World News from the BBC
The Greek government has promised to reduce its debt faster next year than demanded by international lenders. A draft budget presented to parliament envisages a deficit of 7%. The Prime Minister George Papandreou said the aim was to get out of the crisis as fast as possible. The current austerity programme is expected to continue.
The US Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against the credit card company, American Express, accusing it of anti-competitive behaviour. The case centres on rules stopping shops rewarding customers who use alternative cards that require smaller fees from traders. Two other leading credit card companies, Visa and MasterCard, have settled similar cases.
The Cuban government is reported to be considering another large-scale release of political prisoners, although there has been no official word from the Cuban government. President Castro agreed to release 52 prisoners in July after negotiations with the Catholic Church. From Havana, Michael Voss reports.
Human rights and dissident groups in Cuba have been asked by the Roman Catholic Church to help identify all remaining political prisoners on the island. This has raised speculation that President Raul Castro is considering freeing all the remaining prisoners once a consensus can be reached on who they are. Numbers vary from around 40 to 100 people. The process may already be underway. The head of the Cuban Human Rights Commission, Elizardo Sanchez, said that nine new inmates had been approached by security officials, asking if they'd be prepared to leave the country with their families.Michael Voss reporting.