Vijay Kumar Ekka, a key witness in the murder of Christian missionary George Kunjhikandam in Uttar Pradesh, India, died in police custody. Authorities say he committed suicide, but Christians say Ekka was tortured to death. Two police officers have been arrested. Security for another witness of Kunjhikandam's murder has been dramatically stepped up. (See also the BBC's coverage)

Barna's finding that evangelical and born-again Christians get divorced at higher rates than mainline Protestants and the unchurched has come under such scrutiny that the pollster issued a special letter "to our partners in ministry" trying to calm people down. But marriage scholars, including David Popenoe, co-director of the National Marriage Project at Rutgers University, aren't buying it. "It just stands to reason that the bond of religion is protective of marriage, and I believe it is," he tells The Dallas Morning News. "In general, studies show people who are religious tend to have lower divorce rates, especially if both husband and wife are religious." Barna says he's sticking by his findings.

Despite Russian president Vladimir Putin's recent successful meeting with Pope John Paul II and invitations dating back to Gorbachev, the Russian Orthodox Church doesn't want any attention given to Roman Catholicism, which means no invitation for the pope. "Russia is not a pagan state, it is a Christian state with a long tradition," says Viktor Maloukhine, director of external church relations for the (Orthodox) Moscow Patriarchate. "It is unclear to us if you have an Orthodox Church in this country, ...