Anglican bishops from Sudan, who are part of the meeting of the Lambeth Conference, have issued an appeal to Christians to stand in solidarity with the suffering people of their country.

With conflict rife and peace in peril, the Catholic Fund for Overseas Development (CAFOD) has called on member states of the European Union, especially France, to look re-examine their role in troubled Chad.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu is amongst Nobel Peace Prize laureates, politicians, artists, writers, and sports figures who have added called for China to abandon its support for Sudan, demanding that this year's Olympic hosts cease to trade with the regime.

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 international affairs and peace programme of the National Council of Churches USA (NCCUSA) has endorsed a nationwide initiative for local congregations to raise awareness of the ongoing killing in Darfur, and action on the issue.

There is an "international responsibility to protect people at risk in the Darfur region ... and in neighbouring Chad," says the World Council of Churches executive committee, calling on member churches to bring that responsibility "to the attention of their governments".

The Presbyterian Church (USA) General Assembly Council has approved action supporting the denomination's campaign of phased selective divestment of certain multinational corporations doing business with the government of Sudan.

The US United Methodist Church's social action agency wants the denomination to divest from companies providing products or services used for "illegal destruction" in Palestinian areas or that are doing business with the government of Sudan.

A delegation of influential elder statesmen is to be led by Archbishop Desmond Tutu in the latest initiative to bring peace to Darfur.

Sudan Christian leaders are concerned that the country's oil wealth, previously used by the government in the north of the country to fuel a 21-year war in the south, is again being used for war purposes, as well as government attempts to solve the Darfur crisis.