Dr. Sajan George of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) told ICC that Pastor Muna got into trouble when he prayed for a woman suffering from tuberculosis and kidney problems, not knowing that she was the wife of a local leader of the VHP. The lady was the wife of Jibardhana Chouhan, the Rourkela district coordinator of the VHP.

“As Pastor Muna started praying for the lady in her house, her daughters shouted that he was trying to force her to accept Christianity. Immediately, the daughters called the neighbors and made accusations of forced conversion against the pastor,” George said.

The family members promptly called the police and handed over Pastor Muna to them. The police arrested the pastor on charges of house-trespass, use of criminal force on a woman and hurting religious sentiments, under Sections 448, 354 and 295A of the Indian Penal Code. Muna was consequently produced before a court, which refused his bail application and remanded him in judicial custody.

source ICC. www.persecution.org

The two officials were arrested after they refused to leave a no-protest zone near the gates of the US presidential residence, the UCC news service reported.

Thomas and Jaramillo had earlier sought a meeting with the White House's public liaison office, in order to hand-deliver the petitions, but their requests were refused. Instead, the two officials held up thick stacks of the petitions in the no-protest zone, and failed to comply with a police request to step back from the White House fence.

Thomas and Jaramillo were handcuffed and led to a police van. They were released after being held briefly at a police station and paying a US$100 fine.

The letter the two officials were attempting to deliver urged, "an end to our reliance on violence as the first, rather than the last resort, (and) an end to the arrogant unilateralism of pre-emptive war."

Thomas told a small group of protesters before the arrests that the symbolic act was a "very meaningful witness of the whole church". The 1.2-million-member UCC is known for its opposition to the Iraq war.

On September 11, the villagers drove the families from their homes. Then, after a meeting on September 14, the villagers forcibly "reconverted" the families to Hinduism and then arranged for a local criminal to murder Topno. Topno went missing from his home on September 16. His body was found in a jungle near the village of Sahoda three days later.

Thank the Lord for Ajay's life as a cross-bearing disciple of Christ. Ask God to comfort those who mourn for him. Pray that Indian Christians will be emboldened to follow in their Saviour's footsteps and remain faithful to Him at all cost (1 Corinthians 4:9-14, 16).

source: persecution.org

...as more younger Americans associate with a faith outside Christianity. Only 16 percent of non-Christians aged 16 to 29 years old said they have a "good impression" of Christianity. Just 10 years ago, a vast majority of Americans outside the Christian faith - including young people - felt favorably toward Christianity’s role in society.

Crosswalk

“Rev. John Monykuer was leading an evening worship when an unidentified man in military attire walked into the service and detonated a grenade.

Five children were killed instantly. Four others, including two children, Pastor Monykuer and the wife of Pastor Michael Makuin Kuol, were taken to the hospital in nearby Malakal, a former government garrison town on the White Nile. One of the children died Saturday morning. The other three are still in critical condition.”

“We will continue to examine and corroborate the details surrounding this tragic incident,” said Persecution Project President Brad Phillips. “In the meantime, PPF will assist with medical expenses. We ask for your prayers for the survivors and their families.” The Persecution Project Foundation (PPF) has partnered with Francis and Saphano and the indigenous church in the Upper Nile region since 2001.

Asked if the attack was religiously motivated, Pastor Ayul said, "We cannot speculate now, but many believe so. Our main focus now is to save the wounded and console the families of these new martyrs.”

This tragic incident shows that even with the “peace” in Southern Sudan, acts of violence and persecution still are a reality for Christians in southern Sudan, where more than two decades of ethnic cleansing left 2 million dead and displaced 4 million more.

Since 1997, PPF has worked to bring crisis relief and spiritual hope to the victims of civil war, genocide and religious persecution throughout Africa.

Its ministries in Southern Sudan include Radio PEACE, Sudan’s premier Christian radio station; Nakwatom Heritage Academy, which cares for more than 800 displaced, disabled and orphaned children; pastor and evangelist training programs and a humanitarian compound in Jach, which cares for more than 60,000 survivors of the genocide in Darfur.

Assist news

The prisons bureau had come under pressure from religious groups and some US lawmakers over the original measures, called the "Standardised Chapel Library Project".

This had led to works by internationally respected 20th century theologians, such as Karl Barth, being excluded from prison libraries because they were not on a list of 150 approved book titles.

In a 27 September statement, the bureau said that while it would return to the shelves materials that had been removed in recent months, it would still compile a more complete list of acceptable material.

The bureau said it expected that some "inappropriate" materials that could be deemed "radicalising", or might "incite violence" could still be removed, though the amount of such material would probably be small.

Jeb Hensarling, a Texas Republican and member of the House of Representatives, said he remained concerned the chapel library project had not been fully eliminated.

"It appears they've taken the car and put it in neutral, but they didn't put it in park," The Associated Press quoted Hensarling as saying.

Nonetheless, the leader of one of the religious groups that had criticised the prisons' bureau applauded the modified policy, and said the authorities had listened "to the concerns of a diversity of faith communities."

Prison Fellowship president Mark Earley commented, "By returning to the common sense approach of getting rid of only those materials that incite violence, they ensure that prisoners have access to a wide range of quality religious works that will help them become productive members of society when they are released back to our communities."

Eni news

"The flight of Christians from Iraq is a sign of the failure of policies that were purported to bring stability and peace to Iraq and even the region," said the WCC, which opposed the US-led military action that brought down Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

"Intolerance between social groups has grown markedly as an outcome of the conflict there," the Geneva-based church grouping said in a statement issued on 1 October after a meeting in Armenia of its executive committee. "Although Christians represent only four percent of Iraq's population, they make up 40 percent of its refugees," the church grouping stated.

The WCC praised Muslim clerics who are using their influence to contain violence in Iraq, and said joint Christian-Muslim advocacy outside Iraq for tolerance would send a signal to those of all faiths inside the country.

"The continuing presence of Christians in Iraq is a witness to the ethnic, cultural and religious diversity that are an essential part of Middle East," the WCC said, noting that members of all religious communities in Iraq have been displaced or have fled the country.

"The fate of Christians must not be seen in isolation from the fate of Muslims, or of other minorities such as the Yazidees and Mandeans, or used to worsen relations with Muslims or other groups," said the WCC, which gathers 347 churches, predominately Protestant, Anglican and Orthodox.

In a separate statement the church grouping warned against settling the dispute of Iran's nuclear programme by force.

"This international church position against attacking Iran seeks protection for all the populations involved, including the US and Israeli publics," the WCC stated. "Years of unilateralist military incursions in the Middle East have compromised human security and national well-being across the region and left many people vulnerable."

source: ENI news

Sponsored by Christian Aid, an agency of 41 denominations in Britain and Ireland, the "Cut the Carbon" marchers began their 1000-mile (1610 kilometre) trek on 14 July in Bangor, Northern Ireland. The march will end in early October in London, where the walkers will present a petition to Prime Minister Gordon Brown that will press for urgent action to cut carbon dioxide emissions.

The British prime minister will also be offered thousands of shoelaces tied together - organizers hope for 1000 miles of them - to illustrate the backing for the event. Supporters across Britain and Ireland are invited to send their used shoelaces. They will receive in return from Christian Aid a new pair bearing the march's logo, plus a written message to wear as a symbol of support for the march.

Behind the gimmicks and carnival atmosphere as supporters join the marchers for rallies and concerts by celebrities en route, organizers say the intention is to deliver a precise message.

The petition for Brown urges the introduction of legislation to make British companies declare their carbon dioxide emissions according to an agreed mandatory standard, and for the country to push for an international agreement to cut emissions by 80 percent by 2050.

The 18 international core walkers who intend to walk the whole route include Geoff Davies, former Anglican bishop of Umzimvubu in South Africa's Eastern Cape province, and the Rev. Neil Cutcliffe, another Anglican from Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland, who is taking part on behalf of all mainstream Irish churches.

Davies is known as the "green bishop", principally for his work as director of the South African Faith Communities' Environmental Institute. Both men have stressed the urgency of the climate change crisis.

"People see it as a problem for the future and how it will affect their families but often don't realise it is already impacting on people in poor countries," said Cutcliffe.

ENI

South Korea also confirmed that 29-year-old Shim Sung Min is dead and his bullet-riddled body has been found in the Ghazi province early Tuesday, the same province from where the men and women have been kidnapped July 19.

“One of our citizens kidnapped in Afghanistan, Shim Sung Min, was confirmed July 31 to have been killed,” foreign ministry spokesman Cho Hee Yong said in Seoul.

“We cannot but feel rage at the kidnappers’ merciless killing in the midst of our utmost effort to free the hostages, and we denounce their actions,” he said.

“We again urge the kidnappers to stop these atrocities and return our citizens.”

A Taliban spokesman said the South Korean has been killed late Monday, threatening that this executions will continue until their demands are met.

The Afghan government didn’t release any of the suspected Taliban militants in custody, sparking the anger of the group holding the South Korean citizens, who said they will begin killing all the men and then the women if their comrades aren’t freed by 4 pm (1130 GMT).

Eighteen women and five men have been abducted while they were travelling towards Kandahar almost two weeks ago. The South Koreans were members of the Saemmul Community Church and were training Afghans in using computers, along with other peaceful missions.

The group’s leader, pastor Bae Hyung Kyu was the first member executed, authorities discovering his body on July 25.

eFluxMedia

"Unbalanced behaviour varies according to individuals and circumstances, and may include impoliteness, rude gestures, cursing, blasphemy, loss of sense of responsibility, or deliberate infringement of the Highway Code," says the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People in a 19 June document entitled "Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of the Road".

"For some drivers, the unbalanced behaviour is expressed in insignificant ways, whilst in others it may produce serious excesses that depend on character, level of education, an incapacity for self-control and the lack of a sense of responsibility," the guidelines note.

The document also records that during the 20th century approximately 35 million people lost their lives in road accidents, whilst around one and a half billion were injured. In 2000, there were 1 260 000 road deaths, the guidelines explain, while about 90 per cent of accidents were due to human error.

The exercise of charity by drivers has a "dual" dimension, says the pontifical council: "The first regards looking after one's vehicle, which means making sure that it is safe from a technical point of view, so as not to knowingly put one's own or other people's lives at risk."

The second dimension is about the "love of travellers whose lives should not be endangered by incorrect and careless manoeuvres that may cause harm to both passengers and pedestrians".

Good drivers, the guidelines say, "courteously give way to pedestrians, are not offended when overtaken, allow someone who wishes to drive faster to pass and do not seek revenge".

The Vatican's "Ten Commandments" for motorists are:

I. You shall not kill.

II. The road shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of mortal harm.

III Courtesy, uprightness and prudence will help you deal with unforeseen events.

IV. Be charitable and help your neighbour in need, especially victims of accidents.

V. Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination, and an occasion of sin.

VI. Charitably convince the young and not so young not to drive when they are not in a fitting condition to do so.

VII. Support the families of accident victims.

VIII. Bring guilty motorists and their victims together, at the appropriate time, so that they can undergo the liberating experience of forgiveness.

IX. On the road, protect the more vulnerable party.

X. Feel responsible towards others.

ENI