"It is with great sadness that the World Council of Churches (WCC) received the news that Mr Kim Dae-jung, former President of South Korea, has passed away," WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia wrote in a letter of condolences to the widow of the East Asian country's first democratically elected leader.

As the world faces an "unprecedented situation of increasing violence, proliferation of non-state armed groups, and non-international armed conflicts", the "effective compliance with the Geneva Conventions" appears as an "urgent priority", said the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia in a statement marking the 60th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions.

Support "for the United Church of Canada (UCC) in its on-going work for peace with justice in Israel-Palestine" was expressed by the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia in a letter sent to the leaders of the church as it begins its 2009 General Conference.

An international ecumenical team that visited Honduras on behalf of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI) has encouraged the churches in Honduras to "accompany the people in their search for peace with justice and the re-establishment of democracy".

Participants in Christian-Muslim deliberations on conflict resolution in the Horn of Africa are "convinced… that religious leaders have a role and mandate in contributing towards [the] peace and reconciliation process in the region".

The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia urged the Nigerian President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua to "ensure the safety of all citizens" as well as seeing that "all perpetrators [of] acts of violence and human rights violations are brought to justice".

The World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia appealed to Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari to "ensure the safety and security" of Christians in the Punjab province, where three attacks against Christian communities were carried by militant Islamic groups in the last two months. He demanded that the government "take necessary actions against the perpetrators".

The World Council of Churches (WCC) will welcome five young people (aged 18-30 years) to serve as interns in its Geneva offices from February 2010 to January 2011. Interns bring valuable experiences to the WCC at the same time as they undertake several modules of ecumenical learning.

The 13th Assembly of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) convened on Wednesday 15 July in Lyon, France. The meeting is made up of delegates and other representatives of some 120 European churches and 40 related organizations. The assembly, lasting until Monday 20 July, celebrates the 50th anniversary of CEC and will determine priorities for CEC and its member churches during the coming six years.

A recent international consultation in Bucharest, Romania, saw representatives from 12 Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches debate on the teaching and practice of Orthodox ethics on peace.