A half-million US dollars to counter world hunger, and to give substance to a commitment the UN Millennium Development Goals, was raised in 2006 by the Global Food Crisis Fund and the growing projects it spawned through the Foods Resource Bank - reports the Church of the Brethren, an Anabaptist denomination which sponsors the anti-poverty work.

Conflict in Somalia is fuelling fears of a new refugee crisis, according to Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), a development agency with considerable experience in the region.

Human rights, religious and civic political activists are stepping up the global campaign for the abolition of the death penalty, in the wake of overwhelming worldwide criticism of the manner and impact of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's execution.

Kenyan Anglican Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi has urged his government to reconsider a decision earlier this week to close its borders to refugees from neighbouring strife-torn Somalia - writes Fredrick Nzwili for Ecumenical News International.

After the intervention of the Ethiopian troops, the situation in Somalia continues to be very tense, with the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) refusing a government offer for amnesty, say church agencies working in the region.

The new head of the US Episcopal Church, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, has made tackling global poverty her 2007 resolution. In a message sent to local congregations and other church and public leaders, the ECUSA Primate highlights the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as a practical Christian priority.

The Vatican has indicated that, at present, it will not be signing a new, widely-heralded international treaty to protect the rights and dignity of people living with disabilities.

South African Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu says it is distressing that Israel blocked a planned mission by him and British professor Christine Chinkin to investigate the killing of 19 Palestinian civilians by Israeli shells - writes Peter Kenny for Ecumenical News International.

In an event co-sponsored by the thinktank Ekklesia, the Archbishop of York last night launched an outspoken assault on US and UK policy in Iraq, warning of the dangers of "militarism out of control", reports the Guardian newspaper.