Scottish justice secretary Kenny MacAskill is making a statement to the specially recalled Scottish Parliament following his decision to release Abdel Baset al Megrahi. See the BBC News story

The decision has created anger, especially in America, as the Libyan was serving a life sentence after being convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.

So was the decision to release him right?

The Pew Research Center conducted a survey in April 2009, among US Americans on the question: "Do you think the use of torture against suspected terrorists in order to gain important information can often be justified, sometimes be justified, rarely be justified, or never be justified?"

Given that the new President Obama has been highly critical of the previous administration's use of Guantanamo Bay and secret overseas locations for interrogations, there is not surprisingly a very significant difference between the responses of Republicans and Democrats, with almost two-thirds of Republicans saying torture can be often or sometimes justified, compared with just over a third among Democrats.

What was perhaps more surprising was the survey finding that the more often people went to church, the more likely they were to feel that torture was justified.

Last night former London Mayor Ken Livingstone, Green Party MEP Caroline Lucas, left wing academic Beatrix Campbell and Guardian economist Aditya Chakrabortty were at Kings Place in Kings Cross, London, debating who will own the progressive future.

In their five minute speeches, not one of them talked about what role religions would play in that progressive future so my hand shot up as soon as the chair, Guardian journalist John Harris, opened the debate to the floor.

A number of prominent Christians, including five reverends, were exposed as BNP members this week when internet bloggers published a leaked membership list of around 13,000 names.

Among those listed were several teachers, solicitors, a doctor and a radio presenter for TalkSport (who claims he joined for 'research purposes'). But, worryingly the list also contained the names of a number of other self-described 'Christians' and 'church-attenders' including a cathedral tour guide and a vicar.

What support can God and the Bible offer people as shares fall and rise violently and the credit crunch begins to bite? Prices increase, the value of savings fall and job security becomes more precarious.

Last month, the Church of England published a prayer on its website which reads:

Lord God, we live in disturbing days:
across the world,
prices rise,
debts increase,
banks collapse,
jobs are taken away,
and fragile security is under threat.

Dr Gerald Toben has been arrested and held in this country under an EU arrest warrant on charges of being a Holocaust denier. Full story here

He has previously been convicted in Germany of saying the Holocaust was a lie. That is a crime in Germany - but not here, so Lib Dems are saying he should not be extradited.

By contrast, Debbie Purdy has asked for a High Court ruling on her own case - she has a terminal illness, and may feel in future that she wishes to end her life before it becomes unbearable in a clinic in Switzerland. If her husband helps her in any way (such as helping her to get to Switzerland) he may face prosecution and imprisonment for assisting a suicide, which is a criminal offence in this country. But it isn't a crime in Switzerland.

Last week, Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury criticised the greed and lack of regulation that have led to the current world-wide financial crisis.

At the same time, John Sentamu, Archbishop of York asked why hundreds of billions of dollars have been found to bail out troubled banks yet action for the poorest people is deemed too costly.

The western leaders belonging to the G8 have apparently agreed to push for UN trade sanctions against Zimbabwe.

This is in response to the recent election when President Mugabe was returned unopposed, despite having come second in the first round, after his main opponent withdrew to save his supporters from further violence, intimidation and rape.

The Chinese Government asserts that Tibet has always been part of China, and always will be. Chinese people to whom I have talked (in Beijing) simply do not question this view. China has transformed Tibet from a feudal state to a modern one, though it has to be admitted that the way in which this has been achieved was harsh and violent.

Where does the truth lie in all of this? What has China done wrong?

In the classical lexicon of awareness and diversity training there is a favoured exercise that is termed 'The Elephant in The Room'. In the exercise, the trainer will share with group participants the scenario of a fictional dinner party where there is a large African elephant sat in the corner of the room.

At the dinner party, which is one of those achingly polite middle class functions beloved of Alan Ayckbourn, the dinner guests proceed to talk about every topic under the sun except for the screamingly obvious - namely, the elephant in the room.