Amid pressure from both sides, the governor of Texas has blocked part of a bill which would have prevented the death penalty being used for a particular category of people convicted under a provision called the Law of Parties.

British foreign secretary David Miliband has said that the use of the "war on terror" as a western rallying cry since the September 11 attacks has been a mistake.

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development has issued a strong statement on the economic crisis, urging the Bush administration and Congress to focus on finance as a moral issue.

Easter is not about some nasty death cult where a blood sacrifice must be paid to appease an angry God, says Giles Fraser. The crucifixion reveals human death-dealing at its worst and the resurrection offers a new start, refusing the logic of scapegoating.

UK-based international development agency Christian Aid has welcomed US President George Bush’s statement on the Middle East calling for ‘an end to the occupation that began in 1967’, referring to Israel and Palestinian lands.

The Bush administration has come out against the idea of equal access to Internet communications. The US Justice Department says ISPs should be able to charge a fee for “priority web traffic” – critics say this opens the door to a two-tier system divided between rich and poor.

Talk of the efficacy or otherwise of the surge is a smokescreen, says Simon Barrow. There is no long-term military solution to Iraq’s nightmare. But viable alternatives are being sought within civil society.

If the Roman Catholic Rudy Giuliani is the next Republican candidate for US president, as seems likely, says Giles Fraser, it could well mark the beginnings of a historic GOP divorce from the religious right.