Today’s Headlines:

OFFICIALS DETAIN RELIGIOUS NEWS REPORTER AT AIRPORT IN UZBEKISTAN

CHRISTIAN LEADERS TO ADDRESS POVERTY AT EVENT IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

ANTHROPOLOGICAL GROUPS FAIL TO DETER PERU’S INDIGENOUS MISSIONARIES

NATIONAL MISSIONARIES IN INDIA BRING AID, EDUCATION TO OUTCASTS

TINY SOMALI CHURCH BLOSSOMS AFTER DECADES OF MISSIONARY WORK

Today’s Top Stories:

OFFICIALS DETAIN RELIGIOUS NEWS REPORTER AT AIRPORT IN UZBEKISTAN

Igor Rotar, Central Asia correspondent for the Forum 18 News Service which reports on religious persecution in the region, was detained the morning of Thursday, Aug. 11, by Uzbek authorities on arrival at the Tashkent Airport. Rotar is reportedly still being held and prevented from communicating with anyone. Local sources said his detention was ordered “for political reasons at the highest levels” and that it was carried out by the Immigration Service and Border Guards on the instructions of the National Security Service secret police. Authorities are refusing to comment on the case while international diplomats keep a close eye on the situation. Rotar was detained by Uzbek authorities as he arrived at the Tashkent Airport from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, at 10:25 a.m. He was initially asked to buy his own deportation ticket. Rotar is a Russian citizen. (Christian Solidarity Worldwide)

* HCJB World Radio airs weekly Uzbek programs from an AM station outside the country. A total of 15 million people speak this language.

CHRISTIAN LEADERS TO ADDRESS POVERTY AT EVENT IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

Leaders from a wide range of Christian denominations worldwide will gather at Washington National Cathedral Sunday, Sept. 11, to discuss concrete ways that the faith community can better aid the U.N. in its “millennium development goal” of eradicating extreme poverty worldwide. Following two days of private deliberations, a delegation will travel to New York to present a communiqu © to the U.N. on the eve of its 60th General Assembly session beginning Sept. 14. The convocation, officially called the Consultation of Religious Leaders on Global Poverty at Washington National Cathedral, is directed by John L. Peterson, an Episcopal priest and former Secretary General of the Anglican Communion. (Religion Today/Religion News Service)

ANTHROPOLOGICAL GROUPS FAIL TO DETER PERU’S INDIGENOUS MISSIONARIES

Anthropological groups have been successful at barring non-tribal Christian missionaries from entering reservations in Latin American countries in the name of “protecting tribal ways of life.” However, a local contact in Peru said those groups have no way of stopping tribal Christians from sharing the gospel with their own people. While a majority of Latin Americans profess faith in Christ, hundreds of tribal people in remote locations remain unreached by the gospel. An indigenous mission in Peru has identified 14 unreached people groups, each with 100 to 500 members. Several of Peru’s tribes have begun missionary work among these groups; however, they often encounter difficulties. Though Peru’s infamous Shining Path guerrilla group was disbanded, pockets of rebel activity actively opposed to Christian missionary work remain in the jungles where many tribes live. (Christian Aid Mission)

* HCJB World Radio, together with local partners, has helped plant Christian radio stations in seven Peruvian cities. Affiliate stations in three cities also carry Spanish programming distributed by ALAS, the ministry’s Latin American satellite radio network. Radio programs in both Spanish and Quechua also air across Peru via shortwave from Quito, Ecuador.

NATIONAL MISSIONARIES IN INDIA BRING AID, EDUCATION TO OUTCASTS

An indigenous ministry in India is reaching a community of 10 Rajnut villages scattered along a main Rajasthan thoroughfare. The ministry’s leader says their goal is to “bring about community transformation through education and health awareness, income-generating activities and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases.” Since they are regarded as outcasts, the Rajnut people rarely have access to basic medical care or education. Drug and alcohol abuse are rampant in Rajnut communities among the mainly unemployed men. The girls are expected to join the sex trade when they turn 13, so education programs focus on the young girls, offering them a future other than the one mandated by tradition. Training in income-generating skills such as sewing gives the women a legitimate way to support themselves. Sanitation systems, care for illegitimate children and medical help are also making a difference in poverty-stricken Rajnut communities. Some of the outcasts are coming to Christ, and at least one small Christian fellowship has been established in a Rajnut village. (Christian Aid Mission)

TINY SOMALI CHURCH BLOSSOMS AFTER DECADES OF MISSIONARY WORK

People are coming to Christ in Somalia, one of the world’s least-reached countries with just one evangelical Christian for every 67,000 inhabitants. German missionaries in Somalia who asked not to be identified recently sent the following report: “For 15 years Somalia has stood for anarchy, hunger, death, violence and refugees. The nation has now managed to form a new government. Many Somalis have experienced death-bringing hate and know that Islam never managed to bring peace to their nation. When they hear that Jesus prayed for his murderers while on the cross, they are deeply touched. Perhaps God had to allow the situation in Somalia in order to open the people for the gospel. For decades there were very few Christians, and even today, many pay for their faith with their life. Now, though, couples and even entire families are coming to Jesus, and children are hearing God’s Word in the churches. A dream held by missionaries for decades has just been fulfilled. A few months ago a number of Somali groups joined to plant a church. Even government officials have to admit that their nation is no longer 100-percent Muslim. The new Christians are growing in faith and assuming more and more responsibility.” (Friday Fax)