AN INTERNATIONAL human rights official today called on Latin American countries to tackle the problem of prison overcrowding in the wake of an overnight fire at a jail in Honduras that killed hundreds of inmates.

More than 300 prisoners are reported to have died in the blaze at the prison, located north of the capital, Tegucigalpa, with dozens of others still missing and presumed dead.

Antonio Maldonado, human rights adviser for the UN system in Honduras, told UN Radio today that overcrowding may have contributed to the death toll.

In 2000 at the beginning of the new millennium, 12.4 % of the US population was 65 or older, and that figure is expected to jump 20 % by 2030, according to the Department of Health & Human Services.

Although most employers do not have a mandatory retirement age policy because, in general, people are living longer. U.S. Law, amendments to the Age Discrimination Enforcement Act in 1978 gave protection to workers older than 65--the standard retirement age. In many cases, as long as the worker can perform his job, that person cannot be forced out of his position.

PAYROLL TAX CUT. Extension Deal Reached In Congress.

IRAN NUKE DEVELOPMENT. Destabilizing Defiance.

HONDURAS PRISON FIRE. Hundreds Killed.

ROBO-CALLS. Telephonic Spam Stops.

LINSANITY. ROC Sports Hero.

The deadly violence in Syria threatens to permanently divide the country along sectarian and ethnic lines, a senior United Nations official warns, urging community and religious leaders and civil society groups to lead the way in reducing communal tensions.