* ASCENSION DAY HONOURED - (South Africa) In celebration of Ascension Day, a mass gathering was held on the steps of Durban City Hall on 9 May, from 11am to 2:30pm. Although Ascension Day is no longer a calendar public holiday, Christians value the remembrance of Christ’s ascension. Christians for Truth (CFT) and the Concerned Ministers' Outreach Forum, that co-ordinated the action, also encouraged all churches to have services on the day. Pastor Derrick King (CFT) remarked that: "We as Christians feel that Ascension Day is a highlight in the Christian calendar, remembering how the resurrected Christ ascended to heaven, and is now Lord over all things. The same Christ will return in like manner." Representatives from 9 different churches and Christian groups attended the action. The crowd of about 400 were addressed by different speakers, and enjoyed a few musical items. The speakers expressed concern about the removal of the Christian holiday from the South African calendar. The event served to remind the nation that Ascension Day is an important day, remembering Christ's ascension and coronation. (Ephesians 1:19 -21, Philippians 3:10) Good response was received from the public, with a number of people expressing the desire to find peace with God. On 8 May the organisers had distributed a few thousand flyers with information about Ascension Day. (CFT)

* PINK AGENDA AGE RESTRICTION LIFTED - The age restriction on The Pink Agenda has been lifted. Christian Liberty Books (CLB), publishers of The Pink Agenda, opposed the restriction which was biased and unfair from the start, according to African Christian Action. The Film and Publications Board (FPB) Review Board met 30 April to consider the appeal lodged with them. In the appeal, CLB requested that the age restriction on the book be removed and that comments made by the FPB classification committee in their report (dated 30 January) on the book and its authors be retracted. The Review Board said in its ruling released to the public on 2 May 2002, that the writers have the freedom to express any view if it cannot be conclusively proven to incite hatred or violence. The Board said, "This conclusion is grounded particularly in the Review Board's opinion that the publication could be deemed, if not a bona fide scientific document, then at the least a bona fide discussion, argument or opinion on either a matter pertaining to religion, belief or conscience or of public interest. As this is catered for in the Act, it behoves the Board to uphold this provision." As regards the Review Board's decision to lift the restriction on the book from distribution to under 18s by the publishers, the report states "taking into account the nature of the publication, it would be difficult to prove that any harm would be caused to any person under the age of 18 who has access to it." The Board expressed agreement with CLB's argument that (in the Board's words), "It must be borne in mind that children are generally already exposed to issues of religion, sex, homosexuality, and the like, in an educational and/or discursive context." The report continues, "The dilemma that any imposition of an age restriction would pose is that we could very well end up with the converse demand that the homosexual community shall not present its case to any person under the age of 18." (ACA, 3 May)

* NO APOLOGY FOR PRO-LIFE CONSCIENCE - (South Africa) In a Notice of Motion, Cheryllyn Dudley MP for the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) and member of the Health Portfolio Committee moved, among other things, that the house: "Notes that although the hearings excluded all pro-life doctors, nurses and organisations, the ACDP was not restricted or hampered in expressing concern, questioning presenters or responding to the accusations of members, in spite of the fact, that the ACDP makes no apology for their conviction that abortion is a tragedy and passionately disagrees with the ANC's pro-abortion stance;... Calls on the Health Portfolio Committee to give pro-life organisations and individuals, especially doctors and nurses an opportunity to present their concerns and anguish to the committee unhindered and uncensored, in the same way the Reproductive Rights Alliance were accommodated; Recognises that this would go a long way in convincing people that the ANC really believe what they say about tolerating other view points because at present it looks like they mean "every view point except that of bible believing Christians". (ACDP, 14 May)

* MORAL VOICE AT U.N. BLUEPRINT FOR CHILDREN SUMMIT - The United Nations summit approved a new blueprint, "A World Fit For Children" on 10 May, as reported by CNN. The agreement came after contentious negotiations between the United States and other nations on sex education, abortion and the death penalty. ...The final language on reproductive and sexual health reaffirmed commitments made by the world's nations at five U.N. conferences in the last eight years, which include ensuring that adolescents have the right to sex education and reproductive and sexual health services. CNN reported that Conservatives in the United States contend that "reproductive health services" include abortion. U.S. officials had pressed for a footnote to the document specifically excluding abortion. This was not done, but the final agreement dropped any reference to "services." ... The U.S. delegation had pushed the Bush administration's agenda against abortion and in favor of sexual abstinence before marriage and of the traditional family - a stand backed by the Vatican and Islamic countries including Sudan, Syria and Iraq. To promote family values, the United States had also pressed for the family to be defined as marriage between a husband and wife, because of conservative objections to homosexual marriages. The final document says: "The family is the basic unit of society and as such should be strengthened," but it preserves past language taking into account "that in different cultural, social and political systems, various forms of the family exist." In a victory for the Bush administration, the document excludes the United States from a requirement barring the death penalty or life imprisonment for those under the age of 18. (CNN, 11 May)

* A PARENTS' VOICE COUNTS - (South Africa) Christian parents are encouraged to remember that they have a right to expect accountability from the Department of Education, since they pay taxes and school fees, says Africa Christian Action. By contacting the school's Governing Body, parents can have a say in what their children are taught. Special vigilance is needed when it comes to Sex Education, HIV/AIDS Education and Religion Education. Christian alternatives to the 'sin-ridden' programmes are available. The following incident serves as example of how a parents' involvement can make a difference:
Mrs. Kruger's child attends an established secondary school in Cape Town. Her child is in grade 9. She was paging through her child's English reader "Who Killed Jimmy Valentine?" by Michael Williams. She was shocked to discover her child being forced to read a book which continuously repeated swear words. From here she spoke to the principal of the school, who referred her to the head of the English Department, who in turn referred her to the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) as the book was a WCED prescribed reader. She contacted the WCED who explained that the book was recommended for grade 11 and that it was the teacher's prerogative to explain to children that the swearing in the book is unacceptable. Angry at this weak explanation and undeterred by the education bureaucracy, she wrote a letter to her School Governing Body. Her perseverance paid off - the book was removed and replaced by a more godly alternative! (Africa Christian Action, 14 May 02)

* SA MORAL DEGENERATION - "How can a society be so flagrantly blind to the nature of man by continuing with the argument that one cannot prescribe moral values and denounce the availability of, for example, pornography, simply because others cannot exercise self-control?", asks John Tibury in a letter to Natal Witness (6 May). "The fact is that our society remains naive, believing that its moral obligation has been discharged by suggesting age restrictions on various programmes and the like. Are adults immune to the inimical effects of what their imaginations are feeding upon? It would appear not, if the horrendous statistics of rape are anything to go by... If the authorities are going to free our society of moral ineptitude, then they are going to have to make a righteous judgement concerning the real underlying causes". (Natal Witness)

* PLAN TO REACH SOCCER FANS FROM 'CLOSED' COUNTRIES - (Seoul) Christians will be reaching out to soccer fans at the upcoming world cup in South Korea and Japan, May 31 - June 30, according to a report in Idea, 23 April. South Koreans are preparing an extensive outreach program. One in four fans will come from "closed" regions where the proclamation of the Gospel is forbidden. Teams from 32 nations - many with restricted religious liberty like the People's Republic of China, Saudi Arabia and Turkey - are competing for the World Cup.
A protest against death sentences passed against Christians in the People's Republic of China was held in Germany when the Chinese President Jiang Zemin recently visited the country. The "Party for Biblical Christianity" and the "Committee for Persecuted Christians" staged a hunger strike at the Brandenburg Gate. With the help of Gregor Gysi - a senator and leading member of the post-Communist party PDS - a Bible was presented to Jiang. (Idea)

* 24 CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS CLOSED IN NIGERIA - The government of the Nigerian state Kano has closed 24 Christian schools for refusing to incorporate Islamic studies in their syllabus. Dr. Mohammed Tahir, chairman of the working group who has to see to the enforcement of the Law in Islamic studies, has threatened to close more Christian schools if they don't meet the demands of the Islamic educational policy. Kano is one of the states in which Sharia law had been enforced three years ago. (Compass, 15 May)

* NO RELIGIOUS ASYLUM FOR IRANIAN FAMILY - The Canadian Embassy in Ankara turned down an Iranian Christian family's immigration application early May, closing the last known option for religious asylum for former Muslims Mahmoud and Atefeh Erfani and their three daughters, according to Compass. After nearly three years as refugees in central Turkey, the Erfani family faces eventual deportation by Turkish authorities back to Iran, where Muslims who convert to Christianity can be executed for apostasy. The Canadian government's refusal came nine months after its embassy in Turkey pledged in writing to examine the family's application for immigration. After waiting more than nine months for their first immigration interview with Canadian authorities, the Erfani family was summoned to Ankara for an April 18 interview. Erfani told Compass by telephone from Nevsehir that his formal appointment at the Canadian Embassy consisted of a one-hour interview. "They did not speak with my wife or daughters," he said, "and they did not give us any medical or other tests." ...Although converted and baptized 21 years ago, Erfani and his wife had faced deepening hostility and harassment from police authorities in Mashhad during their last 12 months in Iran, which finally frightened them into fleeing the country. (Compass, 15 May)

* INVESTIGATION OF POSSIBLE FORCED ABORTIONS IN CHINA - (USA) A White House team left for China on 13 May to investigate whether U.S. contributions to a U.N. population agency are funding forced abortions. At stake is $34 million in U.S. funds, approved by Congress for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) but frozen by President Bush until the team returns. The team, which includes William Brown, a former deputy assistant secretary of state and ambassador to Thailand and Israel, will determine whether Beijing's population policy violates U.S. law. "We want them to find that we promote and adhere to international human rights standards in China as we do anywhere else in the world," Stirling Scruggs, a UNFPA spokesman, said. A 1985 pro-life law called the Kemp-Kasten Amendment prohibits U.S. funding to any country that is determined by the president to engage in forced abortion or involuntary sterilization. The Chinese government, which declined to comment, has agreed to let the delegation go wherever it wishes, provided it gives 24-hour notice. (Washington Times, 13 May)

* BORN-ALIVE INFANT PROTECTION ACT 'DIES' - (Colorado) Legislation that would have extended rights to newborn infants in Colorado was 'killed' in the Senate Health, Environment, Children and Families committee on May 3. The bill's Senate sponsor, Senator Doug Lamborn (R-El Paso County), pointed out the irony of having the Senate committee, charged with protecting the welfare of children in the State of Colorado, kill a measure protecting newborn infants. "The public should take note that pro-choice people are moving beyond denying the sanctity of human life in the womb and are now willing to say that a newborn baby has no right to life," he said. Among those testifying in support of the legislation was Jill Stanek, a nurse who offered first-hand testimony of seeing newborns being denied access to food, water and medical treatment. "Something is very wrong with a legal system that says doctors are mandated to pronounce babies dead but are not mandated to assess babies for life and chances of survival," said Stanek. "We look the other way and pretend that these babies aren't human while they're alive but human only after they are dead," she added. (Pro-Life Infonet; May 13)

* BOYCOTT OF VW OVER ADS - (USA) If you are offended by trash on TV, Volkswagen says turn it off. The company’s reply was in response to a request by OneMillionMoms.com (OMM) and OneMillionDads.com (OMD), asking VW to stop sponsoring the Fox drama Boston Public. Because of the company’s unsatisfactory response, AFA is calling for a boycott of the carmaker. The second-year series, about the faculty and students at a public high school in Boston, is one of the worst on television in terms of sleazy content. In response to the drama’s lewd content, thousands of OMM and OMD members E-mailed Volkswagen, asking them to stop supporting Boston Public. However, James Kamradt of VW Customer Relations wrote back and said his company has no control over the content of a particular program, and often has only a general description of a show’s subject matter in advance of its airing. "Generally speaking," Kamradt added, "we hope people will use their best judgment when viewing entertainment. If they find a program’s content offensive, they do have a choice of not viewing any further." (American Family Association, May 2002)

* BRITISH CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATS' BREAKTHROUGH - Christian Democrats in Britain made their first electoral breakthrough in the Local Elections on May 2^nd, becoming the only opposition in Newham Borough Council following the election of Alan Craig in Canning Town South. Speaking to supporters at the count at Newham Town Hall, Councilor Alan Craig said: "Canning Town... has NOW returned the first Christian Democrat in British electoral history. This is a small start, but the Christian Peoples Alliance has demonstrated that where it can get its message across, of hope, and trust, and bias to the poor, people will vote for it." The CPA came within 70 votes of winning a second seat in the same district. In results elsewhere, in wards where the CPA ran a full campaign, it received a respectable vote. (Christian People's Alliance, 3 May)

* CHURCH DISCIPLINES LESBIAN COUPLE - (USA) A charismatic church in Houston has been confronted with an issue that many mainline denominations - among them the United Methodist Church and the Presbyterian Church (USA) - have been wrestling with: Should homosexuals be allowed to become members and serve in the local church? The Houston Vineyard has asked a lesbian couple to leave the church after they refused to abandon their lifestyle. Pastor Dan Palandro recently told the couple they would no longer be served communion or offered the ministry of the church. "In order to bring more pressure on them to really take seriously what they are doing is sin, and for the integrity of our church - what we believe, the life we believe we're called to live - [we felt] we needed to withhold the ministry of the church from them and ask them to leave, as an act of discipline - in line with Matthew 18 and I Corinthians 5," the pastor says. (AgapePress, 10 May)

* DUTCH NURSE EUTHANIZING 14 PATIENTS - (Amsterdam) A Dutch nurse has been charged with the murder of 14 babies, young children and elderly patients in four hospitals in The Hague over a period of more than four years, public prosecutors said on 8 May. The 40-year-old woman is accused of killing five babies and children and nine elderly people in her care by giving them a lethal dose of drugs while working in hospitals in The Hague between February 1997 and September 2001. The nurse, who was also charged with four attempted murders, is due to go on trial in The Hague in June. The statement gave no indication of what illnesses the nurse's alleged victims were suffering from. The Netherlands was the first country to legalize assisted suicide, but the law that took effect in April this year 'supposedly' included strict conditions to prevent abuses. In practice, mercy killing had been tolerated in the country for about two decades. (Reuters, 9 May)

* SA HEROIN HORROR - Heroin has become one of Pretoria's most serious narcotics problems. With an estimated trade of R240 million a year in the Tshwane area alone, heroin has become the city's favourite hard drug. Its fast growing market has an estimated increase of 400% every six months. Alcohol addiction remains the city's biggest problem, followed by dagga. Dr Sean Zeelie, of the Centurion Reintegration Centre which treats drug addicts, said that "parents should not think that children cannot afford this (R50 for a daily dose the size of half a pea). If they don't use their pocket money, they'll start selling their belongings or beg. After that, they might even turn to crime." Using statistics on new patients at the centre, as well as information given by these patients, Zeelie said that up to 60% of high school children experimented with drugs, including alcohol. "This does not mean that they will be addicted to it, but it's still significant," Zeelie said. A recent study by the Medical Research Council showed that more working people were abusing drugs, with the biggest problem being in Sandton and Rosebank. (Pretoria News, 9 May)
Mr Paul du Plessis of the Pretoria magistrate's court said there is a frightening increase in drug cases at the court, and the users are becoming younger and younger. Most accusations are for drug possession, not trade. Ages of the accused differ from 14 to 24. (Beeld, 13 May)

* MORE MOMS CHOOSING FAMILY OVER CAREERS - New Census Bureau figures show more mothers are choosing to make raising their children the focus of their lives instead of focusing on careers. In 2000, the number of women who went back to work while they had children under one year of age decreased to 55% from almost 60% in 1998. It is the first decrease since 1976. In addition, the percentage of women who worked during their first pregnancy has shown its first leveling off since 1961... According to Agape press any number of circumstances could have led to the declines, including economic factors, but some suggest mothers are beginning to place more importance on being with their children. "These are young women that were raised ... as ‘latch-key kids,’ who were coming home from school, [while] their parents were out working," said Glenn Stanton, author of Why Marriage Matters. "These young girls were coming home to empty houses, and as they’re starting to form their own families, they’re saying, ‘You know what, we want to do things a little differently for our kids. We want to make sure that we’re there.’" (AgapePress, 13 May)