Some background on the Sudanese teddy bear
Meph, one of the contributors to that quirky group blog, 'Aqoul, was once a pupil at the school at the centre of the story. Her piece is worth a look if you want to get a sense of the various forces at work over there. I hope she's right about the likely punishment awaiting Gillian Gibbons:
I have no doubt the teacher in question will not be subjected to the full barbaric punishment (only because Sudan’s version of Sharia law is so cosmetic and floggings, amputations and stonings rarely, if ever take place) but what is worrying is how far the Sudanese local authorities are willing to go to flex some muscle.One of her commenters links to an advert for an Islamic teddy. The toy's name is Adam.