The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Moscow - Thirty-one children and women have been released from a Russian school where armed militants have been holding hundreds of hostages since Wednesday, according to the rescue operation's headquarters. The armed group that took over the school in the southern Russian town is believed to have set mines around the building. A local official said around 350 people are being held hostage. But other reports suggest up to 800 people could be inside the school. "There is no question at the moment of opting for force. There will be a lengthy and tense process of negotiation," said Valery Andreyev, head of the Federal Security Service in North Ossetia, the region where the school is located. Talks continued on-and-off throughout the night and early Thursday morning. But officials say nothing has been achieved. Ramallah, West Bank - The Palestinian parliament has voted to strike in a bid to pressure Yasser Arafat into passing reforms that tackle corruption in the Palestinian Authority. Miami - Florida and Georgia declared states of emergency and evacuation orders were extended to more than a million people on Thursday as a hurricane worked its way toward the U.S. mainland. Frances is already a Category 4 hurricane, the second-highest level possible, and could strengthen to Category 5 with winds topping 250 km/h by the time it hits Florida on Friday.
