Work is continuing for the release of two Catholic priests kidnapped in northern Iraq last week. Unconfirmed reports say that contact has been made with their captors, but that initial attempts to secure their release apparently foundered.

As two hostages are released today, the general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), the Rev Dr Ishmael Noko, calls on the international community to South Korea in its efforts to secure the safe release of the remaining hostages still held by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Taliban militants in Afghanistan say they have freed two women from among the 21 South Korean hostages they are currently holding, claims a news report on the BBC. Two others have already been killed.

The killing of a second Korean Christian hostage in Afghanistan has led the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK) to make an urgent call for prayer among the world's different Christian communities.

The general secretary of the All Africa Conference of Churches, the Rev Mvume Dandala, says the release of six Bulgarian medical workers has not answered the question of how 56 children died after being infected with the HIV virus.

The Archbishop of York pounded an African drum to celebrate the release of the BBC's Alan Johnston from captivity in Gaza today. Now Hamas wants recognition for its Palestinian authority. And many non-Westerners remain in prison.