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Hopes and aspirations for peace were expressed on 20 September at the Peace Palace in the Netherlands, site of a “Walk of Peace” held on the second day of the International Week of Peace. The event was organized by the Council of Churches in the Netherlands and PAX, a Dutch peace organization, in cooperation with local churches in The Hague.

WCC support for churches’ struggles during the years of dictatorship in Argentina was praised by Aldo M. Etchegoyen, bishop emeritus of the Evangelical Methodist Church of Argentina.

To strengthen relationships and support churches in Latin America in their struggles for justice and peace, a pilgrimage of church leaders organized by the WCC will visit Argentina, Chile, Brazil and Colombia from 24 August to 7 September.

On a visit to Romania from 16 to 18 June during which he addressed a meeting of the Faith and Order Commission, WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit paid formal visits to Romanian President Klaus Werner Johannis, and Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church.

The celebration marking 150 years of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan was called a “significant and dramatic” part of church history in Asia by Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC.

Attacks last week on French newspaper Charlie Hebdo, along with attacks on Paris police and shoppers at a Jewish grocery there, triggered vigorous reflections on freedom of expression, religious values and the role of churches in a WCC Communications Forum.

WCC leaders and President Nicos Anastasiades of Cyprus have discussed reunification of Cyprus and reconciliation among communities at a meeting on 25 November in the island's divided capital Nicosia.

The opening of the Berlin Wall 25 years ago was one of the most dramatic symbols of the global changes sweeping across the world in 1989.

The Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit addressed the theme “Free to speak, believe and serve” on 4 April at the Synod of the Church of Norway, held in conjunction with the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Norwegian constitution. The anniversary represents an important milestone for Norway as a nation and for the Church of Norway.

The WCC general secretary has expressed deep worry over a court decision in Egypt, where 529 people have been sentenced to death in one of the largest trials in the history of the country.

“The immediate end of the suffering of the people in Syria must now be the focus for all parties in the Geneva 2 talks,” WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit said in a meeting today, 14 February in Geneva with members of the Syrian opposition. And “this includes all parties in the conflict,” he added.

The newly elected moderator of the WCC Central Committee has called on the government of South Sudan to have a “Mandela moment” as it confronts the aftermath of violence on Monday.