Today’s Headlines:

CHRISTIAN MAID, DAUGHTER FREED AFTER MONTHS IN BASEMENT

CHURCH IN BANGLADESH SELF-FUNDS ANTI-TRAFFICKING WORK

LATIN AMERICAN ELECTIONS FUEL CONCERN OF RELIGIOUS POPULISM

REPORT: MYANMAR’S PERSECUTION OF KAREN PEOPLE CONTINUES

APOSTLE PAUL’S REMAINS UNEARTHED IN ROME, SAY ARCHAEOLOGISTS

Next week on “World Radio” hear the amazing story behind the “Cannon Hymns of China.” More than 1,000 such hymns are sweeping China and touching people’s lives. The remarkable thing is that they were all composed by one peasant girl with no formal musical training.

To listen visit the following webpage: http://www.hcjb.org/worldwide/australia/world_radio_programme.html.

Today’s Top Stories:

CHRISTIAN MAID, DAUGHTER FREED AFTER MONTHS IN BASEMENT

A Christian housemaid and her daughter spent months as captives of a Muslim homeowner who tortured them in attempts to make them renounce their Christian faith. Shahbaz Bhatti, chairman of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA), reported on Thursday, Dec. 7, that 40-year old Nareen Pervaiz and her 13-year-old daughter, Razia, were “tortured and illegally detained” in the city of Sialkot in Pakistan’s Punjab province. After her husband’s death, Pervaiz and her daughter began working as a maid to support the poor family. When homeowner Muhammad Ikram discovered the two were Christians, he and his wife physically tortured them and forcefully ripped cross necklaces from their necks. “Both mother and daughter were asked to change their Christian faith and embrace Islam,” Bhatti explained. “On refusal they were tortured and often brutally beaten. When they wanted to leave the job, they were forcibly detained in the basement of the house and fastened with chains at night so they should not flee away.” The family’s eldest daughter contacted the APMA after the two disappeared earlier this year. A Pakistani court approved a rescue plan on Wednesday, Nov. 29, and the two are now free. (BosNewsLife)

CHURCH IN BANGLADESH SELF-FUNDS ANTI-TRAFFICKING WORK

Congregations of the Church of Bangladesh have raised the equivalent of US$2,675 after a recent appeal for aid to support the denomination’s anti-human-trafficking outreach. Trafficking of both women and children in Bangladesh is a serious problem that most residents remain ignorant of. The church’s social development program is working to raise awareness of trafficking among vulnerable people and the wider community in which they live as well as to provide support to previously trafficked women. The money raised represents a sacrifice for church members who are few in number (around 17,000) and mostly poor subsistence farmers. Missionary David Hall said, “The Church of Bangladesh has shown its commitment to the work by organizing this special appeal within its congregations rather than relying totally on external donors. With this level of commitment from within the church, it is hoped that the church’s work can go a long way in eradicating human trafficking from Bangladesh.” (Council for World Missions)

LATIN AMERICAN ELECTIONS FUEL CONCERN OF RELIGIOUS POPULISM

Recent elections in Latin America have shown an increasing number of politicians embracing religion, or at least pretending to do so, for political gain. Some analysts are concerned that political manipulation of religious fervor and increased church influence in state affairs might soon fuel domestic and even regional confrontations.

Venezuelan President Hugo Ch ¡vez has often criticized the church for siding with the county’s political elite, but in a recent victory speech he spent time talking about Jesus. “The kingdom of Christ is the kingdom of love, of peace, the kingdom of justice, of solidarity, brotherhood, the kingdom of socialism,” he said. “This is the kingdom of the future of Venezuela.”

Meanwhile, Nicaraguan president-elect Daniel Ortega dropped Marxist rhetoric to run as a Catholic. Ecuador’s recent election pitted banana baron Avaro Noboa, self-styled as “God’s messenger,” against leftist Rafael Correa, who in the final stretch of the campaign presented himself as a fervent Catholic before his win.

Some believe the trend to use religion for political gain stems from overall regional disenchantment with politics. A poll by Latinobar ³metro in 17 Latin American countries last year revealed that the church is the most respected institution in the region: 71 percent of Latin Americans said they trust the church.

Countries where the church enjoys the greatest support are Guatemala, Honduras, Paraguay and Panama with more than 80-percent trust levels followed by Ecuador (77 percent), Colombia (75 percent) and Venezuela (74 percent). (Worldwide Religious News/Miami Herald)

REPORT: MYANMAR’S PERSECUTION OF KAREN PEOPLE CONTINUES

Representatives with Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) who returned from a fact-finding visit to the border region between Thailand and Myanmar (Burma), said they found evidence that the ethnic Karen people continue to face persecution at the hands of the national army. “This year the Burma Army has mounted its biggest offensive against the Karen since 1997,” said a CSW spokesperson. “At least 25,000 Karen civilians have been displaced.” The team heard many firsthand reports of atrocities focused on this northern, mountainous region. CSW Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas added, “Each time a team returns from a fact-finding visit to Burma, without fail they come back with new stories of the continuing horrific human rights violations committed by the dictators. The evidence of atrocities — torture, forced labor, religious persecution, rape, destruction of villages and killings — is piling up.” One man said he was beaten so severely in prison that he lost the sight in one eye. He was also subjected to water torture, electric shocks having his genitals covered with red ants. (Assist News Service)

APOSTLE PAUL’S REMAINS UNEARTHED IN ROME, SAY ARCHAEOLOGISTS

Vatican archaeologists have uncovered a sarcophagus believed to contain the remains of the Apostle Paul buried beneath Rome’s second largest basilica. As of yet, the ancient coffin has not been opened, but the project head Giorgio Filippi did not rule out the possibility it would be explored in the future. Two ancient churches once stood at the site of the current basilica, all of which were successively built above the spot traditionally believed to be Paul’s burial site. The uncovered sarcophagus dates to at least 390 A.D. Official findings of the four-year excavation project are scheduled to be presented in a Vatican news conference on Monday, Dec. 11. (Religion Today/ Associated Press)

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