The plight of people displaced by war is the key topic of a "Living Letters" churches visit to Uganda, which began yesterday and continues through to 2 November. The country has returned to civil rule after years of dictatorship.

A Catholic priest who lives and ministers in London began a short prison sentence last week, after he refused to pay a fine following a peace protest which was ruled to have broken public order restrictions.

In the comfort of a simple Swedish meeting room, 25 Christian and Muslim women have been meeting to talk about how religion, which is often blamed for conflict and violence, can also move people toward peace and cooperation.

Clarion Events, organisers of exhibitions including the Baby Show and the Spirit of Christmas Fair, have announced their purchase of two arms fairs. This is in addition to the three arms fairs they bought in May 2008.

Patriarch Ilia of Georgia and Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Aleksei II are doing all they can to ensure that the conflict between their nations does not become "a people's war, a holy war", echoing earlier nationalistic fervour.

Mercy, not sacrifice, is the Christian keynote when dubious appeals to unity are used in religion and in society to thwart calls for social justice, says Savi Hensman. She cites recent examples in Japan and in world Anglicanism.

Five years after the 2003 invasion of Iraq the humanitarian situation for many people continues to deteriorate, says Mennonite Central Committee, which is extending its humanitarian work there.

On a visit to the German Federal Defence Ministry in Berlin, members of a delegation from the World Council of Churches have posed tough questions about German arms sales and about the efficacy of war as a tool of policy.

The president of the Uniting Church in Australia has said his country should spend as much on reconstructing Iraq as its did on its military operations there - given the desperate need for healing and hope in the war-torn country.