Today’s Headlines:

U.S. TEACHER BEGINS RIDE ACROSS U.S. TO FIGHT HUNGER IN AFRICA

EGYPT FAILS TO INVESTIGATE KNIFE ATTACKS ON CHRISTIANS

TURKMENISTAN BLOCKS CHURCH’S REPEATED ATTEMPTS TO REGISTER

SAUDI TEXTBOOKS CONTINUE TO PREACH ‘INTOLERANCE’ TO STUDENTS

BASEBALL OUTREACH MAKES INROADS ON THE INFIELD

Today’s Top Stories:

U.S. TEACHER BEGINS RIDE ACROSS U.S. TO FIGHT HUNGER IN AFRICA

A teacher from Memphis, Tenn., is proving that one person can make a difference in the fight against hunger in Africa. After a recent trip to Zeway, Ethiopia, teacher Tom Rand, struck by the poverty, starvation and disease amongst the children there, decided to use his cycling hobby to make a difference in those children’s lives. Rand is embarking on a 3,500-mile bike trip called the “Hunger Ride” beginning in Charleston, S.C., and ending in Seaside, Oregon, during a 50-day period. Beginning Saturday, May 27, Rand hopes to raise $100,000 for Food for the Hungry and find sponsors for up to 250 children. “My prayer is that hearts would be broken over the tremendous physical and spiritual needs of those in Africa,” he said. “I want to rally many people to get involved.” (Mission Network News)

EGYPT FAILS TO INVESTIGATE KNIFE ATTACKS ON CHRISTIANS

Egyptian officials appear to have ignored promises to fully investigate knife attacks on Coptic Christians on Friday, April 14, that left one person dead and more than a dozen wounded. After announcing their desire to form a committee to investigate the attacks and report back within 30 days, a month has passed without the committee even being formed. Christians remain skeptical that one mentally unstable man who is in custody could have attacked three churches on opposite sides of town, all on the same morning. At the funeral of Noshi Atta Girgis, the man who died in the attacks, violence broke out when Muslims began throwing rocks at the funeral procession, supposedly provoked by a cross and the Christians’ chants of “with our blood, with our soul, we will sacrifice for you, Christ.” (Compass Direct)

TURKMENISTAN BLOCKS CHURCH’S REPEATED ATTEMPTS TO REGISTER

Despite applying several times in the last several months, the Armenian Apostolic Church still has not been granted state registration in the Central Asian country of Turkmenistan. The initial application was filed exactly one year after authorities destroyed the last pre-revolutionary Armenian Apostolic church in the country on the orders of President Saparmurat Niyazov. Other groups, including Protestants, Catholics and Jehovah’s Witnesses, have not yet applied for registration but are skeptical of being granted a registration. Despite the fact that unregistered religious organizations are considered illegal, many groups question the benefit of official registration. Restrictions on registered communities include bans on meetings for worship, printing and importing religious literature, financial restrictions and a ban on foreign leaders. (Forum 18 News Service)

* HCJB World Radio works in partnership with Back to the Bible to air Christian programs in the Turkmen language. Broadcasts began in 2001 and have been aired daily since 2003.

SAUDI TEXTBOOKS CONTINUE TO PREACH ‘INTOLERANCE’ TO STUDENTS

A report by the U.S.-based Institute for Gulf Affairs and U.S. think tank Freedom House published in The New York Times on Tuesday, May 23, points to continued religious intolerances in first-grade textbooks in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi curriculums have been criticized since the 9/11 attacks led by Saudi-born fugitive Osama bin Laden. The study cited examples of Arabic texts saying, “Christians and Jews are the enemies of the believers,” and that students should not “befriend, respect or show loyalty” to unbelievers. Textbooks were equally intolerant of other sects within Islam that vary from the Saudi puritanical Wahhabi form of Islam. Education reform in Saudi Arabia remains a controversial issue, some being afraid of secularizing the Saudi Islamic state. Officials request patience, citing hundreds of textbooks being reworked to meet new requirements. (Religion Today/Reuters)

BASEBALL OUTREACH MAKES INROADS ON THE INFIELD

Alabama evangelist Scott Dawson is using baseball as the draw for his outreach initiative called “Safe at Home.” The program encourages local churches to purchase blocks of tickets at select minor league games and then have Christians attend the game with an unbeliever. Following the game an evangelist presents the gospel along with musicians, famous sports figures and others. “Within four minutes [after the game ends] we’ll have a microphone, within 12 minutes a full festival stage, and we’ll have a one-day crusade at the ballpark,” Dawson explains. The outreach takes a lot of planning and preparation but is seeing “percentages of responses just shoot through the roof.” He notes that while it is difficult to ask a non-Christian to attend church, most people find it easy to invite someone to a baseball game. (AgapePress)