News in Brief

December 7, 2004 Silver Spring, Maryland, United States .... [ANN Staff]

Russia: Church Vandalism Investigation Urged

Moscow, Russia [ANN Staff] ... Seventh-day Adventist church officials in Russia are calling for a government investigation of a Nov. 22 to 23 vandalism attack on the church's Nizhny Novgorod congregation, which sustained the equivalent of US$6,000 in damages. The city, formerly known as Gorki, is 250 miles southeast of Moscow.

According to Victor Vitko, public affairs and religious liberty director for the church's Euro-Asia region, officials have asked Dmitri Medvedev, a member of Russian President Vladimir Putin's administration and head of the Council on Interaction with Religious Entities, to investigate the attack, which may be linked to members of an ultra-nationalist group.


Ghana: ADRA Unit Facilitates Donation of Cardiac Equipment

Silver Spring, Maryland, United States [Todd Reese/ADRA/ANN] ... A machine that allows doctors to more accurately and efficiently diagnose heart and blood disorders was donated to the Cardiothoracic Centre at the Korle-bu Teaching Hospital in Ghana by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA). The machine, called the Biplane Angiogram, is the first of its kind in the West Africa region.

The Biplane Angiogram, valued at US$1.6 million. will also be used to train cardiac surgeons throughout the region.

ADRA is present in more than 120 countries providing individual and community development and disaster relief without regard to political or religious association, age or ethnicity.

Copyright © 2004 by Adventist News Network