Turkey gets first Christian TV station
SAT-7 TÜRK has become the first Christian channel on Turkey's national satellite. It has begun broadcasting on the government-regulated Türksat 4A satellite, meaning that it can now reach more than 50 million viewers across the country as well as other Turkish-speaking viewers around the world. Executive Director Melih Ekener has expressed his delight at the development. He said: ‘We are overwhelmed and truly believe it is a miracle that we can finally broadcast on Türksat. We have hoped, dreamed and prayerfully anticipated this launch since the station began airing on SAT-7 ARABIC in 2006. It is really a miracle and we are very thankful to God for what he has been doing. This would not have been possible without the Turkish authorities taking the time and interest to engage with Christians and accept our applications, granting us a frequency on the official state satellite. We praise God for this moment.
Retired pastor attributes healing of six brain tumors to faith in God
A former California pastor who miraculously recovered from six brain tumors credits the Lord for his cancer remission. Scott Erdman was first diagnosed with melanoma in 1981, and fought the disease for decades. He expressed gratefulness that he has been cancer-free since 2010. Erdman's battle began when he was a student at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena. The then 24-year-old found a lump in his armpit, and doctors eventually removed a tumor and 24 surrounding lymph nodes. Erdman decided early on that he would trust God for his restoration. ‘I've always been an individual that's really wanted the most for what I could give. So when this happened. God really took the issue of what was going to happen with my life, and I didn't ever really take it back,’ he told FoxNews.com.
EU to probe Christian schools after humanist complaint
British Christian schools could face a European Commission investigation, following complaints from a humanist campaign group. The British Humanist Association (BHA) claims that faith schools breach European Union (EU) equality rules when hiring staff, because they say religious adherence is a ‘desirable’ quality. EU rules state that schools must prove there is a ‘genuine occupational requirement’ in preferring to recruit teachers of faith. Spokesman for The Christian Institute, Simon Calvert, said church schools are ‘hugely popular’, and their ethos is why they do such a good job of preparing children for life in 21st-century Britain’. ‘It’s disappointing that humanists seem to be so intolerant of religious organisations seeking to remain religious. There’s a relentless agenda to secularise religious organisations. ‘If they were to succeed, it would severely damage these church schools and undermine the great work that they do’. (See also British Isles and Ireland story.)
Clampdown on cold call companies unveiled by Government
Imposing fines of up to £500,000 on the companies behind cold calls and nuisance text messages is to become easier under changes to the law being made by the Government. The move follows tens of thousands of complaints about cold calling. Currently, firms can only be punished if the Information Commissioner can prove a call caused ‘substantial damage or substantial distress’. But from 6 April, that legal requirement is to be removed. More than 175,000 complaints were made to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) last year about nuisance calls and text messages. The government says the number of complaints has risen in the past decade and the issue is particularly acute for the elderly and housebound as such calls can cause distress and anxiety. In a speech earlier this month, Information Commissioner Christopher Graham described the current law as ‘a licence for spammers and scammers’ and appealed for more powers
