Posted on Jan 23, 2007 | by Mark Kelly

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--An intestinal infection and three failed operations have left Cuban leader Fidel Castro in “grave condition,” the Spanish newspaper El Pais reported on its website Jan. 15. Citing sources at Gregorio Maranon Hospital, the newspaper said the infection has worsened to peritonitis, a potentially fatal inflammation in the lining of the abdominal cavity.

A Spanish surgeon who examined Castro in December denied reports the Cuban leader had cancer and said he was slowly recovering and wanted to return to work, according to the Voice of America. The 80-year-old Castro has not appeared in public since surgery in July. He empowered his brother, Raul, to govern in his place.

IRAN’S PRESIDENT VISITS ECUADOR -- Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was among dignitaries attending the inauguration ceremony of Ecuador’s newly elected leftist president, Rafael Correa, in Quito Jan. 16. Correa, the country’s eighth president in a decade, called for a constitutional change that would limit the power of political parties that dominate the legislature and have ousted the country's last three elected presidents.

Ahmadinejad’s presence was part of a Latin American tour that includes stops in Venezuela, Nicaragua and Ecuador, according to a report from Voice of America. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Bolivian President Evo Morales accompanied the Iranian leader to the ceremony. Since his election in 2005, Ahmadinejad has been seeking to build ties with developing nations in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Ahmadinejad may be using the trip to generate fresh support at home at a time when his popularity there is sagging, said Iran expert Gary Sick. “It is a little bit ironic that Ahmadinejad would be making this trip to build bridges in Latin America at a time when his own support is waning in Iran,” Sick told VOA. “His coalition lost rather badly in the last municipal election, and there are calls for his impeachment in the Majlis, the parliament.”

ABBAS NOT ‘MODERATE,’ ANALYST SAYS -- The day before Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice began a seven-day peacemaking tour of the Middle East, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas told supporters in Ramallah Jan. 12 to turn their guns “against Israeli occupation” and not each other, according to CNSNews.com. Abbas’ Fatah faction has been engaged in running street battles with Hamas, which controls the Palestinian government, over control of the Palestinian Authority. Hundreds of Palestinians have died.

Earlier in the week, a spokesman for Israel’s Foreign Ministry said their Palestinian policy was to isolate "extremists," like Hamas, and strengthen "moderates," like Abbas and Fatah. A Palestinian affairs analyst, however, said that during the rally Abbas repeatedly used the word “martyrs” to refer to his predecessor, Yasser Arafat, and those who died attacking Israel. The analyst, Michael Widlanski, told CNSNews.com that Abbas' speech shows he is not a moderate and should not be relied upon by the United States and Israel for the peace process.

The United States views Abbas as a moderate and has worked to strengthen him in the power struggle against Hamas, which is committed to the destruction of Israel. The U.S. reportedly plans to give Abbas $86 million to strengthen his security forces.

SADDAM'S HALF-BROTHER HANGED -- Barzan Ibrahim, former Iraqi intelligence chief and half brother of Saddam Hussein, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, head of Iraq's Revolutionary Court, were hanged before dawn Jan. 15, according to the Associated Press. They were found guilty of killing 148 Shiite Muslims in 1982, a charge for which Hussein was hanged Dec. 30.

Although the execution accidentally separated Ibrahim’s head from his torso, the execution apparently was not marred by the sectarian taunting that created an international uproar when the Iraqi dictator was hanged.

RATS ENDANGER INDIA HARVEST -- Rice farmers in northeast India’s Manipur state were expecting a bumper crop this year. Instead they are facing the prospect of famine, and a Christian ministry organization is mobilizing to help.

The unexpected disaster arose when wild bamboo plants blossomed -- an event that happens only once every 50 years, Christian leader Mawii Pudaite told Mission Network News. “Rats love the taste of the blossoms and they quickly go into a feeding frenzy,” he said. The manic rats devour not only bamboo flowers, but also rice growing in adjacent fields.

While the chief minister of neighboring Mizoram state -– who is a Christian -- ordered rats in that state killed, Manipur’s chief executive -- a Hindu -– did not issue such an order. “Killing rats is psychologically difficult for many Hindus since rats are actually deified in the Hindu religion,” said Pudaite, co-founder of Bibles for the World. The elephant god of prosperity is often portrayed as riding upon a giant rat.”

Bibles for the World is distributing rice in the region, as well as Scriptures in the heart language of the people, Pudaite said.

RIGHTS LAWYER ‘SICK AND IN PRISON’ -- A human rights lawyer whose health is rapidly deteriorating is being held in a prison in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide, a human rights organization that specializes in religious freedom issues.

Marie Therese Nlandu, who is the mother of four children, was charged in December with inciting insurrection and possessing illegal firearms, ASSIST News Service reported. While in prison, where health conditions are poor, she contracted a severe lung infection and was briefly treated at a military hospital. She was returned to Makala Prison before treatment was completed, however, over the protests of her physician.

Nlandu was scheduled to appear before a military tribunal on Jan. 3, but the hearing was postponed until Jan 24 because of her health. If convicted, she could be executed.

N. KOREA FOCUS OF PRAYER APPEAL -- On the 100th anniversary of the Pyongyang Revival, one of the greatest revivals the world has ever seen, Christians in South Korea have called for a year of prayer that revival would once again come to their communist-ruled neighbor to the north. About 15,000 South Korean believers gathered in Seoul Olympic Gymnastic Stadium Jan. 14, said Choi Hee Boum, executive secretary of the Christian Council of Korea.

The 1907 revival began in a men’s Bible study in Pyongyang, now the capital of the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea, and spread throughout the city and across the peninsula until June. Pyongyang became known throughout the Christian world as “the Jerusalem of the East.” Some missions historians have called it the greatest manifestation of the Holy Spirit since the days of the Book of Acts -– greater even than the historic revivals in Wales and India.

“The contrast between the spiritual climate in North Korea today and 100 years ago could not be starker,” said Elizabeth Batha of Christian Solidarity Worldwide. “The population is subject to enforced idolatry of the political leadership, there is a ruthless ban on the Gospel and Christians are brutally persecuted, imprisoned and executed. [It is] imperative that the worldwide Church recognizes North Korea as a top prayer priority and stands in the gap to intercede for these most beleaguered of people.”

More information about the North Korea prayer emphasis is available at www.pfnk.org.
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