Khartoum (film) the film for its historical inaccuracies(for example the mahdi did not want to kill everyone in the capital and called for killing only soliders). Khartoum (film) Khartoum is a 1966 film written by Robert Ardrey and directed by Basil Dearden. It stars Charlton Heston as British Gen. Charles "Chinese" Gordon and Laurence Olivier as the Mahdi (Muhammad Ahmed), with a supporting cast that includes Richard Johnson and Ralph Richardson. The film is based on historical accounts of Gordon's defence of the Sudanese city of Khartoum from the forces of the Mahdist army, during the Siege of Khartoum. The opening and
Capital punishment by country Capital punishment by country The following is a summary of the use of capital punishment by country. Globally, 56 countries retain capital punishment, 106 countries have completely abolished it "de jure" for all crimes, 8 have abolished it for ordinary crimes (while maintaining it for special circumstances such as war crimes), and 28 are abolitionist in practice. Historically, capital punishment has been used in almost every part of the world. Currently, the large majority of countries have either abolished or discontinued the practice. Japan has the highest inequality-adjusted HDI (Human Development Index, of the United Nations Development Programme) of any