■ United Kingdom
Reid to address prison crisis
Home Secretary John Reid was considering urgent action yesterday to address an overcrowding crisis in Britain's prisons. The prison population has almost hit its capacity of around 80,000 inmates and Reid is now looking at what measures can be taken to deal with the problem. Using police cells is one option to free up space; others include transferring foreign inmates to their home country to serve their sentence or moving prisoners to open jails. Longer sentences, high reconviction levels and more short jail terms have pushed prison population numbers to record highs.
■ Cuba
Raul denies Fidel is dying
President Fidel Castro is far from dying, interim leader Raul Castro said on Sunday after reports that his brother suffered from terminal cancer. "He is not dying as some media in Miami are saying, but is getting better all the time," said Castro, interim leader since his brother underwent intestinal surgery on July 31. "He has a telephone by his side and uses it more each day, which says that he is working," Raul Castro said. "He is resting, but works each day a little more."
■ United Kingdom
Watchdog probes police
Police and prosecutors are facing allegations of exaggerating evidence against the only person to be arrested in the UK in connection with the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the US, the Times said yesterday. The Independent Police Complaints Commission, a police watchdog, has opened an inquiry into the conduct of the Anti-Terrorism Branch of the police and the Crown Prosecution Service over the arrest of Lotfi Raissi, an Algerian man who was arrested in the days following the 9/11 attacks. He was held for five months before magistrates rejected all accusations held against him. Raissi will go to the High Court today to seek an apology and compensation from the Home Office.
■ Gaza Strip
Haniyeh slams peace plan
Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh says his Hamas-led government will not recognize Israel and has problems with a widely touted Arab peace plan because it does. Haniyeh, addressing an Iftar feast at the end of a day of Ramadan fasting, said Hamas and the government "will not recognize or normalize" relations with Israel. He also said the main problem with the Arab peace plan, presented in 2002 by Saudi Arabia and endorsed by an Arab summit, is that it recognizes Israel in exchange for an Israeli pullout from the West Bank, Gaza Strip, east Jerusalem and Golan Heights. Haniyeh said he still hopes for a unity government with Fatah.
RSS