The president and vice President of the Methodist Conference, Rev Loraine Mellor and Jill Baker said in a joint statement: “We are horrified by the violence that has taken place on the eastern border of Gaza in the past days, and deeply troubled by what appears to be a steady escalation in the situation.

“We appeal to all sides to step back urgently from actions that can only lead to more suffering, and to seek peaceful solutions.”

Eighteen Palestinians have been killed as a result of shooting by the Israeli Defence Forces. While reports suggest that as Israel protects its border, it has used live rounds against many unarmed protesters and hundreds of Palestinian demonstrators were hit and injured.

The Church leaders added: “The killing of unarmed protesters is unacceptable in any circumstance and a crime against humanity.

“The Government of Israel is bound by the same standards of international law as any other nation. Live rounds must never be used except in the most critical circumstances to protect life.”

Electricity is on for four hours a day, water in many areas of Gaza is undrinkable and there have been reports of Hamas fighters being armed for further conflict.

Clinics and hospitals were already reporting a huge rise in child malnutrition and have said that 80 commonly-used medicines are not available.

The situation is worsened by cuts in funds to…

The Rev Bernice A King recalled her father as a civil rights leader and great orator whose message of peaceful protest is still vital decades later.

“We decided to start this day remembering the apostle of non-violence,” she said during a ceremony to award the Martin Luther King Jr Nonviolent Peace Prize held at the King Centre in Atlanta.

In Memphis, where King died, hundreds of people bundled in hats and coats gathered early for a march led by the same sanitation workers union whose low pay King had come to protest when he was shot.

The Memphis events are scheduled to feature King’s contemporaries, including the Rev Jesse Jackson, the Rev Al Sharpton and US representative John Lewis, along with celebrities such as the rapper Common.

In the evening, the Atlanta events culminate with a bell-ringing and wreath-laying at King’s crypt to mark the moment when he was gunned down on the balcony of the old Lorraine Motel on April 4 1968. He was 39.

Martin Luther King III speaks at the Mason Temple of the Church of God in Christ, Tuesday, April 3, 2018, in Memphis, Tenn

Donald Trump issued a proclamation in honour of the anniversary, saying: “In remembrance of his profound and inspirational virtues, we look to do as Dr King did while this world was privileged enough to still have him.”

The president has been…

The head of the Catholic Church tweeted about his “sincere hope that everything necessary may be done” to help the case of Alfie Evans – whose parents lost a Supreme Court battle to keep him alive.

The 22-month-old is in a “semi-vegetative state” and has a rare degenerative neurological condition that has not been definitively diagnosed by doctors.

He is being kept alive on a ventilator at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool. Turning it off would swiftly end his life.

Pope Francis tweeted: “It is my sincere hope that everything necessary may be done in order to continue compassionately accompanying little Alfie Evans, and that the deep suffering of his parents may be heard.”

His parents Tom Evans and Kate James, from Liverpool, have been at the centre of a high-profile life support battle, losing a European court fight last Wednesday.

Mr Evans said in a Facebook post to the Alfie’s Army Official page that doctors want to switch Alfie’s ventilator off as early as Friday.

The couple, in their 20s, have said they want to explore further treatment at a hospital in Rome, hoping that specialists at the Bambino Gesu Paediatric Hospital will be able to pinpoint what is wrong with their son.

The pair, who have run out of legal options in the UK, wanted judges at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg to examine issues surrounding the case, but ECHR…

The 80-year-old, who resigned as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh in 2013 after admitting sexual misconduct, died in hospital last month following a fall.

A requiem mass is taking place at the Church of St Michael in Newcastle, led by Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster.

He will be buried on Friday at Mount Vernon Cemetery in Edinburgh in the grave of his mother and father, in accordance with his own wishes, the church said.

Cardinal O’Brien resigned from his position in February 2013 after three priests and a former priest alleged improper conduct during the 1980s.

He initially contested the allegations but later apologised, saying his sexual conduct had “fallen beneath the standards” expected of him.

He had been a vehement critic of gay marriage, describing it as “grotesque”, and spoke out against same-sex relationships.

Announcing his death, his successor as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, Archbishop Leo Cushley, said: “In life, Cardinal O’Brien may have divided opinion – in death, however, I think all can be united in praying for the repose of his soul, for comfort for his grieving family and that support and solace be given to those whom he offended, hurt and let down.

“May he rest in peace.”

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