ELEKTROSTAL, Russia – Electric Steel – "Elektrostal" in Russian – is the epitome of a "one-company town" whose citizens traditionally either worked at, or depended on, the heavy machine factory that bears the town's name.

About an hour's drive from Moscow, Electric Steel became, starting in the 1930's, a symbol of Soviet strength and economic security. Entering this Stalin-era town, one can't escape Electric Steel's insignia – a striking red and yellow icon of a Roman blacksmith pounding a steel slab against a black anvil, setting off electric sparks – which adorns just about every workplace, store and street light.

VIDEO: From boom to bust in Russian steel townÂ

The town has grown over the years – about 150,000 now live in pastel-painted houses along avenues with names like "Soviet," "Karl Marx" and "Lenin." A large statue of Lenin – frozen in a speech-giving pose – stands in the middle of the main square, next to a hockey rink. 

We traveled to Electric Steel to see how the deepening economic crisis was affecting this so-called "mono-town," one of hundreds of industrial projects the old Soviet leadership spread across the nation.

No official welcome mat
It didn't take long to find out that we were not invited, at least not by officials, who were protective of their town's image and suspicious of an American TV news team's ulterior motives.

We were allowed to tape in the streets, but could not enter the main factory plant and talk to workers. Nor could we go inside the local unemployment office, which recently has seen hundreds of laid-off workers looking for jobs each week.

Desperate for information, we visited with our Russian colleagues at Electric Steel's paper, "News of the Week." The deputy director politely told us he was on deadline and couldn't help. His boss later relayed a sterner phone message: "We will categorically have nothing to do with you."

The reaction was understandable. People here were reeling as much from shock as from belt-tightening. Electric Steel, like its ubiquitous Roman forger, was supposed to be stronger than any crisis.

This was the place that once mass-produced the Soviet Army's artillery shells, the ones that defeated Hitler during World War II. That pounded steel into fuel rods for Russia's nuclear power plants. Here, at the first sign of cutbacks, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin pumped millions of dollars of subsidies into Electric Steel's four plants, because this town could not be allowed to fail.

"The goods that Electric Steel makes are too important to the country," explained Maxim Popov, the town's only official voice of opposition, from inside a one-room Communist-era apartment – which was appropriate because Popov is also the local head of the Communist Party. "So Electric Steel's collapse won't be explosive. It will be a slow dying process."

'I have no hope at all'
Electric Steel's human stress doesn't scream out at you. It's more like a pall that's darkened the pastel houses, and quieted the main plant's smokestacks.

It was hard to tell if the tears welling in Yuri Maslov's eyes were from the biting cold or his predicament. Maslov, 55, had worked for three decades, most recently in the fuel rods plant. But with inflation now in double figures, he can't support his family on his $140 a month pension.

I met him outside the unemployment office, where he'd been looking unsuccessfully for a job since January. "There's nothing worthwhile in there," he said. "I'm a specialized technician. All they have to offer are low-paying jobs as night watchmen or freight loaders. I'm not there yet."

Galina Moisienko, also 50-something, was unemployed and living poorly on $30 a month of state benefits. She was looking for work after 29 years at the plant. A tear rolled down her cheek. It was minus 15 degrees Celsius. "There's nothing here for women. If they do have something it's for a cleaner at $120 a month. Is that money?"

But she sounded like she was resigned to taking that job soon. I asked her if she thought the crisis would last long. "I have no hope at all," she said. "I've never seen it this bad here.''

'It's much worse elsewhere'
Igor Matvaev was a bit more optimistic. A 38-year-old construction worker, he was ordered to stay at home without pay by his company – a common technique by employers to avoid unemployment benefits – and then laid off once the company's credit ran out. But he still thinks Electric Steel isn't as bad off as elsewhere. "The factory is still functioning, but the five-day week is down to four now. And salaries have been cut as well."

Matvaev can't find work, but thinks he'll get by with help from friends. His girlfriend still has a job. He shook with cold during our conversation. He had no scarf or gloves to protect against the bitter wind. Embarrassed, I realized that he probably couldn't afford gloves and a scarf. "It's not so bad yet here. It's much worse elsewhere," he said, through chattering teeth.

He was right. Electric Steel had it better than most Russian towns, which in the course of just two years have gone from boom to bust, as the price of oil plummeted from $140 a barrel to below $40. Thanks largely to government subsides, and a general will to save this "model" town, the pain felt here was still bearable.

But even here, there was fear of social unrest. When I asked Maslov what would happen if people don't find work, he replied, "Well, they won't come into the streets yet. But, when it gets really bad, maybe then."

Protests on the rise
Matvaev has cause to worry. Anti-Kremlin protests, which were unheard of in Russia during the halcyon years of Putin's presidency, are on the rise. From Moscow to Vladivostok, hundreds – sometimes thousands – of protestors are taking to the streets, railing against "bad" government economic policies.

Banners reading "Russia without Putin" and "Shame on You Putin," are striking reminders of how fragile the social contract here really was. Few complained about Putin's "sovereign democracy" – which eroded personal freedoms and monopolized state TV into a virtual propaganda mouthpiece – while the petrodollars were rolling in and middle class Russians could enjoy foreign cars and vacations in Greece.

But now, just one company – Gazprom, the Kremlin-owned gas monopoly – has more debt than China and Brazil combined. Western bankers took $40 billion out of the country in January alone. Unemployment has skyrocketed 25 percent since the fall, and the ruble – once the "sterling" currency of a resurgent Russia – has lost 25 percent of its value in the same period.

Russia analysts like Nikolai Markov, visiting scholar at Moscow's Carnegie Center, says that social contract is dead. And he believes that Putin sees the writing on the Kremlin's walls.

"I think that the understanding that it's payback time is coming to Putin's mind step by step," he said. "He had no idea of the scale of the crisis he was facing, the fact that instead of distributing money [as prime minister] he would face very serious problems and share in the responsibility for economic decline.''

The people of Electric Steel know their Russian history, they know that in this country revolutions have always started with poor, angry people protesting in the streets against the Kremlin. And while many here have blamed the government, fewer have found fault with Putin or his hand-picked replacement President Dmitry Medvedev. Their popularity ratings, according to recent polls, have fallen by about 10 percent – a significant drop – but still remain in the 70's, solid by any measure.

Valentina, who wouldn't give me her last name, was one of dozens of Electric Steel pensioners who, to make ends meet, was allowed to open a local flea market in the town. She thanked both Putin and the mayor for the opportunity to earn more cash. "If the price of oil goes back up," she said with a big laugh, "then we'll all live better again!"

As she spoke I saw a woman approach another makeshift counter selling rickety broom heads. The prospective customer examined four or five heads, all quite intensely, running her fingers through each one, before putting them back. She walked away.

"There's not even enough money for people here to buy these cheap things," Valentina whispered.Jim Maceda is an NBC News correspondent based in London currently on assignment in Moscow. He's covered Russia and the former Soviet Union for more than 20 years.

Related links from Newsweek:
Putin faces unrest in Russia's rust belt
Photos of a Russian steel city in decline

BAGHDAD – With President Barack Obama's announcement on Friday that the U.S. will withdraw its combat forces from Iraq by late summer of 2010, some Iraqis say they fear that such a move could lead to a resurgence of violence.

"Terrorists are just waiting for the Americans to leave the country in order to turn things upside down," said Ibrahim Salman, 55, a Baghdad municipality official.

Salman, who lost relatives and friends during the sectarian violence that raged across Iraq during 2005 and 2006, said armed groups could take advantage of the American military pullout to terrorize the country once again.

Erik De Castro / Reuters

U.S. soldiers take up position to secure the opening of a water treatment plant in Baghdad's Sadr City on Jan. 21, 2009.Â

"I am against a hasty evacuation of U.S. troops from Iraq because security is not completely achieved throughout Iraq," Salman said. "The Iraqi police force and army still need more training, experience, intelligence gathering and sophisticated military equipment." 

Obama explained during his speech at the Marine Corps base at Camp Lejeune, N.C. on Friday that while U.S. combat forces will be withdrawn by August 31, 2010, a force numbering between 35,000 to 50,000 American troops will stay behind in non-combat roles, with the final troops not slated to leave until Dec. 31, 2011.

"As we carry out this drawdown, my highest priority will be the safety and security of our troops and civilians in Iraq," he said. 

Obama said the U.S. forces that remain after the combat mission is closed out will have a threefold mission: To train, equip and advise Iraq forces; to offer force protection for both U.S. military and civilian operations that will continue in the country; to engage in targeted counterterrorism missions either alone or in conjunction with Iraqi troops.

VIDEO: Obama to announce Iraq pullout plan

'Responsible and gradual'
Diana Obaedi, a 24-year-old private secretary, said she supported the idea of a "responsible and gradual withdrawal" of American troops. But as someone whose family was displaced by armed groups, she also was concerned that Iraq must be "stable and secure" before the Americans leave.

A barber in his late forties, Sa'ad Yassin, echoed this sentiment.

"Of course, nobody likes his country to be occupied, but I want joint Iraqi and American forces to get rid of the terrorists, criminals, gangs and sleeper cells who are waiting to jump and control the land and people," Yassin said.

Adel Abdul-Jabbar, a technician in Baghdad, fears there will be a bloodbath after U.S. forces leave.

"Pulling their forces and leaving Iraq to be devoured by Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Turkey? Oh! No!" he said. "No, I am sure al-Qaida and militias will destroy Iraq and Iraqis will be swimming in blood pools."

SLIDESHOW: In Baghdad, signs of a rebirth

'History repeats itself'
Others expressed disbelief. Abu Ahmed, a retiree, laughed at the notion that the American forces will ever leave Iraq.

"They say 'history repeats itself,' I won't believe the American administration is going to pull its forces out of Iraq. They will stay for decades just like they did in Germany and Japan," he said.

Still, Amer Qabani, a 33-year-old oil-driller, was optimistic about his country's future and thinks that Obama is a man of his word.

"He promised in his presidential campaign to responsibly withdraw his troops from Iraq," said Qabani. "I guess we will have to wait and see. I think Iraqi forces will be ready."

Editor's note: This blog was updated to reflect the details of the U.S. withdrawal plan that President Obama specified during his speech at the Marine Corps base at Camp Lejeune on Friday.

BUSHEHR, Iran – As we were bused from the airport in the southwestern coastal city of Bushehr toward Iran's nuclear power plant, the most noticeable feature was the large number of anti-aircraft guns dotted across the landscape to protect the facility from attack. 

It was a rare occasion – after years of delays, Iranian and Russian engineers carried out a series of critical tests at Iran's first nuclear power plant Wednesday. The Iranian authorities offered a group of journalists a guided tour of the facility to showcase the event.  

VIDEO: Iran showcases its nuclear plant to reporter

The facility – which Iran says will be used to generate electricity – was built by the Russians at a cost of about a billion dollars.

The tests on Wednesday were essentially a dry run, without enriched uranium in the rods, just lead, before full-scale operations are due to begin in the coming months.

"We are very proud. Our power plant is on its way to being ready, despite all the pressure from the West not wanting us to advance," said Mohsen Shirzai, an engineer at the plant who was giving us a guided tour.

The tour itself was sanitized and carefully stage managed, but that was not the point.

The Iranians wanted to send a clear message to the international community: They have made a massive leap forward in their plans to develop nuclear technology, their nuclear plant is in its final stages and in a matter of months Iran will be a nuclear energy-powered country, despite efforts by American, Israel and Europe to curb the program.

"The United States should face reality and accept living with a nuclear Iran," said Vice President Gholam Reza Aghazadeh, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.

Aghazadeh went on to say that Iran has increased the number of centrifuges enriching uranium to 6,000, up from 5,000 in November. The move was in defiance of the U.N. Security Council demands that Iran halt all enrichment activities because it is a key process in the development of a nuclear bomb – as well as nuclear energy.

Meantime, the Russian influence was plain to see everywhere at the plant. Dozens of Russian engineers were milling around the facility, teaching and working. Most of the signs in the plant were either in Persian or Russian. The Russians even had their own camp within the site with accommodations and shops selling Russian produce, an area that was closed off to Iranian personnel.

During a joint press conference with the Russians and the Iranians inside the facility I asked Sergei Kiriyenko, the head of Russia's state Rosatom Atomic Corporation, how he could be confident that Iran will not develop a nuclear warhead.

But his Iranian counterpart, Aghazadeh, wouldn't let Kiriyenko answer, saying that he was in a better position to answer that question. In his response, he unsurprisingly towed the government line that Iran has no intention of producing a nuclear warhead.

Signs of progress here at Busher are an enormous source of pride for Iranians. But coupled with Iran launching a satellite into space and reports that it has accumulated large quantities of enriched uranium – they are major causes for concern in the United States and Israel.

Does Iran really have enough uranium to make a nuclear weapon?

One thing is clear – if it doesn't today, it can speed up the process substantially, now that they have mastered these other complicated procedures.

Council on Foreign Relations analysis: Is Iran really developing nuclear weapons?

As Mexico's drug violence spills into the U.S. and officials warn tourists of the danger, Mexican officials say more than 90 percent of all drug trafficking weapons are obtained from dealers and gun shows in the U.S. NBC News' Mark Potter reports.

VIDEO: Mexican drug runners powered by U.S. guns

Related links:
Mexican cartels' drugs, mayhem hit U.S. cities
Council on Foreign Relations analysis: Mexico's drug war looms large for U.S.
Slideshow: Mexico under siege

Just a few months ago, Dubai was awash in oil money, but now there are signs that the mega-city's bubble has burst. NBC News' Martin Fletcher reports.

VIDEO: Decadent Dubai hit by hard times

From the newly reopened national museum to a restored girls' school, an improved security situation in Baghdad has led to many signs of stability in the Iraqi capital.

Iraq's restored National Museum formally reopened on Monday, six years after looters carried away priceless antiquities and treasures in the chaos following the U.S.-led invasion. NBC News' Sarah Ford reports on what was lost and found.

Also see images of Iraqis returning to Baghdad's markets to buy things from books to fish.  

VIDEO: National museum in Baghdad reopens SLIDESHOW: In Baghdad, signs of rebirth

Improved security is ushering in a new sense of openness in Iraq. As NBC News' Richard Engel reports, the nation's women are determined to shake off the repression that came with years of violence.

VIDEO: Iraqi women enjoying greater freedoms

There's a new weapon in the fight against the Taliban, and it's hardly high-tech. As NBC News' Jim Maceda reports, U.S. officials are hoping that growing pomegranates will cut into the militants' opium trade.

VIDEO: New weapon against the Taliban: Pomegranates

By Karim Hilmi, NBC News
BAGHDAD  -- Concrete blast walls and armed paramilitaries carrying AK-47 assault rifles still guard the street leading to Baghdad's Virgin Mary Cathedral.

But despite the danger that comes with being a Christian in Iraq, Father Azeria Warda Benyameen refuses to accept any bodyguards.

"I believe the mighty God is the supreme protector and He gives life and He is the only one who takes it," Benyameen says with a smile.

Benyameen, who is in his late fifties, is the church's senior priest. He offers sermons and services in Aramaic, the ancient language that drew fresh interest when it was featured in Mel Gibson's movie, "The Passion of the Christ."

Although he isn't convinced Baghdad is secure he refuses allow the terror attack to drive him out of the capital's Camp Sarah neighborhood.

"Security stability is not yet 100 percent achieved in Baghdad and government needs to exert more efforts to get rid of armed groups, murderers and sleeping terrorist cells," Benyameen said.

Attack in 2006
During the sectarian violence in 2005 and 2006, many churches were targeted by suicide attackers and car bombs. As part of the Old Eastern Church in Iraq, Virgin Mary Cathedral was no exception.

In September 2006, a guard was killed, 10 civilians were hurt and the cathedral and nearby homes suffered "huge damage" after a car bombing.

However, since the implementation of Baghdad security crackdown in March 2007, the situation has improved with sectarian murders dramatically reduced and the number of suicide attacks which plagued the city also diminishing.

Benyameen believes these developments have convinced a small number of Christians, who had been displaced by violence, to return to their homes.

"Many Christians were forced to leave the country to Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey in hope to emigrating to their final destination in the U.S., Canada, Australia and Europe and many of them are now settled in these countries," he said.

Benyameen said the church used to give lessons in the Chaldean language and the history and principles of Christianity to about 300 children every summer holiday. The number has now dropped to about 50 students each year.

"The church used to receive a congregation of 500 believers every Sunday and holy occasions but now only 50 persons attend such ceremonies," Benyameen added. "This might give you a statistic concerning the drop in the number of Christians in Iraq."

by Ann Curry, NBC News

CHAD/DARFUR BORDER -- We traveled to the Chad/Darfur border with New York Times columnist Nick Kristof and actor/activist George Clooney, two men you might not guess have much in common, but both are smart and funny -- and care deeply about Darfur.

Today in a refugee camp on the Chad side, we found in one refugee camp, a school house named for the President Obama.  

School house named after President Obama | Photo by: Ann Curry/NBC News

The students told us Obama made them believe anything was possible, that they could rise from the sands of this desert, where they don't even have shoes, and become anyone they wanted, maybe even a president. That these children, who are among humankind's most suffering living in one of the world's most hopeless places, could imagine such greatness... now that is the audacity of hope.

Taken from inside a refugee camp building, while listening to the Darfurian tribal shieks tell us they want Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir punished by the International Criminal Court. Outside, the children are listening.  The littlest Darfurians are full of joy. Most can't even remember any life but this, in a dusty refugee camp with not enough food to go around. To them, this is normal. | Photo: Ann Curry/NBC News

Watching them, George worries aloud that they might live the rest of their lives as refugees.

Even if the International Criminal Court issues an arrest warrant for Sudan's President Omar al Bashir for crimes against humanity in Darfur, he would likely only be arrested if he leaves his country.  And even if he is ousted, would it be safe for the refugees to return, given that many people in Sudan were to complicit in carrying out the atrocities? 

Nick, who has reported on this human tragedy more than any other American journalist has a hard time understanding why it has taken so long to help  these survivors.  The atrocities started six years ago.

The refugees have waited and waited and waited for a chance to finally go home and live in peace.

They want justice and peace, but mostly they want to just be back in the embrace of their old lives, the sorgum growing, the children playing, the thatched roofs sheltering their familes from the bright sun.

We go inside the Obama school house, and there, George asks the children to wave at the camera, and say hello to President Obama.  They joyfully comply for longer than we expected.

 

The Darfurian children have no idea Clooney is a movie star, all they know is he's fun and that he's trying to help them. | Photo: Ann Curry/NBC News

George Clooney is actually buried underneath the giggling children who are looking at the photos he has taken of them. | Photo: Ann Curry / NBC News

Afterwards George tells me he knows that was manipulative, but that Obama and the rest of the world's leaders are important to what happens next.

What will they do if for the first time, the ICC issues an arrest warrant for a sitting president? Morally, can the world allow these survivors to linger and die in refugee camps?

See Ann's reporting on Nightly News here. Watch TODAY and Nightly for more for her reporting from the region. Follow Ann's reporting on humanitarian issues on AnnCurry.msnbc.com. Click here to get her updates on Twitter.

By Ann Curry, NBC News

SOMEWHERE IN CHAD -- Our NBC News team has landed in Africa and is again heading to the edge of Darfur, gearing up to report a pivotal moment in this tragedy.

Anytime now the International Criminal Court will announce whether to issue an arrest warrant for the president of Sudan for the atrocities in Darfur, a region of Sudan.

About six years after a war between the government of Sudan and a rebel group unleashed systematic rapes, mass killings, and the burning of hundreds of villages, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and millions are still waiting in camps in Sudan and Chad, waiting for hope and justice.

Video: Darfur's victims await justice

As our news team moves from planes to vans toward this world of desperation, I think of a woman named Myriam, who survived the burning of her village called Tamajour, just two days before we found her under a tree.  Her 5-year-old daughter was traumatized and refusing to eat.  When we took her back to her village to salvage what she could, it was still smoldering.  The only life she had ever known was in ashes.

I think of Khamis, 13-year-old orphaned when his mother was killed and his father was lost in an attack.  When we last saw him, he was a boy alone, surviving on his wits and the kindness of others in a refugee camp.  Still he was able to be a good student in the camp's school.

I think of Aziza, raped as a virgin at 17, by an Arab wearing a Sudanese uniform. She said he first wanted to know what tribe she belonged to.  He told her, "You are black.  You have no place here.  We will push you out of here.  This land will remain for us."  Then he grabbed her tightly and raped her, biting her arm and neck to mark her a victim of rape.

In the hospital, we found elderly Gida Zakaria, severely burned when her thatched roof was set on fire. White gauze was wrapped around her slender body. She told us her husband couldn't move fast enough and was burned to death.

Photo: Six-year-old Khalid (left) recovers at a hospital after a Janjaweed attack, flanked by his mother and sister. Click here to see more photography by the NBC News team and Ann Curry during a 2006 trip.

In a nearby room, a young man lay motionless, both his eyes bayoneted.  At his side, his wife was weeping and his children sat stunned.

The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has argued Sudan's President Omar al Bashir masterminded genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur and should be brought to justice. 

What will the court decide?  And what do the victims have to say about it?

Who more deserves a voice than the victims of atrocities?

Ann Curry will be filing reports for Nightly News, TODAY, and msnbc.com this week. Click here to read her 2006 blog entries. Follow her Twitter feed here.

LHASA, Tibet – One thing you learn quickly as a journalist here is that the Chinese like statistics.

"Tibet's GDP was 174 million yuan ($25.5 million) in 1959. In 2008, it rose to 39.6 billion yuan ($5.8 billion), increasing 65-fold."

"There are 18 traditional Tibetan medicine hospitals in the Tibet Autonomous Region."

Adrienne Mong / NBC News

The flags of Tibet today.

"The field of Tibetology studies has grown rapidly over recent years. There are now 600 experts. Twenty percent are senior researchers."

"Sixty-eight households live in this village. Nineteen of them had new homes built, and the rest had their existing homes renovated or upgraded."

But when it comes to monasteries and monks in Tibet, it's a much less precise science.

"We have about 500 monks here," said Ngawang Choetsen, deputy director of the management committee at Drepung Monastery, once a leading university monastery on the outskirts of the Tibet capital, Lhasa, and still a key site for the Yellow Hat sect of Tibetan Buddhism. "But I am not sure about the exact figure."

The senior monk was guiding a handful of journalists from foreign media organizations, including NBC News, who had been invited to Tibet by the Chinese government just weeks before a series of highly sensitive anniversaries. 

Adrienne Mong / NBC News

A senior monk at Drepung Monastery speaks to the press.

Among those dates is the one-year anniversary of peaceful protests led by senior Tibetan monks in the region (March 10). At least 200 monks from Drepung were believed to have taken part in the initial protests last year, which marked the 49th anniversary of a failed rebellion against Chinese rule in 1959. 

The monk-led protests turned violent after an attempted crackdown provoked ethnic Tibetans to attack ethnic Chinese and Hui Muslims four days later. The authorities almost immediately shut down Drepung Monastery (it was re-opened five months later).

The central government banned foreign tourists and journalists from visiting Tibet for months after the March 14 riots, and information concerning the monasteries has remained patchy at best.

So this was a rare opportunity to get answers directly from the source. But, as with many things involving Tibet, it was not so straightforward.

Adrienne Mong / NBC News

A detail from Jokhang Temple.

At first, Ngawang, our guide, said none of Drepung's monks had been involved in the March 14 riots. Some of us then asked whether the number of monks at the monastery had declined since last year. He said it had. 

There followed some involved questions about the recruitment process and attrition rate of monks. Then, when someone repeated the earlier question about the riots, Ngawang acknowledged that three or four monks from Drepung had been involved. 

When we asked what had happened to them, he said they had left the monastery. Someone asked whether those monks had gone to prison or been detained. He repeated, "They just left the monastery." 

A little while later, we pressed again about the fate of the departed monks, and he said, "They have been dealt with according to the procedure of the law."

We received the most direct answer when Ngawang was asked how many monks at Drepung had taken part in the peaceful protest on March 10. "There were monks involved in the March 10th protest," he said. "But I was not here so I cannot really comment on the details."

Adrienne Mong / NBC News

At the foot of Potala Palace, the former residence of the Dalai Lama until he fled Lhasa, Tibet in exile in 1959.

Apart from Ngawang and one or two other monks accompanying him, there were no others to interview. They made apologetic excuses when we asked about the whereabouts of the other 500-odd monks, saying they were scattered around the premises, resting or eating lunch.

It had been the same two days earlier at the Jokhang in Lhasa, considered to be the most sacred Tibetan Buddhist temple. There, we spoke to a senior monk who reassured us that all 117 monks at the Jokhang were present. When we referred to recent reports that monks involved in last year's incidents had been rounded up again in past weeks, he maintained none from the Jokhang had been detained. He also refused to allow us to see any of the monks.

It was hardly surprising. The Jokhang was where a handful of monks last year surprised a government-led group of foreign reporters visiting Lhasa immediately after the March 14th violence. Weeping and shouting, the monks accused the Chinese government of lies and repression, undermining Beijing's attempts to present its version of events.

One of those who burst onto the reporters last year was a 27-year-old named Norgyal – it is common among Tibetans to go by one name – who was presented to us after we pressed officials about the fate of the crying monks. Shy and quiet, Norgyal took our questions patiently through an interpreter in Tibetan, occasionally responding in Mandarin. 

He said he no longer felt the way he did last March, because he and the others realized they had been "misled by the wrong people" (he did not elaborate what he meant). Norgyal also maintained that he had been able to continue his religious studies although he did say the monks had been given "patriotic" study sessions, during which they learned about Chinese law and constitution. 

At Drepung Monastery, Ngawang said his monks had also been studying the legal system. "We have legal knowledge sessions for all the monks," he said, in order to ensure order in the monastery. 

"We study the laws and the constitution so we understand the laws better and do not break them," he added. "The monks are also Chinese citizens."

The U.S embassy compound in Iraq is the biggest, most expensive U.S. embassy ever built. Take a tour with NBC News' Richard Engel.

VIDEO: Inside Iraq's 'Fortress America'

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – As the Obama administration's special envoy, Richard Holbrooke, meets with Pakistani officials this week, he is likely to find that a grim mood has gripped the country.

U.S. drone attacks are leading anti-American sentiment to soar, a Taliban insurgency is growing in strength, tensions with India have been renewed over the Mumbai terrorist attacks, and the war in Afghanistan is going badly for the United States, causing problems to spill across the border in Pakistan.

Many here believe that Pakistan is going through an existential crisis of sorts – 67 percent of those polled by Gallup recently felt the situation would not improve.

I'm here to listen and understand what the ground realities are, Holbrooke told Pakistan's foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi during meetings on Tuesday. Holbrooke said that he has not come with any proposals or to issue demarches to Pakistan.

Faisal Mahmood / Reuters

Richard Holbrooke, U.S. special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, attends a meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad on Tuesday.Â

One issue Holbrooke is sure to hear a lot about is the missile attacks from remotely piloted U.S. drones on al-Qaida and Taliban hideouts in Pakistan. The U.S. and NATO complain the sanctuaries are contributing to the deteriorating security in Afghanistan, but the attacks have infuriated Pakistanis, who regard them as an infringement on their sovereignty. After each one, popular TV talk shows and newspaper columnists highlight the civilian casualties from the U.S. missiles – whipping up even more resentment on the Pakistani street.

TEL AVIV – Think a few hanging chads are a problem? Or the Electoral College, which has at times left the winner of the U.S. popular vote as the loser? Well, consider the Israeli political system.

Thirty-three parties contested yesterday's general election. One party emerges with the most seats, two parties claim victory and most analysts agree that the winner has only a slim chance of actually forming the next government.

Huh? How does that work?

VIDEO:  Israel election: And the winner is...

Â

No party has ever won an outright victory in Israel's history, leading to a series of coalitions that rarely see out their full term. It seems that the tougher the problems facing Israel, the less power the government has to deal with them – and most things end up being a mushy compromise.

That's why it took individuals with particular credibility to power key decisions (Yitzhak Rabin and the Oslo peace accords, Ehud Barak ending Israel's 22-year long occupation of Southern Lebanon, and Ariel Sharon withdrawing from Gaza).            

Without such towering figures, the election process leaves Israel exposed at a time it faces critical challenges: Iran's alleged race to build a nuclear bomb; increasing international hostility towards Israel's methods of fighting terrorism (particularly the recent Gaza assault); and America's expected tilt to a more even-handed approach to Israel's conflict with the Palestinians. And that's leaving out all the economic and social issues facing this nation.

What happened?
Back to the actual results (sort of). It appears that Tzipi Livni's Kadima party got the most seats, just one more in the 120-member parliament than Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, according to preliminary results.

But that could still change as soldiers' votes come in, they have not been included in the tally so far. Because Israel's youth trends to the right, it is still possible that Livni could find herself the loser by next Wednesday, when the official result will be known.

Whatever the final outcome, it seems two things are inevitable: a lot of horse-trading and an almost universal call for election reform.

FACTFILE: Israel's main political parties and key party leaders

Voting from fear, rather than belief
The antithesis of the winner-takes-all system, the current proportional representation process – in which parties get seats based on overall votes cast – just doesn't work. Instead of voting for the party they believe in, Israelis often back the party they believe has the best chance of stopping the party they don't believe in. They vote from fear rather than belief, knowing that real power does not come from your favorite party, but from the most realistic coalition of parties.

That's what happened with this election. There was a late, sharp move by voters from the left to Livni's Kadima Party – not because they liked Livni, but because they didn't want Netanyahu to win. That caused the Labor and Meretz parties to crash.

And for weeks ahead of the election there was a move away from Netanyahu's Likud to Avigdor Lieberman's ultranationalist Israel Beitenu party, only for voters at the last minute to flee Lieberman. He still took many more seats than in previous contests, but not as big as the polls predicted. The reason was voters wanted Lieberman to be strong, but not too strong.

Analysts agree that the answer to all these Machiavellian politics is to come up with a system that dramatically reduces the number of parties taking part in elections, so that choices are fewer and more starkly framed. Unfortunately, they also agree, it ain't gonna happen.

TEHRAN, Iran – The celebrations marking the 30th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution were conducted in traditional fashion – full of chants like "Death to America" and "Death to Israel."

But 30 years on, the reaction among Iranians to the revolution that toppled the U.S.-backed shah and brought hard-line clerics to power is far from monolithic.

Today, many of the people who helped usher in the Islamic revolution are disappointed with its legacy results; meanwhile, many of Iran's young people don't define their lives by a revolution that came about before they were born. 

VIDEO: Iran marks 30th anniversary of Islamic Revolution, NBC's Ali Arouzi reports from Tehran

Even President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday that Iran would welcome talks with the United States, if they were based on mutual respect.

Could Iran be in for a new era of change? 

At the large rally in Tehran's Freedom Square many spewed the usual anti-American rhetoric that has come to characterize relations for the last 30 years.

"I hate America, I hate America and its lies," said Reza, a student attending the rally (like many people we spoke with, he would not give his last name). "We don't want better relations with America because they are our biggest enemy; this is why we had a revolution. The late imam [Ayatollah Ruhollah] Khomeini, the father of our revolution, did not want ties with America."   

Hamid, another student at the rally, echoed Reza's comments. "Our revolution has spread across the world to Palestine to South America to Africa. It has given us freedom. If America wants better relations, then they have to make the effort."

Ironically, Hamid was carrying a big poster of Ahmadinejad with the slogan "Yes we can," sprawled across it. Wasn't that U.S. President Barack Obama's slogan? I asked.  He responded that Obama had stolen it from Ahmadinejad.

Rasoul, a retired army officer at the rally, also took a hard-line stance towards the United States. "Our revolution has achieved all its goals," he said." If America wants better relations then they have to take the first step. We are not a small nation to be bullied."

But even Ahmadinejad, Iran's usually firebrand leader, alluded to a new "era of dialogue" in U.S.-Iranian relations in his speech to the crowd gathered for the rally. "The Iranian nation is ready for talks (with the U.S.) but in a fair atmosphere with mutual respect," said Ahmadinejad. They were his most measured remarks toward America since Obama took office.

Raheb Homavandi / Reuters

Students wave Iran's national flag as others hold pictures of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei  and Iran's late leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini during a ceremony to mark the anniversary of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, in Tehran's Freedom Square on Tuesday. Â

Not satisfied
For others, the time has come for a change.

Ebrahim Yazdi, one of the founding fathers of the revolution, said he is disenchanted with the events of the past 30 years. "The authorities are the main players and they don't show any signs of tolerance," he said. "Not only tolerance with us, but [also] tolerance with themselves. I am very much concerned with the future of my country."

Yazdi served as Iran's first foreign minister after the revolution,, but he resigned from his post in protest on Nov. 6, 1979, two days after the U.S. Embassy was seized. At the time he said that he felt that the embassy takeover was "contrary to the national interests of Iran."

I asked him if he believed the revolution had taken on a different form from what they initially intended. "We wanted an Islamic republic, we did not want a government of the clergies," he said. "They are two different issues."

Yazdi added that the current regime is detrimental to Iran's young people. With 70 percent of Iran's population under the age of 30, a huge portion of the population wasn't even born at the time of the revolution.

"The problem with the present system is not only that it is a politically suppressive regime, but also sociologically they are suppressive," said Yazdi, "And who are the victims of this social suppression: the young boys and girls."

SLIDESHOW: Iran's perilous path

'What I want today is to be able to enjoy myself'
And despite the size of the crowds in Freedom Square, some of Iran's young people were up in the mountains north of Tehran taking advantage of the day off and were not exactly celebrating the anniversary of the Islamic revolution.

"I was too young to remember the revolution, but what I want today is to be able to enjoy myself, like you do in America," said Amir, a student.

"Today is a public holiday, I just want to escape from the madness of the city come up to the mountains have a walk and a meal," said Milad, another student.

Others are just hoping for a change. "I don't know if the revolution has achieved all its goals, but what I do know is that I want better prospects," said Javad, a cab driver.

And with presidential elections only four months away, many are hoping change is around the corner.

The question on everybody's lips is: Will the reformist former President Mohammad Khatami get elected and have another shot at loosening social restriction and bridging gaps with the international community? Or will Ahmadinejad stay in office and keep the country on its current course?

Related links: Iran and Iraq: A short look at a long history

TEL AVIV, Israel – Apart from the usual horse race of an election – and this one is really down to the wire – tomorrow's contest to decide the makeup of the Israeli parliament has proved to be a slightly zany mixture of predictable and polarizing politics..

Most apparent is that there is no major issue that the traditional parties – Likud, Kadima and Labor – disagree on in any substantial way. They all pretty much agree that the attack on Gaza was justified; the economy is in big trouble; Iran is the major foreign threat; relations with Washington must be maintained at almost any cost; the disadvantaged must be helped; education must improve; and there isn't enough water. 

Kobi Gideon / EPA

Right-wing Israeli politician Avigdor Lieberman, prays at the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site, on Monday.

So instead, the choice among the major party leaders has become personal. Campaign commercials have become negative and personal, with the campaign focusing on the parties' leaders rather than policy. In that regard, polls show Kadima's Tzipi Livni catching up dramatically with Likud's Benjamin Netanyahu, with Labor's Ehud Barak trailing. In addition, analysis has focused on speculation about what combination of parties will likely form a coalition government.

However, the blandness of the campaign, and the lack of clear distinctions, has left the field open to the one candidate who is different, in substance and appearance – Avigdor Lieberman.

Lightening rod          
Israeli Arabs call Lieberman, the leader of Israel Beiteinu ("Israel Our Home") – a party that initially drew strength from the immigrant community, but has since become more mainstream – a fascist and a racist.

His controversial campaign slogan, "Without loyalty, there is no citizenship," calls for all citizens to swear an oath of allegiance to the country, as well as serve in the army or do some form of national service. If they don't, he says, they should lose their rights as citizens.

Critics say his platform is just a not-so-thinly-veiled attack on Israel's 1.5 million Arabs. And Jews from the largest orthodox party, Shas, call him Satan because like Israel's Arabs – most ultra-Orthodox members don't serve in the army.

He backs the idea of a Palestinian state, but suggests that Israel's Arab citizens – who make up 20 percent of the population – swap land with Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank. Israeli Arabs see that plan as just another way of throwing them out their homes in Israel.

FACT FILE: Learn about Israel's main political parties and key leaders

Looking for a strong leader
But his message is winning hearts and minds in Israel -- polls show his party could win 15 to 20 seats in the 120 member parliament – and his campaign has pushed the once-dominant Labor party into fourth place for the first time in Israeli history.

Lieberman, who immigrated from what is now Moldova in 1978 and still speaks with a thick accent, has gained widespread support among the more than 1 million immigrants from the former Soviet Union in Israel.

He portrays himself as a strong man with tough answers, someone who speaks his mind and is a real leader. And that, say analysts, is what many Israelis want in these hard times, even if he has fascist and/or racist leanings.  

Yet, while it appears from the early polls that there can be no future government without Lieberman, that bodes ill for Israeli unity.

I was at a rally for Lieberman last night in Haifa. He is a powerful speaker, but the real action was outside the hall – Arab and Jewish demonstrators were united in their calls against fascism and Lieberman, while other Jews, mostly from the former Soviet republics, shouted abuse at them, as police kept the two sides apart. 

Lieberman is not a man with many achievements to his name, so his critics, and even many of his supporters, say there's little chance of him implementing any of his ultranationalist plans. Still, the scene at the rally was not exactly a picture of a unified Israel ready to work together through tough times.

BEIJING – It looks like China may have overtaken the United States as the world's biggest auto market. Official figures are due out this week that will show, for the first time ever, more vehicles were sold in China during January than in the United States.

It makes for a nice headline and General Motors was among the first to mention it during a conference call last week after tallying their preliminary sales figures.

VIDEO: Detroit's Big Three looks to China for sales

At first glance, statistics would indicate, among other things, that China's economy has not suffered as much from the global economic crisis as initially believed and that its auto industry is thriving as a key growth area for the beleaguered Big Three in Detroit.

Industry analysts in Beijing note that the uptick in China's sales may have been just a blip. January was a big month for retail sales here – it was the period ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year, traditionally a busy shopping season here. Consumers were also encouraged by recent government incentives, including a 50 percent cut in sales tax for cars with engines smaller than 1.6 litres.

And industry consultants at Arthur D. Little in Beijing note several other factors.  One, American consumers tend to rely on auto loans more than their Chinese counterparts, and in this climate of tight credit in the U.S. they're not able to purchase cars as easily as before. 

Two, the majority of car consumers in China are first-time buyers – more than 70 percent, compared to just 20 percent in the U.S. market. American shoppers looking to replace their vehicles might be more likely to delay their purchase while they're uncertain about the economy – as opposed to China's many first time buyers.

One final and sobering note: China's market is as varied and diverse as that of any other large country, and some developing regions in the interior showed reasonably steady growth. But in the coastal areas – home to the nation's traditionally fast-growing local economies – the news was bad. 

For example, in Shenzhen and Dongguan – twin engines of China's once-mighty manufacturing machine – absolute sales figures for 2008 dropped 12 percent and 16 percent respectively.

As Kyrgyzstan stands by its decision to close a key U.S. air base in Central Asia, Russia says it will allow U.S. military supplies to pass through its territory. NBC News' Jim Maceda reports.

VIDEO: Russia steps in as Kyrgyzstan closes U.S. base

PESHAWAR, Pakistan –  There are no more schools in Charmang, a rural village of mud-brick homes and lush wheat fields nestled in the mountains of Bajaur, a tribal territory, along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The Taliban are in control now.

 "First, the Taliban imposed a ban on wearing Western-style school uniforms at my private school," said Amjad Ali, a 17-year-old former student from Charmang. "Then they stopped all the girls from attending classes and finally they just blew up the building."

NBC News' Mushtaq Yusufzai

Taliban militants in Bajaur, a tribal territory along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

In Charmang, the Taliban torched and destroyed more than 40 private schools because the students wore Western-style uniforms and learned English. The Taliban also accused the schools' administrators of following a pro-Western curriculum and allowing co-educational classes – in Taliban terms that makes them un-Islamic.

But Saleh Mohammed, Ali's father, was determined to educate all his children. After their school, The Islamia Model School, was destroyed, he brought Ali and his two younger daughters – Shaista and Nafeesa – to the public school in Charmang. Ali's father wanted to ignore the Taliban threats, but the principal of the school was too afraid – he registered Ali but refused to accept the girls.

"The Taliban would come to my public school and deliver lectures about jihad against the infidels, who they said are occupying Afghanistan and will soon invade Pakistan," said Ali.  "Most of my classmates registered for jihad training and would go to their meetings after school." 

Ali explained how things just got worse with time. "Later on the Taliban just took over our school and turned it into a training camp. I refused to join the Taliban, and my family became very afraid, so we left Charmang in the dark one night."

He said he still thinks about Charmang every day. 

"Charmang was so beautiful in those days," he recalled.

"What happened to me and my family was so sudden that I sometimes think I am having a bad dream. My whole world just disappeared," Ali said sadly. "And now I have to live in this tent," referring to the internally displaced persons camp he now lives in with his family outside of Peshawar, the provincial capital of the Northwest Frontier Province.

NBC News

NBC News' Mushtaq Yusufzai speaks with Amjad Ali, the tall boy in a red sweater, in an internally displaced persons camp outside Peshawar.

Last August, the Pakistani military, under pressure from the United States, launched an operation to go after the Taliban and al-Qaida militants in the Bajaur tribal agency, a crucial passageway for fighters who creep over the mountains to attack U.S. forces inside Afghanistan. After months of fierce fighting, the army has been unable to dislodge the hardcore militants who are either entrenched in mountain strongholds or who hide inside a maze of underground tunnels that run into Afghanistan.

The military campaign against a band of some 500 Taliban militants in Charmang terrorized the local villagers. Most of the 80,000 inhabitants who once lived in Charmang have fled. Many of them were farmers who had dual Pakistani-Afghan nationality and frequently crossed over into Afghanistan to sell their produce or visit family members. They kept homes on both sides of the border.

When the villagers felt sandwiched in by the Taliban on one side and the Pakistani army on the other, they left, in the thousands, for Afghanistan. Pakistani authorities said that it was the first-ever migration of Pakistani refugees into Afghanistan. Others went to live as refugees in internally displaced persons camps elsewhere in Pakistan.

No more school or cricket
Adeel Khan, another 18-year-old high school student from Charmang, said he misses his friends and hates living in the refugee camp, the same one Ali ended up in near Peshawar. 

"I used to play football, hockey and cricket at home," Khan said.

"Suddenly there was a war between the government and the Taliban and my family made us leave everything we owned and come here in a hurry. I want to play cricket with my friends and I want to go back to school," he added forlornly.

Khan's father, Abdul Qadir said he spent seven years in the United Arab Emirates driving a taxi to save enough money to give his five children a good education back home in Charmang.

"I wanted all of them, my sons and my daughters, to become doctors and engineers," Qadir said.

"Now, I have lost my home and my bread shop in Charmang," he said. "How can I give them an education when I can't even give them two meals a day?"

Mushtaq Yusufzai/NBC News

Young boys in the Kacha Garhi Refugee Camp outside of Peshawar prepare food.

According to an education official in Khar, the main city of the Bajaur Tribal Agency, there are more than 80,000 students across Bajaur who can no longer go to school. The schools have either been destroyed by the Taliban or occupied by the security forces during the military operations.

In North Waziristan, another Taliban-run tribal area along the Afghanistan border, most of the schools are now closed because of the ongoing violence and the fear of the U.S. drone attacks. The Government Post Graduate College in Miranshah, the main city, once boasted 1,300 students who were studying for degrees in medicine and education.

Bayar Khan Wazir attended the college before it closed. "Today, we have no more schools and we have no recreational facilities," Wazir said. "So most of the students will now join the Taliban," he said.

"We have nothing else to do all day. And perhaps there is a certain charm and power to grow a beard, let your hair grow long and pick up a gun," he said.

Wazir went on to say that Waziristan has become synonymous all over the world with militancy, but many don't know that Pakistan's best doctors, teachers and academics were once trained there.

NBC News

NBC's Mushtaq Yusufzai speaks with Abdul Qadir, the former bread shop owner, in an internally displaced persons camp outside Peshawar.

The displaced people of Charmang are angry with the Taliban for occupying their lands but more angry with the Pakistani army for destroying their homes during the campaign against the Islamic extremists.

"I had a big house in Charmang," said Qadir, the bread shop owner.

"Now, seven of us have to live like this," he said, pointing to a small white tent in the Kacha Garhi refugee camp.

 "I have no more dreams," he said. "All of our dreams are shattered now."

More news from Pakistan:
Pakistan says nuke scientist Khan is free citizen
Pakistani forces kill 52 militants, official says

A Nazi hunter questions the mysterious disappearance of Aribert Heim, better known as "Dr. Death," the mastermind behind some of the most sadistic crimes in Nazi concentration camps.

Watch NBC News' Martin Fletcher report in conjunction with the New York Times and Germany's ZDF television below. Read the complete New York Times story about Heim here: Uncovering Lost Path of the Most Wanted Nazi.

VIDEO: Is the Nazi war criminal 'Dr. Death' really dead?

After being questioned by authorities for nearly nine hours at the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees on Wednesday, U.S. Army Spc. André Shepherd felt tired, but also ''full of hope to win the battle that had just started," according to his lawyer, Reinhard Marx.

And a legal battle it will surely be.

The 31-year old soldier from

Cleveland, Ohio, went "Absent Without Leave" in April 2007 when he walked off his unit's base near Katterbach, Germany.

Reuters

U.S. Army specialist Andre Shepherd listens to reporter's questions during a news conference in Frankfurt in November, 2008.Â

He said he deserted because he did not want to return to what he calls a "completely illegal war" in Iraq. He is believed to be the first American deserter to plead for asylum with German immigration authorities.

Shepherd's case is unique in Germany, but he is not alone across Europe. According to Bruce Anderson, a spokesperson for the U.S. Army in Europe, Shepherd is among 71 Army soldiers to desert European bases in 2008.

If he is granted asylum, his case could create new legal options for soldiers looking to escape the military, his supporters say. But rejection of his case could find him handed over to military authorities and could lead to a longer jail sentence.

"I take it a day at a time," Shepherd said in a phone interview. "And I will pursue what I believe is the right thing. They can't punish you for something that is right."

The ring tone on Shepherd's mobile phone is James Brown singing "I feel good. I knew that I would," and he sounds just as enthusiastic and confident about his asylum case when he answers questions from journalists. 

"When I enlisted in 2004 and later was sent to Iraq, I believed I was doing the right thing," he said. "But then, like other comrades around me, I started questioning why we were there and what we were fighting for."

Shepherd was not directly involved in combat missions during his deployment to Iraq. As part of the "attack and lift unit" of the 412th Aviation Support Battalion, Shepherd's mission was to repair and maintain AH-64 Apache helicopters.

"My job was harmless until I factored in the amount of death and destruction those helicopters caused to civilians every day," Shepherd said.

"The government made us believe we would be welcomed as heroes in Iraq, but we saw nothing but hostility from the Iraqis that came to work for us, they wanted to kill us," Shepherd said.

His base outside of Tikrit was shelled almost every night, which he said also left him unsettled.

"It is not the military itself that is bad," Shepherd said. "In fact, our unit did a lot of good things, giving schools books and bringing clothes to children." Those actions helped ease his conscience a bit, but he still questioned whether the Iraqis would have needed the aid if the United States had not invaded Iraq in the first place.

When he was ordered to redeploy to Iraq in April 2007, Shepherd felt that he could not continue to serve and went AWOL.

He went into hiding for a time and lived with a motley crew of new-found friends – a group of punk rockers in a traditional Bavarian village near the Austrian border, as well as peace activists.

But he was growing increasingly nervous about being caught by the U.S. Army, so last November he applied for asylum. Ever since, he has been living with asylum seekers from Africa, the Balkans and the Middle East – including Afghan and Iraqi civilians, who fled instability and violence in their countries – at a refugee-processing center in southern Germany.

Despite the initial akwardness, Shepherd finds it very rewarding to be able to talk to people from Iraq.

"The Iraqi citizens I meet are often shocked to see an American soldier amongst them and, almost every day, I feel like I have to apologize to them for what the U.S. has done to their people, but many of them are interested in hearing my story," he said.

In early 2008, Shepherd sought help from the Military Counseling Network, a German non-governmental organization that provides free counseling for soldiers who have gone AWOL or seek a discharge from the military.

"We told him there is not a lot that can be done when you go AWOL, especially because he did not meet the criteria for a conscientious objector, so André brought up the possibility of seeking political asylum in Germany," said Tim Huber of the Military Counseling Network. 

Marx, Shepherd's Frankfurt lawyer, acknowledged that the case will not be easy one. "This would set an extreme precedent and has a certain amount of sensitivity on a foreign policy level," he said.

Meantime, as far as the U.S. Army in Europe is concerned, Shepherd is a deserter and was reported as such to local authorities.

In a written statement, the U.S. Army said that it is "aware of Shepherd's request for asylum. However, the U.S. Army is not a party to the asylum process, which is completely in German hands." The statement said that "the U.S. Army is not seeking to participate in the asylum proceedings."

Following Wednesday's  hearing, German authorities will now thoroughly investigate the merit of Shepherd's claim. Because of the strong legal and political implications that a decision in this case could have, the process will likely take several months.

NICOSIA, Cyprus – Even the sunny east Mediterranean island of Cyprus is feeling the effects of the global financial meltdown and is implementing its own stimulus program. 

The government announced this week that it will inject $380 million into its flagging tourism and construction industries to counter the effects of the global financial crisis. 

That's a drop in a bucket when compared with the $800 billion the United States intends to spend shoring up its economy. But for this nation of 800,000 people, the money is an expensive gamble to minimize damage to its two most important economic sectors. 

AFP/Getty Images File

Tourists take a stroll during better times in Cyprus.Â

Looking for a cheaper getaway elsewhere
Cyprus attracts about 2.4 million tourists a year, half of them from the United Kingdom.  But tourism is in decline as Britons look for cheaper holiday destinations. And other Europeans are also booking fewer trips here.  

The credit crunch, coupled with the high cost of tourist services, is suddenly making Cyprus much more expensive. British tour operators have warned Cyprus that unless it slashes its costs, they will encourage customers to go to Turkey or other cheaper holiday spots around the Mediterranean.

It was a wakeup call to the Cyprus tourist industry. At least $50 million of the latest cash injection will be aimed at attracting more foreign visitors. Hoteliers will slash their value-added tax from 8 percent to 5 percent, and the government will waive airport surcharges, enabling airlines flying to Cyprus to cut their ticket prices.  There will also be reductions in utilities bills and municipal taxes for hotels.  It's hoped that will enable tour operators to offer cheaper packages.

Farah Shammas of the San Rafael Hotel in Limmassol welcomed the changes. 

"It's definitely been a positive move on the part of the government," Shammas said. "Tourism is a vital part of the Cypriot economy, and it's nice that the government is recognizing this. We're doing our best, but we are facing stiff competition from other Mediterranean countries who give generous tax breaks to their hotels. Last year was really difficult for hotels in Cyprus, but this year now looks a little better. It's a nice gesture."

Construction industry
In the Cypriot construction industry, the second-largest contributor to the island's economy, the outlook is also gloomy. Revenues fell by 24 percent in 2008, and projections are for a 50 percent drop this year. Developers have begun laying off workers – contributing to a sudden hike in the island-wide unemployment rate from 4.0 to 4.5 percent.

By far the largest chunk of the stimulus package would be $300 million spent on more construction of schools, roads and infrastructure projects. The Cyprus government also hopes to freeze unemployment by cracking down on illegal workers and providing more vocational training in the private sector.

Manthos Mavromatis, president of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce, says his organization is still studying the plan.

"In general the proposals are favorable," he said. "We would like the bulk of the money to go into housing. More sections of the economy will benefit. Roads and bridges are fine, but the housing market is more of a multiplier."  

But at the heart of the construction industry's woes is the fact that even though property prices have fallen by as much as 20 percent, foreign buyers aren't coming to Cyprus to buy retirement or holiday homes any more. And many retirees who moved here from Britain are considering returning home after discovering that a fall in the value of the pound against the euro has suddenly made the cost of living here 30 percent more expensive.

The dents in tourism and construction have made Cypriots suddenly aware that their island is not immune to the worldwide economic downturn. According to the latest Eurobarometer public opinion survey, Cypriots believe they will weather the global economic crisis better than most countries. Nevertheless more than 60 percent of respondents reported trouble paying their monthly bills.

 BAGHDAD – NBC News Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel interviewed Gen. Ray Odierno, the top commander in Iraq, on Tuesday. The commander said he has briefed President Barack Obama via secure-teleconference and recommended U.S. troop withdrawals. 

Odierno wouldn't say when or how many troops could leave – if current stability continues – but that "a formal announcement" would be made "soon in Washington." The general said his assessment that reductions are possible was made before this weekend's provincial elections in Iraq, based on the military's assumption that the elections would go smoothly.

Odierno also told NBC News a priority is now to cut costs in Iraq.  He said the military has already started shipping some expensive equipment from Iraq back to the United States to save money. Odierno said the military is also taking a "good hard look" at its use of contractors. He added that reducing troops would further save money. 

Odierno also addressed the issue of Iran's alleged involvement in Iraq. He said he has not seen any let up in Iran's activities in Iraq and accused Iran of continuing to train and fund militias. 

Watch the highlights of the interview:

Â

VIDEO: Gearing up for a drawdown in Iraq

 London on a winter's day evokes images out of a Dickens novel – quaint and covered in snow – which makes one wonder how a few inches of the white stuff could bring this world-class city of 8 million to a standstill more than 150 years after the author penned "A Christmas Carol."

The images of Scrooge awakening on Christmas morning, watching residents "scraping the snow from the pavements in front of their dwellings, and from the tops of their houses" are more fairytale than reality to modern-day Londoners.

Jennifer Carlile/msnbc.com

Becky Prince, Claire Shropshall, Sally Reid and Susie Webb, pictured left to right, pose with their snow man, woman and dog in Clapham Common, southwest London.Â

But Monday morning brought the heaviest snowstorm in 18 years, and Dickensian scenes of the "mad delight to see it come plumping down into the road below, and splitting into artificial little snowstorms" came to life for millions.

Along with the delight came the delays, and then the cancellations.

"We queued for an hour but we couldn't get into the Tube," said Becky Prince, as she and three friends made snow men (and a snow dog) in the park next to Clapham Common subway station in southwest London.

At rush hour, a neat, single-file line wrapped out of the station and around the block for a few hundred feet, barely inching along as frantic residents called and texted each other to see which train lines were still running – the consensus being that just one, the Victoria line, was operating somewhat normally.

All London buses were withdrawn from service due "to adverse weather and dangerous driving conditions," according to Transport for London's Web site, whose phone line was constantly busy. And snow drifts quickly built up in the bus lanes.

Word soon spread that the key link to the center of the city, the last-standing Tube line, had gone down too. One man flopped down behind the train station, making snow angels in the fresh powder. Another took to "performing surgery" on a snowman's head, while dozens packed into the closest Starbucks and joked about heading to the pub instead of the office.

"England is not made for snow," said Prince, a 23-year-old who works in the insurance industry as she defended the snowmen from an onslaught of snowballs tossed by a group of guys who were also happily stranded in the park. By this point, dozens of snowmen were springing up around the place, along with a snow couch and TV set with twig antennas and the words "Snow Armageddon" etched into its screen.

"We can't cope with the heat in the summer and we can't cope with the cold in the winter; we're just not used to having actual seasons," said friend Claire Shropshall.

Slideshow: Snow blankets London

Snow isn't the only thing to trouble the subway here. Fall's "extra-slippery" leaves and track- "warping" summer heat can also cause disruptions.

Driving was also hazardous without snowplows or enough salt or sand to cover the streets. "There's not enough grit in the whole city," said Shropshall.

And Heathrow Airport was forced to close its runways and cancel all of the flights out of the airport until evening.

The inclement conditions lead many workers to abandon their commute. In Clapham the Café Nero coffee shop was closed – presumably because not enough staff could get into work. And at the Sainsbury's supermarket, employees said only about 40 percent of the staff had arrived by mid-morning.

"I left at 7:30a.m. and didn't get in until 10a.m.," said Suzanne Leaver, describing a journey that usually takes 20 minutes. "Now that's dedication!" she said with a smile.

With deliveries cancelled and people stocking up on food for their snow holiday, a few shelves stood empty.  In the usually bulging milk aisle, only the goat and soy variety were left.

Despite all the closures and the chaos, one thing's for sure: Britons always love to talk about the weather. From the line for the Tube to the one for the supermarket cash registers, strangers chatted excitedly telling their tales of woe. Giving such a weather-obsessed country a day to natter about nothing else has let them drop the stiff upper lip and pick up a snowball instead.

"It's a lot of fun," Becky Prince and her friends said in unison.