Lowland gorilla census encouraging

Wildlife researchers said today that they’ve discovered 125,000 western lowland gorillas deep in the forests of the Republic of Congo, calling it a major increase in the animal’s estimated population.

The Wildlife Conservation Society and the Republic of Congo said their census counted the newly discovered gorillas in two areas of the northern part of the country covering 18,000 square miles.

Previous estimates put the number of western lowland gorillas at less than 100,000. But the animal’s numbers were believed to have fallen by at least 50 percent since then due to hunting and disease. The newly discovered gorilla population now puts their estimated numbers at between 175,000 to 225,000.

The report was released as primatologists warned that nearly half of the world’s 634 types of primates are in danger of becoming extinct due to human activity. Scientists meeting at the International Primatological Society Congress in Edinburgh, Scotland, said they hoped the report will help spur global action to defend mankind’s nearest relatives from deforestation and hunting.

Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba

War crimes trial goes to jury

America’s first war crimes trial since World War II went to the jury Monday as a panel of six U.S. military officers began deliberating whether to send Osama bin Laden’s former driver away for life.

The jurors were reviewing evidence from a two-week trial at the Guantanamo Bay Navy base that has become the first full test of the Bush administration’s system for prosecuting alleged terrorists.

They met behind closed doors for about 45 minutes before recessing until today.

Salim Hamdan, a Yemeni held here since May 2002, faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted of conspiracy and supporting terrorism.