WORLD UPDATE WEBCAST
We have discontinued our monthly webcasts but please download the previous editions.
Previous editions of the World Update Webcast
Presented by journalist Andrew Boyd
SEPTEMBER 2009
India: a year has passed since the religious violence in Orissa, but it's still not safe for refugees to go home
Egypt: a new report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom says there's been an upsurge in violence against Christians
Nigeria: Christians in the north continue to be targeted by militants
The next webcast will be available at the beginning of October.
The webcast is in Windows Media Video format (wmv), and plays using Windows Media Player by clicking on the links below. It is also available as a podcast (see below).
If you wish to download the file to your own computer, right click to 'save target as' or 'save link as'.
Download World Update Webcast - September 2009 (72 mb)
Download World Update Webcast - September 2009 (lower res 18 mb)
World Update prayer points for September 2009 (pdf)
JULY/AUGUST 2009
Iran: The church is growing, despite President Ahmadinejad’s vow to 'stop Christianity in the country.'
India: Amid post-election hopes for more religious tolerance, a pastor is attacked, and there is renewed violence against Christian refugees in Orissa.
Egypt: The Government is stonewalling Christians from Muslim backgrounds who want to change their religion on their ID cards.
China: fears grow for a kidnapped Christian lawyer, and a Christian bookstore owner is jailed for three years after printing and giving away Bibles.
Download World Update Webcast - July August 2009 (72 mb)
JUNE 2009
North Korea: A new report claims up to 70,000 Christians are held in prison camps…
Download World Update Webcast - June 2009 (72 mb)
MAY 2009
A British Christian minister has been attacked on the street and threatened with death after sharing the Christian message with Asians on a TV show.
Turkey: Two Christians are standing trial for 'insulting Turkishness' – arising from their Christian witness. And the authorities have thrown another charge at them which could prevent churches across Turkey from raising funds.
The United Nations is calling for laws to ban the criticism of religion. Opponents say it would have a chilling effect on free speech and increase tension between faiths..
Download World Update Webcast - May 2009 (70 mb)
APRIL 2009
Pakistan: A gang brandishing guns and wooden clubs have killed a Christian woman and injured 17 in an attack against Christians in Punjab.
China: Christians kept behind bars even though judges rule no case to answer…
Vietnam: Concern grows for the missing Christian prayer leader seized by officials.
Download World Update Webcast - April 2009 (70 mb)
MARCH 2009
Iraq: Islamic extremists have bombed dozens of churches since the US-led invasion in 2003. They've killed or kidnapped many Christians and thousands have fled the country. Karzan became a Christian after Jesus appeared to him in a dream. Militants kidnapped and tortured Karzan to try to make him return to Islam, but his new-found faith in Christ proved too strong.
North Korea again heads the list of the world's worst persecutors of Christians – according to new reports.
China: 79-year old Shuang Shuying describes being tortured in jail. Her elderly husband clung on to life until she was eventually released. He died the following day.
India: Anti Christian violence continues as hard-line Hindus force nearly half the families in a single village to convert or be killed.
Download World Update Webcast - March 2009 (70 mb)
Download World Update Webcast - March 2009 (lower res) (17 mb)
FEB 2009
Malaysia has passed a landmark legal decision to deny a person's right to change their faith.
India: Thousands of Christians are still in displaced camps afraid to return to their homes.
China: Release International partner Tim Peters, of Helping Hands Korea, foresees a tough time ahead for Chinese church leaders.
Eritrea has rounded up more than 100 Christians in what appears to be a fresh wave of mass arrests across the country.
Download World Update Webcast - Feb 2009 (72 mb)
Download World Update Webcast - Feb 2009 (lower res) (18 mb)
DEC 2008/JAN 2009
Release's webcast for Dec 2008/Jan 2009 features:
India: Hindu militants are being offered rewards to kill Christians and destroy their churches and homes.
Afghanistan: The family of a Christian charity worker murdered by the Taliban say they forgive her killers.
Iraq: Militants trying to drive out Christians from Mosul gun down a mother and her two daughters in the street.
Download World Update Webcast - December 2008 (72 mb)
Download World Update Webcast - December 2008 (lower res) (18 mb)
NOVEMBER 2008
RI's November webcast features:
India: At least 56 Christians have been killed and 18,000 injured in unprecendented anti-Christian violence. Plus a special report on how Dalits - the lowest of the low in India's caste system - are coming to Christ.
Indonesia: Christian students driven from campus.
Download World Update Webcast - November 2008 (82 mb)
Download World Update Webcast - November 2008 (lower res) (46 mb)
OCTOBER 2008
RI's October webcast features:
India: At least 56 people have been killed and up to 70,000 forced to flee their homes as riots against Christians rock Orissa.
Iran: The Iranian parliament votes overwhelmingly for a new law to execute Muslims who convert to another religion.
Pakistan: We're focusing on Pakistan for the International Day of Prayer on November 16. Order our new Pray for Pakistan DVD from our online eStore.
Download World Update Webcast - October 2008 (71 mb)
SEPTEMBER 2008
China: How the government is sending North Korean refugees back to their deaths - plus a secret directive confirms crackdown on church leaders.
Laos: Her husband was murdered, but Abigail continues his Christian work.
Saudi Arabia: A father murders his own daughter for becoming a Christian.
Iran: Christian couple killed after police raid house church.
JULY/AUGUST 2008
Nepal: Christians are hoping the change from a kingdom to a republic will lead to greater religious freedom.
Indonesia: Churches in Maluku province fear extremists may be reviving a campaign of anti-Christian violence after four believers were murdered in one village.
Eritrea: There are reports that the regime is planning to bring treason charges against several Christian pastors held without charge for the past four years.
Download World Update Webcast - July/August 2008 (72 mb)
JUNE 2008
RI's June webcast features:
Nigeria: Muslim leaders are calling for blasphemy laws which could encourage extremists to launch further attacks on the Christian community.
Pakistan: A Christian doctor is behind bars and his family in hiding after being accused of insulting Islam.
Indonesia: Freedom for Abraham Bentar Rohadi - a Christian clothes trader accused of blasphemy by his own relatives is set free.
Download World Update Webcast - June 2008 (72 mb)
MAY 2008
RI's May 2008 webcast includes a special report from Vietnam, filmed on location.
Andrew Boyd finds that some of the harshest persecution is reserved for the ethnic Hmong people, who sided with the United States in the Vietnam War. The authorities regard evangelical Christianity as an American import intended to undermine the communist revolution.
The webcast also features:
China: signs of a crackdown against Christians in the run-up to the Olympic Games
Pakistan: Concerns for Christians deepen, as last year is declared the worst ever for human rights abuses
Download World Update Webcast - May 2008 (72 mb)
MARCH 2008
RI's March webcast is a special report from Vietnam, filmed on location. It features interviews with two wives whose husbands have been tortured and jailed for calling for freedom of worship and the return of land seized by the authorities. An ex-prisoner paints a picture of brutality and overcoming faith behind bars.
Download World Update Webcast - March 2008 (40mb)
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2008
RI's January webcast features a Global Overview of the persecuted church for 2008, featuring North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, China and India. The Global Overview 2008 is also available in Witness magazine for January 2008. In addition this webcast features:
Uzbekistan: Pastor Salavat Serikbayev is jailed for holding Bible studies.
Download World Update Webcast - January 2008 (39 mb)
DECEMBER 2007
RI's December webcast features a special report on our late President Rev Dr Rob Frost, a passionate campaigner on behalf of the persecuted church. This includes an extract from our latest video Pray for China, which Rob completed shortly before his death.
Indonesia: A court has ruled that it is blasphemous to pray that Muslim leaders would become Christians. Forty-one Christian leaders have been sentenced to five years.
Pakistan: Death threats by militants force a Christian school to close.
North Korea: A group of nine young Christians have disappeared in the capital Pyongyang.
Download World Update Webcast - December 2007 (38mb)
NOVEMBER 2007
RI's November webcast features a special report from Nigeria as Christians in Maiduguri prepare for the possibility of further attacks against them.
Eritrean gospel singer Helen Berhane is granted asylum in Denmark.
Chinese house church activist Hua Huiqi has been brutally attacked by security guards. Plus news from Pakistan.
Download World Update Webcast - November 2007 (38mb)
OCTOBER 2007
RI's webcast for October 2007 features a special report from Pakistan about the plight of Christians who are in hiding from militants who are determined to kill them.
Ranjah Masih: 'I cannot go out of this room because my life is in danger.’
Rashid (16): ‘They can shoot me or burn me, they can kill me if they know that I am hiding here.’
Plus news from Indonesia, China and Eritrea.
Download World Update Webcast - October 2007 (37mb)
SEPTEMBER 2007
RI's September webcast features special reports from Nigeria and China
Nigeria: The Bishop of Jos, Rt Rev Dr Benjamin Kwashi, narrowly escapes death after the second violent attack on his family in 18 months
China: A Human Rights lawyer describes some of the pressures facing Christians in China today
Download World Update Webcast - September 2007 (57mb)
AUGUST 2007
RI's August video webcast features special reports from Burma and Ethiopia.
Burma: Pastor Stephen was forced to pull down his own Christian orphanage by the Burmese authorities
Ethiopia: Muslim-backround believers describe the pressures they face
Download World Update Webcast - August 2007 (57mb)
JULY 2007
RI's July 2007 webcast features special reports from Indonesia and North Korea.
Indonesia: Three Indonesian Sunday school teachers have been released from jail after serving nearly two years for allowing Muslim children to attend their Sunday School - even though their parents had given their permission.
North Korea: A new report accuses North Korea of committing genocide against Christians. Two North Korean defectors, including a former prison guard, have been telling of the brutal treatment meted out to Christians and political prisoners.
Download World Update Webcast - July 2007 (36mb)
JUNE 2007
RI's June webcast features special reports from Burma, Ethiopia and India.
Burma: 'They tried to stop me to publish any Christian book. In the letter they say several times that if you publish more, we'll sentence you for 12 years.' Burmese Christian publisher
Ethiopia: 41-year-old Evangelist 'Balay' knows the dangers of being actively involved in spreading the gospel.
India: Hindu extremists are stepping up their campaign of violence against Christians. Militants have been calling in TV crews to film them attacking missionaries and pastors.
Download World Update Webcast - June 2007 (22mb)
Download World Update Webcast - June 2007 (High res 53mb)
MAY 2007
Download World Update Webcast - May 2007 (18mb)
RI's May webcast features special reports from Turkey, Iraq and Nigeria.
Turkey: Church leaders claim growing nationalism and religious intolerance fuels the torture and murders of three workers at a Christian publishing house.
Iraq: Christians have been fleeing their homes after Sunni militia threatened to kill them unless they converted to Islam within 24 hours.
Nigeria: Christians warn that persecution could increase after a landslide election victory for a Muslim president.
Download World Update Webcast - April 2007 (18mb)
Features special reports from Nigeria and Ethiopia, as well as news from Indonesia, India, and China.
NIGERIA: Pastor Ibrahim Balami recalls when his church was attacked in Maiduguri
ETHIOPIA: A brother and sister talk about being disowned by their family when they chose to follow Christ
CHINA: 75-year-old mother Shuang Shuying is jailed for two years. Join the campaign to get her released.
MARCH 2007
Download World Update Webcast - March 2007 (16mb)
RI's March 2007 webcast features special reports from Ethiopia and Burma, as well as news from India, Mexico and Turkey.
ETHIOPIA: Christians speak out about attacks by Muslim militants
BURMA: Church leaders talk about the pressures facing the Burmese church - including forced conversion to Buddhism.
BURMA SPECIAL REPORT (February 2007)
RI's February webcast features a special report about Burma's underground believers.
PASTOR BARNABUS: 'If you are a Christian then you have the "C-virus"... which means you are automatically considered a second-class citizen'
PAUL, EVANGELIST: 'They handcuffed me and hoisted me above the ground by my handcuffs until my feet no longer touched the ground and there they told me to preach'
PASTOR JOSHUA: 'If nothing happens to us we are surprised. We are waiting for persecution; we are waiting for problems from the authorities. And God has been so good to us and we are not afraid of persecution and difficulties.'
PASTOR ABRAHAM: 'Because of persecution we get more unity, moreover the house churches are increasing more and more.'
Download World Update Webcast - February 2007 (17mb)
Download World Update Webcast - January 2007 (17mb)
News from the persecuted church around the world:
INDONESIA: Parents forgive the murderers of their children
CHINA: Secret executions anger relatives
AUSTRALIA: Christian pastors accused of vilifying Islam win appeal
PAKISTAN: 13-year-old Christian housemaid raped
World Update Webcast - December 2006 (18mb)
News from the persecuted church around the world:
PAKISTAN: Bodies of missionary couple found
PAKISTAN: Ranjha Masih acquitted of blasphemy - after eight and a half years in jail
VIETNAM: Secret training manual confirms religious repression
World Update Webcast - November 2006 (35mb)
Features special reports about the wave of riots against Christians in Nigeria; and how Christians are coming under fire in Iraq. The webcast also includes news about the persecuted church from around the world:
INDONESIA: Christians & Muslims unite against extremists
CHINA: Trial of church leaders postponed
PAKISTAN: Teachers beat Christian teenager for wearing cross
Includes prayer points.
World Update Webcast - October 2006 (22mb)
Features special reports about North Korean refugees in China, and how Nigerian Christians are choosing to forgive their persecutors. The webcast also includes news about the persecuted church from around the world:
INDONESIA: Three Christians executed by firing squad
VIOLENT BACKLASH after Pope's comments about Islam
CHINA: Church bulldozed by authorities, leaders charged
IRAN: Muslim-background believer released on bail
ERITREA: Almost 2,000 evangelicals imprisoned for their faith
World Update Webcast - August/September 2006 (20mb)
Features special reports from NIGERIA and ERITREA, plus news reports about the persecuted church from around the world: CHINA: Pastor Zhang Rongliang sentenced to 7 1/2 years INDONESIA: church attacked for second time PAKISTAN: Christian couple lose home and son during dispute.
World Update Webcast - July 2006 (26mb)
Special report from NIGERIA, where Christians in Maiduguri have been the targets of orchestrated violence. Plus news from PAKISTAN and VIETNAM, where members of the so-called 'Mennonite Six' were attacked again by the authorities.
World Update Webcast - June 2006 (25mb)
Features video news reports from NIGERIA and ERITREA, plus news from PAKISTAN, INDONESIA and INDIA.
Our first webcast features special video news reports from ERITREA and VIETNAM, plus news from CHINA, INDIA and PAKISTAN.
World Update Webcast - May 2006 (22mb)
Malaysia has passed a landmark legal decision to deny a person's right to change their faith.
India: Thousands of Christians are still in displaced camps afraid to return to their homes.
China: Release International partner Tim Peters, of Helping Hands Korea, foresees a tough time ahead for Chinese church leaders.
Eritrea has rounded up more than 100 Christians in what appears to be a fresh wave of mass arrests across the country.
Download World Update Webcast - Feb 2009 (72 mb)
Download World Update Webcast - Feb 2009 (lower res) (18 mb)
APRIL 2009
Pakistan: A gang brandishing guns and wooden clubs have killed a Christian woman and injured 17 in an attack against Christians in Punjab.
Pakistan: A gang brandishing guns and wooden clubs have killed a Christian woman and injured 17 in an attack against Christians in Punjab.
APRIL 2009
APRIL 2007
