Editor’s Note: The HCJB World Radio Daily News Update will resume following the 4th of July holiday.

Today’s Headlines:

CHINESE POLICE ARREST 30 HOUSE CHURCH LEADERS DURING MEETING

AT LEAST 55,000 PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS KILLED EACH YEAR

4 NUNS ARRESTED IN INDIA FOR TRYING TO ‘CONVERT HINDU PATIENTS’

RICK WARREN INVITED TO SPEAK TO CHRISTIANS IN NORTH KOREA

RADIO STARTING CHURCHES, TRAINING LEADERS IN MOZAMBIQUE

Today’s Top Stories:

CHINESE POLICE ARREST 30 HOUSE CHURCH LEADERS DURING MEETING

Thirty house church leaders from Langzhong City in China’s Sichuan province were arrested on May 27-28 and forced to pay fines. The leaders were attending a church co-worker’s fellowship meeting when 15 members of the Public Security Bureau raided the meeting, arriving in six police cars. Sixteen leaders were released on May 28 while 14 received criminal detention notices. Several of those detained are major leaders of the Chinese House Church Alliance which was established in 2004 and has more than 300,000 members across 21 Chinese provinces. Eyewitness from China Aid Association sources reported that during both the arrests and interrogations the Christians were beaten heavily. Pastor LI Ming, who is one of the seven top national leaders of the House Church Alliance, was observed to have been kicked in the head and abdomen by six policemen about during his arrest. (Assist News Service/China Aid Association)

AT LEAST 55,000 PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS KILLED EACH YEAR

In a recent lecture to the Protestant Association of the Christian Democratic Union in Dresden, Germany, professor Thomas Schirrmacher said that at least 55,000 Christians are killed each year for religious reasons. Christians in India, Indonesia and Pakistan run the highest risk of losing their lives, and three out of four cases of severe persecution are directed at Christians. Schirrmacher encouraged politicians to increase efforts for religious freedom instead of being reluctant with Islamic nations who persecute Christians. He believes interest in religion worldwide is on the rise and cited the shrinking of “the communist atheistic realm” as part of that along with phenomenal Christian growth outside the Western world. The number of Christian worshipers in China now exceeds Sunday-service attendance in Europe where Christian growth is decreasing. Since 1970 the number of Christians has tripled in Africa and Asia and doubled in Latin America. (Assist News Service)

4 NUNS ARRESTED IN INDIA FOR TRYING TO ‘CONVERT HINDU PATIENTS’

Four nuns from a group known as the Mother Teresa sisters were attacked by a crowd of Hindu fanatics and arrested by police in southeastern India’s Andhra Pradesh state Sunday, June 25. The nuns, known worldwide for their altruism and dedication to the poor modeled after the work of the late Mother Teresa, were in the middle of their weekly hospital visit with terminal AIDS patients in the city of Tirupati when a group of about 50 Hindu fanatics broke into the hospital and blocked the nuns in. They accused them of trying to “convert Hindu patients.” The crowd quickly swelled to more than 300 until police took the four women into custody. Archbishop Oswald Gracias stated, “The nuns were terrified and trembling because of the climate of intimidation all around the police station.” Gracias denied charges that the nuns were proselytizing, and produced permits and hospital administration agreements giving access to the nuns. “Mother Teresa sisters are known to be doing exclusively social work,” he said. (WorldWide Religious News/AsiaNews)

RICK WARREN INVITED TO SPEAK TO CHRISTIANS IN NORTH KOREA

Well-known evangelical pastor/author Rick Warren has been invited to preach to about 15,000 Christians in the communist nation of North Korea this summer. As part of a 40-day, 13-country tour to meet with presidents, business leaders and pastors in countries like Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Rwanda and South Korea, Warren also received the invitation to visit North Korea. He was told he could use a larger venue if he could fill the seats. North Korea is on the U.S. State Department list as a “country of particular concern” under the strict rule of Kim Jong Il, and religious freedom does not exist. Highly choreographed visits by religious leaders such as Billy Graham have been allowed in the past. In response to concerns about whether his visit might be a setup to draw out Christians for punishment, Warren replied, “I know they’re going to use me, so I’m going to use them.” (Christians in Crisis)

RADIO HELPS PLANT CHURCHES, TRAIN LEADERS IN MOZAMBIQUE

Trans World Radio’s (TWR) 15 years of radio broadcasting in the East African country of Mozambique has led to more than 300 new churches. As a result, leadership training is in high demand, and radio is once again helping meet the need. TWR’s program, “Words of Hope,” and its Theological Training by Extension have been vital to the training of more than 1,750 local pastors and church leaders in the past nine years. TWR is building a new studio and office building in Mocuba to replace the modified shipping containers that acted as the original production studios. Future plans also include an FM station that will make use of the new studio. (Mission Network News)

* Eight hours of daily Christian Portuguese programs airs on an FM station in Maputo, Mozambique, as the result of a cooperative effort involving HCJB World Radio, Trans World Radio and Radio Africa Network.