Six In The Morning

Sex and drugs and private cells: Behind bars in South America

A deadly riot in Mexico and an inferno in Honduras have turned the searchlight on conditions in Latin America's overcrowded and anarchic prisons. Simeon Tegel spends a day behind bars in Peru

SIMEON TEGEL

 

LURIGANCHO PRISON

 

WEDNESDAY 28 MARCH 2012

The cluster of shirtless, tattooed inmates in the prison courtyard make no effort to hide the joint as a policeman wanders by. Instead, one turns up the volume on the salsa booming out of a portable stereo. Unconcerned by the clouds of cannabis smoke billowing from the group, the officer does not miss a beat as he carries on patrolling the grimy maze of corridors and patios that make up Lurigancho, Peru's largest jail.

Built for 2,500 inmates, Lurigancho's crumbling walls are currently home to some 7,000 prisoners. Of Peru's 66 desperately overcrowded jails, this human clearing house on the arid outskirts of Lima is the most overcrowded.

The Irish Times - Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Former Polish intelligence chief questioned about CIA 'black sites'

DEREK SCALLY in Berlin

PROSECUTORS IN Warsaw have questioned a former intelligence chief about allowing the CIA to operate “black sites” for interrogation and torture on Polish territory.

The investigation into Zbigniew Siemiatkowski, head of the Polish intelligence service (AW) from 2002-2004, will shed light on co-operation between the CIA and AW during the Bush administration’s so-called “war on terror” – denied by Warsaw and Washington at the time.

According to the Gazeta Wyborcza daily, Mr Siemiatkowski was charged with “corporal punishment” and “depriving prisoners of their liberty”. His former AW deputy, Col Andrzej – who reportedly dealt directly with the CIA – is likely to and face similar charges.

Boy bomber in attack on high-profile Australian aid worker

Dylan Welch in Tarin Kowt

March 28, 2012 - 11:46AM

The suicide bomber behind the first Australian civilian casualty in Afghanistan was a boy of about 12, apparently drafted into a chilling new Taliban campaign to use children as weapons.

The injured man is frontline veteran David Savage, whose role with the Australian Federal Police as a peacekeeper in East Timor inspired a TV mini-series.

Mr Savage, 49, of Canberra, was treated at the Australian base at nearby Tarin Kowt before being flown to Kandahar, then Germany.

Defence Minister Stephen Smith told reporters in Sydney this morning that Mr Savage was in a satisfactory condition. Yesterday, his condition was described as serious but stable.

The bomber attacked as Mr Savage was with a group of soldiers and staff outside a bazaar in the Chora Valley, Uruzgan, where he was working with local communities on development activities.

Mali junta's new Constitution sets out elections

THOMAS MORFIN BAMAKO, MALI - Mar 28 2012 10:56

Mali's junta on Tuesday announced a new Constitution that rules its 
members out of upcoming elections, seeking to show it will not cling to 
power as West African leaders from Ecowas planned a mediation visit. 

Five days after the internationally condemned military coup that toppled President Amadou Toumani Toure, the junta lifted its night-time curfew and reopened the borders in a bid to show the country was returning to normal.

West African leaders meeting in neighbouring Côte d'Ivoire on Tuesday again denounced the coup -- and warned that the region's troops were on standby if the junta failed to engage in dialogue.

Israel gauges fallout from Iran strike

By Victor Kotsev Amid the ever-growing diplomatic noise and military buildup in the Persian Gulf, a key issue has received insufficient attention: the dual problem of possible radioactive contamination and civilian casualties resulting from an operation against Iran. Strikes on nuclear facilities carry enormous stigma; those directed at peaceful installations, specifically, are considered a grave violation of international law. 

Although a persuasive legal argument could be made that the Iranian nuclear program is anything but civilian (something that the Islamic Republic denies), many of the moral constraints against attacking installations loaded with thousands of tons of dangerous chemicals would remain. Surprisingly, given how much has been written and said on the topic of the Iranian nuclear program, there is very little reliable publicly available information on the issue. 

Why would anyone buy naming rights to a highway?

By Daniel NasawBBC News Magazine, Washington

The US state of Virginia is poised to become the first to sell naming rights to its bridges, highways and roads. But given how long drivers can spend in gridlock, is there a risk in putting your firm's name to this public space?

Arsenal fans travel to Emirates Stadium in London to see their football team, while Leicester City supporters crowd into King Power Stadium, which is named after the duty-free shopping company but used to be known as Walkers Stadium after the brand of crisps.

Naming sports facilities after corporate brands is even more pervasive in the US, where the New York Giants and Jets football teams play at MetLife Stadium and the Chicago White Sox baseball team plays at US Cellular Field.