As many "responsible for the current financial meltdown" meet "behind closed doors in Washington" to discuss the future of the global economy, the World Council of Churches has challenged the legitimacy of the "G20" group.

Christians are called to stand with those who are victims of oppression, poverty and violence, a World Council of Churches' leader has said in advance of its forthcoming United Nations Advocacy Week in New York.

A high-ranking government official from Sierra Leone has told an international churches team visiting his country and in Liberia that the world needs to get behind urgently needed peace-building efforts.

A delegation of church leaders from Burundi, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo has set out to meet the presidents of the latter two countries in order to convey them a strong message in favour of peace.

To achieve reconciliation takes nothing less than the transformation of society, World Council of Churches general secretary the Rev Dr Samuel Kobia said in Managua, Nicaragua, on a recent visit to the Central American country.

An international ecumenical churches' delegation led by World Council of Churches general secretary Dr Samuel Kobia, has visited Nicaragua to support work for peace and justice in one of the world's poorest countries.

US National Council of Churches' General Secretary Michael Kinnamon has welcomed a call by World Council of Churches chief the Rev Dr Samuel Kobia "to quell the violence" against the hard-pressed Christian minority in Iraq.

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.

Leaders of Sri Lanka's Buddhist majority expressed divergent views on resolving the ethnic conflict in their country, speaking to a world churches delegation in the capital Colombo.

Christian communities should improve their knowledge of Islam, be good neighbours to Muslims and bear witness to their faith in an appropriate manner, according to an international group of church leaders and experts on dialogue.