N7N 385 HEADLINES
For network 7 news I’m…
Liberian Muslims and Christians establish Trust Funds
In Liberia
as a reaction to recent turmoil, the Inter-religious Council of Liberia,
representing both the Muslim and Christian faiths, met this week in the nation’s
capitol, Monrovia,
to discuss the prevention of future violence. According to the All Africa news
service, the meetings resulted in the creation of trust fund to aid victims of
recent violence as well as a call to investigate such violence and bring the
perpetrators to justice. Speaking at the
meetings, Acting President of the Liberia Council of Churches, Bishop Wilmot
Sampson, stated that after 14 years of war, Liberians are left with no choice
but dialogue to resolve their disputes.
Thai government, NGOs, World Vision link to fight sex tourism
In Thailand,
the government,
NGO’s and World Vision link to fight sex tourism. AWR’s Steve Hamstra reports:
< In Thailand,
World Vision, an international Christian relief organization, has linked up
with Thai government agencies and other non-governmental organizations to
assist children targeted for sex abuse by foreigners. According to Ecumenical news international
"World Vision has coordinated efforts with 10 other NGOs to establish the 'Child Sex Tourism Prevention Project' to assist and rescue under-18 youths from sex
trafficking," its Thailand coordinator, Jaruwan Siri, announced in Chiang Mai, Thailand's second-largest city>
Adventist Church Joins Coalition Against
Worldwide Human Trafficking
Taking a stand against human
trafficking, the Seventh-day
Adventist Church
recently joined a coalition of non-profit organizations aimed at combating the
international problem. Estimates place
the number of humans trafficked each year between eight and nine hundred
thousand. By joining the coalition, the
Adventist church promises to spread awareness of human trafficking by hosting
informational sessions, educating the church’s 13 million worldwide members and
encouraging other organizations to join the coalition.
Indian Christian
leader urges Bush to promote religious freedom
In India A prominent
Christian human rights campaigner has according to Ecumenical News
International called on US
president Bush to promote religious freedom in South Asia.
John Dayal, president of the All India Catholic Union
and secretary general of the ecumenical All India Christian Council, said in a
message to the US president that Countries such as Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka,
Bhutan, Bangladesh, the Maldives, Myanmar and India "all share a common
trait of the majority communities, often with state connivance, targeting
Christians.”
Anglican African
Bishops meet
In Nigeria
the first ever meeting between Anglican Bishops concluded last week. The
Bishops ended their meeting with a twelve point communiqué outlining the future
of the Anglican Church in Africa. According to
ChurchTimes the Bishops seek to work for the
transformation of the African continent by making the proclamation of the
gospel in its fullness and making it relevant to fight poverty, HIV and AIDS,
malaria, corruptions, conflicts and Human rights abuse. The bishops also
discussed its relationship with the World wide Anglican Communion in particular
the US Episcopal Churcb and the opposing views on
homosexuality. One of the future plans is to set up African Anglican
theological training.
Foreigners Evacuated as Ivory Coast
Violence Continues
In Ivory
Coast, foreign aid workers and missionaries, including
officials from the Seventh-day
Adventist Church,
were evacuated this week under protection from heavily armed French and United
Nations soldiers, as violent anti-French protests continued in the nation. The demonstrations began after France destroyed the Ivory Coast air force in
retaliation for air strikes in the north of the country which killed nine
French peacekeepers and one American aid worker. The violent protests forced French nationals
and other foreigners so seek safety in heavily guarded hotels and military
bases until they could be evacuated.
Jean Emmanuel Nlo Nlo is the communication
director for the Seventh-day
Adventist Church
in the region:
Right now we are contact with
the local government, and the military bases and also the various
embassies. They are asking us to be a
bit patient. Things are being organized
so that people can easily go to their various places whenever there’s an
opening.
Jean Emmanuel Nlo Nlo speaking from his office in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
Christian and
Muslim leaders call for calm in Netherlands
In the
Netherlands Christian
and Muslim leaders have called for peace and calm following heightening
tensions after the funeral for the Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh. Van Gogh was
killed by an alleged Islamic extremist. Ecumenical News international reports
that after Van Gogh's funeral,
attacks on both mosques and churches were reported. Jan-Gerd
HetdeRKs, president of the Protestant
Church in the Netherlands
commented to ENI that
"The violence, the aggression must stop.”
Mohammed Sini, the head of a national Muslim
organisation, Citizens and Islam said that “This is a negative spiral that's threatening to turn into attack and counter
attack."
And finaly…
‘Noah’s Ark’ Tests Negative
A New
Zealand man has received a ‘no’ answer to his claim that
a small rock he recovered in Turkey
is actually petrified wood from Noah’s Ark. Ross Patterson, a 40 year-old computer
programmer, was informed by the research institute Geological and Nuclear
Services, that the rock shard he asked them to analyze was not petrified wood,
although some sections did resemble the appearance of fossil wood. Patterson discovered the rock while
investigating a possible alternative landing site for the ark, a ridge roughly
19 kilometers from the traditional site, Turkey’s
Mt. Ararat.
The setback will not deter Patterson, who said he will not give up
inspecting the site and has “only scratched the surface.”
For network 7 news I’m…