A 79-year old Irish priest, who was released unharmed one month after being kidnapped in the Philippines by a militant group, says he wants to continue serving there.

The Charter for Compassion seeks to bring people together across the varieties of global faith and belief, in recognition of the fact that "in separateness lies the world’s great misery, in compassion lies the world’s true strength."

Moral, spiritual and cultural leaders from around the world have launched a global call for compassion among followers of different beliefs, religious and non-religious.

Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin wall, European governments must act urgently to tackle human rights abuses against migrants, asylum seekers, detainees and minorities, Amnesty International has declared.

Germany's political and church leaders have marked the 20th anniversary of the opening of the Berlin Wall on 9 November with an ecumenical service at the Protestant church in eastern Berlin which played a key role in the events.

Faith is the driving force behind “impressive work” in many local communities fighting poverty, a senior government minister has claimed in relation to a visit to a Glasgow-based anti-poverty organisation.

The political and social shock waves caused by weeks of pro-democracy protests in East Germany followed by the fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989, were felt around the world, says Stephen Brown. They still resonate today, and have important theological implications.

Christian resistance contributed significantly to the fall of the Berlin Wall, says the Rev Sam Kobia, General Secretary of the World Council of Churches, on the 20th anniversary of the epochal event that ended the cold war.

Public figures, scholars and peacemakers are among those speaking and performing at a celebration in London which aims to connect Palestinian Christians with those in the UK.

Human rights groups have protested to the Iran over a longstanding travel ban on a journalist and activist which has prevented him from receiving the Martin Ennals Award in person.

A demonstration of Muslim hardliners calling for sharia law to be imposed in Britain was cancelled in London over the weekend amid planned counter-protests by democratic Muslims.

The Iranian authorities must immediately release dozens of people arrested last week during a prayer service in support of activists detained following protests after June’s presidential election, Amnesty International has said.

A prayer service for peace in the East German city of Leipzig exactly 20 years ago triggered the chain of events that a month later led to the opening of the Berlin Wall.

The Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, Thabo Makgoba, has called on the South African government to ensure that it upholds its commitment to women's rights as an important step in the battle against HIV and AIDS.