French Journalists Freed

There’s a happy ending to the story of French journalists Hervé Ghesquière and Stéphan Taponier. The pair, kidnapped by Taliban fighters two years ago, along with their native guides, have been released and are headed back to their home country in good health. They were taken hostage on December 29, 2009 in the village of Umar Khel, northeast of Kabul. Details of their release—as well as the status of their driver and fixer—are not yet known. The men were the longest-held French hostages since the Lebanese civil war and had become a media fixation.