7 YEARS OF SHAME – In a press statement commemorating 7 years of legal abortion in South Africa CFT said: The 1st of February 2004 marks 7 years of national shame. The weakest of the weak are the target of abortion-on-demand. The South African Government has tried to convince the world that it is at the forefront of human rights. The awful reality is that since parliament's promulgation of the abortion law on 1 February 1997, over 350,000 unborn babies have been denied their right to life. …Accordingly, many Christians in South Africa commemorate the first Sunday after the 1^st of February as a `National Day of Repentance'. Ministers of all denominations are called upon to remind their congregations about the sanctity of life (as revealed in the Bible), the facts about abortion, and a call to spread the truth about abortion and its disastrous effects.
(more information is available on CFT’s website: www.cft.org.za) (to index)

BEHAVIOUR CHANGE ANSWER TO HIV – There is already a "cure" for HIV which requires no money, nor any clever scientists. The "cure" is called behavioural change. As a result, institutions of higher learning are trying to not only educate students on academic matters, but are now also featuring behavioural decision-making as part of their curriculum. 7,000 copies of a CD-ROM are being distributed at all South African universities and technikons. It has been developed by the Higher Education HIV/AIDS Programme (HEAIDS). Barbara Michel (HEAIDS programme manager), said: "Without behavioural change we risk Aids mutation through resistance to drugs and unprotected sex." (29 January, Daily News) (to index)

SRI LANKA MOVES CLOSER TO ANTI-CONVERSION LAW - Demand for an anti-conversion law in Sri Lanka is gaining momentum.
Article 9 of the Sri Lankan Constitution gives preference to Buddhism over other religions, holding the State responsible for its protection. Voice of the Martyrs' Todd Nettleton says, "Two groups, one a Buddhist group, and one a Hindu group are now pushing the government to have an anti-conversion law before Parliament by the end of February."
New details show these groups are watching 37 agencies that have ties with Christian denominations said to be promoting evangelism in Sri Lanka. While the law may not specifically target believers in writing, Nettleton says, "The reality is Christians are the ones who are doing evangelism, Christians are the ones who are ministering to the poor, reaching out to them, sharing the Gospel, and so that's who is effected by this legislation, even though this legislation doesn't specifically say 'No Christians'." (MNN) (to index)

HOMOSEXUALS LOSE ADOPTION CASE - Four homosexual men in Miami lost a federal challenge on 28 January to the only blanket state law banning homosexuals from adopting children. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the men, who are foster parents seeking to adopt children in their care despite the 1977 Florida law passed in the heyday of Anita Bryant's anti-homosexual campaign. "Obviously we're crushed," said Paul Cates with the American Civil Liberties Union's Lesbian and Gay Rights Project. Gov. Jeb Bush said he was "pleased" by the ruling. Florida is the only state in the nation with a complete ban on adoption by gays, whether married or single. The law has withstood several challenges in state court. The three-judge panel in Atlanta said the issue was properly before the Legislature rather than the appeals court. (28 January, AP) (to index)

SUDANESE REFUGEES ATTACKED - A series of explosions - probably from aerial bombings - near a Chadian border town yesterday has killed at least two people, wounded 15 others and forced aid workers to relocate hundreds of Sudanese refugees, the United Nations refugee agency reported today.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said local authorities in Tine, a Chadian town close to Sudan's war-torn Darfur region, informed them that seven explosions rocked an area just outside the area where Sudanese refugees had been gathering.
The blasts killed a 28-year-old man and his two-year-old daughter. Two of the wounded, who both have serious injuries, are being treated at a hospital in Tine.
UNHCR staff registering refugees in the area moved into Tine before the explosions when they were told of rising tensions. The refugees and all but two of the UNHCR team have since been moved away from Tine.
An estimated 113,000 Sudanese refugees have crossed the border near towns such as Tine since early last year when fighting broke out in Darfur between forces loyal to the Sudanese Government and the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA). (29 January, UN, AllAfrica.com) (to index)

GIBSON ADDING PRO-JEWISH ENDING TO 'PASSION'? - The controversy over whether Mel Gibson's upcoming film "The Passion of the Christ" will encourage anti-Semitism has taken a dramatic turn, according to an evangelical leader.
While attending a recent screening of the film in Dallas, says best-selling author, minister and frequent WorldNetDaily columnist Michael D. Evans, Gibson decided on the spot to proactively discourage anti-Semitism by including after the movie's final fade-to-black a statement Evans suggested.
The statement is: "During the Roman occupation, 250,000 Jews were crucified by the Romans, but only One rose from the dead."
"Why am I speaking out now?" he writes in today's WND. "I realized that leaders in the Jewish community were still extremely worried about increased anti-Semitism because of the film. I became convinced it was time to let the Jewish community know that Mr. Gibson is very concerned, and is making a historic contribution to combat anti-Semitism."
Evans – founder of the Jerusalem Prayer Team and chairman of the board of the Corrie ten Boom Foundation, both of which combat anti-Semitism – is also the author of the best-selling "Beyond Iraq: The Next Move." In his book, Evans explores the roles that America, Iraq and Israel play in the fulfillment of Bible prophecy.
(29 Jan 2004, WorldNetDaily) (to index)