” said National Radio Director Allen Graham. “It was a long day, but a good day. Our team did a super job. We’re all tired today, but very happy with what God allowed us to do.” The broadcasts were carried on HCJB World Radio’s AM and FM stations in Quito and on repeaters in Manab ­, Esmeraldas, Tungurahua and Papallacta. The broadcasts were also carried on HCJB-2 (an FM station in Guayaquil with a repeater in El Oro), on the Vozandes Satellite Network with nine affiliates, and worldwide via shortwave.

“We were able to provide coverage to 14 of Ecuador’s 22 provinces,” Graham said. “This is was the first time we not only had a large number of stations retransmitting the signal, but also participating with reports from their respective communities. This provided a totally new flavor to the coverage, which we have not had in the past. For instance, in one 30-minute segment we went from Radio Punto in Ibarra (northern Ecuador) to Ondas de Esperanza in Loja (southern Ecuador) to Radio Caliente in Lago Agrio (eastern Ecuador) to Radio La Voz de los Caras (western Ecuador). This provided a real richness to our coverage which we’ve not had in the past. I also feel that it has created more of a two-way bond between HCJB World Radio and our affiliate stations in the satellite network.

“Together we were able to provide Christ-centered election coverage in a way that no one of us could have done by ourselves,” Graham added. “I think it is especially exciting since several of the affiliate stations in the satellite network are secular, but they want the programming that we have to offer. Three of the four stations that carried the signal off-air are secular, but they are willing to use our programming, including the spiritual content. What a great opportunity God has given us to be able to change lives for the kingdom!” (HCJB World Radio/Miami Herald/AP)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * James A. Ferrier HCJB World Radio U.S. Ministries Communications Director E-mail: Phone: 1-719-590-9800 Fax: 1-719-590-9801 Web: http://www.hcjb.org http://www.beyondthecall.org * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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