The US Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) international policy committee has sent a message to the American government urging Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to increase efforts with the international community to establish peace, stability and political reform in Lebanon.

Pope Benedict XVI says he is looking to increased cooperation between Christians, and a stepped-up dialogue with Muslims, following his four-day visit to Turkey - writes Luigi Sandri for Ecumenical News International.

Christian women activists have joined some Muslim leaders in lambasting a religious edict demanding that Sania Mirza, India's teenage tennis sensation, should wear "Islamic dress", reports Anto Akkara of Ecumenical News International.