This week the Dalai Lama described life in Tibet as "hell on earth." His words came on the 50th anniversary of his escape into exile. At the moment, China has sealed off Tibet to foreigners. Many foreign reporters who have gone to neighboring provinces on the Tibetan plateau have been harassed and detained by the Chinese authorities. But the BBC's China Correspondent James Reynolds managed to get onto the Tibetan plateau without being arrested.
Binyam Mohamed was freed last month after almost seven years in detention. According to his account he was flown around the world on rendition flights and tortured in secret prisons in an ordeal which has left him feeling "dead" inside. He also described his sudden release from Guantánamo Bay just over two weeks ago, saying guards there told him to take a shower and within an hour he was on a plane back to the United Kingdom. Mohamed is now accusing the British authorities of complicity in his alleged torture in Pakistan and in Morocco. Mohamed spoke with the BBC's Jon Manel about his experiences while in detention.
In the second part of the interview Binyam Mohamed tells the BBC's Jon Manel why he went to Afghanistan in the first place and, first, how he's adjusting to his new freedom.
When the BBC put Binyam Mohammed's claims to the British government it provided a statement saying: "The security and intelligence agencies do not participate in, solicit, encourage, or condone the use of torture, or inhumane, or degrading treatment. The Attorney-General is currently considering whether there is a case to refer the alleged involvement of UK intelligence agencies to the police to investigate."
When asked about the U.S. involvement in the case, the U.S. Department of Defense in Washington told the BBC:"The Defense Department has noted that any number of things Binyam Mohamed has previously said are unsubstantiated."
Today on The World: Leaders from the world's top economies debate the next steps in dealing with the financial crisis; Long forgotten Red Cross records could reveal what happened to thousands of soldiers killed during World War One; And a custody battle over an 8-year-old American boy living in Brazil reaches the top levels of government.
President Obama wants to spend money to stimulate the economy. But European countries say the answer is to reign in and regulate. They'll all get a chance to make their case at the G20 meeting in Britain. The World's Laura Lynch has details.
Anchor Marco Werman speaks with China expert Andrew Nathan about Chinese prime minister Wen Jaibao's expressing concern today with China's investment in US Treasury securities. China is America's largest creditor with close to 1 trillion dollars in government debt.
Good investment for women in India (4:00) March 13, 2009 download |permalink
The BBC's Zubair Ahmed has the remarkable story of a group of poor women in the Indian city of Mumbai who relied on their cooking skills to create an economic miracle out of the most basic of Indian food items.
Anchor Marco Werman speaks with El Salvador-based journalist Roger Atwood about an interesting turn of events in politics there. The former rebel group FMLN fought the Salvadoran government for years. Now they're a political party, and their well-spoken TV journalist candidate is a strong contender in tomorrow's presidential election.
The World's Matthew Bell has the story of British historian Peter Barton who re-discovered a trove of Red Cross records from World War I. The files have detailed accounts of the deaths of millions of soldiers...and they've been sitting virtually untouched for decades.
Switzerland has agreed to relax its legendary banking secrecy laws in cases involving tax evasion. The World's Gerry Hadden reports on the Swiss announcement -- and similar ones from other European nations.
Anchor Marco Werman speaks with Kiyoshi Kurosawa, director of the new film "Tokyo Sonata." The story centers on a middle-class Japanese man who gets laid off from his job, then tries to hide it from his family.
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G20 - economic snapshot
