News and stories

They are called Pueblo Nuevo (new town), Bella Flor (beautiful flower), Nueva Esperanza (new hope), El Tesoro (the treasure). Names that clearly show what "humanitarian zones" mean to the people who live there. Hundreds of families displaced by violence in Colombia's rural areas are trying to rebuild their lives in these zones while at the same time demanding the return of their land.

"Enough is enough! The Colombian people want and deserve peace." With this message, members of a Living Letters team began their journey home after visiting this South American country on behalf of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in early December.

"And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)

A peace rally composed of teachers and peace activists was flagged off on 9 December 2008 in Bhubaneshwar, in the Indian state of Orissa, which has recently been the scene of violence against Christians.

Pakistani Christian communities confronted with the presence of the Taliban and Al-Qaida serve their Muslim neighbours in an unfriendly environment.

In Haitian Creole they are called "restaveks" (from French rester avec - to stay with) because they live with a family that is not their own. Rather than foster children, they are like slaves to their host families.

The Mumbai terrorist attacks and an IMF agreement that will negatively impact the poor set the tone for a World Council of Churches (WCC) Living Letters team visit to Pakistan from 24 November to 1 December.

The the United States Conference for the World Council of Churches honored five individuals or groups who had rendered outstanding service in the cause of peace during its 2-4 December annual meeting.

A team of church representatives from around the world will pay a solidarity visit to churches, ecumenical organizations and civil society movements in Colombia from 6 to 12 December.

The Convention on Cluster Munitions has been welcomed as a "humane and historic victory" by the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia. Commenting on the signing of the convention in Oslo, Norway today, Kobia congratulated the more than 100 signatory countries and reiterated the need for states that have not yet done so - including the United States, Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and Zimbabwe -...