IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Sudan

Al-Bashir leaves South Africa

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir left South Africa for Khartoum on Monday after attending the 25th summit of the African Union, according to a government spokesman. Al-Bashir's trip to South Africa has sparked a controversy as South Africa is a signatory of the Statute of the International Criminal Court, which issued an arrest warrant for him in March 2009, for alleged war crimes in Sudan's Darfur region. Sudan has condemned the ICC ruling and the warrant. On Sunday, a High Court judge in Pretoria issued an order blocking the Sudanese leader's departure.