Amnesty International criticise government on torture

Human rights campaigners have accused the government of aggressively pursuing "no torture" deals in order to deport people deemed a security threat.

Amnesty International said the practice of returning suspected terrorists to certain countries that promised humane treatment was a "failed experiment".

It said such promises were "unreliable" and "unenforceable".

The government said it did not deport people to countries where there was a "significant risk" of torture.

The report claims governments are using diplomatic assurances in their "own self-interest to rid themselves of foreigners alleged to be involved in acts of terrorism, instead of prosecuting those persons for any crimes of which they are accused".

Amnesty has called upon the European Union to put a stop to the practice.

'Serious concerns'

Amnesty also criticised the Foreign Office for negotiating "memorandums of understanding" (MoU) with countries including Jordan, Lebanon, Libya and Ethiopia.

The report comes as the Special Immigration Appeals Commission is set to consider the case this week of an Ethiopian threatened with deportation based on an MoU promising the man would not be tortured on return.

But Amnesty said it had serious concerns based on Ethiopia's "exceedingly poor human rights record".

Amnesty International's expert on counter-terrorism and human rights in Europe, Julia Hall, said: "The best way to prevent torture is to refuse to send people to places where they risk being harmed.

"European governments must recommit to the fundamentals of human rights protection. That means safeguarding people from abuse by abiding by their international obligations.

"Diplomatic assurances do not provide such a safeguard and the practice of relying on them should be abandoned".

'Minimise threat'

A Foreign Office spokesperson said MoUs were used as framework agreements where the government seeks specific assurances before returning a suspected terrorist to their country of origin.

The spokesperson added: "The British Government will not deport a person where there are substantial grounds for believing there is a real risk of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, or that the death penalty will apply".

"We have a responsibility to take action to minimise the threat from terrorism to the general public and to consider all options for doing so.

"Both our domestic UK courts and the European Court of Human Rights have accepted the principle of seeking diplomatic assurances in order to remove someone".

The Liberal Democrats said they do not support MoUs if they are unenforceable as "they would be thrown out by the courts" so other arrangements would have to reached.

Lib Dem home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said: "People are innocent until they are proved guilty in this country, and deporting suspects to torture-risk countries is against British traditions".

BBC News

In Pakistani school, nuanced views for new nuclear balance

By Paula Newton, CNN

Rawalpini, Pakistan (CNN) -- As she set the stage for this week's nuclear security summit, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a clear and considered statement on India and Pakistan's nuclear arsenals, saying they had "upset the balance of nuclear deterrent".

But at Beacon House Middle School in Rawalpini, Pakistan, that new nuclear balance is a point of pride: Pakistan is one of only nine countries in the nuclear club. It can defend itself.

So, we wondered how Beacon House students would react to an old but influential film that President Reagan said helped persuade him to pursue nuclear peace. We invited them to watch "The Day After," a 27-year-old film about a nuclear attack that changed the way a generation of Americans perceived the threat. Reagan said the movie depressed him, and now President Obama has carried on with Reagan's legacy, making nuclear peace the centerpiece of his security summit in Washington.

Before they screened the movie, we asked these adolescents, the majority of whom are the daughters and sons of military officers, about their views on nuclear weapons.

Curious and attentive, 13-year-old Fatima Ahmed was the first to utter categorically that having nuclear weapons was "important for every country" and that she was gratified Pakistan had already developed them.

"If some country declares war on us, they will not declare war because they know that we have nuclear weapons," added her 11-year-old classmate, Zakaria Amjad.

As the movie rolled, the students were riveted, especially as the nuclear missiles were launched from American bunkers in a thunderous chorus. They took in every minute, just like ten of millions of students had in classrooms throughout North America in the 1980s. As doomsday loomed in the U.S., the Beacon House students recoiled, their reaction seemingly no different than the generation before them.

Some said the movie had changed their minds about nuclear weapons.

"Before, I used to think that it did have many advantages, but now after watching all the destruction in this movie, I think that nuclear aren't that good," said Lyba Khan, 13.

"I thought that it could be used for defense, but after I saw the movie, I think it wreaks havoc with the country," said Sultana Bassi, 13.

So far, so predictable. But following those comments, there were insightful calculations made and expressed by some of the other students.

"Nobody wins, it's a lose-lose situation," said Saadullah Zia, 13. But when asked whether Pakistan should keep its nuclear weapons, he added: "Some of the countries right now have it, so if we give it up, nothing will happen. Instead, India will be more powerful than us".

These students have grasped all too well the dilemma of the nuclear arms race. The Cold War might as well be the Ice Age to these Pakistani students. The political and strategic calculations have changed dramatically, just as Clinton had noted.

These students are barely teenagers, but they are the future leaders of Pakistan, and they offered some remarkable reflections on the movie.

"It's waking us up. It's telling us that we can all die, in a glimpse of an eye if one atomic bomb is used in our country," said Fatima Taj, 13, before adding that she still would not like to see Pakistan give up its nuclear weapons.

Academics write about it, but here, these students are living it: The nuclear surge. It's the tipping point where for all the best intentions of advocates or a thought-provoking film, the balance of nuclear terror has changed.

As 13-year-old Anam Minto honestly and bluntly observed, "I don't think that this movie changed my opinion, and it made me think that we should have nuclear weapons".

CNN

Hungarians set to elect new government

(CNN) -- Hungarians went to the polls Sunday in a national election that could see the ruling Socialists ousted from power.

Opinion polls ahead of the vote suggested that the center-right Fidesz party, could win a two-thirds majority, according to the MTI news agency.

Fidesz, led by former prime minister Viktor Orban, has promised tax cuts and more jobs in a country still feeling the impact of the global financial crisis.

Hungary was forced to negotiate a $25 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund and the European Union in 2008 to keep its economy afloat.

The country has been governed by a minority Socialist administration led by Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai since last April, following the collapse of a Socialist-led coalition.

Since then Bajnal has implemented austerity cuts as Hungary strives to recover from a seven percent slump in GDP and double-digit unemployment, according to MOVI TV's Peter Murphy.

Fidesz, which started life as an anti-communist youth movement, has been out of power since 2002.

Polls suggest the far-right Jobbik party, which won seats in the European Parliament in elections last year, could also claim seats in the Hungarian parliament for the first time.

More than eight million voters are eligible to take part in Hungary's elections. A second round of voting is due to take place on April 25.

CNN

U.S. and China ties grow closer

(Reuters) - Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to Washington for a nuclear security summit this week is the latest sign of a warming in relations with President Barack Obama's administration that looks set to continue in the months ahead.

The two leaders, who hold a one-on-one meeting on the sidelines of the summit on Monday, are expected to work more closely this year on a range of issues, including Iran's nuclear ambitions, military cooperation and North Korea.

Beijing may also be close to revaluing its yuan currency and unveiling a long-awaited shift in its foreign exchange regime. Washington has argued that it is in the interest of China, and the world, to let the yuan strengthen.

U.S.-Chinese relations have improved rapidly since April after months of disputes over China's currency and Internet controls, U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and Obama's meeting with the Dalai Lama at the White House.

"China reacted maybe a bit tougher rhetorically than in the past and than we had expected," said Bonnie Glaser, a China expert and senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

But she added, "The reaction was limited primarily to rhetoric," with China, for example, threatening to impose sanctions on U.S. goods, but never actually moving to do so.

After weeks of coyness, Beijing announced on April 1 that Hu would attend the two-day nuclear security summit.

Days later, Washington said it would delay a report that could have labeled China a currency manipulator.

"The relationship with the Chinese goes up and goes down," said J.J. Ong, an Asia expert at the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee. "There are cycles to it".

Hu and Obama had an extended telephone conversation on April 1 in which Obama urged Hu to help ratchet up pressure on Iran over its nuclear activities, after China agreed to join serious talks about possible new U.N. sanctions on Tehran.

"I think what we've seen throughout the year is that at important junctures, the president's bilateral meetings and conversations with these leaders helps kind of move things forward," Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, told reporters this week.

"Our view from the beginning has been is that if you really want to broaden the ability to isolate Iran and to affect its cost-benefit analysis as it relates to their continued failure to live up to their obligations, that you needed to bring in a broader coalition, and that Russia and China would be important parts of that effort," he said.

'IT WON'T BE ROSY'

Analysts said they would be looking for more from China on Iranian sanctions, a resumption of U.S.-Chinese military cooperation and signs of whether China can help bring North Korea back to six-party talks seeking to end Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions in exchange for aid.

"It won't be rosy. If we can manage the currency issue, and Iran and North Korea -- by manage, I do mean manage, and not solve -- then I think that we will at least build some sort of a track record of some positive accomplishments between our two countries," Glaser said.

Hu is also expected to make a state visit to Washington later this year, to return Obama's visit last November, and U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates may visit China.

"Tensions are down and both sides are stressing the positive," said Kenneth Lieberthal, director of the John L. Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institution.

At the center of the strategy is the administration's ability to keep global issues central to the Washington-Beijing relationship, separate from disputes over trade and currency between the United States and its largest creditor.

"If the Chinese had really high expectations with Obama coming into office, after what he said about it being one of the most important bilateral relationships and elevating strategic dialogue to show the importance China has in U.S. foreign policy, invariably they were going to be disappointed when the U.S. sold weapons to Taiwan or met with the Dalai Lama or criticized the Chinese human rights record," said Walter Lohman, head of Asian studies at the Heritage Foundation.

No one expects economic issues to go away.

Washington must still issue the hotly anticipated currency report, and the White House is under pressure from Congress to name China a currency manipulator. The Obama administration is generally expected to bring other countries into its effort to push China on the yuan, which may be a theme at the G20 summit in Canada in June.

"Looking back next year, my guess is if there is seen to be a major problem in U.S.-China relations during the course of 2010 ... it will be the trade relationship," Lieberthal said.

He said the issue was a potent one politically, especially with U.S. congressional elections in November. A combination of high U.S. unemployment and the huge U.S. trade deficit has made China an easy target, and put pressure on Obama to get tough with Beijing on trade and currency issues.

"It (the currency issue) is clear and simple and therefore politically powerful," Lieberthal said.

Additional reporting by Paul Eckert; Editing by Peter Cooney

Reuters

Mickelson wins third green jacket with an emotional victory at Masters

DOUG FERGUSONAP Golf Writer

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Even sweeter than Phil Mickelson slipping into another green jacket was seeing his wife waiting for him behind the 18th green Sunday at Augusta National with tears streaming down her face.

She had not been at a golf tournament since being diagnosed with breast cancer 11 months ago.

He had not looked the same ever since.

A shattered world seemed at peace in the fading sunlight Sunday at the Masters, where Mickelson made one last birdie for a 5-under 67 and a three-shot victory over Lee Westwood.

The conclusion was far more emotional than anyone expected.

"To win this tournament, it's the most amazing feeling," Mickelson said from Butler Cabin. "This has been a special day. I'll look back on this day as very memorable, something I'll always cherish".

Determined to win one for his family, Mickelson made two remarkable par saves from the trees, then made a gutsy play off the pine straw and over Rae's Creek on the par-5 13th hole. It was the kind of shot that has brought Mickelson so much criticism for taking too many risks. This time, nothing was going to stop him.

His final birdie only mattered on the scorecard, 16-under 272, the lowest by a Masters champion since Tiger Woods in 2001. Mickelson had this won as he walked up the 18th fairway to a massive ovation. He raised both arms when the putt fell, had a long embrace with caddie Jim "Bones" Mackay then walked toward the scoring hut and into Amy Mickelson's arms.

Standing behind them was Mary Mickelson, his mother, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in July.

Los Angeles Times

Twitter Gobbles Up Tweetie

Acquisition of the iPhone app could change conditions for third-party Twitter applications.

Harry McCracken

Twitter has acquired Atebits, the very small company that makes Tweetie, the truly exceptional Twitter client for the iPhone. Tweetie is being renamed Twitter for iPhone, the price is going from $2.99 to $0, and it sounds like creator Loren Brichter will be working on an iPad version and maybe ones for other mobile devices.

The move is controversial, since it -- along with the release of an official Twitter client for BlackBerry -- puts Twitter in direct competition with the third-party developers who have built much of the Twitter ecosystem. Will Twitter still help to promote Tweetie rivals such as Twitterific? Will Tweetie Twitter for iPhone grab monopolistic market share among iPhone Twitter apps? Will any developer even bother to try and make money from Twitter apps when Twitter is giving them away? We'll see.

For me, there's one overriding factor here: TweetieTwitter for iPhone is not merely a nice piece of software but one of the best pieces of smartphone software -- for any purpose -- I've ever seen. And I believe that Loren Brichter is among the most talented developers of user interfaces who's ever worked on any platform. I expected that a larger company would acquire Atebits to get Brichter on board, and kind of feel that if a company was capable of convincing Brichter to join it, it would be irresponsible not to do so.

I've also thought that Tweetie Twitter for iPhone was compelling evidence that one gifted programmer can make better software than an army of people. Let's hope that Brichter's creation stays great, and that Twitter lets him loose to do equally amazing work on other platforms.

PCWorld

President Karzai Visits Afghan North

President Karzai and Gen McChrystal paid a joint visit to the northern Kunduz province on Sunday to meet hundreds of local elders

President Hamid Karzai and General Stanley McChrystal met hundreds of elders in the province, where it has seen a surge in Taliban attacks over the past year.

Gen McChrystal is expected to send 2,500 US troops to the Kunduz area in coming months to beat back Taliban fighters who have seized much of the province despite the presence of thousands of German troops.

The upcoming campaign in Kunduz will be the first big ground fight for US forces outside the traditionally volatile south and east.

Germany has the third largest contingent in Afghanistan, numbering more than 4,000, but increasing violence in the northern areas it patrols has made the campaign controversial in Germany.

Quqnoos

Dubai Government Forms Finance Team

Issac John

DUBAI —The Government of Dubai on Sunday set up a finance team to draw up a four-year financial plan and to make recommendations on the fiscal needs of the emirate.

The new body will operate under Dubai’s Department of Finance and report to the Supreme Fiscal Committee chaired by Shaikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum.

The finance team will be headed by Jamal Hamed Al Marri, Director of Central Accounts at the Department of Finance, the Dubai government said in an e-mailed statement on Sunday.

The team will include representatives from the Department of Finance, Dubai Police, Dubai Municipality, the Roads and Transport Authority, Dubai Customs, Dubai Health Authority and the Dubai Airports Authority.

The team is being established to emphasise “the need for further cooperation and coordination between the various components of Dubai’s financial system”, said the statement.

“This step comes as part of a series of financial reforms aimed at enhancing efficiency of government spending, both capital and operational, and bolstering the rules that form the basis of Dubai’s fiscal policy,” it said.

Abdulrahman Al Saleh, Director General of the Department of Finance, stressed the importance of cooperation of between Dubai government departments and authorities and the government finance team.

Analysts see the move as crucial in allocating state funds for future finance requirements as Dubai makes headway in supporting its state-owned conglomerates by restructuring their debts.

On March 15, the government pumped in $9.5 billion in new funding to help Dubai World and property firm Nakheel restructure their debt.

Announcing the cash injection last month, Shaikh Ahmed said the Government of Dubai would support the state-owned entities’ restructuring proposals with significant financial resources.

Khaleej Times