Church representatives from Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia will visit churches and civil society groups in India to back justice and peace work and oppose caste discrimination and violence against Christians.

The Sri Lankan government says that more than 6,200 security personnel were killed and almost 30,000 wounded in the final three years of the war with the Tamil Tigers. Independent analysts say many thousands of Tamils have died as well.

More than 200 young people from many faith backgrounds, travelling from Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, Tanzania and the United States, gathered this month at the Kenya Youth Peace Summit in Nairobi.

The Middle East Quartet (EU, Russia, UN, USA) is failing - making inadequate progress towards improving the lives of Palestinians or improving the prospects for peace - according to a new report by leading humanitarian and human rights organisations.

A conference in Bern this month will discuss the often thorny concept of the "Promised Land" and related theological issues with a view to helping more churches become advocates for a just peace in the Middle East.

Zimbabwe's Roman Catholic Justice and Peace Commission (CJPC) has called for the postponement of the national elections due on 29 March 2008. They say there are signs that the poll will not be free and fair under current conditions.

The Scottish denominations are launching a £500,000 appeal to transform Scottish Churches House into a modern conference and hospitality centre which will carry forward a long tradition of radical thinking and outward social engagement.

Church leaders in the Middle East region and across the world are giving a cautious but hopeful initial response to the proposals coming out of the Annapolis summit in Maryland, USA, concerning sustainable peace in Israel and Palestine.

Peace and justice advocate Bishop Munib A. Younan of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land has met with former US President Jimmy Carter to discuss initiatives relating to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

The president of the National Council of Churches USA (NCCUSA) and eight leaders of its 35 members are among three dozen Jewish, Muslim and Christian leaders urging the US to stand up for the Geneva Accord at the Palestine-Israel summit.