The international development agency Christian Aid says the presidential and legislative elections which will be held on 11 August 2007 are a crucial test of whether Sierra Leone has truly turned away from conflict.

The Methodist Church in Britain has welcomed the UK Government’s decision to request the return of five former British residents being held in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp at the US military base on the island of Cuba.

Church leaders in Kenya have urged President Mwai Kibaki to reject proposed legislation regarding the media, which the country's Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Wangari Maathai, has said would curtail press freedom.

The UK and France should use what ever leverage they have over Chad and Eritrea to encourage them to help build a consensus among the Darfur rebels and bring a just peace to the Sudan killing fields, says a leading church agency.