Pope John Paul II made an unexpected appearance on Sunday at his hospital window, making the sign of the cross to show that he was still with the Catholic world although his recent operation means he cannot speak. The 84-year-old pontiff was in a wheelchair and wearing his white papal robes and skullcap when he appeared for less than two minutes.

The Syrian government, under intense pressure from the United States and others in the international community, made its first significant concession on Sunday by handing over to the interim Iraqi government Saddam Hussein’s half-brother and former head of the Iraqi secret police, Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hassan al-Tikriti.

In the play <i>Julius Caesar</i>, the character Mark Antony says in his funeral oration: "The evil that men do lives after them. The good is oft interred with their bones. So let it be with Caesar." It is impossible to travel through Africa without wondering about what evils have been interred with the bones of its many defunct despots — and what good they might possibly have left behind.

"The 20th century was the bloodiest in history. It will be remembered for the millions of innocent children, women and men who needlessly perished in war." Richard Goldstone urges African members of the ICC not to allow the United States to delay justice to the victims in Darfur.