BOBO–DIOULASSO, Burkina Faso — The Interconfessional New Testament in Jula was launched here on Saturday October 4, 1997. Most of the Bible and deuterocanon books have been translated and are being reviewed; the final draft will then be given to the Bible Society in Burkina Faso for manuscript examination and production, and the whole Bible will be available hopefully before the turn of the century. Speaking at the launch, Dr Lynell Zogbo, UBS Translation Consultant, said that this New Testament was only the first stage of the project, and eventually the many people who speak Jula will be able to benefit from having direct access to the Bible’s spiritual truths in their heart language. Jula is also a trade language, not only spoken in Burkina Faso, but also in neighbouring Mali, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. There are at least one million speakers of Jula as a mother tongue, and many more use it as a second language. The UBS provided quality control and help with equipment and scholarly texts. (WR 328/3 - 2.98)