An al-Qaeda leader in Iraq has been sentenced to death for the killing of the Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho - despite the church's opposition to the death penalty. The Iraqi government said the criminal court had imposed the death sentence on Ahmed Ali Ahmed.

The South African Council of Churches (SACC) has expressed shock and sadness over the violence directed at foreigners living in the Alexandra township, north of Johannesburg. The violence has now spread to the city centre and across the Gauteng region.

Representatives of more than 100 governments gathered in Dublin, Ireland yesterday to begin writing the final text of a global treaty banning cluster bombs that cause unacceptable harm to civilians.

Children and adults from Washington, DC held the 1st Annual 'Cluster Bomb Olympics' organised by religious groups and others this weekend outside the White House, before today's negotiation of a global cluster bomb ban treaty in Dublin.

Dr Suha Rassam, founder of the charity Iraqi Christians in Need (ICIN) and author of the book Christianity in Iraq, has been named one of the four Catholic Women of the Year. Dr Rassam set up the charity last year with a group of fellow Iraqis.

As the State of Israel marked the 60th anniversary of its founding, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) made an unequivocal statement against anti-Semitism but also urged full recognition of the rights of the Palestinians.

After delegates to the Church of Scotland's general assembly gathered on 15 May they were urged to support a call for Britain and the US to preserve Middle East peace and take no further action that could lead to an invasion of Iran.

With the area conferences of the United Methodist Church preparing to meet in July, South Central Jurisdiction is expected to address the controversial 2007 decision to lease property for a George W. Bush institute.

Churches throughout the world are preparing to respond to six decades of conflict in Israel-Palestine with a week of actions for justice and peace, reports the World Council of Churches, which is helping to coordinate the event.

A closer look at the Sri Lankan experience may throw some light on other situations where struggles supposedly based on ethnicity or religion turn out to be more complex – and where human rights are of critical importance, says Savi Hensman.

Is it possible for a broken church to act as an agent for healing in a divided society? A gathering of people from peace church denominations in the United States has met to explore the practical and ecclesial issues.

The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is set to express its outright opposition to the death penalty for the first time. It has never previously resolved to oppose capital punishment ‘unequivocally’.

The World Council of Churches is inviting member churches and others to join a week of advocacy and action for a just peace in Palestine and Israel. Participants will contribute to a common global witness for peace in early June 2008.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) can now no longer be relied upon as a "neutral and nonpartisan electoral umpire", according a statement from the Justice and Peace Commission of the Zimbabwean Catholic Bishops' Conference.