Last year saw several large-scale and highly publicized terrorist plots in Europe. There was the failed attempt to set off car bombs in London, including outside a busy nightclub on June 29; an attack on the Glasgow airport that ended in a nasty fire and a roundup of several suspects, most of whom worked in the U.K. in the medical profession; and arrests in Germany of young suspects who had been to Pakistan recently, allegedly for terrorist training, accused of plotting to attack U.S. interests.

These three cases attracted global attention, but would you believe that there were actually 583 failed, foiled or successfully executed terrorist attacks in the EU last year alone? That is about a 25 percent jump over 2006, according to the latest EU report on terrorism, released earlier this month.

More than simply a list of numbers and dates – its contents, compiled by Europol, are intriguing.   

It paints a picture of suspected terrorist activities and trends in Europe.  And what happens there is significant to the rest of the world.  We've seen Europe become a first stop, in the exportation of terror from suspected training camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan. 

It is the closest "West" for terrorists to target.  Where cells have taken root and where homegrown recruits have been a problem. 

But don't assume that all, or even most, of those 583 terrorist plots were by suspected Islamic terrorists – only four of them were so categorized  – less than one percent.

The majority – 517 – were attributed to separatist groups in Spain and France. 

More, by the numbers:

• There were 1,044 arrests for terrorist activities, a nearly 50 percent increase over the prior year. In the U.K., the vast majority of its 203 arrests last year were of suspected Islamic extremists.
• The majority of arrests were EU citizens.
• There were 34 arrests of women.
•  There were 331 convictions.
• England now identifies more than 2,000 people as terror suspects. In 2001, there were 250.

And there are a few new trends at work, that were identified in the past year as well.  The lengthy report is full of specific information, but here are some points we don't always see:

•  Most arrests were in France, Italy and Spain.
•  The threat of Islamic attack in Europe remains high.
• There has been an increase in what is considered home-grown terror.
•   There is a new category of Islamic terror: spreading propaganda.
•   Iraq attracted the highest number of terror recruits coming from EU states and   venturing there to fight.
• Somalia has become a new destination for jihad.
• Pakistan remains the hotbed for command, control, and planning of Islamic extremist attacks.

On the subject of spreading propaganda, England has been cracking down, making arrests for recruitment and posting information on Web sites in the U.K. Some groundbreaking cases have resulted. 

And European authorities have reported that in the last year there was an enormous increase in the amount of Islamic "propaganda" available on European Web sites; a cause for concern, though obviously still a big grey area. There has been much debate over where the line exists between free speech, and spreading propaganda.

Click here and you can browse through the full report, which happens to be very user-friendly.

Over a meal this weekend at a Green Zone chow hall (chicken salad and Baskin-Robbins pralines and cream ice cream, a KBR delight), I had a revealing conversation with two senior U.S. military officials.

"We've pretty much defeated al-Qaida here," one of the military officers said. "If Iran stopped doing what it's doing, things would dramatically change."

"You think that would be it, a turning point? If Iran stopped backing militias, you think things would get much better?" I asked.

"No doubt. It would be dramatic," replied the officer.

For many military commanders there is a feeling of euphoria that the U.S. troop "surge" and the top commander in Iraq Gen. David Petraeus managed to reduce violence, especially in Sunni areas.

The surge has become something sacred for the military in Iraq. It was a plan that worked. It has been entered into the annals of history – at least here – as a success, not to be questioned. The commanders I spoke to this weekend were angry Iran, they claim, is trying to ruin their surge.

The frustration is understandable. Sunni radicals have gone quiet, thanks in part to the "Sons of Iraq" program in which former insurgents (mostly Sunnis) are paid to fight al-Qaida. (Critics say the program is just arming the insurgents to fight another day).

Anbar province, once considered a lost region overrun by Sunni radicals, is now mostly calm. It is the Shiite areas, especially where Iran is strong, like in Basra and Sadr City, which are now in revolt.

U.S. military commanders deduce that if Iran stopped stoking the fires of conflict, both Sunnis and Shiites would stop fighting long enough for Iraq to blossom into the prosperous nation that U.S. officials promised and that the U.S. military needs to prevent failure in Iraq.

Perhaps they are correct. It would be logical to assume that if both sides stop fighting, there would be less bloodshed and more room for dialogue.

The problem, however, is that Iran is only the U.S. military's latest enemy in Iraq. It is only the latest spoiler here. There have been others, each considered vital at the time; yet the war continues.

U.S. Enemies:

2003: Saddam Hussein and his alleged weapons of mass destruction and supposed alliance to al-Qaida.

2004-2005: Sunni insurgents, former Baath party members and Syria, all of whom allegedly wanted to stop democracy and freedom.

2006-2007: Sectarian gangs, and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's "al-Qaeda in Iraq."

2008: Iran's "Special Groups," militias backed by Iran's Revolutionary Guards

Is this the end? Is Iran, as U.S. military officials suggest, the lynchpin to success in Iraq? Or is it just the flavor of the month?

With the risk of contagious diseases creating an increasing international threat, NBC News visited Europe's Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) in Stockholm, Sweden and interviewed Ben Duncan, a spokesman for the center, to see how they are strengthening their defenses against the spread of infectious diseases.

VIDEO:  Europe's center for disease control

OUTSIDE GARMSER, Afghanistan –  The U.S. Marines began a major operation to try to disrupt the Taliban's stranglehold on southern Afghanistan early Tuesday. NBC News' Jim Maceda is embedded with Marines at Forward Operating Base Dwyer outside of Garmser, Afghanistan, in Helmand province, and responded to questions via satellite phone.

The most significant difference is that this embed is in southern Afghanistan. Most of my trips into Afghanistan over the last couple of years have been with U.S. forces in the east, along the Pakistan border. During those missions, the U.S. troops were self-contained, giving themselves their own orders. Here they are working with the British-led NATO forces responsible for Helmand province.

VIDEO: Marines launch Afghanistan assault

The troops in the east were making big changes, I think, in improving the situation for local Afghans up and down the border with Pakistan. In April 2006, they started to apply a kind of Gen. Petraeus counter-insurgency plan, which has not been the case in the south. Since probably 2002, this area has been no-man's land for Westerners and for international coalition forces, and it has become a safe-haven and fiefdom of the Taliban.

The reason why we are here now is because we had the opportunity to embed with the first large contingent of U.S. forces to operate this far south in Helmand province, the first Marines to be here since they left in 2002. So this is really a kind of "back to the future" type operation. The Marines arrived in Afghanistan about six weeks ago, and after weeks of preparation, the first major offensive operation launched today. 

One senior officer on the forward operating base here said that the idea of a spring offensive has become a cliché. He said that it is actually "fighting season" – meaning it has warmed up to about 100 degrees Fahrenheit a day here in Helmand province and the time is right for an offensive. What the Marines are trying to do is to prevent the offensive that they anticipate the Taliban will try to launch by taking the fight to the Taliban in their own backyard.

Specifically, what is happening now and will probably continue over the next 7-10 days, is an operation called "Operation Stay Free." The idea is to push out southwards from a town called Garmser – an area that is a rather complex combination of dykes, canals and compounds on the east side of the Helmand River.

Garmser is a de facto borderline that cuts Helmand province in two. The northern part of Helmand province is pretty much under the control of NATO and the central government emanating from Kabul. Everything south, all the way to Pakistan, has been referred to as "Talibanistan" because the area is controlled entirely by Taliban militants, drug traffickers and corrupt politicians.

What is happening in a nutshell is that the muscle has now come – meaning about 3,200 Marines – to help the British-led NATO forces who have been fighting here over the past year. The goal of the Marines is to help the British open up corridors southwards towards Pakistan and disrupt the Taliban and take away some high ground that they use to control smuggling routes.

A lot of opium goes from the poppy-infested Helmand province into Pakistan where it is processed into heroin and sold for about $4 billion dollars a year. Helmand province is the drug capital of the world in many ways.

The Taliban is going to fight, no doubt, to maintain its control of these areas. But, with the Marines here, it gives NATO the muscle to open up these routes, to take these compounds and to expand the NATO footprint which so far has only gone as far as Garmser.

Yes, they have. There are 34 provinces in Afghanistan; 13 of them were opium or poppy-free last year and the government says 16 of them are poppy-free this year, so there has been an increase in the number of poppy-free provinces.

The problem is that poppy-growing provinces, mostly in the south, are doubling and tripling their output because they are controlled by the Taliban and any eradication efforts there have failed.

To give you one example of the difficulty, USAID and the Afghan government have been trying a program called the Alternative Livelihood Program or ALP.  The idea is to get poppy farmers away from the poppy crop and into infrastructure and rebuilding roads and bridges.

There was supposed to be an influx of cash – millions of dollars – into provinces like Helmand and elsewhere, but that money never came. It either ended up in the pockets of politicians in Kabul or it did show up and was immediately confiscated by the Taliban. So there is no financial incentive for poppy farmers to stop growing the crop and all signs are that poppy cultivation this year will be even larger than the record-breaking cultivation in 2007 and 2006.

So poppy cultivation is still a major issue – there have been some gains in the northern, central and eastern parts of the country, but those are counterbalanced by the ongoing problem of poppy growing in the south.

I've spent a good deal of time with them over the last week – speaking to everyone from grunts to officers – and I've got to say that the morale is excellent. These guys are professionals – they trained for six months before they came here and are well-prepared and well-seasoned.

Many of these Marines have deployed two or three times – including in Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province in western Iraq, in 2006 and 2007. They say that they've seen how things can change – like in Ramadi – where it went from being a hellhole to an almost thriving and peaceful area of Iraq at the end of their 15-month deployment.

So they've seen the changes there, and they think it's possible to apply the same counter-insurgency model here in Afghanistan. They believe it is just a question of patience.

Now this first operation is under way, and the conditions are very difficult, but their morale is terrific.

By Kerry Sanders, NBC News Correspondent

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - The residents of this country deny it, but to an outsider it sure looks like they're obsessed — or addicted — to mate.

Mate (pronounce ma-tay) is like an herb tea, and everywhere — from the shade of a tree in the park to sitting rooms to the back seats of cars — friends slow down and share mate. This is as much a social experience as it is a way to quench a thirst. Oh, and there are rules. (Aren't there always rules! More on that later.)

VIDEO: Yum? Argentina's national drink

First a warning to the germ-phobic: Mate is shared from the same cup, using the same straw, person to person. Why? Sharing mate with a buddy or a stranger is all about friendships.

Read the rest of Kerry Sanders' story about the Argentine tradition of drinking mate.

Three-thousand Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit have returned to Afghanistan to assist their NATO allies battling the Taliban. NBC News correspondent Jim Maceda, who is embedded with the force, reports on the Marines' first southern Afghan tour in six years.

VIDEO: Marines back in southern Afghanistan

At the Beijing Auto Show, many hope that China's first-time car buyers are being encouraged to buy green. NBC News' Mark Mullen reports from Beijing.

VIDEO: Chinese car buyers dream big

 LONDON – "Everyone around here is doing it."

"It has become a trend."

"I have thought about doing it myself."

Somehow, these are all quotes from teenagers, talking about – suicide.

Since the start of 2007, 19 teenagers and young adults have taken their own lives in the tiny towns scattered through the southern Welsh county of Bridgend, where people have been living along the Ogmore River for centuries. Total population: around 130,000. 

The rash of suicides has been an unsettling story, to say the least, here in the U.K.

To see the faces of victims, sweetly smiling in photos all in a row, leaves an empty feeling – they are so many, and so young.

The most recent suicide was less than a week ago. Sean Rees, 19 years old, was found hanging from a tree in the woods near his house. His friends described him as happy, and doing well – he had just gotten his driver's license and a car. 

Only about a week before, Michelle Sheldon, 23, died in the hospital three days after she was found hanged.

One by one, young people have suddenly taken their own lives here – some right on the heels of another death. And as staggering as these numbers are, there have been attempted suicides as well.

In January, the day after one 17-year-old girl hanged herself in her bedroom, her 15-year-old friend tried to do the exact same thing. She survived, but spent days in intensive care after her father found her and managed to cut her down in time. That same weekend, another of her friends also attempted to kill herself.

It seems unfathomable that something as irreversible, as final, as suicide could "catch on" among kids, as if it were another simply another destructive habit like binge drinking.

Police have formed a special task force, and have been investigating various scenarios including a rumored suicide pact among as many as six of the recent victims. Still, it all remains an eerie, terribly sad mystery.

One thing many experts seem certain of: it is a copycat or cluster phenomenon. And many believe that social networking sites on the Internet have raised teens' interest in, and even fascination or obsession with, the cases, and may even be influencing the spate of suicides. 

A number of the victims' friends have left elaborate tributes Internet networking sites, and the idea that some of the messages may be glamorizing the deaths, has police and counselors worried. When suicide equals instant "fame" and shocking attention, there is the risk, oddly, of attraction to it. Counselors say the teens who fixate on the deaths could be at greater risk of following that same dark path.

Some investigators think the only link among all of these tragic cases might be those Web sites.

Anne Marie, a Welsh seventeen-year-old, told her local newspaper, "It has become a cool thing to do in our area – I have thought about doing it myself."

Cool? As much as psychologists and experts have tried to make some sense of the string of deaths, for many it seems almost impossible to grasp.

Is there some statement on society here, on death and extremes and publicity and fame? Or on hopelessness among people this young, with such possibilities ahead of them?

When you look at the town of Bridgend, it's industrial, has its share of economic problems, but unemployment there isn't any worse than other similar towns in that region. But those other towns don't have a suicide rate as high as Bridgend.

It's rate has jumped to 43 per 100,000, among males 15 to 24, over the last decade. That's more than double the Welsh national rate of 19 per 100,000 for that group – even though Wales' rate is already twice that of the U.K. as a whole. 

No one seems confident enough in any specific theory to make grand pronouncements or explanations. Maybe there never will be a way to comprehend this fully. One teen in the area who had tried to kill herself, after the death of one of her friends, told her parents she didn't really know why she, too, attempted it.

Counselors in school are working on prevention. They're warning teenagers about what they call the "dangers" of the social networking sites – and warning parents to monitor them closely.

Still, the little county of Bridgend, dotted by ancient castles, is at a loss. The suicides keep happening. Nineteen of its young people, gone – in just over a year.

PHI PHI ISLANDS, Thailand – Andrew Hewett fished a small fragment of coral from a bucket of water and held it between his fingers.

"It's been knocked off, broken by an anchor or somebody standing on it," he said, explaining that while the devastating 2004 tsunami caused a lot of damage to the area's coral reefs, the bigger threat to the reefs comes not from nature, but from man.

He then showed how to drill a small hole in the fragment and attach it to a metal rack. Moments later, a production line was up and running on the deck of the dive boat, students threading hundreds of fragments and pulling them tightly to the racks. 

VIDEO: Nursing a coral reef back to life

"If I can't pull it off, then a fish certainly can't," said Nichole Niewald, a biology major at the University of Missouri.

The fragments had been collected from the ocean floor, the remains of a badly damaged reef.
"Day by day people are walking on the reef, not paying enough attention, and not treating the coral like the animals they actually are," said Steve Monson, who studies food science at Mizzou.

Eighteen students and staff traveled from Missouri to the Phi Phi islands in Thailand to take part in a pioneering coral rehabilitation project. Their trip was organized by Bob Sites, Professor of Entomology at Mizzou's Division of Plant Sciences, a regular visitor to the Kingdom. It's the second year he's brought students to the coral project. All the students are from Mizzou's College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources

Read the rest of Ian Williams blog about Restoring the Reef in the Daily Nightly blog.

"Do you work for that American news company that said all those bad things about the Chinese people?" That question was posed to me yesterday by a taxi driver as I was riding to NBC News' Beijing bureau. Not exactly your typical ice-breaker.

The driver was referring to CNN commentator Jack Cafferty, who made a comment on air about China's leaders being "thugs and goons" – which has been taken as a personal affront by the nation of 1.3 billion people. 

I might have thought it was unusual for someone in China to bring up a politically loaded subject like that except for the fact that a Chinese babysitter my family has worked with for about two years asked me the day before to clarify who my employer was.

And later that same day, as we were shooting news footage inside a Beijing restaurant, a Chinese couple who recently returned from a vacation in the United States started complaining to the crew and me about Western press coverage of China – especially when it comes to the issue of Tibet.

The series of comments are an illustration of how far the current wave of Chinese nationalism has reached. It's fueled by anger over the tarnishing of China's image at a period of great pride for hundreds of millions of Chinese excited to be hosting the Olympic Games.

When you speak with people here, you get a sense that many average Chinese are hoping Olympic publicity will allow the outside world to notice the positive changes China has made in recent years, instead of fixating on what is wrong. That sense of real national pride – not some robotic obedience to the government and its policies – seems to be behind much of the anger.

To their credit, everyone who spoke to me about my employer was polite. But there is plenty of rage still out there, especially on the Internet.

China's blogs are seething these days, with many railing against the Western press and Tibet sympathizers. Chinese bloggers have inspired real protests against French-made goods and businesses in China – many here believe the French did not do enough to protect the Olympic torch when it passed through Paris, with a demonstrator almost wresting it away from a Chinese Paralympics torchbearer.

With many Chinese angry over these perceived slights, the government has grown concerned about the intensity of the popular protest and what impact it might have on the games and China's international image. So now, officials are taking steps to calm everyone.

Xinhua, China's official state news agency, released a statement saying it was time to curb national zeal, which the agency implied could scare foreign investors away.

Two editorials in the Chinese press asked people to make a hospitable impression to guests and channel their energy into working for China's future.

And for its part, France is sending a high-level delegation to China on a charm offensive.

On April 30, the 100-day countdown to the games will begin, with the Olympic torch arriving on Chinese soil, and many hope the fanfare and celebration may help to shift focus away from the current controversy.

At the very least, this public outcry has been an example that in the world's largest communist country, there can be free speech: especially when it's a decidedly pro-China.

At Passover, Jews invite the prophet Elijah into their homes, believing that he will herald the Messiah. Elijah didn't make it to my place on Saturday, and nor did the Messiah, but Abraham did, along with his friend Angos.

These foreign guests taught my family and friends that while on this holy day we remember the hardships of our ancestors as they fled oppression in Egypt, others face remarkably similar pain today.

Habptom Abraham and Pesfalem Angos, 15-year-old Christians, fled the fighting in the Horn of Africa nation of Eritrea three years ago with one goal – to reach Jerusalem, and their savior, Jesus Christ.

It was a hard journey. Abraham's father was killed in front of him. The boys lost two years locked in a refugee camp in Ethiopia, Eritrea's neighbor and rival. After months of trekking through the deserts of North Africa, boiling during the day, and freezing at night, Bedouin mercenaries smuggled them into Israel.

Several thousand refugees from Sudan, including the troubled Darfur region, as well as Chad, Eritrea and the Ivory Coast, live in cramped misery in the poor suburbs of south Tel Aviv, while Israel considers their fate. They entered illegally, and therefore face deportation. But while the courts ponder, many Israeli citizens have acted, providing food, gathering clothes, blankets, raising money and trying their best to provide comfort to the refugees.

That's how Abraham and Angos, along with two aid workers, Alice and Johannes, ended up at our Passover table. The boys were shy at first, their eyes fixed on their plates, curly hair flopping down.

As we explained to our Christian guests the symbolism of the Passover plates – salt water to remember the salty tears of the Jews, bitter herbs to symbolize the bitterness of slavery, hard boiled eggs to symbolize the suffering and oppression in Egypt – who could not fail to see the irony? These young boys, who lost their families, just went through some of the pain, and even traced a similar journey as the Jews who fled Egypt thousands of years ago. A key difference, of course, is that Abraham and Angos did it this year.

Not settled yet
The final leg of their journey took them through the Sinai desert, just like the Jews, who, it is written, took 40 years to reach the Holy Land. The refugees took a few days, first in the back of a pickup truck, then on foot, guided by Bedouin mercenaries.

When they reached the Israeli border the Bedouin sent them on their way. They pointed to lights in the distance that looked like a small city and told the refugees: "There, that is Jerusalem. Walk there and you will be safe."

Amazed and delighted that they were realizing their dream at last, the Africans hurried toward the lights, much like the wise men who, tradition holds, followed the star to greet the birth of their Christ.

But it wasn't Jerusalem. It was Ketsiot, a prison. The Bedouin had deceived the refugees. When the guards saw yet another batch of Africans emerging from the early morning desert mist, they promptly jailed them.  

It is a common story for these desperate Africans, some escaping political oppression and war, others simply seeking jobs and a better life.

VIDEO: Darfur refugees have a jam session with Israeli musicians

They pass through North Africa heading for salvation in the Holy Land, where the Israeli government doesn't know what to do with them. Many are jailed and deported for entering the country illegally. Others get to stay in rundown, temporary hostels, and some are even lucky enough to get work permits while their fate is determined. After pressure from social workers and volunteers, some children have been placed in boarding schools.

That is what happened to Abraham and Angos. After three years of traveling and vegetating in refugee camps, today, while thankful to be in Israel, they have no idea how long they can stay, or where they would go from here, if deported. But for the time being, thanks to ordinary citizens putting pressure on a reluctant government, they're living on a kibbutz in the Jordan valley and learning Hebrew and math.

And they came to dinner for Passover. The two boys were happy for an evening, and they taught us a lesson, too: While we wait for Elijah, there is a lot to be done.

By Michele Neubert, NBC News Producer

STOCKHOLM, Sweden – Ever had the desire to wear X-ray specs?

Well, maybe that's why the ThruVision, a new security scanner that looks through clothing and can detect weapons from up to 25 yards away, was all the rage at a recent international counterterrorism conference in Stockholm, Sweden.

VIDEO: See-thru security scanner

But instead of the usual X-rays, the machine uses non-invasive "terahertz" technology, as I learned from Mikael Karlstrom, the machine's designer.

And for those hoping to see everything, it's a disappointment.

"It's completely passive, which means it doesn't radiate anyone or anything," Karlstrom said. As opposed to current security systems that send rays toward the object or person being scanned, this system detects items by receiving energy from terahertz rays – low level electromagnetic waves which all people and objects emit naturally.

Terahertz radiation can pass through a wide variety of materials – like clothing, paper, or wood – but it cannot penetrate metal or water. As with a regular security scanner, other objects give off a different frequency and thus can be seen on the scanner's screen.

"The effect on the passenger being screened is the same as taking a photo without a flash," said Karlstrom. "It doesn't invade your privacy because we don't show your anatomy, your naked bits at all – just the objects hidden on your body."

As I watched, the scanning screen showed human silhouettes outlined in a vague outline, but hidden objects on the body were detected as darker images.

Karlstrom explained that the new scanner allows authorities to do both overt and covert surveillance because the machines can operate from a distance.

"With this new device you are able to pinpoint a person 10, 15, 20 [yards] away and discern if they have as explosive device on them," he said. "So you can either tell people that they are being surveyed, or we can do it covertly and not say anything."

The machines cost around $200,000 and, according to Karlstrom, they are selling well in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

 "I think it's a much needed complement to the security systems that are in place," said Makram Bichara, another delegate at the conference.

"According to tests done in the U.S. by the Transport and Security Agency, agents were able to carry weapons through full functioning security checks without being detected," Bichara continued. "So I'd welcome anything that can improve on that."

By Adrienne Mong, NBC News producer

What a difference a couple of months can make.

As people returned to work following the end of the Chinese New Year holidays in February, there was a palpable sense of anticipation for the Olympic Summer Games. The intense winter cold snap lasted longer than the holidays, but there was a spring in everyone's step.

Friends working in professions as diverse as business and the arts spoke of an accelerated rate of activity; people seemed to be jetting back and forth from the United States and Europe in a frenzy to meet deadlines on special projects before the Games begin August 8.

AP

Chinese youths protest outside a Carrefour supermarket, a French owned company, in Qingdao in east China's Shandong province on April 18.Â

My e-mail inbox was getting clogged on a more regular basis with press conference notices from the Beijing Olympic authorities, BOCOG. And I was fielding dozens of requests from far-flung friends to crash on the floor of my apartment in the months leading up to August.

It was as though Beijing had become the center of the world and everyone wanted to be here.

And then, the protests and violence in Tibet and surrounding regions happened.

In response to international condemnation of its policies in Tibet, the Chinese government has taken a hard line against critics. At the same time, Chinese people have become more upset over what they perceive as Western media bias against their nation. 

CNN has been the target of intense criticism and threats for allegedly biased coverage of the protests in Tibet, and particularly for remarks made by commentator Jack Cafferty, who referred to China's leaders – not the Chinese people – as a "bunch of goons and thugs."

On Thursday, CNN's bureau chief in Beijing was summoned to China's Foreign Ministry, where officials demanded an apology and a retraction of Cafferty's comments. 

CNN has apologized for any offence, and Cafferty clarified on air earlier in the week that his comments were referring specifically to the government and "not to Chinese people or to Chinese-Americans."

But even before this latest incident, we had heard from CNN staff that non-essential personnel had been asked to stay away from the CNN Beijing office because threats from angry Chinese activists were growing serious.

A Chinese friend who once worked for CNN learned Friday that his name and personal information had been posted on one of the more virulent anti-Western media Web sites in China. He said he was shocked by the coarse language people used to accuse him of being a traitor.

An acquaintance at a top-selling U.S. newsmagazine described an incident in which someone rang the doorbell of her home and tried to set off a fire extinguisher in her face when she opened the front door.

NBC News hasn't been subject to the same level of harassment as some other media outlets, but for several weeks now in the late evenings our bureau has received prank phone calls from Chinese people asking whether we are CNN or just randomly cursing all Western media.

The anxiety isn't confined to journalists.

Chinese furious over how the Olympic torch was received in Paris on April 7 are planning a demonstration Saturday in front of a branch of the French supermarket, Carrefour. And a more widespread boycott of all Carrefour branches planned for May 1 is gathering steam.

A friend with French relatives coming to visit Beijing next week is anxious about how they might be treated and is reluctant to leave them on their own to explore the capital.

In a way, however, this French family is lucky they can even be here.

Chinese authorities are cracking down on entry visas. Reports are circulating among U.S. businessmen that many companies are starting to suffer from a restriction on business visas for legitimate employees.

Every foreign freelancer or independent contractor I know here is looking for a sponsor, as they've been warned their current – and legitimate – business visas are not likely to be renewed. Even a college student whom NBC agreed to take on for the summer has had to cut short his internship, because he won't be allowed to extend his student visa beyond August 1; extending a visa was previously a common practice.

It's believed that the visa restrictions are to prevent foreign activists from entering China ahead of the Olympics and staying through the games.  

One of our local staffers told me that five security people showed up at her home at 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, pounding on her front door and demanding to see her local residency permit. They were rude, she said, and they examined parts of her apartment without her consent.

"They wanted to know if I was the only one living here," she said.

Of course, some of this might appear trivial compared to the domestic political housecleaning taking place across China. Many dissidents or potential noisemakers have been rounded up since December. 

In the wake of these incidents, one can only wonder if this is the image China's government and its people really want to present to the outside world as they prepare to host an Olympics bearing the banner "One World One Dream."

Perhaps not. A commentary posted on the state-run Xinhua news agency Web site Friday urges the Chinese people to contain their "patriotic zeal." 

TEL AVIV, Israel – You would think that Palestinians in Gaza would be upset at Hamas' provocative stance against Israel, which has brought economic sanctions and contributed to massive unemployment and food and fuel shortages.

It has also brought Israel and the Palestinians closer toward a military confrontation in Gaza that Hamas cannot win.

But instead, polls show that Hamas is tightening its grip on power and growing in popularity. Resistance pays in the polls.

SLIDESHOW: Fighting in Gaza intesifies

Following a storm of Palestinian rockets, Israel killed 120 Palestinians in Gaza six weeks ago and bought a few weeks of relative calm. Now Hamas is back again, firing rockets and ambushing Israeli soldiers. In return they got 20 dead Palestinians on Wednesday and provoked yet more threats from Israel that it would launch a major offensive to clean out Gaza of rockets and gunmen.

However, Hamas has about 20,000 trained and well-equipped fighters ready. That means that if Israel were to invade, it would be long, bloody and painful for both sides. But still, Hamas appears to want this to happen

Anger is building in Gaza not only against Israel, but Egypt. Complaints are voiced more and more loudly against Egypt's refusal to open its border with Gaza.

After Hamas blew open the Rafah border earlier this year, and Gazans tasted the whiff of brief freedom and easier movement in and out of Gaza, they want it again, badly.

Hamas is said to have mined the border wall again, and to have its men in position ready to blow the wall down. Meanwhile, Egypt has reinforced its police with elite soldiers ready to repel invaders. That would be another bloody scenario.

So Gaza is facing a bloodbath on two fronts, against Israel as well as Egypt. In fact, Israel and Egypt are said to be cooperating in their preparations close to the Rafah border. 

So what is Hamas up to? Do they want a war or is it just a growing sense of desperation at their inability to bring any improvement to the lives of Gazans, a failure that they are masking by building up external threats?

Whatever it is, it's working. Not only is Hamas more popular than before in Gaza, but all indications are that they are growing more popular in the West Bank, too, and that they would win elections for president which are scheduled for January 2009. That prospect terrifies Israel, as well as the head of the rival Fatah Party, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

An explanation is provided by a poll released Wednesday that shows the three most popular leaders in the Arab world are not, for example, leaders of Morocco or the Persian Gulf who have brought stability and prosperity to many citizens. Instead, they are Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Syrian President Bashar Assad and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Why? They face up to America, and by extension, what they call the "little Satan": Israel.

The conclusion is that the more Hamas faces up to Israel, the more popular it becomes, regardless of the hardship it brings to its people. It's a bluff, because everybody involved understands that Israel has the power to destroy Hamas at will; the question is, does Israel have the will to do it?

The speculation is that the answer is yes, but not yet. Israel's 60th birthday celebrations in mid-May, the arrival of President Bush and other world leaders to join the party, and ongoing military preparations all conspire to delay Israel's attack on Gaza. Nobody doubts that it is coming, though.

Early summer is the best bet for Israel to call Hamas' bluff. The destruction of Hamas military power in Gaza would serve Israel well, not only because it would weaken the threat from Gaza, but because it would destroy Hamas' chance of taking over the West Bank through presidential elections. Nobody would be happier than the Fatah leadership and Abbas. 

TEL AVIV, Israel – How symbolic could this rehearsal be?

Standing next to one another on stage in Tel Aviv – dancing together and singing in perfect harmony – were the Dar Fur Stars, a band made up of Muslim refugees, and the Jewish group Aharit Hayamim (Redemption).

Ending their practice with both bands playing the theme music from "Schindler's List," The Dar Fur Stars were preparing to join the Israelis in their celebration of Passover, which begins on Saturday at sundown and commemorates the biblical exodus from Egyptian slavery.

VIDEO: Musicians from the Dar Fur Stars and Aharit Hayamim have a jam session

The unique pairing marks the end of a harrowing journey, which began when the twelve narrowly escaped the horrors of genocide in Darfur and eventually snuck through the Egyptian-Israeli border. An Israeli patrol picked them up and imprisoned them for three months.

It turned out that music was the answer to the boredom and misery. Bushra Musa, 34, found himself and his fellow inmates picking up sticks and using old pots as drums. Every night, he recalled, they would gather and play for hours. The seeds of the Dar Fur Stars were planted.

Shmuel Kau, a member of Aharit Hayamim, recalls that he saw a short story about the Dar Fur Stars on TV and it gave him the idea of inviting them to play together so that they could help the refugees reach a bigger audience.

"We Jews suffered so much," he said, "and this way we can help our brothers from Africa."

The stage at the Koltura nightclub was bursting with energy – and it was only 11 a.m. – as the bands were practiced together in anticipation of their upcoming concert.

Making time for the rehearsal was not easy for the refugees, who are all restaurant and hotel workers now and were missing out on important income. But the tee-shirts some of them are wearing, with the slogan "Darfur Genocide," indicate that their cause is more important than money.

Musa became choked up with tears as he tried to tell me about his family. After a long pause he related how his mother was too old to make the journey and is still in Sudan. And he is awaiting the release of his wife, who is still in the Israeli jail.

But at the same time, he is very happy to be in Israel, where he is free to play music forbidden in his homeland. (In Sudan, the government insists everyone should only sing in the Arabic language, which is not his traditional African tongue.)

And now Kau's dream is to take the Dar Fur Stars on a world road trip and show how coexistence can work.

BAGHDAD – For Um Wissam, a small office packed with food aid in Shiite-dominated Sadr City is a lifeline. With her son killed two years ago, the widow has nowhere else to turn for support.

"They're really great," she said. "They give us whatever they possibly can."

"They" are fervent anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army.

VIDEO: Uprooted Iraqis aided by militias

A new report from Washington-based Refugees International says that Muqtada and his Mahdi Army are the largest "unofficial" aid agency in the country. And they're not alone. In the patchwork quilt of sectarian neighborhoods that make-up Baghdad, almost all aid is delivered through political and religious groups, according to report co-author Kristele Younes.

Filling a gap
"They are giving them money to pay rent. They are giving them oil and food. They are providing them with generators for electricity. They are really meeting all the needs that the government and the U.N. should be meeting at this stage," Younes said.

What about the United Nations? Its role here is limited. After a massive bombing at its Iraq headquarters killed 22 five years ago, it pulled out most of its foreign staff. For years now, the U.N has had only 35 international staffers based here, though that number is supposed to rise. 

How about the Iraqi government? It has done little. While the rising price of oil has enabled the Iraqi government to amass $30 billion in reserves, the Refugees International Report said little funding has gone to help Iraq's most vulnerable. And there are many of them. Oxfam said more than half of all Iraqis are living in "absolute poverty."

Part of the reason for the lack of government aid is that corruption is pervasive and organization poor. According to Younes, the government has "proven to be unwilling and unable" to respond to the needs of Iraqis. The report also suggests the government is hobbled by being perceived as allied with another powerful Shiite group, the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council. Known by the acronym SIIC here, the group is best known as fielding its own militia, the Badr Army.  

It's perplexing, and some suggest dangerous, that aid is being used a tool by the militias the U.S. is intent on stamping out. It helps solidify support and brings in new recruits.

"The U.S. and Iraq should be very concerned about the fact that these groups are not only assisting these Iraqis, but they're also gaining political and military ground thanks to this assistance," said Younes.

And those gains could come with a renewed threat of violence when coalition forces begin to withdraw. Younes said militia leaders who met with her co-author in Iraq "made it extremely clear that they were waiting for the American military presence to diminish. They were just waiting for the other side to be weakened."

By Michele Neubert, NBC News Producer

STOCKHOLM, Sweden – Trying to counter the world's myriad terror threats is like "learning to eat soup with a knife." That mantra, which is actually the title of a counterinsurgency manual written by Lt. Col John Nagl, seems to sum up the tremendous challenges facing the West's top military and terror experts, many of whom invoked the phrase at a recent counterterrorism conference in Stockholm, Sweden.

The conference, which was co-hosted by the Swedish National Defense College and the UK's Defense Academy, brought together American and European defense officials, police, intelligence agents, and academics, who sat in a converted brewery overlooking the Stockholm skyline, trying to get a handle on the slippery problem of terrorism, radicalization and insurgency.

Perhaps fittingly, the conference began with a one-minute moment of silence to commemorate the anniversary of the Madrid bombings on March 11, 2004. Few in the room needed reminding that Europe is not only a likely target for future terror attacks, but also a potential breeding ground for future radicals.

Former EU counterterrorism coordinator Gijs de Vries discussed tactics at the conference. He said that since 9/11 there has been solid cooperation between the U.S. and Europe, but he conceded that there is a "fundamental difference of approach – which makes it all rather messy."

"The U.S. approaches terrorists as if at war," he said, which he believes gives suspected terrorists greater status than they deserve.

VIDEO: Gijs de Vries discusses terror tactics

"People who blow up men and women are common criminals and belong behind bars, but according to a fair trial," he said, expressing concern over what he considers the U.S. disregard for the rule of law in its war on terror.

"We do not see eye to eye on the way we fight terrorism," he said, cautioning that "the U.S. cannot win this fight alone, but needs to listen to its friends and allies."

According to other delegates, the war on terror being played out on the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq is counterproductive. They said the brutal images broadcast from those wars are helping radicals' recruitment efforts.   

"These images are full of humiliation and they are skillfully packaged to exploit the vulnerabilities of young people," explained Dr. Magnus Ranstorp, one of Europe's leading experts in radical and extremist groups. 

"We need to better understand their alienation, their lack of hope and employ new vehicles, maybe even soap opera stars or Hollywood to try and harness the imagination of young Muslims," suggested Ranstorp. He pointed to an experiment in Indonesia where a famous pop singer's lyrics were used to try and turn some young hearts and minds around by asking, "Who do you want to be with? The warriors of love or the warriors of jihad?" 

VIDEO: Dr. Magnus Ranstorp discusses innovative anti-terror approaches

Since the war on terror is not always fought on traditional battlefields, many believe new tactics are required.

"Modern warriors are different. Now it's a war of ideas, a battle for perception, mostly played out in cyberspace," said seasoned military commander Sir John Kiszely, of the U.K. Defense Academy. "The challenges are broader and more cerebral. These days you need to out-maneuver your opponent mentally rather than militarily."

Which is why Lt. Col. John Nagl, author of the oft-quoted "Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife" book, is concerned. He said it is important to keep in mind the dramatic strategic changes taking place due to the information technology revolution and how it makes terrorists more nimble.    and adapt more rapidly," he said. "The dumb insurgents are dead, the smart ones still alive."

By Adrienne Mong, NBC News producer

BEIJING – Last November, during a state visit by French President Nicholas Sarkozy to China, the Chinese-language media here spoke warmly of Sino-French historical relations. 

"From a personal perspective, Sarkozy has a deep China complex," the state-run news agency Xinhua wrote approvingly. "He has visited China three times and was very happy to meet President Hu Jintao. During this year's spring festival he had a function for Chinese residents in France and said, 'I'm a friend of the Chinese and I have deep feelings towards China.' To choose China as his first stop in Asia shows his high attention."

Capping off the three-day love fest, the French president and his delegation of business executives flew back home with more than $30 billion in business deals.  

And the central Chinese government was reassured it had an ally within the European Union, with whom China's relations were growing increasingly frosty over trade and economic issues as well as Beijing's human rights record.

But that honeymoon period seems to have come to a crashing end, following the Paris leg of the Olympic torch relay last Monday.

But ever since newspapers and TV broadcast images here of anti-China demonstrations in Paris and protesters attempting to disrupt the torch relay, France is no longer considered a good friend of the Chinese people.

Especially not the French press corps, whom Chinese-language media here have accused of distorting coverage of recent unrest in Tibet and of siding with anti-Chinese protesters (or, in Chinese media coverage, "criminals" or "separatists") who turned out in force to disrupt the torch relay. 

An editorial posted today on the Chinese government's website says: 

"We Chinese translate France into 'fa guo,' which literally means a country that honors the rule of law. The translation itself shows Chinese respect for that country. However, from the joy of headline stories, the editors, reporters and lawmakers who are educated by the French civilization suddenly lost ability to tell right from wrong, and chose adamantly to side with the law-breakers and the criminals."

Ordinary Chinese people are taking matters into their hands.

On Thursday, word began spreading in the Chinese blogosphere to boycott Carrefour, a popular French supermarket chain, in Beijing on May 1, which marks the 100-day countdown to the Olympic Summer Games. 

On one Internet bulletin board, writers urged the boycott because of perceived French support for the Tibetan independence movement. One writer claimed Carrefour has been donated a lot of money to the Dalai Lama. 

The Carrefour boycott in Beijing follows a growing Web-based campaign urging consumers in China to stop buying French goods, including widely-recognized brands like Louis Vuitton and L'Oreal.

And, one might wonder, whether there isn't some coincidence that a black-and-white photograph of a nude Carla Bruni, Sarkozy's new wife, was sold at Christie's auction house for $90,000 to ... a Chinese collector.

By Ed Flanagan, NBC News Researcher

BEIJING – In recent days it has been difficult to take away any positives from China's now unfortunately titled torch relay, the "Journey of Harmony to Beijing," at least based on international news coverage of the events.

But the media here have found a positive face in the young, handicapped woman who was confronted by protesters in Paris this week. 

AFP - Getty Images

French policemen hold down a pro-Tibet protestor as the Olympic flame is protected by Jin Jing in Paris on April 7.Â

Jin Jing, 28, a former Paralympics fencer from Shanghai who uses a wheelchair, won national acclaim for what the media described as her heroics in protecting the Olympic torch from a group of pro-Tibetan protesters (all protesters have been ubiquitously labeled "Tibetan separatists" and "pro-Tibet independence activists" in state media reports).

Jin's feisty defense of the torch – she suffered scratches and a bruised leg during the confrontation – has been heavily covered by China's media, which has the unenviable task of mitigating the scope of the protests.   

In a radio press conference which was quickly picked up by the official Beijing Olympics website, Jin described the Paris incident:

"When the second torchbearer was accepting the flame from the first, I was waiting at my position as the third torchbearer. At the time the security around me was relatively light, there were only a few police officers and three, maybe two, escort runners around me. Several Tibetan separatists and members of 'Reporters without Borders' came over to protest.
                       
"They began lunging toward me, trying to grab the torch from my hands. I tried to hide the torch with my body and managed to keep it from them. I was focused on the three or four separatists attacking me. I'm not sure how many were behind me. I felt people trying to take the torch from me. That's when some of the escort runners, as well as the tourist guide assigned to me in Paris, came over to help me, drawing the attackers away.

"People ask me how I dealt with the danger. I don't think I thought too much about it. I trusted the escorts around me. They were the ones, along with my guide, that faced the danger."

Upon her return to Beijing, Jin was treated to a hero's welcome as crowds gathered to hail the woman news reports glowingly described as the "Smiling Angel in Wheelchair" and the "Most Beautiful Torchbearer."

Jin, who had part of her right leg amputated at the age of 9 after a malignant tumor was found on her ankle and later underwent a year of chemotherapy, is a charismatic woman with a glowing smile.

And hungry for a positive Chinese figure to serve up to its audience, the Chinese media clearly saw the star potential in Jin: at the time of this posting, fully half of the "News" section on the official Torch Relay website were accounts of her actions that day, including one entitled: "Jin Jing's mother: I'm proud of my daughter." 

Online forums have also been abuzz with praise for her and her dedication to the Olympic spirit. One netizen on an Olympic thread wrote, "I burst into tears when I saw how you [Jin] protected the flame, I think you protected the torch and also saved the spirit of the Olympics."

However, not all messages have been positive. On another popular website, Mopu, the picture of Jin being assaulted by the ethnic Tibetan protester sparked outrage among posters. "Kill with no leniency!" and "kill the foreign !@#$!" – using a slur for Tibetans used amongst ethnic Han Chinese were popular sentiments shared by many of the contributors. 

The majority of such sentiments appeared to be from angry mainland Chinese blowing off steam over the perceived international humiliation that protesters have brought to the torch and by extension, China.

However, if these protests grow, the Chinese will likely settle into a siege mentality, an "us versus the world" attitude.  It may become increasingly easier for Chinese to look at what many would consider legitimate calls for change and dismiss them as nothing more than Western rhetoric and propaganda.

PORT-AU-Prince, Haiti

Protests and looting over soaring food prices have paralyzed the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince. NBC's Mara Schiavocampo files a video blog from a seven mile drive across the city that's riddled with road blocks, burning tires, and gunshots.

VIDEO: Dangerous drive in Port-au-Prince

 I have been humbled, overjoyed and, at times, brought to tears by their ability to cope, even smile and play, despite their tragedy.

For the past two years, we have followed the lives of the Hussein sisters, Marwa, Aliya and Sora, orphaned and institutionalized after their parents were murdered in front of them northeast of Baghdad.

VIDEO: Iraqi orphans growing up in an unsure world

When we returned last month to the Baghdad orphanage where they now live, my first impression was that the girls are stuck in time. I saw them in the same dining room eating the same lunch (rice with a little chicken and yogurt), playing the same games (basketball and ring around the rosy) in the same yard surrounded by (new) barred windows. But after visiting Marwa, Aliya and Sora for several days, it was clear their future is as uncertain as Iraq.

Click here to read the rest of Richard's blog in the Daily Nightly blog.

VIDEO: Richard Engel answers viewer questions about Iraqi orphans

Read Richard's original story about the Iraqi orphanage from May 2006: Needed: Love for a Baghdad orphanage

How to help: Visit the International Rescue Committee's website

TEL AVIV, Israel – Israelis in desperate need of an organ transplant can now breathe a little easier. A new law passed last week in the Israeli Knesset (parliament) will hopefully help bridge the gulf between Orthodox and secular Jews on the controversial issue of organ donation and help pave the way for more transplants.

An issue which has long been a sticking point in the organ transplant debate in Israel has been the question of when a person is considered to be officially dead. The new law hopes to assuage the concerns of Orthodox Jews by introducing new guidelines for doctors and families to follow if there is an opportunity for a donation.

Despite the change, there is still a great deal of opposition among Orthodox Jews. Beni Moshe, who is number one on the list of people waiting for a new lung, fears it may already be too late for him.

The 46-year-old Moshe, who is married and the father of three, suffers from a severe lung disease which means he is attached to an oxygen tank 24/7.

"I hope the new law will encourage people to donate, I have been waiting since August for a transplant and feel I'm floating between life and death," Moshe told Haaretz newspaper.

Timing critical
For transplants to be effective, medical staff must have access to a donor's organs the minute a person is pronounced brain dead. At that point doctors can use the heart, the lungs and the liver.

However, up until last week, the medical definition of brain dead was not accepted by Orthodox Jews who believe a person is dead only when their heart stops beating, which is often too late for doctors to use the organs.

As a result, organ donors in Israel are rare – amounting to only 4 percent of the population – leaving 1,000 patients in Israel who are currently waiting for an organ donation. 

New protocol
Rabbi Yuval Sherlo, a vocal advocate for organ donation, is trying to help assuage the fears of Orthodox Jews about the process. 

Sherlo explained that most Orthodox Jews distrust doctors and are afraid they will be too quick to proclaim a relative is dead in order to take the organs. Also, many Orthodox families want a relative's body to be buried as intact as possible, with no defects.   

Sherlo is appealing to Orthodox Jews to adhere to the new protocol approved by the Knesset. The new law states that once a person is pronounced brain dead and is a candidate for organ donation, the following procedure must be followed: 

• A high-ranking doctor working independently from the attending physician will approach the family to explain the new protocol and make sure that the guidelines for transplant set by a special committee of rabbis is being adhered to. 
• The attending doctor will evaluate the patient's situation and act accordingly, explaining the guidelines to the family again and ultimately giving them the right to refuse the whole procedure altogether if they ask not to go ahead.

But in Israel nothing is easy. Orthodox Jews are themselves divided along ethnic lines. The Orthodox Zionist movement is on board with the new law and the green light was also given by the Sephardic Jews. The real problem lies with the Ashkenazy movement, which adamantly rejected the new law, claiming that taking any organ from a person whose heart is still beating is equal to bloodshed.

It looks like the fate of Moshe, and more patients like him, lies largely with Orthodox leaders, who are expected to call upon their followers to accept the new ruling and agree to donate their relatives' organs to save the lives of others.

Take a rare look at one of the most important and secret art collections in the world in Tehran. NBC News Ali Arouzi reports.

VIDEO: Iran's hidden treasures

CAIRO, Egypt – A young woman in a pink scoop neck shirt with her hair neatly tied back in a ponytail pumped each hydraulic exercise machine single-mindedly as she moved through the circuit, focused on her workout. 

She could have been a young mother taking a break from her day at any one of the thousands of Curves women's exercise franchises throughout the United States, but she was at a Curves branch in a quiet Cairo suburb.

And when Sherin Ismail emerged from her workout, her ponytail was gone from sight – she was carefully veiled and dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and pants, despite the warm spring temperatures.  

For Ismail, Curves, is more than just a place to work out, it is a chance for the 37-year-old mother to have fun. "I come here [and] I am happy. I spend very good times here," Ismail said.    

Ismail explained that she originally came to Curves to get into shape and have "a good body," but she said she also found a support system that cares about her well-being.

For Debra Alcala, the Curves branch owner, her business is all about providing a space to make customers healthy and happy – especially in a usually male-dominated society.

"Women on the streets [here] are so sober. They don't seem to have a sense of joy," said Alcala. "When they walk in here, they are fun people. They love to dance, laugh and be silly, but I never see that outside." 

Alcala explained how she has two members who always enter the health club wearing the all-enveloping black hijab (veil) that reveals only their eyes – making them appear somber and serious. But she said that once they change into their t-shirts and start their workout, "They are laughing and carrying on like everyone else."

Only a few gyms in Cairo, a metropolis of 18 million, offer facilities for women. 

But many women, veiled or not, are uncomfortable working out in a co-ed environment. So in many ways, Curves trademark "women-only" policy is tailor-made for the Arab world. In some cultures, women are even forbidden from exercising with men.

Alcala saidthe Curves gym allows women to feel comfortable, "From the decoration to color, this is a place designed for women. They know it is especially for them." 

Yasmina Muslemany/ NBC News

Debra Alcala, the owner of a Curves women's fitness franchise in Cairo.

When Ismail talked to her husband about joining Curves, his first question was "Is it just women?" She explained that if it was a co-ed gym, he would not have let her join.

For the most part, men in Cairo have welcomed the Curves concept. One concern was security for the women, but cautious fathers and husbands have been comforted by the fact that a security guard is stationed outside the door of the gym to prevent male visitors.   

For many women, the sheer comfort of being able to shed the veil and body-concealing clothes while working out is a huge plus. "It is more comfortable not wearing the hijab," said Neamat Fahmy, a 50-year-old housewife who hopes the exercise will help lower her blood pressure. 

In May 2007, Alcala opened the first Curves in Egypt, but four more franchises have already opened and another three will open soon. In fact, the exercise-franchise giant is expanding throughout the Arab world and has already launched three branches in body-conscious Beirut, Lebanon, three in Kuwait and one in Bahrain. 

Alcala's Curves franchise now has 281 members. She hopes to double that number by the end of her second year. But since few here have heard of Curves, the most effective advertisement is also one of the slowest: word of mouth. One family member often brings others.  About 30 mother/daughter pairs exercise together.  

Alcala's own journey to small business ownership began in Phoenix, Ariz. She had just recently joined Curves, and was well on her way to losing 70 pounds, when she lost her job and decided to purchase a franchise with her severance package.

With most of the new U.S. franchises taken, she looked further afield. Brainstorming with her sister, Valora Abdelaziz, who is married to an Egyptian and had visited Egypt before, they decided that Curves made sense in the context of Egyptian society. 

Alcala explained that she knew she was "putting all my eggs in one basket," but that she was willing to take the risk. "I didn't come here looking to make my fortune; I was looking for something to do that makes me feel fulfilled, something worthwhile."

"I am happy that I came," she said. "It has taken a lot more money to get to where it is self-sustaining…but I am getting great feedback and women are getting good results." 

Cubans can strike another complaint off their laundry list of grievances about life's daily grind.

Sunday night, the Cuban government ended its decade-old ban against ordinary people staying at tourist hotels and renting cars. This is Raul Castro's third edict in less than a month aimed at loosening government controls over consumer spending.

Previous rulings allowed any Cuban to buy a cell phone and pay for cell phone service and anyone with enough money in their pocket to walk into a government store and legally buy electronic items like computers, microwave ovens and DVD players.

Roberto Leon / NBC News

Bellhop opens door to the Hotel Nacional de Cuba in Havana.

The old regime of Raul's brother Fidel Castro strictly limited these luxury items to foreigners or the upper echelon of Cuban society holding privileged jobs. The only way regular consumers gained access had been through purchases on the black market.

Lucy Alvarez, a retired electrical engineer who learned to cut hair to supplement her pension, doesn't expect to take advantage of her new economic freedoms anytime soon. "We live hand-to-mouth," she said.

Under Cuba's dual economy, people receive their salaries in national pesos (NP) while nearly all imported goods are priced in a convertible peso (called the CUC) that is tied to the U.S. dollar – valued at 24 times stronger than the national peso (NP). In practical terms, foreign goods are well beyond the reach of most Cubans.

For example, a 26" Panasonic flat screen TV, which went on sale Tuesday for the first time in a Havana electronics store, sells for 1,961 CUC, equal to $2,120 – more than double its retail price in other countries. And a Chinese-made moped costs some 795 CUC, a little under $860.

Nora Alonso would like a cell phone, but the 400 national pesos she earns a month working as a physical therapist in a state hospital barely covers her everyday expenses like food and clothing. A cell phone and a year of service would cost Alonso the equivalent of approximately two years of her salary.

Still she welcomes the change. "It doesn't cost anything to dream," she said.

Alonso hopes more reforms are in the works – she wants better wages and a national currency with real purchasing power.

In fact, many working people in Cuba think their government should dump the convertible money and return the island to a one-currency economy.                       

Reforming the island's economy demands structural changes, argues Dr. Jaime Suchlicki from the University of Miami, changes far beyond what currently is taking place -- everything up to now, he said, is "not important."

He believes the motive behind the new measures is an "aim to appease the Cubans and give them a little hope about more things to come. They are also for external consumption to show the world that there are some changes happening in Cuba."

Suchlicki also warned that this could backfire. Instead of bridging differences in access between Cubans and foreigners, the measures might lead to more economic and social disparity between Cubans.

One government source who asked not to be named does report that government planners are considering various ideas that would lead to a stronger Cuban peso – enhancing what it could buy.

But most local economists agree that an across-the-board wage adjustment at this time is just not in the cards.

A recent front-page editorial in Granma, the Communist Party daily, tried to dampen public expectation of seeing any considerable improvement in the standard of living. It stressed, instead, that the workforce concentrate on improving labor discipline.

Many people employed in government-run enterprises readily confess they have little incentive to put in an 8-hour day when their pay envelopes provide little purchasing power.

In fact, there's even a joke here that ends with the punch line, "the state pretends to pay us, so we pretend to work."

Countless workers admit that their personal goal is to find some outside source of income that will either supplement their state salary or supplant it all together. It's currently estimated that some 60 percent of the Cuban population has regular access to hard currency – some through family remittances and others through direct earnings.

One thing that is clear is that people resent being told how they can spend their money.

That complaint surfaced last year when Raul Castro encouraged people to publicly air their grievances in controlled official settings. Upon taking office this past February, he personally pledged that his government would respond to public demands and lift its "excessive" controls -- controls that not only irritated consumers but led to discrimination.

People complained that Cuba was the only nation on earth where foreigners enjoyed more rights than the local population.

With their uncanny ability to poke fun at the surreal, Cubans even turned the ugly truth into the butt of popular jokes:

But government critic and free speech advocate Manuel Cuesta Morua never found the subject funny: "Maybe now we can begin to erase our feelings of national inferiority."