Pope Benedict XVI has told a gathering of academics that science should serve rather than enslave humanity, warning that the reduction of human beings and nature to mere 'objects' is not good for the spirit of reasoned enquiry.

An educational institution in southern Africa is hosting a major theological consultation on HIV prevention called by the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (EAA), based in Geneva. Participants are expected from across the globe.

Sikhs from across the world will be joining in support of a peace march in New Delhi, India, today to protest against a French secularity law that bans the wearing of sacred turbans in schools and other work places throughout the country.

Pope Benedict has cancelled a visit to the prestigious La Sapienza University in Rome after protests about his past remarks about Galileo. But a professor there says attempts to stop him speaking violate intellectual freedom.

The second meeting of an Evangelical Christian-Muslim Dialogue took place in Tripoli last week, and is seen by participants as an important step forward in understanding between two faith traditions that have often been at loggerheads.