The Iranian authorities must immediately release dozens of people arrested last week during a prayer service in support of activists detained following protests after June’s presidential election, Amnesty International has said.

The governing body of the Lutheran World Federation has decided to delay voting on the election of a new General Secretary for the LWF, which was scheduled for 22 October 2009. The LWF Council meeting is taking place near Geneva, Switzerland.

In what is being seen as a landmark decision, the Church of Sweden has formally agreed to recognise same-sex marriages and conduct gay weddings and blessings, becoming the first major church to do so.

As world leaders meet at the UN in New York to discuss increased funding for healthcare in developing countries, Amnesty International's Secretary General has launched a campaign to reduce maternal deaths in Sierra Leone.

A petition calling for the repeal of Pakistan's blasphemy laws, which impose the death sentence on a person found desecrating Islam's holy book, the Qur'an, has gone to the United Nation High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The main governing body of the Lutheran World Federation began a meeting in Geneva on 22 October at which a successor to the current LWF general secretary is scheduled to be elected in a closed-door meeting.

A delegation from the World Council of Churches (WCC) visiting Pyongyang, has met with North Korean president Kim Yong-nam. During the meeting it suggested that a significant impetus to solving the nuclear weapons stand-off in the region would be for North Korea and the US to meet.

Bread for the World, a collective Christian voice urging US decision makers to end hunger at home and globally, has welcomed the child nutrition priorities mentioned during a White House event hosted yesterday by Michelle Obama.

The Afghan government and its international supporters must immediately set out a clear and effective plan to ensure a credible second round of presidential election voting, says Amnesty.

Pope Benedict XVI announced plans to allow provisions that would accept groups of former Anglicans who wish to convert to the Roman Catholic Church, according to a statement from the Vatican.