Mennonite World Conference is sending two deacons to Zimbabwe and is calling for two days of global prayer and fasting to coincide with the presidential election run-off on 27 June.

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu addressed a packed gathering during a short service of prayer at St Martin'-in-the-Field, in London, last night. He focussed especially upon the worsening political situation in Zimbabwe.

After police invoked security laws to ban open-air prayer meetings in some parts of the country, a Zimbabwean church group says freedom to worship is being infringed in the weeks before a presidential election run-off in June.

The Anglican Archbishops of Canterbury and York have issued a joint statement in support of the strong voice of fellow Christians in Zimbabwe, as the country's post-election crisis appears to be worsening.

The Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, Thabo Makgoba, has called for an arms embargo against Robert Mugabe's regime in Zimbabwe, amid growing evidence of a campaign of violent intimidation against political opponents.

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.

Supporters of Zimbabwe's ruling party an President Robert Mugabe blockaded Harare's Anglican Cathedral today, in order to stop the investiture of the elected successor to a schismatic bishop notorious for his backing of the regime.

As the political and economic crisis continues in Zimbabwe, two senior Catholic figures from England and Wales have been making a pastoral visit to the troubled country, offering support to churches and grassroots communities.

Violence, injustice and greed are the main threats to humanity - and a radical chnage of heart and mind is needed to address them. That was the message from Christmas sermons delivered yesterday by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York.

The summit of European and African leaders this weekend risks being hijacked by the presence of President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Christian Aid said on Tuesday. The development agency says the European Union should not have lifted the travel ban.