The Whitworthian

Issue date: 12/4/07 Last Updated: 12/3/07

Demonstrators call for execution of British teacher

Hundreds of demonstrators at Sudan's capital city Khartoum demanded the execution of a British teacher, who was sentenced to 15 days in jail Nov. 29 for letting her students name a teddy bear Muhammad.

Gillian Gibbons, a teacher at a private school in Sudan, went on trial Nov. 29. The Sudanese government said Gibbons will be deported after she is released.

Insulting the Prophet Muhammad and worshiping idols are prohibited in Islam.

In September, Gibbons' class was doing a project on animals. Gibbons asked her students to name a teddy bear. The class agreed to name the bear Muhammad.

Gibbons was arrested Nov. 25.

British diplomats said Gibbons made an innocent mistake and are pressing Sudanese officials to shorten Gibbons' sentence.

New evidence shows Colombian captives alive

The Colombian government announced Nov. 30 that the army seized evidence from three guerrillas with proof that more than 15 captives in Colombia are still alive.

Among the captives are three American military contractors and former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt.

The Colombian government believes the captives are being held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

The last evidence indicating the captives were alive was found in 2003.

Several of the captives have been held for over a decade. Betancourt has been held captive since 2002.

Turkish residents pray for victims of plane crash

Turkish authorities are investigating a plane crash Nov. 30 that killed all 57 passengers.

Thousands gathered at mosques in Isparta, Turkey to pray for families of the victims.

The Atlasjet Airlines flight left Istanbul and was heading for Isparta, but never arrived at the Isparta airport.

The cause of the crash is unknown, although investigators said evidence suggests the crash may have been due to an error made by the pilot.

Sources: New York Times, CNN.com

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