• 250 schoolchildren and teachers taken hostage in Pakistan and held for seven hours, have been released this morning. Seven militants armed with rocket launchers used the school and the children as a refuge after an attempt to kidnap a local health official. The incident occurred near the border with Afghanistan where Pakistanis have been fighting with the Taliban and al-Qaeda. Pakistan is set to hold elections February 18th.
  • Leaders of two major churches, died this weekend. Archbishop Christodoulus, head of the Greek Orthodox Church, credited with easing tensions with the Vatican, died of cancer. He was 69. Also, Gordon B. Hinckley, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, passed this weekend. He presided over the Mormon church during a period of great expansion. He was 97.
  • Violence continues to mount in Kenya. Yesterday, 19 people including 11 children, were burned to death when a mob set their house on fire. In the past four days, more that 100 people have been killed, many horribly burned, shot with arrows, or hacked with machetes. This terrible violence occurred after the government and the opposition party met with Kofi Annan to try to mediate an agreement. An editorial in Kenya's newspaper read, "“For the umpteenth time, we again ask President Kibaki and Orange Democratic Movement leader Mr. Raila Odinga to work for peace, truth and justice. Kenya has bled enough.”
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