Christian Aid has backed the UK parliament's accusations that the European Union is abusing its trade negotiating power with former colonies

International development agency Christian Aid is launching a new campaign and fundraising initiative for March 2007 ‚Ä' designed especially for five to 16 year olds, and concerned to help ‚Äúflush out‚Äù poverty. Almost literally.

Both the Vatican and the UK government have declared themselves pleased with the private audience that UK Chancellor Gordon Brown enjoyed with Pope Benedict XVI in Rome last week.

China and India are growing influences on global change which will transform the way the world is governed and also the meaning of development, the general secretary of the World Council of Churches, the Rev Dr Samuel Kobia, has declared - report Fredrick Nzwili from Nairobi for Ecumenical News International (ENI) and Paulino Menezes (WCC).

UK chancellor Gordon Brown and other finance ministers at the Group of Seven (G7) rich nations meeting which opened tyesterday in Essen, Germany, must fulfill their two-year-old promise to stop international financial institutions imposing damaging economic policies on developing countries, according to Christian Aid and other church-related development NGOs.

UK-based international development and advocacy agency Christian Aid is backing British international development secretary Hilary Benn's criticism of the new Chinese loans policy to Africa.

The capacity of the alliance of global churches from different Christian traditions "to respond to the challenges of today's world depends to a large extent on more creative and future-oriented forms of co-operation and networking," said World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary the Rev Dr Samuel Kobia in launching a fresh ecumenical initiative.

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.