For a moment, it looked as though Gulnaz had escaped a cruel fate.

Yesterday, the government of President Hamid Karzai yesterday pardoned her, following a legal motion on her behalf and more than six thousand signatures in support of her release.

As we've been telling you, the nineteen-year-old woman had been sentenced to twelve years in prison for adultery, after she was raped.

And, on paper, Gulnaz is free to leave prison. But there's some fine print: it seems she's now expected to marry the man who raped her.

Clementine Malpas is the director of a documentary that feature's Gulnaz's case. We reached her in Cranborn, England.

The housing crisis in Attawapiskat has dominated the news across Canada this week.

The Red Cross is now providing relief to the First Nations community but political parties are pointing fingers at each other and, in some cases, at the people of Attawapiskat.

Richard Wagamese has seen this all before.

He is an author and journalist originally from the Wabaseemoong First Nation.

We reached him at his home near Kamloops.

Much to his surprise, Francesco Braga found out this week that he had been given an important post within the Italian government.

It was surprising because he hadn't applied for the job. And also because he lives in Canada. And because he's a business professor at the University of Guelph.

We reached Mr. Braga at his home in Guelph, Ontario.

Most Bosox fans would like to forget last season.. for good reason. The Boston Red Sox led the American League right into September.. then, well, they blew it. And the team's manager, Terry Francona, paid the price. After leaked reports that some pitchers cared so little about winning that they were drinking beer and eating fried chicken during games, Francona was fired. What a mess.

But next year, I can tell you, things are going to be different. That's because the Sox have just hired a new manager: Bobby Valentine. There is nothing theman can't do.. with style. Let's review his resume:

First, awesome name. Second, the guy loves ballroom dancing and cooking... he even cooks gourmet meals for charity. So right there he can increase the quality of clubhouse fare... while ensuring players aren't chowing down when they should least be ching games, if they're not on the field. And third, a hint about what those players might be eating.

The third skill in Mr. Valetine's resume (and most important, for those of us who believe that sandwiches put a disproportionate emphasis on bread) he invented the wrap sandwhich. That's right, Bobby Valentine is the inventor of the wrap. Okay, at least he doesn't deny it when he's urged to retell the oft-told tale.

Sure, putting some sort of filling into a wrap has long been a part of Latin cuisine, Middle Eastern cuisine, Greek cuisine... the list goes on. But now, we know where those customs first began: with Mr. Valentine.

Here is Bobby V. speaking about his eureka moment a few years back.. for the record:

As you heard earlier in the program, the housing crisis in Attawapiskat isn't unique.

The situation is strikingly similar to that of Kashechewan, another First Nations Community in Northern Ontario -- one that's had to be evacuated several times over the past few years because of flooding and tainted drinking water.

In 2006, Alan Pope -- a former Ontario cabinet minister -- was put in charge of coming up with a solution for Kashechewan. He came up with several possibilities, including moving it closer to an urban centre.

And he thinks that might not be a bad idea for Attawapiskat, too.

We reached Alan Pope in Timmins.

Here at As It Happens, nothing says Christmas time, like these three things: a straw goat, a Swedish village called Gävle and hellfire.

Yes, the giant thirteen-metre tall Christmas goat, that proudly stands in village's main square, has burned down...again. Gävlebocken, as the goat is known, caught fire in the early hours of this morning -- just like the thirty-or-so Christmas goats that came before it.

Ana Ostman is a spokesperson for the committee that builds the giant straw goat. We've reached her once again at home in Gävle.

If you've ever been to a mall around Christmas time -- and who hasn't -- then you know it's not exactly the kind of place where serenity is easily found.

Christmas music, mall announcements, people, people and more people. A malls at this time of year is an absolute zoo.

But a Montreal church is offering up an alternative -- a respite, if you will.

Inside one mall in downtown Montreal -- the aptly named Promenades Cathedrale -- there's one empty storefront where you won't hear muzak or a cacophony of cash registers. Instead, you'll hear this.

Aaaah, that's right, you'll hear nothing.

The so-called Advent Chapel is the brainchild of some members of Montreal's Anglican Diocese.

For the record, here is Rhonda Waters, the assistant curate at Christ Church Cathedral.

When Graham Dennis took the helm as publisher of Halifax's Chronicle Herald, the newsroom was lined with typewriters and telegraphs.

Today, the paper has a huge online presence and is delivered to homes right across Nova Scotia.

Graham Dennis died in Halifax yesterday after a short illness. He was eighty-four.

Mr. Dennis was the third generation of Dennis' to run the paper, which remains one of the few independent newspapers in the country.

Ian Thompson is the associate publisher of The Chronicle Herald. We reached him in Halifax.

Dolonna Sullivan was four months old when she died. She had been in foster care for just six days.

Her mother, Jamie, says she's never been told why her daughter was taken from her, or how she died. She's hoping a newly-proposed legislation will result in more accountability for the public officials who oversee children in foster care.

Next week, Alberta is expected to make its Child and Youth Advocate -- the provincial authority in charge of child welfare -- an independent office. As is, the office reports to the Minister of Human Services. If the law passes, it will report directly to the public legislature.

This morning in Warburg, Alberta, Jamie Sullivan offered her assessment of the proposed legislation, and of her life over the past few months, for the record.

An abysmal global economy. An increasing gap between the rich and poor. Wars. Famine. Climate change....man, it is not easy being an optimist these days.

But, no matter how bad things get, some people are always able to find hope - the glass-half-full crowd.

Laurence Shorter is among them. More than that, he's the author of a book defending optimism -- it's called -- what else? -- The Optimist.

Carol spoke with Laurence Shorter in February, 2009. Here is an encore presentation of that interview.

Sit back and listen to this:

If you ever wondered what a three-hundred-and-seven-year-old Stradivarius violin sounds like...well, now you know. Except the violin you just heard isn't actually an old Strad. It's a modern replica. An extremely convincing replica.

Steven Sirr is a medical doctor, radiologist -- and a violinist -- and he's part of a group of researchers that recreated the Stradivarius violin known as "Betts" by using a C.T. scanner normally used for medical imaging.

Dr. Steven Sirr and his colleagues are presenting their findings to the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago this week.

We reached Dr. Steven Sirr in Chicago.

I am optimistic that we are now officially at the start of the weekend, because we are at the end of As It Happens for this Friday, December 2nd.

The show was produced this week by Laurie Allan, Kevin Ball, Ben Edwards, Diane Eros, Natasha Fatah ...

Daniel Guillemette, Phil Heidenreich, David McDougall, Loren McGinnis, John Perry, Kate Swoger and Uyen Vu. Our technicians this week are Tim Lorimer and Marc Thibideau. The show director this week is Ben Edwards. Our writer this week is Daemon Fairless.

The senior producer is Robin Smythe. And the Executive Producer of As It Happens is Lynda Shorten. We'd also like to thank some other people who helped us out this week: Yvonne Gall in Vancouver, Gillian Rutherford in Edmonton, Davorin Cikovic and Brent Michaluk in Toronto, Neil Morrison in Ottawa, Susan McKenzie in Montreal and and Karen Given in Boston.

As It Happens will be back again on Monday. I'm Karen Gordon. Good night.

I'm Helen Mann. Have a good weekend.