Today’s Headlines:

2 WOMEN ARRESTED IN INDIA FOR DISTRIBUTING CHRISTIAN PAMPHLETS

PERSECUTION OF ERITREAN CHRISTIANS CONTINUES TO INCREASE

CHRISTIAN MAN IN LAOS IMPRISONED FOR REFUSING TO DENY HIS FAITH

WORLD VISION PROJECTS BRING RENEWED HOPE AMID DROUGHT IN AFRICA

Today’s Top Stories:

2 WOMEN ARRESTED IN INDIA FOR DISTRIBUTING CHRISTIAN PAMPHLETS

Two women in the Jabalpur district of central India’s Madhya Pradesh state were arrested on Friday, April 14, for allegedly violating state laws against preaching. “The women were distributing pamphlets telling people how they can overcome their problems by following the Bible,” said Police Chief D. Srinivas Rao. He said the women had not received prior permission to preach. The women were identified as Mariamma Mathew, 36, and B. Godwil, 65. Bishop Gerald Almeida of Jabalpur also reported that police registered cases against seven Christians on Friday, April 7, for allegedly violating the state’s anti-conversion laws. (Voice of the Martyrs)

PERSECUTION OF ERITREAN CHRISTIANS CONTINUES TO INCREASE

Human rights groups in the East African country of Eritrea report that an increasing number of Christians are being imprisoned because of their faith. Border tensions and a relatively equal ratio of Christians to Muslims has made Eritrea’s government cautious about foreign influence and possible changes in that ratio that would lead to violence. By law, the only non-Muslim religious groups allowed to meet are Catholics, Orthodox Christians and Evangelical Lutherans. Despite official government denial, Tina Lambert of Christian Solidarity Worldwide reported that “recently, even the three legal groups have faced repression.” British evangelist Gerald Godson was recently imprisoned for three days for distributing Bibles for the Orthodox Church. In prison he met many young Christians who were being held without charges. The Evangelical Pentecostal church expanded among the young people who had been fighting in Eritrea’s border war with Ethiopia. BBC correspondent Alex Last reported that after the war, these young people had become an “anathema” to the government. When he asked the former intelligence chief in Eritrea why authorities were going after Pentecostal churches, he was told they were a “destabilizing influence” and were “proselytizing in Muslim areas.” (WorldWide Religious News/BBC)

CHRISTIAN MAN IN LAOS IMPRISONED FOR REFUSING TO DENY HIS FAITH

Christian Aid Mission reported that a Christian in the village of Tabeng, Laos, was ordered by the local chief to sign an affidavit renouncing his Christian faith. When Mr. Lapao refused, he was arrested and has been bound in hand and foot stocks since April 1. According to the report, there were four Christian families in the village. Two of the families were expelled. The fate of the other two families is uncertain. (Voice of the Martyrs)

WORLD VISION PROJECTS BRING RENEWED HOPE AMID DROUGHT IN AFRICA

Drought, coupled with extreme poverty and the eroded social structure due to the AIDS pandemic, are setting the stage for a wide-scale famine not seen since the African famines of the 1980s. Last year’s crop failure and this year’s lack of rain has left 14 million farmers and nomadic cattle herders in Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Burundi hungry and thirsty. World Vision is planning to distribute food to save lives in the short term, but is also encouraged to see the success of many of their long-term plans as well. Low-tech solutions such as rainwater catchments and drip irrigation are allowing farmers to use water more wisely. In addition, larger-scale World Vision projects like irrigation plans and flood control have allowed areas to remain viable for food production throughout the drought. (World Vision)