The extrajudicial killing of church workers is an attack against Christianity, say Filipino church leaders, who have demanded an impartial probe into the recent murder of a Roman Catholic priest in the Southeast Asian nation.

On a five-day visit to Rome, a Russian Orthodox official in charge of interchurch relations has had a meeting with the Pope - a sign of improved relations between the two churches under Benedict XVI and the new Russian Patriarch.

Korean churches are already experiencing the positive impact of the decision that they will host the 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Busan in 2013, say those involved with advance preparations.

A Christian couple have been charged with breaching public order after alleged verbal abuse of a guest in their hotel on account of her Muslim faith and religious dress. The nature of the incident remains unclear.

The Bishop of Reading has expressed his frustration with the Church of England's middle class image, contrasting it with the message of Jesus and insisting that the Church should be a place “where people can be just as they are”.

The authorities in Azerbaijan are facing allegations of abuse and repression towards both Muslim and Christian worshipers. A major Sunni mosque has been closed down while Baptists have accused the police of intimidation and violence.

A hearing into allegations that a teacher promoted racist views in the classroom has been delayed after police cited fears of violence. Adam Walker is accused of promoting hostility to asylum-seekers, gay people and Muslims.

The leader of Orthodox Christians in Abkhazia, a breakaway region of Georgia, has declared that his diocese is breaking with the Patriarchate of Georgia in defiance of the Moscow Patriarchate.

Germany's senior Protestant bishop has urged Christians in officially atheist North Korea to obey God "rather than human beings". Issues of nuclear weapons and the division of Korea into north and south face the isolated nation.

A major Faith Leaders Summit will precede the G20 Summit of world leaders in Pittsburgh, United States, setting out a priority agenda for tackling poverty and environmental damage.

Ten leading evangelical theologians of the 21st century will be plenary speakers at a major US conference addressing the role of evangelicals in the public square this Autumn.

Campaigners have welcomed a decision by Blackburn Cathedral to overturn its decision to offer communion wafers consecrated by a male priest when a woman priest was taking a service.

The new Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Wales, the Rev Gwenda Richards, has urged its members to be more vocal and engaged in the society around them.