by Staff
January 6, 2011
(christiansunite.com) - Four Christians were recently given suspended prison sentences for opening a place of worship in the eastern region of Kabylia, Algeria, without a proper license issued by authorities.
The Christians -- a Protestant clergyman and three of his parishioners -- were convicted on the basis of a controversial 2006 law that requires that anyone who wants to set up a place of worship, whether Muslim or non-Muslim, must obtain a permit indicating the name of the place of worship as well as that of the pastor. Some believe this law violates Algeria's constitution, and this is first time it has been enforced in the nation.
Three of the men -- Abdenour Raid, Nacer Mokrani and Idir Haoudj -- received two-month prison sentences. The fourth man, Pastor Mahmoud Yahou, was sentenced to three months in jail and fined almost $3,600 CAN for illegally sheltering a foreigner.
source: http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion09853.shtml
Friday, January 7, 2011
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
US finally gets it: Jewish freeze won't bring peace
Wednesday, December 08, 2010 | Ryan Jones
A senior US official on Tuesday announced that the Obama Administration was ending its pressure on Israel to impose another Jewish building freeze and would be returning to the drawing board to try and figure out a new approach to brokering peace in the Middle East.
Speaking to reporters via telephone, the official did not openly blame either side for the breakdown, but did hint that Washington had become aware that even if Israel imposed another building freeze, it still wouldn’t result in meaningful negotiations or progress with the Palestinians.
Last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he had agreed in principle with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to impose another freeze for 90 days in order to facilitate renewed peace talks. But the Palestinians immediately said the US-Israeli proposal did not go nearly far enough, as it did not prohibit Jewish construction in Jerusalem and had a very short timetable.
Israel had already implemented a self-imposed 10-month Jewish building freeze from November 2009-September 2010 in order to entice the Palestinians back to the negotiating table. But the Palestinian leadership all but ignore the gesture up until the very last minute, when they joined talks, but threatened to leave if the freeze was not extended indefinitely.
The US now intends to start a new round of consultation with Middle East leaders, and hopes to invite Israeli and Palestinian leaders to Washington this month for separate talks.
But the Palestinians have other plans.
Speaking in Greece on Wednesday, senior Palestinian Authority advisor Yasser Abed Rabbo declared that US efforts to bring peace based on bilateral negotiations have failed and that the Palestinians must now “turn to the broader framework of the international community” to impose a settlement to the conflict.
Rabbo, who was traveling with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, suggested that the PA would now turn to the United Nations to recognize an independent Palestinian state, something the US has threatened to veto in the absence of a bilateral agreement with Israel.
source:http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=178&nid=22397
Speaking to reporters via telephone, the official did not openly blame either side for the breakdown, but did hint that Washington had become aware that even if Israel imposed another building freeze, it still wouldn’t result in meaningful negotiations or progress with the Palestinians.
Last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he had agreed in principle with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to impose another freeze for 90 days in order to facilitate renewed peace talks. But the Palestinians immediately said the US-Israeli proposal did not go nearly far enough, as it did not prohibit Jewish construction in Jerusalem and had a very short timetable.
Israel had already implemented a self-imposed 10-month Jewish building freeze from November 2009-September 2010 in order to entice the Palestinians back to the negotiating table. But the Palestinian leadership all but ignore the gesture up until the very last minute, when they joined talks, but threatened to leave if the freeze was not extended indefinitely.
The US now intends to start a new round of consultation with Middle East leaders, and hopes to invite Israeli and Palestinian leaders to Washington this month for separate talks.
But the Palestinians have other plans.
Speaking in Greece on Wednesday, senior Palestinian Authority advisor Yasser Abed Rabbo declared that US efforts to bring peace based on bilateral negotiations have failed and that the Palestinians must now “turn to the broader framework of the international community” to impose a settlement to the conflict.
Rabbo, who was traveling with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, suggested that the PA would now turn to the United Nations to recognize an independent Palestinian state, something the US has threatened to veto in the absence of a bilateral agreement with Israel.
source:http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=178&nid=22397
Monday, November 22, 2010
Construction on Israeli- Egyptian Security Fence Begins
22 November 2010 , 13:06
Today (Monday), construction work began to build a fence along the Israeli-Egyptian border in order to protect against security and criminal threats.
Construction on the Israeli- Egyptian security border fence began this morning (Monday) in order to prevent infiltrators and smugglers from entering Israel via the Egyptian border. The building project will start by focusing on a few select points along the border, with the aid of many engineering instruments which will prepare the land for construction. This project, which was approved eight months ago, has a budget of 1.35 billion shekels funded by the Israeli government.
The fence is expected to stretch for the 240 kilometer-long Israel-Egypt border, from the Kerem Shalom area until Tabah. Part of the border will include a physical fence, while the other part of the fence will be equipped with alerting devices. According to IDF estimates, 1.3 tons of hash and 130 kilograms of heroin were smuggled through its border with Egypt in the previous year. 5,000 infiltrators also fled into Israel through its border.
For the past few months, an IDF construction center has been testing applications of the government’s decision to erect a border along Israel’s western border. In preparation for the on-site building, the Southern Command and the Technological and Logistics Directorate conducted a preliminary pilot which tested the security means to be used.
Due to difficult terrain in the area which includes quicksand, gusty winds and extreme weather, the Technological and Logistics Directorate will be aided by geology expects from Israel and overseas. Given that so far a complex construction project has yet to be built on the shifting sands of Israel, the IDF construction center has tested various alternatives from all over of the world with the help of industry and security experts. The center noted that Egypt and Saudi Arabia have already attempted to construct security barriers.
Source:http://dover.idf.il/IDF/English/News/today/10/11/2202.htm
Today (Monday), construction work began to build a fence along the Israeli-Egyptian border in order to protect against security and criminal threats.
Construction on the Israeli- Egyptian security border fence began this morning (Monday) in order to prevent infiltrators and smugglers from entering Israel via the Egyptian border. The building project will start by focusing on a few select points along the border, with the aid of many engineering instruments which will prepare the land for construction. This project, which was approved eight months ago, has a budget of 1.35 billion shekels funded by the Israeli government.
 | |||
| The fence is expected to stretch for the | 240 kilometer-long Israel-Egypt border, from the Kerem Shalom area until Tabah. |
For the past few months, an IDF construction center has been testing applications of the government’s decision to erect a border along Israel’s western border. In preparation for the on-site building, the Southern Command and the Technological and Logistics Directorate conducted a preliminary pilot which tested the security means to be used.
Due to difficult terrain in the area which includes quicksand, gusty winds and extreme weather, the Technological and Logistics Directorate will be aided by geology expects from Israel and overseas. Given that so far a complex construction project has yet to be built on the shifting sands of Israel, the IDF construction center has tested various alternatives from all over of the world with the help of industry and security experts. The center noted that Egypt and Saudi Arabia have already attempted to construct security barriers.
Source:http://dover.idf.il/IDF/English/News/today/10/11/2202.htm
Christian accused of desecrating Qur'an jailed in Ethiopia
(christiansunite.com) - A Christian in Ethiopia's southern town of Moyale has been languishing in jail for two months after his Muslim business partner accused him of writing "Jesus is Lord" in a copy of the Qur'an.
Tamirat Woldegorgis, who is in his early 30s and is a member of the Full Gospel Church, was arrested in early August after his partner in their clothes-making business discovered Tamirat had inscribed "Jesus is Lord" on some cloth. His Muslim co-worker, whose name has not been established, went to a nearby mosque with the accusation that Tamirat had written "Jesus is Lord" in the Qur'an itself. Angry sheikhs at the mosque subsequently had Tamirat arrested for desecrating the book sacred to Islam.
Other sources have said, however, that Muslims accused Tamirat of writing "Jesus is Lord" on a piece of wood, on a minibus, and then on the wall of a house. A church leader who requested anonymity has stated that when two of Tamirat's friends enquired about him at the Moyale police station, they were jailed for two weeks.
In Ethiopia's federal state system, each state is autonomous in its administration, and most of those holding government positions in Somali Region Zone Five are Muslims. "We fear that our brother might be taken to Islamic court in Jijiga for trial, which will further threaten his life," the church leader said.
Authorities are reportedly offering to release Tamirat if he will convert to Islam. Tamirat is physically weak but strong in his faith, the church leader said, adding that he needs food and other material assistance, as well as an attorney. (Source: Compass Direct)
source:http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion09782.shtml
Tamirat Woldegorgis, who is in his early 30s and is a member of the Full Gospel Church, was arrested in early August after his partner in their clothes-making business discovered Tamirat had inscribed "Jesus is Lord" on some cloth. His Muslim co-worker, whose name has not been established, went to a nearby mosque with the accusation that Tamirat had written "Jesus is Lord" in the Qur'an itself. Angry sheikhs at the mosque subsequently had Tamirat arrested for desecrating the book sacred to Islam.
Other sources have said, however, that Muslims accused Tamirat of writing "Jesus is Lord" on a piece of wood, on a minibus, and then on the wall of a house. A church leader who requested anonymity has stated that when two of Tamirat's friends enquired about him at the Moyale police station, they were jailed for two weeks.
In Ethiopia's federal state system, each state is autonomous in its administration, and most of those holding government positions in Somali Region Zone Five are Muslims. "We fear that our brother might be taken to Islamic court in Jijiga for trial, which will further threaten his life," the church leader said.
Authorities are reportedly offering to release Tamirat if he will convert to Islam. Tamirat is physically weak but strong in his faith, the church leader said, adding that he needs food and other material assistance, as well as an attorney. (Source: Compass Direct)
source:http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion09782.shtml
Church building destroyed in India
by Staff
November 22, 2010
(christiansunite.com) - Believers in an Indian village were working hard to construct a church building, only to have their hopes -- and their building -- dashed by anti-Christian militants.
Pastor Paul Joseph and his congregation had completed much of the building when anti-Christian militants arrived September 14. That afternoon, the intruders demolished half the building. Pastor Paul and other church leaders approached the police, but they refused to help.
On the following day, the militants pressured those living in the area to sign a petition against the church construction. Ignoring the believers' pleas to stop the destruction, they insisted, "We don't want any church in this area." They then reduced the rest of the building to a heap of rubble.
Although the congregation had received government permission to build the church building, the militants accused the church members of not having the proper permission to build. (Source: Gospel for Asia)
November 22, 2010
(christiansunite.com) - Believers in an Indian village were working hard to construct a church building, only to have their hopes -- and their building -- dashed by anti-Christian militants.
Pastor Paul Joseph and his congregation had completed much of the building when anti-Christian militants arrived September 14. That afternoon, the intruders demolished half the building. Pastor Paul and other church leaders approached the police, but they refused to help.
On the following day, the militants pressured those living in the area to sign a petition against the church construction. Ignoring the believers' pleas to stop the destruction, they insisted, "We don't want any church in this area." They then reduced the rest of the building to a heap of rubble.
Although the congregation had received government permission to build the church building, the militants accused the church members of not having the proper permission to build. (Source: Gospel for Asia)
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