Today’s Headlines:

PROSECUTORS PRESSURE SEMINARY IN KAZAKHSTAN TO CLOSE

CHRISTIAN TV IN BEIRUT KEEPS BROADCASTING DESPITE BOMBINGS

MALAWI FAMINE REACHES PEAK, LEAVING MILLIONS IN NEED

CONFLICTING RELIGIONS FIND COMMON GROUND IN JERUSALEM

* RADIO STATION HCJB AGAIN TOPS LISTENERSHIP SURVEY IN BRAZIL

Today’s Top Stories:

PROSECUTORS PRESSURE SEMINARY IN KAZAKHSTAN TO CLOSE

A Pentecostal theological college in southern part of the Central Asian country of Kazakhstan is under pressure from local prosecutors who say the college lacks the required licensing from the Minister of Education. The college immediately ceased all teaching activities and applied for this license when the law was initially passed in May. The same prosecutor’s office tried to close the seminary last year with no legal basis for its actions. Chief Prosecutor Erzhan Ezaliev said, “It is a lie that the seminary has stopped teaching students. According to our information there are at present six students studying there. Personally, I am neutral towards Protestants. But the law is the same for everybody.” Local sources believe the prosecutor’s office is acting on behalf of regional authorities who are alarmed at the growth in the number of Protestants in the region. (Forum 18 News Service)

CHRISTIAN TV IN BEIRUT KEEPS BROADCASTING DESPITE BOMBINGS

Israeli air strikes in Beirut are provoking fears of war, but offices of the Christian satellite TV ministry SAT-7 have remained undamaged so far. The station continues to minister despite the ongoing unrest. “It’s very difficult for people who are themselves depressed to radiate hope,” said SAT-7 Chief Executive Officer Terry Ascott. “I would ask prayer for all the Christians in Lebanon that they would be beacons of light and hope and optimism . . . that the love and the peace of Christ that is in their hearts would radiate through.” How does the station operate when the power is off in much of the country? “The Lebanese are quite resourceful, having been through 20 years of civil war and disturbances.” Ascott explained. “Many of the areas do have back-up generators so they can keep essential appliances working, and television is one of the ‘essential appliances.'” (Mission Network News)

MALAWI FAMINE REACHES PEAK, LEAVING MILLIONS IN NEED

The East African nation of Malawi continues to suffer from a famine that reached its peak in late 2005. One of the poorest nations in the world, Malawi was declared a “disaster area” by the president who warned that 5 million people — almost half the population — were in danger of starvation. In addition, 14 percent of Malawians are infected with AIDS, making many farmers too sick to work. Millions are still in need of food aid. Ironically, the worst-hit villages lie in a fertile river valley fed by Lake Malawi, but farmers often can’t afford the basic equipment and machinery needed to farm or the means to transport water to their fields. Since food is available to those with money, Christian Aid Mission recently transferred funds to an indigenous ministry, allowing the immediate purchase and delivery of food to some of the starving people. (Christian Aid Mission)

* In partnership with African Bible College, HCJB World Radio helped plant a Christian radio station in Lilongwe, Malawi, in 1995. The station airs programs in Chichewa and English. Staff members from the HCJB World Radio Engineering Center in Elkhart, Ind., also installed FM transmitters at stations in two Malawian cities, Blantyre and Mzuzu, in 2000.

CONFLICTING RELIGIONS FIND COMMON GROUND IN JERUSALEM

In an area of seemingly perpetual religious conflict, differing faiths have found one thing in common. An international gay pride parade called WorldPride planned for Aug. 6-12 in Jerusalem, Israel, has been denounced by Christians, Muslims and Jews alike. Jewish radicals put a bounty on parade participants while Muslim clerics threatened to flood the streets with protesters. Sheik Taissir Tamimi, head of the West Bank and Gaza Strip’s Islamic court, said, “We consider this offensive and harmful to the religious integrity of the city.” Parade organizer Hagai Elad said the event is intended to be an example of peaceful coexistence to people of different faiths and cultures in a strife-torn city. Three Christian Zionist groups in Jerusalem issued a joint statement condemning the march, saying the choice of venue was intended to stir conflict. (Religion Today)

* RADIO STATION HCJB AGAIN TOPS LISTENERSHIP SURVEY IN BRAZIL

For the second consecutive year Radio Station HCJB in Quito, Ecuador, was named “Best International Station” in the 2005 survey of Portuguese-speaking shortwave listeners conducted by the Santa Rita DX Club in Brazil. DX is a telegraph term for distance, and DXers are listeners who enjoy hearing signals from distant stations.

HCJB was one of 19 shortwave stations mentioned by respondents to the survey. Others in the top five included Radio Japan, China Radio International, Chile-based Voz Crist £ (Christian Voice) and Radio Canada International.

“This is exciting, especially when one considers that two Christian broadcasters placed in the top five,” said Allen Graham, director of indigenous and international broadcasts at Radio Station HCJB. “Praise God for allowing us this opportunity to touch Portuguese-speaking listeners!”

HCJB, the flagship station of HCJB World Radio, an international ministry founded in 1931, also topped the “Most Listened-to Station” category.

Shortwave listeners from Brazil and other parts of the world who took part in the survey also chose HCJB for having the “Best Female Presenter,” Ingrid Winter of Curitiba, Brazil. M ¡rio Miki, also of Curitiba, placed second in the “Best Male Presenter” category.

Respondents again named program producer Eunice Carvajal for having the “Best DX Program”-the seventh consecutive year for that honor. She is the sole program producer at the ministry’s studios in Quito. Most of the programs are produced at HCJB World Radio-Brazil’s studios in Curitiba.

Portuguese-language programs air from Quito 7 ½ hours a day in three programming blocks. Preaching, interspersed with music and informational programming, proclaims the message of salvation through Jesus Christ to listeners across Brazil.

A brief program in the indigenous language, Culina, was recently added to the beginning of the evening Portuguese broadcast. A small group, the Culina people live in southern Brazil and northern Peru.

Carvajal added that shortwave continues to play a key role in reaching people for Christ. Referring to the Portuguese broadcasts that reach various regions of Brazil, she said, “The audience is growing, and the average age of our listeners is 30. That means the majority of listeners are young people, and they like our programs and voices. The statistics seem to support our motto, ‘We’re more than a voice, we’re friends who care.'” (HCJB World Radio)