A conference seeking to consolidate the legacy of the World Council of Churches' historic anti-racism efforts will take place from 14-17 June in Doorn near Utrecht in the Netherlands. The task is still a vital one.

Dismay and concern have been expressed by church leaders following election gains by British National Party - with the churches being challenged to combat the narrow nationalist and "Christian nation" rhetoric the far-right is using.

A South African church suspended in 1982 from the World Alliance of Reformed Churches for its support for apartheid is "still not ready for readmission", a meeting of the grouping's executive committee in Geneva has been told.

The Church of England has for too long been slow to take its own ethnic diversity to its heart, says Vasantha Gnanadoss. If it now also claims that Christianity is superior to others it could be unwittingly supporting white nationalism and undermining action against the BNP and others.

As public anger and dissatisfaction grows at the corruption in the mainstream political system, the Anglican Archbishops of Canterbury and York have made a joint appeal to voters not to support the BNP and other racist or extremist parties in protest.

Among the many arguments within and about the controversial UN review conference on racism, one that has attracted less media coverage is the overlooking of the struggles of 260 million so-called 'untouchables' in South Asia.

In spite of a massive row over Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech, the United Nations global anti-racism conference could still avoid failure, according to NGOs and campaigners.

The organizers of a South African anti-racism conference in the run up to the soccer World Cup have postponed the gathering after protests about its refusal to grant the Dalai Lama a visa to attend the event.