Susan Lea Smith is an environmental and natural resources law professor from the United States. She shares her concern over the water crisis and the unjust distribution of water in the world, as well as efforts made to address this issue from a rights based perspective in her country.

WCC member churches in Canada join hands with faith leaders, politicians and civil society actors to stress a

Dr Rommel F. Linatoc reflected on the issues of water and sanitation from an ecumenical perspective in the Philippines, speaking in an interview at the Global Forum of the Ecumenical Water Network. The theme of the forum, which took place from 25-27 October in Nairobi, Kenya, was "Like a tree planted by the water".

At an interfaith gathering in Assisi, called by Pope Benedict XVI, the WCC general secretary said, “The cross is not for crusades but a sign of God’s love embracing everybody”. He praised the role of “young change makers” in pursuit of peace and called faith leaders to engage in dialogue by addressing conflicts and accepting “the other”.

"Greed and Global Economics" is the theme of the latest issue of Ecumenical Review. In view of the current economic, financial and ecological crises, theologians, economists, an ethicist, and an historian provide an analysis of the issues of economic justice and structural greed.

When the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit attends a day of prayer for peace in Assisi, Italy on 27 October, he will be accompanied by Clare Amos of the Church of England, the new WCC programme executive for inter-religious dialogue and cooperation.

Churches have an important role to play in the lead-up to negotiations of a global treaty in 2012 to regulate the conventional arms trade, a WCC panel in New York has concluded. Key human rights obligations must be embedded in the treaty and churches should lobby together, on the basis of faith, said the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit.

With the rise of religious fundamentalism and religious extremism in the world, as well as recently emerging tensions in India over the issues of conversions, a genuine need exists to review Christian-Hindu relationships afresh, according to the participants of a consultation organized by the WCC on Christian self-understanding in the context of Hindu religion.

The WCC supports Egyptian Christians in their quest for justice, rejection of violence and initiatives for dialogue in the wake of 9 October clashes between peaceful protestors and the army in Cairo which resulted in 25 people dead, mostly Coptic Christians, while the country was preparing to return to democracy.

During his recent visit to Pakistan, the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit called for the protection of religious minorities and the need for the state to take necessary measures against religious intolerance.