Haiti

Kidnapping and criminal association charges against 10 U.S. Christians who tried to transport Haitian children out of the country to an orphanage have been dropped.

However, the leader of the group of volunteers, Laura Silsby, still faces a charge of arranging irregular travel and will stand trial in Haiti, Judge Bernard Saint-Vil said Monday.

Silsby, who remains jailed in the Caribbean country, could face up to three years in prison if convicted. more >>

Despite news on the contrary, the Haitian judge overseeing the case of the ten American volunteers who tried to take children out of the country said Monday that all charges remain standing.

Judge Bernard Saint-Vil said he did not make any decision yet to drop charges for any of the U.S. Christian volunteers. He said he is still considering the case of the group’s leader, Laura Silsby, who is still being held in Port-au-Prince, and the nine other Americans who were released on condition they return to Haiti if further questioning was needed.

Saint-Vil’s statement contradicts that of Idaho Sen. Jim Risch. He said though a spokesman last week that the State Department informed him that Haiti had dropped all charges against nine of the volunteers, most of whom are residents in Idaho. more >>

Haiti has dropped all charges against nine of ten American Christians who were arrested in January.

Idaho Sen. Jim Risch was informed of the dropped charges Thursday afternoon by the State Department, according to Kyle Hines, a spokesman for Risch.

"The senator is pleased to hear that the charges have been dropped and is looking forward to the situation being resolved," Hines told CNN. more >>

The Salvation Army has so far distributed more than four million meals to Haitians since the tragic earthquake devastated the country.

Most of the meals have been passed out to some 20,000 people living in temporary shelters in Port-au-Prince. Other meals have reached small towns, churches and schools.

Packaged meals consist of rice, soy, freeze-dried vegetables with chicken flavoring and vitamins. more >>

The first large-scale evangelistic festival since the massive earthquake devastated Haiti earlier this year will be held Friday amid the rubbles of Port-au-Prince.

Local organizers say they expect more than 500,000 people to attend the event that will feature musical performances by rap and hip hop artist The Ambassador, urban alternative artist J.R., and Jamaican king of reggae Prodigal Son.

Evangelist Ben Cerullo will deliver the message at the event called “Hope Alive!” more >>

More than 100 church-based relief and development organizations worldwide have formally united under an umbrella group.

ACT Alliance, one of the world’s largest humanitarian bodies, was formally launched Wednesday with the main celebration in Geneva. The new body is a merger of the disaster relief network ACT International and its sister organization ACT Development.

Both ACT International, established in 1995, and ACT Development, formed in 2007, were created through the leadership of the World Council of Churches. The two bodies coordinate the work of agencies related to member churches of the WCC and the Lutheran World Federation in the areas of humanitarian emergencies and poverty reduction, respectively. more >>