Somali pirates have killed four american hostages taken last week after a yacht was hijacked off the coast of Oman. The Quest served as the home of a couple from California - Jean and Scott Adams - and they used it to sail around the world, a journey that started in 2004. The two other americans on board were Phyllis Macay and Bob Riggle from Seattle (Wa.).

Spring arrives and the taliban are gearing up for their annual spring offensive in Afghanistan. NATO forces have been busy preparing themselves, detaining and killing known Taliban leaders, training police and the Afghan army, destroying hideouts and weapon caches. But just like last year, nobody knows if it will be enough to ensure that at the end, the Taliban won't just march right back in and take control anyway.

The Office of Naval Research announced last week that a superlaser it is developing is nine months ahead of schedule thanks to a breakthrough made during prototype tests in December. The Free Electron Laser (FEL) program, hopes to have a working megawatt (1 million watt) laser weapon by 2019.

Osama bin Laden, that vile wretch that he is, has threatened to murder five French hostages being held by Al Qaeda unless France immediately withdraws its troops from Afghanistan. The demands were made in an audio tape that experts say appears to be authentic.