The news that Miami city officials are planning on throwing a big bash to dance on Fidel Castro's grave went over like a lead balloon here.   

The idea of reserving the Orange Bowl, selling souvenir tee shirts and dancing to salsa bands is being construed as both inappropriate and insensitive. And no matter how hard Miami officials insist the Orange Bowl event is meant to ensure people's safety and won't be a party, Cubans here don't believe it.

Surprisingly, Cuba's government-run press has refrained from reporting the news item. Normally this is the sort of thing political pundits here milk as headlines for days. The silence is perhaps due to the nature of the story: the imminent death of El Comandante.

Heard through the grapevine
But, like most things Miami, people learned about it here through the grapevine.

Lester Ramos, a cab driver, listens to Miami disc jockeys that bleed onto Cuba's AM dial. That's where he learned his near-perfect English.

"The guy's not even dead," said Ramos, shaking his head. "It's unbelievable."

Like many Cubans, the father of three supports changes in his country—primarily to open the economy to lighten his load. He refuses though to take the next step and think about political change, maybe through fear of the unknown. "I really don't have a problem with the government, but this economy has got to go."

The news that Miami will officially celebrate Castro's death also tripped off the tongues of relatives phoning from across the Florida Straits. "My sister told me," explained Ivet Lopez, a pediatric emergency-room nurse who speaks to her Hialeah family on a regular basis. "And I told her that's no way to live — waiting for somebody to die."

Not everyone here pays attention to politics. "Fidel doesn't affect me one way or another," said a 20-year-old college student who declined to give his full name for fear of retribution from the government and his father, a career military officer. He expressed a sense of apathy many in his generation feel — despite a concerted effort by the government to involve young Cubans in the one-party political system. "My only concern is school."

Castro supporters miffed
Not so with Castro's supporters, who were particularly offended.

For historian Tomas Diaz the news reinforces all his prejudices against the city of Miami, home to tens of thousands of Cuban exiles. "It's inhuman to celebrate someone's death, but what can you expect? That's Miami politics — an exercise in bad taste!"

Even Miriam Leyva, a leading dissident and one of Fidel Castro's fiercest critics, found the idea of a party "inappropriate," cautioning that it will drive a further wedge between Cubans here and the diaspora in the United States.

"Death is not something to celebrate. You can understand that some people will feel good about the news, but we should be working on reconciliation between all Cubans living on and off the island. The time to hold a party is when there's democracy in Cuba."

Reverend Juan Ramon de la Paz, who presides over the Episcopal Cathedral in Havana, agreed. "To organize these parties is anti-Christian, anti-Evangelical, and anti-religious. There is no religion that celebrates someone's death, even your enemy's death."

El Comandante scuttles rumors
Castro himself sent a message that the party planning may be a bit premature.

Video that ran on Cuban television Tuesday night and allegedly shot the afternoon before showed him standing, smiling and chatting with Venezuelan ally Hugo Chavez. 

NBC NEWS

VIDEO: Cuban state television shows a video of Fidel Castro meeting with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

"As I have said, this is far from being a lost battle," Castro declared, looking slightly stronger than in the last images his government released three months ago.

Without a doubt, he remains thin and frail some six months after undergoing emergency surgery to stop an intestinal bleed. According to sources on the island, he presently faces at least six months of physical therapy before he can begin to resume his public life—barring any additional setbacks.

Last year when a journalist from Indian-administered Kashmir asked me what the "story" was behind Begum Nawazish Ali, I was more than just surprised. The Begum (the term means "Lady" in Urdu) in question is the host of Pakistan's most popular TV talk show – "Late Night Show with Begum Nawazish Ali."

 I didn't think Aaj, the fledgling television channel which broadcasts the show, was even seen outside the country. I asked him how he knew the name of Pakistan's rising star and he said "Oh, we all watch her program off satellite!"

NBC News/Courtesy Aaj TV

"Late Night Show with Begum Nawazish Ali" host Ali Saleem in drag. Click here to watch VIDEO of Begum Nawazish preparing for the show.

The talk show host making waves in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (and apparently Kashmir) is purportedly a stylish, middle-aged, socialite widow of an army colonel. Her monologues are often laced with sexual innuendo, she flirts openly with her guests, and sometimes embarrasses them with probing questions about their private lives. Her guests include some of Pakistan's most well-known personalities: the urban elite, film and television stars and even some top politicians. Most are nevertheless thrilled to be invited to appear on a program millions are watching.

Viewers are obviously fascinated too. Dinner party conversations here in Karachi are often peppered with anecdotes about her risqué banter and sly digs at Pakistani politics. Women call the television station to inquire about the tailoring of her sequined blouses and where to buy her glamorous saris.

The thing is, Begum Nawazish Ali is actually a man. Ali Saleem, the 28-year-old man who dons lipstick, mascara and a wig to Begum Nawazish Ali, has managed to break many taboos in conservative Pakistan through the character.

A strong, glamorous Pakistani woman
When I nonchalantly mentioned that the host was in drag to the Kashmiri journalist, his eyes almost popped out of his head. That was almost a bigger surprise for me. I thought that fact was obvious to everyone and was part of the show's success. Certainly no Pakistani woman on television could get away with the kind of double entendres she gets away with.

To the actor Saleem, there is little doubt about why audiences are tuning in – they're all waiting to see what the well-coiffed, manicured character will say next.

Female guests often find themselves comparing wardrobes and jewelry with her, while male guests have had to bear the brunt of a suggestive proposition from her. "Some people compare her to Dame Edna's character on British television," said Saleem, "but Begum Nawazish Ali is much too sophisticated to ever be that crude."

So popular is the show that advertising rates during its weekend prime time slot are triple that of other shows in similar slots. Saleem is now one of the highest paid television hosts in the country and is constantly receiving offers from rival channels to bring the show to them.

During an arduous three-hour hair and make-up session before the recording of a show, Saleem was philosophical about the reasons why the show has clicked with audiences.

"I think Begum Nawazish Ali inspires women in particular because she is a strong, glamorous, opinionated woman who is unafraid of saying what she thinks and of flirting with men if she feels like it," explained Saleem. "Men, on the other hand, find her intriguing because she transcends all kinds of restrictions and plays with their imagination."

More open than outsiders think
So far, despite the thin line Saleem treads between the outrageous and the socially acceptable – overt sexuality of any kind is frowned upon in conservative Pakistan – his celebrity guests have also been good sports.

Surprisingly even Pakistan's firebrand religious leaders have never attacked the show. "We couldn't convince [the head of the main religious parties alliance] Qazi Hussain Ahmed to come on the show," said Saleem, "but he was very good-natured about it. He praised the Begum and said he would rather just watch the show on television."

Even a septuagenarian belonging to Jamaat-e-Islami, an Islamist political party, claimed that he did not know what he was getting into after appearing on the show.  

Saleem got his first big break famously impersonating former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in theatre and on television, but says it's the Ali character that brings out the real woman inside him. "I am happy to openly accept my bisexuality because it does justice to the man in me and the woman in me," he said with a laugh. He claims he has "only received love, adoration and respect, never anything evenly remotely negative."

Then Saleem dropped a bombshell. "You are the first person I am announcing this to, but I have decided to file my papers for the upcoming general elections," he exclaimed. "I am going to run for a parliamentary seat as an independent from all over Pakistan and I am going to campaign as Begum Nawazish Ali!" The note of triumph and excitement in his voice is unmistakable.

"I want to be the voice of the youth and for all of Pakistan," he continued. "The idea was always to break barriers and preconceived notions, of gender, identity, celebrity and politics and to bring people closer. In any case, I think Begum Nawazish Ali is the strongest woman in Pakistan!"

Whether Pakistanis agree or not, the elections at the end of the year are likely to be one of the most uproarious in recent times.

At first sight, Bangkok's new airport looks impressive enough. To the thousands of tourists who land here every day, the modern glass and steel terminal building, shimmering in the heat, appears every bit the symbol of modern Thailand it was intended to be.

Look closer, though, and you'll see the workers racing to fill the numerous cracks that have appeared on the runways and taxiways just four months after it was opened and hailed as the Pride of Thailand. It's now impossible to use 11 of 51 air bridges, and the Thai government said this week that at least some flights will be shifted back to the old airport, while the runways are patched up.

Last weekend Thai aviation authorities refused to extend an international safety certificate for the problem-plagued facility. The airport's general manager said it had yet to set up a safety committee because they were "too busy resolving other problems."

Fast becoming a fiasco
And those problems are enormous, ranging from a leaking roof and pipes to not enough toilets and a tiny, congested arrival area. The airport, called Subarnabhumi (Golden Land), is already running close to capacity. Engineers are trying to figure out whether the runway cracks are minor or reflect a more serious structural problem that might threaten safety and result in the temporary closure of the airport.

Worried airlines have been told not to land on damaged parts of the runway. Last week flights were disrupted – some diverted to U-Tapao, the former Vietnam War airfield, while emergency repairs were carried out. Pilots have complained to local newspapers about their safety fears.

The $3.7 billion airport was supposed to turn Thailand into a regional aviation hub, but is fast becoming a fiasco. The shoddy workmanship is being blamed on massive graft. The new military-installed government says its construction was riddled with corruption; one investigator claims it's hard to find a contract that wasn't improperly negotiated.

That neatly allows blame to be placed at the feet of deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who embraced the project and pushed for it to open early in the face of opposition from airlines who complained last year that the airport wasn't ready.

In fact, plans for the airport go back four decades, as do warnings that its location, 13 miles from the city, on a piece of marshland once known as "cobra swamp," wasn't wise. There've been accusations of graft ever since its inception.

The current government's decision to come clean on all these problems appears to be part political, since it is struggling to build a corruption case against Thaksin, and massive corruption was one of the reasons cited for his removal in the coup last September. .

That said, the problems are very real. Some 45 million people – many of them tourists – fly in and out of Bangkok every year. Travelers seem certain to face disruption in the months ahead, and they – and the airlines – are looking for urgent assurances about safety at Suvarnabhumi.

With all the media hoopla over the existence of Starbucks in China's Forbidden City, we reckoned it would be easy to find it.

We turned out to be wrong.

Cameraman Maurice Roper, researcher Ed Flanagan, and I had read up on the Starbucks site. We had to. The Forbidden City – one of China's great national treasures that dates back to 1420 – covers over 2 million square feet. 

But we knew the Starbucks kiosk was somewhere around the Hall of Preserving Harmony, near a gift shop, and news reports spoke of crowds of foreign media staked out outside.

Even if we got lost, surely, we thought, there would be a readily identifiable green circular logo.

Locating the Hall of Preserving Harmony was straightforward. Being a World Heritage site that draws nearly 9 million visitors a year, the Forbidden City is well signposted in Chinese and English.

Peter Parks / AFP - Getty Images

Tourists drink coffee in the Starbucks coffee shop in Beijing's Forbidden City on Jan. 19.

But nowhere was there Starbucks or a tell-tale crowd of journalists. Signs indicating a "coffee shop" in the general vicinity led us to two stands: one was shut, the other bore none of the familiar green and white hallmarks.

It wasn't until Ed spotted a Starbucks paper cup through a dusty window that we realized we were in fact standing right outside the kiosk.

No trademark green sign posts here
The Starbucks that some Chinese have been decrying so loudly as "trampling Chinese culture" is indiscernible – especially to untrained eyes likes ours – from the many restored buildings around the Imperial courtyard.  It's housed inside the Palace Museum Gift Shop and lacks any Starbucks signage.

"Starbucks's existence doesn't affect the Forbidden City's features or style," says Chen Yu.

He should know; he works at the National Museum.  And because of the proximity of his office to the Forbidden City, sometimes walks past the Starbucks kiosk. "I think Starbucks gives people another choice, and Starbucks never hurt the Forbidden City so why don't we give Starbucks a little place in the Forbidden City."

Of course, many Chinese believe differently. For instance, Annie Wei – a recent college graduate – says the Starbucks inside the Forbidden City should be replaced with a Chinese-run teahouse.

Adrienne Mong / NBC News

This building houses not only the well-signposted official gift shop inside China's legendary Forbidden City, but also a not-so-visible Starbucks coffee shop.

But columnist Raymond Zhou, an observer of social change in China, argues, "The Chinese culture is strong enough, rich enough to incorporate what is good, beneficial to us and to…humankind."

Apparently so. As Chen from the National Museum prepared to leave our bureau after our interview, we offered to take him back home. But he said that he was meeting a friend nearby. Where? At the Starbucks just across the road.

A few weeks ago I wrote here that after covering all the tabloid stories in London, I was looking forward to getting back to Gaza. Forget it, not anymore.

And here's why: It's got too dangerous. Nobody is filming the daily fighting between Hamas and Fatah militias, as well as all the other family and revenge-driven shootings among Palestinians in Gaza because the gunmen threaten to kill the cameramen and other journalists.

And this raises a question about the limits of television news. If there are no pictures of the fighting, do we report the story?

The first question of the television news editors is usually: "What are the pictures like?" If we answer, "Well, there are 25 dead but we don't have any pictures," then the response will often be, "OK, well we'll pass."

So the Palestinian gunmen's threats work. They don't want to be seen shooting at each other because it's bad for their image. They threaten the journalists, and they mean it.

A couple of weeks ago they blew up the offices of Arab television agency al-Arabiya because they didn't heed the warnings. Luckily nobody was there and there were no injuries. 

And because the press doesn't want to get killed, the Palestinian gunmen get their way - nobody sees them killing each other. We see the funerals, but not the fighting. The Palestinians protect their image. Broadcasters don't tell the story. And the public gets short-changed.

Too dangerous
It's not because the cameramen lack courage. I've seen Palestinian cameramen -- among the bravest, even most reckless, I've come across anywhere -- try to film through windows or from rooftops, while gunmen fire home-made shoulder-launched rocket propelled grenades and automatic rifles in all directions.

But now it has risen to a point where even recklessness would be foolish. In Somalia they used to call the rockets "weapons of no fixed address" because of their haphazard targeting. Now it's similar in Gaza.

A friend in Khan Younis, a city in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, says it's crazy there. Streets are empty, everyone is shooting guns for no reason, and bullets are slamming into houses and through windows randomly. He says he can't go shopping and nobody is working or going to school.

And my friend predicts that the situation will get a lot worse, very soon. It's like Somalia, Iraq, Lebanon, he said. Wherever the Islamic militants are fighting, it will always get worse, because they don't just want power, they want an Islamic state, and have begun the fight to get it.

An Israeli friend with contacts among the al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades, a Palestinian militant group aligned with Fatah, told me what one of their fighters, who fights constantly against Hamas had to say about the violence.

"He told me, 'Listen, the Shiites, they are not like us Sunnis.'" (He was referring to Hamas, which, even though most of its members are actually Sunnis, has begun to be called Shiite by its rivals because they have come so strongly under the influence of Shiite-dominated Iran.)

"The Shiites will come here and slaughter me, and when he will come to slaughter me and the knife will be on my neck, I will tell him, why you kill me I'm a Muslim? I do all the Salichat, which is the good things according to the Koran: I fast and I pray. And the Shiite man would tell me, if you do all of that, then you will go to heaven, because I'm going to slaughter you." That's the al-Aksa fighter talking, no peacenik himself.

It is a journey that I have made countless times. Arriving in the city I was born in and left -- sometimes even fled -- more times than I care to remember in the past 35 years, has become something of a routine for me. There is no doubt that things have changed here in those years.

The bitter memory of the civil war receded and the battle-scarred buildings and roads have given way to brand new highways and glimmering high-rises. The city has regained the cosmopolitan essence that it had all but lost.

Beirut today reflects the makeup of the whole country, with its diverse population. Muslim and Christian neighborhoods melt into each other, separated in most cases by nothing more than a narrow street. In the historic downtown, minarets and church steeples vie for attention, as if in competition with each other. It is the only city I know where conversations are drowned out by both the muezzin's call for prayer and the chiming of church bells.

My arrival here on Friday should have been no different from the other trips I've made to Beirut. This time, however, things are far from normal. I landed here less than 24 hours after one of the most violent riots between the opposing sectarian groups claimed the lives of at least three people. 

As I drove past the Beirut Arab University, I could see some of the remnants of Thursday's clashes: an overturned minibus here, a half burned tire there. Violence is no stranger to Lebanon, but most people had hoped that sectarian strife was something firmly rooted in the (albeit recent) past.

Divisions run deep
Civil war raged here from 1975 until 1990 and resolved none of the basic fundamental problems that blight Lebanon. Deeply divided along sectarian groupings, the main fault lines that run through the Lebanese political landscape were papered-over. Exhaustion had set in and for a while that was enough to sustain a fragile peace here.

This summer's war between Israel and Hezbollah, the paramilitary political force here that represents most, but not all, of Lebanon's Shiite community, put the spotlight back on the cracks that run deep in this country of 17 different religious communities.

A seemingly unbridgeable schism developed between the moderate Sunni Muslim, Christian and Druze factions on one side and the mostly Shiite groups on the other. The alliance of the former groups backed by the United States and Saudi Arabia blamed Hezbollah for igniting the devastating war, while the latter claimed that the others had almost colluded with Israel during the month long battle.

Hezbollah emerged bruised but survived the onslaught to resurface stronger than before. It claimed a "divine victory" over its nemesis then turned its attention inward, demanding an ever-increasing share of power. The continued financial, military and ideological support that the group gets from an increasingly emboldened Iran and its junior partner, Syria, ensures that these countries continue to have a strong say as to what happens in Lebanon.

What kind of Lebanon do people really want?
In reaction to this summer's events, the opposing political factions hardened their positions. Though the divisions breakdown along sectarian lines, the real issues at hand are what kind of Lebanon do these communities want? A pro-western businessman's haven or an Islamic government emulating Iran?

No sooner had Israel's bombing stopped than another war erupted on the country's airwaves and newspaper columns. Broadcasters and print journalists here mirror the position of their respective stations and papers most of which are owned by the political factions. Lebanon enjoys a level of freedom in the press unknown anywhere else in the Arab world, but the sniping and insults meted out daily on the main news broadcasts helped each side dig in a little deeper until an internal clash became inevitable.

There is a look of shock etched in people's faces here. Most remember well the misery of war and nobody it seems wants to experience a rerun of it. In this light it's understandable that almost every conversation starts with questions like "So what do you think will happen? Surely not another war?" It is as if people are desperate for an answer, any answer that will assuage their fears.

What seems most frustrating of all is that the Lebanese feel completely helpless in trying to resolve the situation. They know that they are caught in a political game, the results of which are not decided in Beirut's streets or ballot boxes, but rather in the corridors of power in Washington, Riyadh, Tehran and Damascus. It is in these cities, and not here, that the outcome of what happens to Lebanon will be determined.

So for now, the Lebanese are mere pawns in a much greater game over which they have little control. It is no wonder, therefore, that people around me are holding their breath and praying that the winds of war will not return to ravage this small and fragile country.

Robert Bazell, NBC News Chief Science Correspondent, is reporting from the 28th Combat Support Hospital in Iraq this week for the Nightly News with Brian Williams. He blogs about how an attack in Baghdad hits home in the Daily Nightly. Click here to read his report.

Aircraft: Tel Aviv ID, this is EL AL 316 shalom (hello)

Control: This is Tel Aviv ID, go ahead

Aircraft: This is EL AL 316 departure Rome, Destination Tel Aviv, 180 miles from coast. Line transponder 7205.

Control: This is Tel Aviv ID thank you, clear to Destination.

On frequency 118.80, this is a daily conversation between a captain and the Israeli controller that confirms an aircraft is recognized and clear to approach Israeli's legal waters.

But since the attacks of 9/11, Israel's Ministry of Transport has been developing a new security system that they hope will transform civil aviation dramatically and prevent potential terrorists from flying into Israeli air space to commit a "mega-terror" attack on an Israeli target.

The new security system, dubbed "Code Positive" is essentially a pilot identification device.

The system, developed by the Israeli company Elbit Systems, includes a credit card size device that will be personally assigned to individual pilots using a combination of smart card and bio-metric characteristics.

"Using this card, it will be possible to verify that the person flying the aircraft is indeed the person qualified to fly it," explained Danny Shenar, head of security at the Israeli Transportation Ministry.

The specific technology behind the device was not divulged for security reasons, but it is expected to be in use as soon as May of this year.

Commercial airlines and pilots who fly into Israeli territory will be given the cards free of charge. A deadline will be set for when all planes must comply with the new system. After that, aircraft that don't use the system will be declared "suspected enemy aircraft" and will be treated accordingly.

Israeli officials hope that other countries, including the United States, will adapt the system and create a better aviation security system around the world.

Maadi, a quiet suburb on the outskirts of Cairo, is known for its historic mansions, quiet tree-lined boulevards and American franchises like Gold's Gym and TGIF that cater to its large expatriate community.

But now, according to daily front-page headlines, the formerly peaceful suburb is in the "Grip of Terror."

Egyptians, unaccustomed to anonymous violent crime and especially serial violent crime, are alternately terrified and titillated by the "Maadi Murderer."

First of all, the "Maadi Murderer" (a translation of his Arabic epithet) is somewhat of a misnomer since the assailant has thankfully never succeeded in murdering anyone, but has stabbed a number of women in an area on the outskirts of Maadi. But that detail hasn't done anything to dispel fears across the city.

Hanan Nasar, a housekeeper in Maadi, says her children and their baby-sitter are afraid to stay alone in their own apartment. Her employers now pay taxi fare so she doesn't have to take public transportation. Nasar's niece, afraid to leave her home, skipped her high school exams like many other teenage girls in the area. She and her siblings huddle in one bed with her mother at night.

The exact number of the "Maadi Murderer's" victims is open to debate in the absence of official police figures, but the stabber's reputation has grown to mythic proportions, embellished by reports and rumors which suggest he has stabbed anywhere from four to 48 women in the past month.

In the beginning, people said he stabbed only young women in tight jeans. But that profile has changed. He reportedly knifed a woman hanging clothes on her roof. Crowds of people warned passers-by that the "murderer" had just stabbed a woman at a bus stop. Another panic was created in a second location, when a crowd claimed he struck a woman at home. Rumor even has him prowling the subway.

In a tabloid article entitled "The Maadi Murderer: Thrilling details Published For the First Time," two of the most credible victims, a nurse and a school supervisor, recounted in chilling and similar detail how they were each assaulted as they left their apartments for work. The stabber, lying in wait behind their doors, grabbed them as they stepped out and covered their cries with his hand.

However, in a rare instance where Westerners are specifically not being targeted, Maadi's expatriates are largely untroubled. Cheril Condrath, onsite service manager of the Community Service Association, which provides classes, field trips and services to Maadi's expatriate community, said her family received one message from the U.S. Embassy reminding people to stay on alert, "but it's not affecting anyone's life."

And even if the police haven't succeeded in arresting the "Maadi Murderer," it isn't for lack of trying. Police checkpoints are scanning traffic throughout Maadi, and undercover police are scouring the streets for possible assailants, further unsettling some young ladies by surreptitiously following them around. One woman reportedly screamed, and passers-by who rushed to her aid beat up the "murderer" who turned out to be an undercover cop.

The police, in the midst of a torture scandal, have been embarrassed by their failure to capture the man. One newspaper quoted a police source as saying the arrest was hours away. The same claim a week later rang hollow.

Although the streets and shops are emptier than usual as many take refuge behind locked doors, some women have embraced a more proactive form of self-defense. On the front page of an opposition newspaper, a Maadi teen smiled confidently as she held up her box-cutter. Nasar said she has heard many other women are following suit.

There is tension on every street in west Beirut, not only at the Arab University when the incident between the government and opposition supporters happened Thursday.

In each area and on each block there are Hariri's people here (Saad Hariri is the leader of the parliamentary majority and the leading Sunni opponent of Hezbollah), and Hezbollah people there. So there is tension in every street.

The army has now taken over. They pushed back the young men and boys and sent them home. So there is an appeal from all of the leaders in Lebanon – including Hariri, Nabih Berri, the House Speaker, and Hezbollah to calm the streets. But the tension is still there.

After 2:30 p.m. – when we heard the news about the clash at the Arab University – everybody just left work and went back home. So there was a huge traffic jam from east to west. It took me about two-and-a-half hours instead of about four minutes to pick up my kids from school.

So, everything is pretty crazy in the city. Now all of the streets are empty. Most of the streets are now full of the army on patrol.

In the summer there was the Israeli bombing, But this fighting from street to street, from neighbor to neighbor – this is the scary part.

If you want to go to your office, you have to cross like five checkpoints. You cross Hariri's people, you cross the Shiites.

There is absolutely tension in Beirut. But, for now it's calmed down a little bit. The army has taken over and all the leaders have asked their people to pull out from the street. So we have to wait a few hours to see what their action will be after their appeal.

Missing a goal in Iraq has always come at a cost.

Saddam Hussein's psychopathic son Uday, at one time the national soccer team's overall manager, would order players whipped and beaten if they lost games; some were even forced to train barefoot, kicking a cement ball.

So much had changed by the summer of 2004. The underdog team clawed its way into the Olympic quarterfinals and became the darling of Athens and the pride of Iraq.

Now, the team once again reflects the prevailing political environment: sectarian mistrust. When the Iraqi team lost to Saudi Arabia Wednesday, commentators and fans cried civil war.

"This is a conspiracy, there is a clear sectarian motive here," one disheartened sports commentator announced on local television.

Here's the theory:

Most of the Iraqi soccer players are Shiites.

Most of the managers are Sunnis.

Saudi Arabia is a Sunni state.

The conspiracy theory is that the Sunni managers threw the game to give their Sunni Saudi brothers the victory.

"They were playing the weaker players on purpose, maybe they were bribed. It was a sectarian issue," a soccer fan told me, seeing the match, like most everything else in this country now, colored by a religious lens.

President Bush's State of the Union address happened very early in the morning in Iraq, so few people saw it and it was not covered in Wednesday's newspapers. But Iraqis were aware that the important speech was taking place, and of course have strong feelings about the points regarding Iraq. (VIDEO)

In an attempt to get some reaction from local Iraqis, our crew interviewed people about their thoughts. We spoke to 68-year-old Khaddar Khafajee. Last year his nephew was killed when his house was bombed. He has suffered many losses and has strong views about Americans and Bush.

"What have the Americans done to benefit Iraq?" asked Khafajee. "They have done nothing but killing and demolishing."

But Khafajee also had to admit, "Without the American army here, massacres would take place in Baghdad and other places in Iraq. It would be civil war."

Khafajee's view is shared by many Iraqis, who feel let down by what they view as failed promises from the Iraqi government and Bush.

As for the increased troops here, Iraqis hope it will make a difference. They pray it will work. But this is the last chance. Many believe that if this fails it will be a disaster, a catastrophe. It will mean Iraq will descend into hell.

* The names of local journalists are not being used to protect their identity.

Theatergoers in Saudi Arabia gave new meaning to interactive theater when they mounted a stage to punch, hit, kick and whack actors with planks during a performance.

The television network al Jazeera broadcast video Tuesday of Muslim militants attacking actors during a play whose theme was both anti-extremist and anti-liberal

The incident occurred about a month ago when the actors were performing at Al Yamamah College in Riyadh during a college-sponsored culture week.

The play, titled "Moderates Without Moderation," portrayed Saudi society as being both hijacked by religious extremists -- fanatics who advocate violence, terrorism, and fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan -- and liberals who ape everything the West has to offer, good or bad. The play's theme went on to contend that extremism on both the left and the right has left Saudi moderates with a lack of identity and direction.

The incident came after Islamists got wind of a play "against Islam." Some of the attackers, who were not students, were sentenced and jailed, but all have been released. Nobody was seriously injured as a result of the scuffle.

After the incident, the college performed "Moderates Without Moderation" before invitation-only audiences. 

Ibrahim Malik, the director of marketing and public relations for the college, said that this kind of incident has happened before in Saudi Arabia, and urged the government to do more to prevent similar occurrences. Islamists have previously issued death threats to comedians who lampoon terrorists and religious fanaticism. 

Malik suggested that the jailed attackers were released quickly because Saudi courts, which are based on religious law, tend to be lenient in such cases. He said the college was surprised to find out during the investigation that the ringleaders didn't even know the name of the play, and had acted only because they had heard it was against religion. 

Malik stood by the school's decision to perform the play and said that "the university believes, as an educational institution, that they have the goal and objective to play a major role in confronting this type of trend."   

On Saturday, more than 13 million Germans tuned in to the country's most popular game show, "Wanna bet...?" and were won over by an unlikely American hero.

The show contestants perform unusual stunts while celebrities bet on their outcome. Usually, international stars, like Justin Timberlake or Beyoncé, get the biggest round of applause.  But this time, "Sweet Pea" – an American dog – stole the audience's hearts.

Sweet Pea, part border collie and part German shepherd, slowly walked up a flight of stairs, gently balancing a glass of water on her head without spilling a drop. And, to top it off, she did the same trick again, walking down the stairs backwards!

Alexandra Beier / Reuters

Sweet Pea walks up stairs while balancing a glass of water on her head during the German television show "You Bet" on Saturday.(REUTERS/Alexandra Beier)

Other contestants included a high-school girl, who could identify her classmates by the sound of how they brushed their teeth, and a crazy Austrian who drove a car, tilted on only two wheels, past a long row of balloons, popping all of them in two minutes.

But they didn't stand a chance. Sweet Pea and her owner, Alex Rothacker, a professional dog handler from Illinois, have spent five years training for their big moment. The attention they have received in Germany was probably a lot more than they expected.

"We usually perform for kids back home," Rothacker said during the show, while Sweet Pea sat attentively next to her, unaffected by the thousands of visitors in the large arena.

Newspapers across the country, including the German mass circulation BILD tabloid, ran stories about Sweet Pea on Monday, many calling her "the super dog."

One local paper in Bavaria ended its report with the question "What can your dog do?" asking its readers to send in their puppy's best trick. What would the German version be? Maybe a poodle in Lederhosen bringing its owner a stein of beer!

PANGLAO ISLAND, Philippines -  Given the opportunity, I like to recharge my batteries on one of the Philippines' 7,000-plus islands but, before booking hotel and airfare, I always ask about the "Three T's" – typhoons, tsunamis or terrorists before I travel.

Bad weather has always been a worry: God has been mixed in his gifts to the natives of this beautiful archipelago. Every year, hundreds – sometimes thousands – of Filipinos die in floods, typhoons, mudslides, earthquakes, and other freaks of nature. But concern about local terrorism is more recent.

Paradise on earth shattered
In my case it started one morning in May, 2001, when I woke up at home, in London, turned on the cable news, and saw a band of wild, chanting militants, covered in machine-gun bullet belts, and standing in front of Bungalow 18 at the Dos Palmas resort on Palawan Island.  

The news anchor said these men belonged to Abu Sayyaf, an al-Qaida-linked Islamist group which had just invaded the idyllic beachfront in central Philippines, and kidnapped 14 local workers as well as three American tourists. 

It was one of those "I must be dreaming" moments: only six weeks earlier, my wife and I had rented the same Bungalow 18 at the same Dos Palmas resort, thinking – at the time – that we had finally found paradise on earth. The kidnap victims could easily have been us. In the end, one American was beheaded and another fatally wounded when the inexperienced Philippine Army botched a rescue attempt months later.

Fast forward almost six years. The local papers are full of headlines about a "surge" of troops – but they're not referring to Iraq. Rather, analysts here are now predicting a final crackdown – "a mortal turning point" for Abu Sayyaf, whose remaining 300 or so fighters are now scattered across a couple of southern (predominately Muslim) provinces with little coordination and no leadership.

Some successes
What happened? Within the past week, the Philippine Armed Forces, with support from U.S. military advisors "embedded" with those forces, have killed two of Abu Sayyaf's chiefs.  Both of the leaders had plotted the Dos Palmas kidnapping and killings, as well as the 2004 firebombing of a Filipino ferryboat – one of South East Asia's worst terror attacks that killed at least 116 passengers.   

After years of "just missing" the island-hopping insurgents, the "new"  Philippine Army – U.S.-trained commandos equipped with night-vision goggles and other hi-tech surveillance gear – is taking the fight to the militants in their own formerly safe havens.

The killing of Abu Sayyaf leader Khadaffy Janjalani and chief spokesman Abu Sulaiman is not only big news for Filipinos and foreign tourists who – like me – were increasingly worried about going diving and ending up a statistic in some terrorist lair. Washington had a $5 million bounty on both of their heads.

The U.S. Embassy, starving for some good news in the war on terror, is overjoyed. President Bush has dispatched Karen Hughes, the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, who has been tasked with improving the U.S. image abroad, to Sulu Island, on Abu Sayyaf's heartland. She is expected to meet with U.S. forces there and no doubt milk the hard-earned victory over Muslim extremism in far-flung Asia.

Of course, the war on terror against Abu Sayyaf, Jemmah Islamiah or any number of other al-Qaida offshoots in this part of the world is far from won. But it does appear that Abu Sayyaf – which could once outrun the Philippine Navy because it had faster speedboats – is now itself on the run, and reportedly surrounded by highly motivated and heavily armed commandos.

Meanwhile, about two battalions of U.S. Special Forces seem to be doing the right thing: staying out of direct combat while providing advice and logistics to the quickly maturing Philippine Armed Forces.

Isn't this the way it was supposed to be? The way it didn't work out in Iraq and – to a large extent – in Afghanistan? True, there are many differences, but the good news about the U.S.-led counter-insurgency in the Philippines is certainly worth a mention. Who knows, the day may not be far off when I plan a vacation to my favorite get-away and ask about only two T's – typhoons and tsunamis.

Jim Maceda is an NBC News correspondent based in London and currently on vacation in the Philippines.

Even for a feisty Shanghai local, which our fixer Millie most definitely is, she was being pushy. 

"I really need the work," she said. We were stomping our feet in the damp chill of Shanghai's busy tourist shopping area, Nanjing Lu, as our correspondent and crew wrapped up shooting a standup. We were working in Shanghai just for the weekend.

"You don't understand, Adrienne," she said, when I didn't respond. "From last December through February, I have to go to six weddings!"

Ouch. Attending weddings can be an expensive affair anywhere in the world, but especially in China, where guests are expected to give the bride and groom cash.

And the going rate is steep. In a country where a middle-class monthly salary can average roughly $250, single guests are expected to give $100 and couples are expected to give $125. But families -- and since Millie and her husband have a two-year-old daughter, they're considered a family -- are expected to fork over $200 to the very happy couple.

When I asked Millie why there was such a wedding crush in eight weeks time, she reminded me that the Year of the Pig was coming upon us -- the Chinese New Year is Feb. 18.   

Year of the Golden Pig
In the Chinese horoscope, some of the 12 zodiac animals are considered lucky, including the pig. And this year, which is the fifth Year of the Pig and falls every 60 years, is known as the Year of the Golden Pig.

What this means is that couples are rushing to get married so that they can have babies during the Year of the Golden Pig. Children born in this auspicious year are believed to be destined for great material wealth and happiness, since their guardian pig is said to be under the influence of gold and never worries about anything beyond food and sleep.

And even though Chinese authorities discourage such values, dismissing them as superstitions, many Chinese still practice these beliefs, and local media have predicted a baby boom in cities like Shanghai.

"Everyone wants to give birth to a little pig," said Millie. 

I gave her a look. "Ok, yes, I admit, we'll need you for both days this weekend."

What's an eelpout?

The eelpout is an eel-shaped little fish, a funny looking little fellow, who is being used by German researchers to study the effects of rising temperatures in the North Sea.

This bottom feeding fish -- some of which are being held hostage in an aquarium in a northern German laboratory -- have a metabolism which reacts to warming water. The German scientists have discovered that once temperatures reach 70 degrees Fahrenheit, the eelpout's circulation fails, and the fish dies.

The German laboratory has already established a link between rising sea temperatures and the declining number of fish. Researchers at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Ocean Research in Bremerhaven say the eelpout's fate can be extrapolated to other organisms and believe that global warming will have dire consequences for many local types of fish if temperatures continue to rise.

And warmer waters could of course bode badly for humans as well. Scientists say that there's a good chance warming is creating more extreme storms due to warmer waters. While climate scientists at this point would not tie a specific storm to warmer waters, the consequences of more severe storms are clearly deadly.

Despite early warnings from meteorologists, at least 47 people were killed in the incredible storm which swept across northern Europe on Thursday night. With winds reaching hurricane force strength in Germany, it was the worst in eight years. In the Netherlands and Germany, the train system came to a complete standstill and hundreds of flights were cancelled. Travel by car was even difficult.

Frankly, the storm was frightening. Europeans are not used to extreme weather conditions - we usually watch hurricanes on television. But, now that cold and icy temperatures have suddenly gone missing at the height of winter time, it seems that we have to get prepared for the worst.

The costs for clean-up, rescue services and damage repairs will be immense. And scientists are predicting an even darker future. Let's hope researching the little eelpout can help come up with some kind of solution.

Pakistan and the United States have been shoulder to shoulder in fighting al-Qaida and Taliban militants in the rugged mountains between Pakistan and Afghanistan since the U.S. declared its war on terror in 2001. But five years down the road there seems to be some strains in the relationship between the allies.

Two strikes within a week on suspected al-Qaida targets by the U.S. forces inside Pakistani territory followed accusations by U.S. military and intelligence officials that Pakistan wasn't doing enough to root out terrorism within its borders.

'Hot pursuit'
Under an agreement known as "hot pursuit," the government of Pakistan has given tacit approval to U.S. forces based in Afghanistan to chase down and attack al-Qaida and Taliban targets wherever they are spotted, even inside Pakistani territory. Sources close to the Pakistani military tell NBC News this agreement is deeply unpopular within the military ranks.

Pakistani military spokesman Gen Shaukat Sultan said it was Pakistan army gunship helicopters that carried out the attacks on three suspected training camps in a desolate area of south Waziristan on Tuesday. He said the same thing the previous week when missiles were fired on an alleged Taliban supply convoy as it tried to cross the border from Pakistan into Afghanistan.

But sources tell NBC News that, in both the cases, the Pakistani military never took part in the actual operation. U.S. drones fired precision-guided bombs to destroy their targets. The Pakistanis arrived later for mop-up operations. 

Eyewitnesses from nearby villages in south Waziristan said they saw drones circling overhead before Tuesday's attack and said Pakistani gunship helicopters reached the area 20-30 minutes after the bombing.

"The Pakistani helicopters circled over the destroyed compound for a while and left without landing or firing," an eyewitness said in a telephone interview.

Not sharing all info
Sources within the Pakistan military say the army is given advance notice of a U.S. strike, but with a limited margin of time.

U.S. officials have long said that they share 90 percent of their information with Pakistanis. But senior U.S. officials say they have been disturbed by the Pakistani government's willingness to make deals with local tribal leaders, deals that limit Pakistani military operations in the area. 

In fact, the United States has seen evidence of groups of militants, including foreign fighters, gathering in the tribal areas for training.  While the United States does not like the idea that the fighters think they have found safe harbor in those areas, they also note it can provide U.S. and Pakistani military units with a new set of targets.  

U.S. forces in Afghanistan believe that Pakistani forces manning the frontier between Pakistan and Afghanistan often turn a blind eye to the cross-border traffic of Taliban fighters.

Trust issue
A Pakistani intelligence officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, told NBC News that the Americans should have more trust in their Pakistani allies and there is a need for better communication and coordination especially when it comes to military operations on Pakistani soil.

After all, the official said, these two recent military operations conducted over a period of four days had a huge impact on the local communities in the tribal areas and across the country.

And while there may be some doubt about who carried out the attacks in the border regions, they were certainly carried out with U.S. weaponry.

These attacks can fuel the heated rhetoric stirred up by the very powerful Islamic political parties in Pakistan against the United States and U.S. policies in this region as well as in Iraq. The outcome is that an ever-increasing number of Pakistanis appear to be losing trust in the United States as a friend of Pakistan.

Robert Windrem, NBC News' Senior Investigative Producer, contributed to this report.

When I got the assignment to come to work out of the NBC London bureau I was delighted. That should make a nice change from war and mayhem in the Holy Land, I thought.

After ten days, I can't wait to get back to Gaza.

First 'Posh and Becks'
First, David Beckham announced he was going to earn $128,000 a day by leaving Real Madrid and going to play for the Los Angeles Galaxy in the American soccer league.

That kept us busy recycling every poor pun from the soccer and financial worlds. "From Becks to Bucks" won my lottery for best headline.

"Would Posh buy Michael Jackson's dilapidated Neverland ranch?" That fed a busy news cycle that ended with the word, No.

'The next queen?'
After two days of Posh and Becks, Kate Middleton took over. Anxious questions like, "Would Prince William propose?" And "Is she the future Queen of England?" left Fletcher floundering.

The airwaves were inundated with the same barely watchable loop of the 25-year-old being hounded by paparazzi as she left her home to get into her car. Speculation mounted feverishly over the haute couture provenance of her snazzy dress, which turned out to have been bought for $65 in a high-street sale.

I found myself answering the question, "What will Kate and William do tonight as it's her 25th birthday?" Well, maybe dinner and a movie? They didn't inform me. Floundering again.

Now Celebrity Big Brother
Then, another tabloid drama -- Celebrity Big Brother.

Racism had reared its ugly head in a country with a large Asian population. White contestants on the reality TV show ganged up on the only Asian in the house, a beautiful actress from India.

They swore at her using four letter words, made fun of her accent, her hygiene and her cooking. They asked her whether she lived in a house or a shack. As it turned out, she lived on the entire floor of an upscale apartment building, no doubt putting her taunters to shame.

Still, the TV show has received at least 21,000 complaints, more than any other British TV show in history.

Anyway, Gaza here I come. Although what with the state of global communications, no doubt the first question my Gaza friends will ask is, "So, did Posh buy a house yet in Hollywood?"

In August 2002, 19-year-old Sergeant Kevin Cohen was guarding an Israeli settlement in the Gaza Strip. At 7 a.m. he was shot dead by a Palestinian sniper. It was that bullet that killed Kevin and his dream, which he had related to his mother, Rachel Cohen, of one day fathering a child.

But this week, four years after his death, a dramatic ruling by an Israeli court means Kevin Cohen's dream may very well come true.

A 'biological will'
After her son's death, Cohen approached a non-profit organization called "New Family" which is dedicated to advancing family rights.

The organization is trying to convince people to write a "biological will," which in case of death would allow doctors to extract sperm from their bodies," explained Irit Rosenblum, the founder of "New Family" and Cohen's lawyer.

It was a mother's instinct that led Cohen to request doctors to freeze her dead son's sperm. Cohen said she had a dream one year after her son died.

"He appeared in my dream and asked me, mom what's with my child? Please hurry," said Cohen. "I woke up with a big sweat and decided to go ahead, all the way."

Then came the legal battle, which was fought around the ruling permitting only the wife of a deceased man to extract his sperm and to become impregnated by it. The new ruling now recognizes the parent's right over a dead child's sperm.

Irit Rosenblum, left, founder of the Israeli non-profit organization "New Family," and her client Rachel Cohen.

Battle won
Cohen's cell phone rang with the good news just as she was laying flowers on her son's grave. "I was too nervous and frustrated with the court battle, I decided the best place to be was near Kevin's grave," said Cohen.

Rosenblum called with the news that her dream of becoming a grandmother was going to come true. "The decision gave me great happiness but still the pain is so huge, I turned to the grave and told the good news to Kevin," said Cohen.

"The ruling represents a light at the end of the tunnel both for a family mourning the loss of a child, and also for a single woman wanting to bring a new life into this world," said Rosenblum.

An unusual appeal
During the course of the legal battle Cohen sent out an emotional appeal to the Israeli public for help. It was a strange request: Would a woman come forward and give birth to Cohen's dead son's child?

The process of finding a mother for Kevin Cohen's child took more than two years. Two hundred women were interviewed, medical tests were conducted, meetings with psychologists took place and finally one was chosen. "She won my heart right away," said Cohen.

The 35-year-old woman preferred not to be identified, but Cohen said, "There are a lot of women out there that really want to know the father's identity, his background, to be able to tell the child who was his father."

Now Cohen is waiting for another phone call, for more good news, that maybe nine months from now she will become a grandmother. At last she will be able to look at her son's picture and tell him he has a child.

There was a popular joke circulating in Cuba before Fidel Castro fell ill:

"Fidel is lying in a coma in an Intensive Care Unit, close to death. So his close family and political comrades have gathered outside his hospital room to pay their respects. For a moment Fidel opens his eyes and everyone watching him through the glass window begins to wave. Fidel turns to his nurse and asks:

"Why are they all here?"

"They have come to say goodbye, Comandante."

"Where are they all going?"

After Castro's operation in late July, the jokes stopped as reality set in -- despite the hype, Fidel is as mortal as the rest of us. For the first serious time in 50 years of Castro's rule, Cubans began asking in public: "What and who comes next?"

More questions than answers
Some people were certain that Castro was already dead, convinced that brother and designated heir Raul Castro was keeping the news to himself. Others expected the president to recover at miraculous speed, believing they would see him up and at the podium in weeks.

On August 13, his 80th birthday, the government released the first images of the patient. Those pictures raised a thousand questions

People saw a bed-ridden octogenarian, 40 pounds lighter and barely with enough energy to speak. That tempered the Fidelistas who often bragged that their hero would live beyond one hundred. Folks questioned in earnest if Fidel Castro's leadership were coming to a close.

Even Castro wondered. In a letter published in the state-owned press, he suggested that people prepare for the worst: "I'm engaged in a battle for my life…"

Series of no-shows
Still, people here expected Castro to attend the Non-Aligned Summit in early September when his government would host more than 100 heads of state. He was again missing in action but some images were released.

He looked slightly stronger in these still photos, able to sit up while he greeted a few select dignitaries. He had traded in his trademark green fatigues for a Hugh Hefner silk robe that drew more commentary here than his delicate condition. After all, wasn't this the man who people joked slept in his army-issued boots?

After the summit, Castro once more disappeared from public view -- flaring new rumors that he was back on his death bed. Another government-released video in mid-October did more to fuel concern than quiet the speculation. To a certain extent, perception depended on the viewer. While a doctor's trained eye observed steady improvement in a patient who now could stand and walk a few steps, the average Cuban saw an old man still battling for his life 12 weeks after surgery.

Clearly, the public relations effect of the video backfired. Since then the Cuban government has issued no new images.

Still, people set another benchmark, expecting Castro to hold to his promise to be back at the job by December 2nd and preside over a military parade. Again, he was a "no-show," but this time the government gave no explanation. The same occurred on January 1, marking the 48th year of his Revolution. In another letter to the nation, he reiterated that recovery was not guaranteed but indicated he was making headway.

Health a 'state secret'
People seem to accept that assessment at face value, somewhat surprising since they possess little concrete information about his state of health. In the six months of his illness, they've heard next to nothing from Castro's immediate family… nothing from his team of physicians. In fact, people do not even know the name of his attending doctor or where he is hospitalized. The Cuban government treats all his personal information as questions of national security.

But, this too has not worked. Questions about Castro's health are non-stop in press circles on and off the island.

Thousands of articles based on rumor and conjecture from "unnamed sources" have been written, possibly with the hope that the Cuban government will take the bait and provide full disclosure on Castro's condition. But, so far, not a chance!

This week a Spanish newspaper published a story that claims Castro remains in grave condition after three failed operations -- his precarious health a product of medical incompetence. A Cuban diplomat out of Madrid labeled the information "lies" while the only outside physician to examine Castro, Spanish surgeon Jose Luis Garcia Sabrido, quickly dismissed the crux of the claim, insisting that Castro has made "progressive improvement."

Still, the "El Pais" story managed to make world headlines for a solid 48 hours despite no independent confirmation.

So, again this week, journalists from the international media working in Cuba are being pressed to report the "real" story on Castro's health. To be honest, there's little that can be said with certainty.

We are fairly sure that he underwent at least two operations to repair severe intestinal bleeding that may have triggered an infection either before or after his initial surgery. He was clearly close to death in late July. We believe it was touch and go for a good part of the month of August as well.

In late December a source told NBC News that Castro was still on a liquid diet, still suffering from some sort of intestinal disorder and unable to tolerate solid food. He remained frail and much too thin for his tall frame. This is when the Spanish surgeon was asked to examine Castro to determine if additional surgery was in order. He recommended against another operation, giving the healing process more time.

The U.S. government believes Castro suffers from terminal cancer and probably won't survive the year. But sources here continue to insist that he is NOT on his deathbed even though recovery is much slower than his doctors initially anticipated… and last week, Castro's eldest son stated that he gets stronger every day…

Fait accompli?
It's anyone's guess if he'll ever be fit enough to resume full power. In fact, most Cubans do not expect to see the 80-year-old Castro returning to micro-manage this nation. At first, a disconcerting thought for many who have only known their Cuba according-to-Castro. But six months since he handed over power, no one can deny the idea has already taken form.

In the minds of the Cuban public, Cuba's political succession has already taken place.

Baghdad is a problem.

On a scale of one to ten, it's an eight: one being a small Greek island in early September -- ten being Armageddon.

But today, for the first time, one of our stringers said, "I can't wait until I get to Baghdad. It's much safer."

I was slack jawed.

I don't often hear the words "safer" and "Baghdad" in the same sentence. But this reporter lives in Baquoba, north east of here. Baquoba is a nine. Perhaps even and nine and a half.

"If I weren't Sunni, I'd be dead. I'm 100 percent certain I'd be dead," he said as he handed me a tape that he'd smuggled in the ashtray of his car; reporters in the area now operate in secret.

Al-Qaida supporting Sunni gunmen have taken over large parts of the city and don't like their pictures taken.

"They have driven out 90 percent of the Shiites in the area," he estimated.

Sectarian violence growing worse
I increasingly hear about entire villages being ethnically cleansed. Two weeks ago, we traveled to Saba al-Bor, a village north of Baghdad where Shiite militias have driven out nearly all of the Sunnis. The Sunnis are now on the outskirts of the town, lobbing in mortars, trying to drive out the Shiites. It's a nine there too.

But our reporter today told me about a new strategy in the civil war used in a village called Hweidar near Baquoba.

Hweidar is a small Shiite village surrounded by Sunni towns.

"Do you know what the Sunnis are doing?" the reporter asked me.

"They are firing in mortars?" I suggested.

"That too… but what else?"

"Just tell me."

"They are cutting it off. They have cut the power lines and are even stopping food from entering. Now, the only way in for supplies is by bellum," he said.

A bellum is a traditional Iraqi riverboat used by fishermen and farmers. British forces used these round, flat-bottomed rafts during WWI to transport supplies during their march north to Baghdad.

American and Iraqi officials have now launched a major "Baghdad security plan."

But as our stringer reminded me today, Baghdad is only part of much wider problem.

Building on the success of Blogging Baghdad , we're launching the World Blog to continue providing insight and comments from NBC News correspondents and producers around the world, in addition to Iraq.

This blog will feature the best NBC correspondents and producers from the Mideast region and elsewhere, offering unique insights and analysis on breaking news and trends from Beijing to Beirut and beyond.

As Richard Engel, NBC News Middle East Correspondent and a frequent contributor to Blogging Baghdad explains, "Expanding Blogging Baghdad makes total sense and is completely appropriate. Just as the war in Iraq is expanding beyond the borders, I think the way we cover the war in Iraq must think beyond the confines of the borders of this country." Read Richard's debut entry here: "Dangers of the Baghdad plan."

NBC News President Steve Capus also noted today, "This is simply a natural extension of the outstanding journalism we've already seen from NBC News correspondents around the world. Given the overwhelming audience reaction to "Blogging Baghdad" there is clearly an appetite for this kind of in-depth analysis and reporting from our international bureaus."

So, please bookmark this link and continue to give us your feedback through your comments. The link to Blogging Baghdad will remain active as an archive of the blogs from the last year, but all future posts from Baghdad will appear in the World Blog.

The Boeing 747 has just leveled off at 32,000 feet over the Pacific Ocean and for the first time, I tried to discreetly periscope my head to survey the other passengers who would be sitting around us for the next 12 hours.

Everywhere you looked were families with young kids: an expatriate express, ferrying American families back to China from the holidays stateside. Another confirmation was that we are all sitting in the business class section, a glorious perk and incentive Western companies give their ex-pat families.

As I saw the many children sitting around us, I was not thinking, "please I hope none of these young kids are sitting near us." The reason: I am one of those people.

My two year old Amelia was sitting between my wife, Jamie, and I. As if on cue, she stood in her seat, swiveled around to face the passengers to the rear and proudly shook her new "Dora the Explorer" doll at one road warrior business traveler who seemed thoroughly non-pulsed with Amelia's recent Christmas present. The fact that Dora came with an additional action figure, "Boots the Monkey," dressed as a medieval knight also would not sway him.

Meals served on board the United Airlines flight are when things get interesting. Passengers are given a choice of either a Western style main course or an Asian main course. United must logically assume that on a U.S.-China flight, both cuisines will be appreciated. Wrong. This is the ex-pat express.

Everyone is scooping up the Western style entrees bypassing Asian cuisine. And I know why. Even those of us who love Asian food are grabbing one last bite of home even if it comes in the form of American style airline food. By the time the aisle reaches the middle section of our cabin, the Western entree was gone and everyone was clamoring even for children's meals (with applesauce) to bypass stir fry. The road warrior was happy because he got his first choice, steak.

My daughter Amelia was also happy because we just gave her another Dora action figure to play with onboard. Yes, its bribery to keep her settled, but it works. She's been a champ on every long flight we've taken and makes less noise than many of the business travelers with beer snores around us.

These are strange times in Bangkok. The city's still reeling from a series of New Year's Eve bombs, Thailand's military-appointed government is rapidly losing credibility -- and Eric Clapton has come to town.

The veteran blues star gave a cool and clinical performance Monday evening at a packed City stadium, which was surrounded by some of the tightest security I've seem during my time in the city.

Foreigners, who probably made up half the audience, seemed to take it in stride. Although in reality, the bombs have sent a chill through an expatriate community that had regarded the Thai capital as one of the safest cities in Asia, and had been rather blasé about the coup.

A sea of yellow for the king
Most of the Thais in the audience seemed to be wearing yellow, a sign of loyalty to the king (the Thai king, that is, not Clapton). In Thai tradition every day has a color, and Monday, the day King Bhumibol Adulyadej was born, is yellow.

But it also has a very political hue, since yellow was the color adopted by opponents of deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was overthrown in a September coup by soldiers wearing yellow ribbons around their rifles. Some of the leading coup plotters were close to the palace, which was quick to endorse the military takeover.

The king is revered here; criticism of him can land you in jail. Unlike in Britain, where the monarchy have become the best rated soap opera, Thai's tend to look to the king in times of turbulence -- of which there have been many, the kingdom having clocked up 17 coups since 1932.

Growing uncertainty
The fact that Bangkok is a sea of yellow most Mondays is, though, more a sign of growing uncertainty, than continued support for a military-appointed government that's struggling to build a corruption case against the administration they overthrew because of alleged massive graft.

They've alienated foreign investors with botched economic reforms, and investigations into the New Year's Eve bombings seem to be going nowhere. Those bombs, nine in total, killed three people and injured scores. They were blamed on officials of the old regime, though it is more likely to have been the result of struggles for power within the army and police.

Deposed Prime Minister Thaksin has denied any involvement, though his words are banned from Thai television.

At a diplomatic party I attended over the weekend, just about everybody had a different theory, though most agreed it was unlikely that the bombings were related to an Islamic insurgency raging in Thailand's deep south.

Military rule in Thailand has so far been pretty benign. Tourists will hardly notice the difference. The leaders of last September's bloodless coup have enjoyed a bit of a honeymoon period, but that's rapidly running out. The military-appointed prime minister has warned of more bombs, and former Prime Minister Thaksin, who was elected with a huge majority, retains enormous support among the rural poor.

Possible unrest ahead, but meantime, tune-in
We could be in for a lively year here. A number of top-notch international musicians have cancelled Thai concerts in recent weeks, blaming political unrest.

Not Clapton, though, and on Monday there seemed only one thing to do -- sit back, tune out of the rough and tumble of Bangkok, and tune into the music of one of the world's greatest guitarists.