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Today’s News Headlines:

CHRISTIANS IN TURKMENISTAN VILLAGE FORCED TO RENOUNCE FAITH PERPETRATORS OF NEW YEAR’S MASSACRE IN EGYPT REMAIN FREE BIBLE MISSION FOCUSES ON EVANGELIZING KAZAKHSTAN’S YOUTH NEW EVANGELISM NETWORK TO HELP SPREAD GOSPEL ACROSS U.S. CHRISTIAN BROADCASTING NETWORK DEDICATES TV FACILITIES IN KIEV STUDY FINDS SHIFT TO PROTESTANTISM AMONG HISPANICS IN U.S.

Today’s News Stories:

CHRISTIANS IN TURKMENISTAN VILLAGE FORCED TO RENOUNCE FAITH Turkmenistan’s political police forced a group of Protestants in the small village of Deinau to renounce their faith publicly after a Christian magazine was mailed to a village resident. Christian sources in Turkmenistan said that three of the Protestants who refused to comply with the police were expelled from the village, 20 miles from Turkmenabad, and are now subject to a manhunt ordered by the central Ashgabad office. This isn’t the first time that Protestants from Deinau have been imprisoned, beaten and threatened with expulsion for their faith. Two believers were sentenced to 15 days in prison last December for their participation in a meeting organized by the Word of Life Church in Ashgabad. This came after police raided the church on Nov. 15. One of the two Christians had been beaten for his faith two years ago. He was threatened with expulsion from the village. (Keston News Service)

* HCJB World Radio works in partnership with Back to the Bible to air Christian Turkmen programs. Twice-weekly broadcasts began airing from an undisclosed site outside of Turkmenistan in June 2001.

PERPETRATORS OF NEW YEAR’S MASSACRE IN EGYPT REMAIN FREE Those responsible for the bloodshed and violence that erupted in El-Kosheh, Egypt, Dec. 31, l999, and lasted until Jan. 2, 2000, remain unpunished. The three-day killing spree in El-Kosheh, 250 miles south of Cairo, left 21 Coptic Christians dead, 33 wounded and 260 Christian homes and business destroyed. The fighting spread to the neighboring village of Dar Al-Salam where five Christians were injured and 156 Christian-owned stores, homes and businesses were burned or looted. In Awlad Tuq Gharb, 23 Coptic homes were destroyed, and the village church was attacked. At a subsequent trial, presiding Judge Mohamed Affifi acquitted all 96 murder suspects, and police forces accused local Christian clergy of inciting the hostilities. A recent appeal was also dismissed, and the 96 defendants were again released on April 10, 2002. (U.S. Copts Association)

BIBLE MISSION FOCUSES ON EVANGELIZING KAZAKHSTAN’S YOUTH Youth outreach is becoming a key focus of evangelistic work in the Central Asian country of Kazakhstan. In spite of the country’s proximity to war-torn Afghanistan and reports of persecution, many church activities continue unhindered, says Mark Reimschisel of Bible Mission International. “Most of the tightening of the grip by the authorities happens on a localized level. Most of the churches that we’re working with have very good relationships with the authorities in the area. Again, they’re nationals, and we’re really not seeing anything that’s stopping our work.” Reimschisel says evangelistic training is crucial. “There are many young people who don’t know how to talk to their friends and share the truth of Scripture with them,” he says. “There are a lot of churches that are not prepared to deal with the influx of young people.” (Mission Network News)