'Peace, Love and Harmony' stressed at historic event

TOBA TEK SINGH, PAKISTAN - Pakistani Christian youth in Toba Tek Singh, which is in Pakistan's Western Punjab Province, have begun a new era of promoting "peace, love, and harmony" as well as understanding with Muslims.

The young people decided to organize a program for this "Christian-Muslim Get Together" in connection with the birth celebrations for the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and it was attended by Muslim clerics, political leaders, traders, students, media representatives, Christian pastors and priests, as well as community leaders who had been invited to express solidarity and share the celebrations with each other.

BATH, UK - The British Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has told a group of Christians in the city of Bath, located in Somerset, south west England, not to make any claims which state or imply that, by receiving their prayer, people could be physically healed.

A registered Christian trust, the "Healing on the Streets - Bath" (www.hotsbath.org) team, comprised of Christians from many different churches, have been praying for the public outside Bath Abbey for three years and regularly offer to pray for people who are sick to receive healing.

At least eight bombs were dropped in the area Wednesday during the school's first day of classes

SOUTH KORDOFAN, SUDAN - Samaritan's Purse has announced that a Bible school that they support, was destroyed on Wednesday, February 1, 2012, in the latest bombing raid to hit South Kordofan, an oil-rich Sudanese province that borders the newly created independent country of South Sudan.

At least eight bombs were dropped in the area of Heiban Bible College Wednesday during the school's first day of classes, according to a statement by Samaritan's Purse, Franklin Graham's Christian humanitarian group, which supports the school.

Texas Missionary Couple Murdered in Mexico

MONTERREY, MEXICO - (ANS)- A dedicated Texas missionary couple strangled in their Mexico home knew how much danger they were in, but refused to leave the people they cared for, according to a friend from their sponsor church in Texas.

This has been revealed in a story by Christina Ng writing on the ABC News website.

"They had opportunities to return, but these are their people. It would be like abandoning family. We don't abandon family," Karen Mosley, the secretary for Liberty Baptist Church in Lewisville, Texas, told ABC News "We lost a couple of great prayer warriors."

KARNATAKA, INDIA - Imagine living in a society in which you are judged by your station in life, determined by your birth, rather than by your individual worth or accomplishments.

HAIFA, ISRAEL - A special commemorative stamp honoring 100 Years since the laying of the Technion University cornerstone located in Haifa, is being released by Israel's National Post beginning January 31st.

Sasi Shilo, chairman of Israel Postal Authority, said that the stamp "salutes the first academic educational institute established in Israel, and one of the most prominent institutes in its field worldwide".

The stamp design incorporates the past, present and future not only of the Technion, but also of the State of Israel, and illustrates the country's contribution as a science and technology pioneer.

NIAMEY, NIGER - (ANS)- From a temporary radio installation in Niger's capital of Niamey, a new partner station is sharing the eternal message that people may find peace with God through Jesus.

According to a story by Ralph Kurtenbach for HCJB Global (www.hcjb.org), this message of the Good News of the Gospel was also shared in person as missionary engineer Jeremy Maller and two of HCJB Global's African partners were setting up the broadcasting equipment in the West African country.

A young man stopped by the home of a Niamey pastor who directs the partner ministry that operates the station.

But how true are they?

GUATEMALA CITY, GUATEMALA - (ANS)- It was a surreal scene when in 1982, along with Brother Andrew, the author of "God's Smuggler" and others from his ministry, Open Doors, I visited the Presidential Palace in Guatemala City to meet with President Efrain Rios Montt, the only Evangelical to hold such high office in Latin America at that time.

Montt had just come to power in a Oficiales jóvenes ("young officers") coup d'état, while he was working with El Verbo Church [Church of the Word) that was run by Gospel Outreach, an evangelical Pentecostal church with headquarters in Eureka, California and Guatemala.

LAHORE, PAKISTAN - The row has broken out in Pakistan after the Gosh-e-Aman Institute, an historic Roman Catholic institution, established in 1887, has been demolished on the orders of the Punjab provincial government

It stood on a 2-acre area now worth billions of rupees and housed a senior citizens' home, a girls' school, a convent and a chapel and was demolished on January 10, 2012.

The legal arguments over who owned the building and the land has been going on for some time; at least since a woman convert to Islam had sought shelter in the facility.

SURREY, ENGLAND - (ANS)- At an official ceremony to award the Dutch Government's Human Rights Defenders Tulip Prize for 2011 to Chinese legal activist Ni Yulan, the chair of the jury stressed the importance of highlighting China's human rights record in spite of economic considerations.

According to a news release from Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), Cisca Dresselhuys, Chair of the Human Rights Defenders Tulip Award 2011 Jury said, "Economic interests must never be a reason to close our mouths on human rights. We should rather have one Human Rights Tulip Award than one exported tulip to China."

HAVANA, CUBA - (ANS)- Pope Benedict XVI is set to pay a visit to Cuba this spring. Soon after the Vatican confirmed the trip, President Raul Castro promised to release 2,900 prisoners.

This has been revealed by Stan Jeter, CBN News Senior Producer (www.cbn.com/cbnnews), who in a story said, "The move was seen as a humanitarian gesture as many of the prisoners are old and infirm. Some have already been released.

"The 1998 visit of Pope John Paul II improved relations between the communist government and the Catholic Church. But Pope Benedict's coming visit is already benefiting the island's evangelical Christians."

Yet she is still working there at the age of 88 and her book, 'The Men In My Life,' was able to get the death penalty abolished in the country

COSTA MESA, CA - It was a day that Olga Robertson, known to her prisoners at the maximum security prison of New Bilibid in Muntinlupa, Philippines, as "Mommy Olga" will never forget.

In an extraordinary interview that Robertson, now 88, recently gave me for my Front Page Radio program, she described the shocking event that took place in late November 1978, and almost took her life and those of some friends.

ISRAEL - This spring, Azusa Pacific University (APU) embarks on an exciting joint expedition with the Hebrew University of Israel to oversee an archeological dig at Abel Beth Maacah, a site of historical interest long envied by the world's archeologists.

To date, the mound has not been excavated. Robert Mullins, Ph.D., associate professor of biblical studies at APU, leads the team along with Nava Panitz-Cohen and Ruhama Bonfil, faculty at the Hebrew University. On Jan. 25-26, 2012, team members plan to conduct an initial survey of the site in preparation for the May 27-31 excavation.

SOUTH ASIA - The other piece of the puzzle when it comes to raising up leaders in church ministry and outreach, Gospel for Asia-supported pastors don't only look to the men in their congregations. They believe the women are just as important in bringing the Gospel to their communities and beyond.

GFA's Women's Fellowship groups help women grow in God's Word, learn to share His love with their neighbors and receive basic education that may have been denied them as young girls.