World Blog

Firecrackers launched for safe passage of quake dead

Petra Cahill — Wed, 14 May 2008 19:25:00 GMT

By Adrienne Mong, NBC News producer

CHENGDU, China – From the air, as we approached Chengdu, it looked much like it did when we were last here in March to cover the Tibet unrest.

Residential high-rises and skyscrapers stood tall. Roads looked intact. And traffic seemed as congested as usual. Maybe, I thought, the Chinese authorities had really been able to enforce tough building codes after the last quake in 1976 in Tangshan killed a quarter of a million people.

But as we piled into the car ready to drive off from the airport, the vehicle began to shake. I looked up accusingly at the driver, who shouted, "It's the earthquake!"

VIDEO: Adrienne Mong reports on the Chinese rescue effort from the scene

The aftershock subsided, and we drove on in search of supplies of bottled water before trying to link up with correspondent Ian Williams and his team up in Dujiangyan, one of the worst-hit areas outside of Chengdu.

But there were no bottles of water to be found. "People are afraid the water is polluted," explained our driver. "They heard the quake may have damaged some chemical factories, leaking into the water supply."

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As Israelis celebrate, Palestinians mourn

Petra Cahill — Wed, 14 May 2008 12:35:00 GMT

By Lawahez Jabari, NBC News Producer

JERUSALEM – Women screaming and children trying to escape a village on fire.

These are just two of the images that two Palestinian sisters, Fatima and Zeinab Jaber, 65 and 71, live with from an event they witnessed 60 years ago.

They are haunted, too, by the memory of their mother, Nuzah, who they recall crying as she rushed members of their family to safety.

And they are their last recollections of their home, the village of Deir Yassin, as it was being overrun and destroyed by armed Jewish militant groups.

Palestinian relatives of residents of the Arab village of Deir Yassin stand over plaques listing the names of more than 100 people killed by pre-state Israeli paramilitant groups, as they mark the 60th anniversary of the attack on April 10, 2008, at the site where the village stood in 1948, which is currently in Jerusalem.

The attack on Deir Yassin in April 1948 is one of the most well-documented in a series of expulsions the former British Mandate of Palestine that led up to the foundation of Israel – an episode that Palestinian recall bitterly as "Nakba" ("the Catastrophe").

So while Israelis are celebrating 60 years of independence on May 14, many Palestinians will be commemorating what they call "Catastrophe Day" on May 15 – an annual day of remembrance for the hundreds of thousands of Arabs who were displaced as Israel was being born.

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No journalists allowed to tell the story

Petra Cahill — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:50:00 GMT

By Martin Fletcher, NBC News Correspondent

BANGKOK, Thailand – Let's hear it for freedom of speech! Tibet, Zimbabwe and now Myanmar are all refusing access to journalists who want to report on the hardships of their people.

In Tibet, the Chinese are clamping down in fear that unrest will spoil the summer Olympics in Beijing; Tibetans complain of beatings and killings. In Zimbabwe, President Robert Mugabe is hanging on grimly, trying to overthrow an apparent election loss by subterfuge and violence, after running his country into the ground for twenty years. And in Myanmar, after 46 years of iron rule by a military junta, the generals wants to stop outsiders from witnessing the devastation of Cyclone Nargis. They're afraid of a threat to their power.

As a journalist who has tried to enter each of these places in the last three months and failed – my heart goes out to the citizens under stress, whose stories I would dearly like to tell, in the hope some good would come of it. But my predominant emotion is thanks to the world into which I was fortunate enough to be born. My world has enough food and my vote is a force that cannot be changed, unlike Zimbabwe; I can say what I like, unlike in Tibet; and I know I can count on my government in case of a natural disaster, unlike in Myanmar.

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In Beirut, gunfire and thunder make for an eerie mixture

Petra Cahill — Fri, 09 May 2008 18:36:00 GMT

By Irina Prentice

BEIRUT – By Friday afternoon, the street battles which have flared across Beirut over the last three days seemed to have abated somewhat, though sporadic gunfire could still be heard in different areas of the city.

During these tense 72 hours, mostly Shiite Hezbollah and Amal gunmen managed to seize nearly all of the Lebanese capital's Sunni Muslim sector from foes loyal to the U.S.-backed government. At least 11 people have been killed and more than 20 wounded in the armed conflict between the Iranian and Syrian backed Hezbollah fighters and gunmen loyal to the government.

SLIDESHOW: Fighting roils Beirut

Beirut, perched between the sparkling Mediterranean and a green mountain range, has been badly shaken by the violence – the worst sectarian clashes the country has seen since the 15-year civil war from 1975-1990. The skirmishes echo off the mountains, amplifying the sound of explosions as they occur.

Throughout Thursday night, heavy fighting took place, with machine gun fire, rocket-propelled grenades and pistol shots making sleep almost impossible for most residents. Compounding the magnitude of the sound was a thunderstorm, which unexpectedly erupted in the same way the armed conflict had a few hours earlier.

"The thunderstorm… eerie timing" said Hanna Defuria, visiting her sister who just moved to Beirut two weeks ago. "It was hard to tell what was thunder and what were gunshots, but when the storm passed there were no gunshots."

Added Laura Defuria, Hanna’s sister: "Amazingly, I don’t feel unsafe. Maybe it is because I am new to the situation, but I feel like it is far away although it is very close."

The sisters are indeed close to the action – they are staying in an apartment on the same street where Saad Hariri, one of Lebanon’s top Sunni lawmakers, lives. Head of the Future Party and deputy in the parliament, Hariri’s residence suffered damage from a rocket-propelled grenade, and the television station and newspaper affiliated with his political party were attacked and ransacked.

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NBC Pakistan journalist honored for frontline reporting

Petra Cahill — Thu, 08 May 2008 16:22:00 GMT

By Carol Grisanti, NBC News Producer

NBC News Mushtaq Yusufzai is the first recipient of the Agence France Press Kate Webb Award which was set up to honor one of the news agency’s top foreign correspondents who died in 2007.

Yusufzai, 32, won the prize for his in-depth reporting and analysis on the complex situation in Pakistan’s tribal areas.

His daily reports for "The News," one of Pakistan’s leading English language daily newspapers and his blogs for msnbc.com were cited as exceptional work in dangerous and difficult circumstances.

NBC News

Faqir Mohammed, left, speaks with NBC News Mushtaq Yusufzai, center, at his remote mountain top stronghold near the Pakistan/ Afghanistan border while Faqir's bodyguards stand by in rear.

In pursuit of the story, Yusufzai has been wounded by the Taliban, caught in cross-fire between Taliban militants and Pakistan’s security forces, dodged U.S. predator drone attacks, and was arrested and harassed by Pakistan’s intelligence agents – all while on assignment for NBC News.

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Arabs not celebrating Israel's 60th birthday

Petra Cahill — Thu, 08 May 2008 12:34:00 GMT

By Charlene Gubash, NBC News Producer

CAIRO, Egypt - Israel's celebration of 60 years of independence is clearly more bitter than sweet for Arabs, who refer to the 1948 war marking their defeat as "Al Nakba," or "The Catastrophe."

While the anniversary of the birth of the Israel represents the fulfillment of a dream for Jewish people, for many Arabs it is a day of remembrance for the estimated 700,000 Palestinians who were forced to flee their homeland as a result of the Arab loss.

Several wars and peace agreements later, Arabs want peace, but view Israel with mistrust, as a belligerent nation that talks peace but actively works to deny the Palestinians a viable state.

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Russia changes leadership; does it matter?

Petra Cahill — Wed, 07 May 2008 13:15:00 GMT

By Yonatan Pomrenze, NBC News Producer

MOSCOW – Russia inaugurated a new president today. And while there was never really any doubt or drama in the March presidential elections here – Dmitry Medvedev was assured of victory the moment Vladimir Putin announced him as his chosen successor – it is still a mystery what exactly this inauguration will mean for Russia.

Since the elections, Russian media and chat rooms have been trying to guess what the power balance will look like after Medvedev takes over the presidency and Putin becomes prime minister – which is expected as early as Thursday.

VIDEO: Who is Medvedev?

The question is: who will really be in charge? Can a "tandem-ocracy," with two leaders at the head, actually work – or will there be power struggles between the two? Media reports say Putin may have as many as 11 deputy prime ministers. The president is the stronger post on paper, but can Medvedev compete with the political capital that Putin enjoys?

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Israel at 60 - a land of contradictions

Petra Cahill — Wed, 07 May 2008 12:05:00 GMT

By Martin Fletcher, NBC News Correspondent

Israel's logo for its 60th anniversary harks back to the good old days – an innocent boy in shorts romping with a variation of the Israeli flag unfurling behind him.

But you can't please everyone. One orthodox Jewish member of parliament trashed the symbol, saying the child looks "frumpy and should get a haircut."

That could sum up the reservations of many Israelis about their country as its leaders prepare to celebrate its 60th anniversary.

SLIDESHOW: As Israel turn's 60, a look at the country's turbulent past

Festivities being met with a yawn
President Bush will be coming later in the month for part of the festivities, reportedly with about 800 of his closest friends and bodyguards. And a dozen other leaders from countries as diverse as Rwanda, Burkina Faso and Latvia, will attend too, along with the world's A-list of party stars Tony Blair, Henry Kissinger and Mikhail Gorbachev. Paris Hilton will be absent, to the chagrin of ordinary Israelis, who appear to be treating the party with a yawn.

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Deadly virus spreads in China

Petra Cahill — Tue, 06 May 2008 20:03:00 GMT

Chinese parents are worried that a deadly virus, known as EV71, will continue its spread throughout the country. NBC News' Mark Mullen reports from Beijing. VIDEO: Deadly virus spreads in China...(read more)

Face-to-face with a Taliban commander

Petra Cahill — Tue, 06 May 2008 12:28:00 GMT

By Carol Grisanti, NBC News Producer

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Taliban cleric Faqir Mohammed is tall, thin, very serious and very religious. His eyes are hard and he speaks slowly. He never smiles.

And when you hear what he has to say, you won’t be smiling either.

"If we get hold of nuclear weapons – which we hope to get very soon – then we will safeguard them until Allah Almighty guides us when and against whom to use them," he told NBC News in an interview at his mountain hideout.

These days, the 38-year-old cleric prefers to be called "Commander Faqir." He thinks it befits his new role as deputy leader of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the umbrella organization that was formed last December to try and unite Pakistani militants.

NBC News

Faqir Mohammed, left, speaks with NBC News Mushtaq Yusufzai, center, at his remote mountain top stronghold near the Pakistan/ Afghanistan border while Faqir's bodyguards standby in the rear.

Faqir is considered by many to be equal in importance, if not even more important, than Baitullah Mehsud, the top Taliban commander in Pakistan, who has been linked to the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto last December.

Remote mountain top meeting
Maulvi Omar is Faqir's spokesman and a seasoned Taliban fighter who goes by several names. He is now in charge of the Taliban's media machine. Omar arranged for NBC News’ Mushtaq Yusufzai to meet Faqir to discuss the ongoing attempts between the Pakistani government and the local Taliban militants to negotiate a peace deal. The newly elected democratic government in Islamabad is trying to kick start those negotiations by offering separate peace deals to different tribes and factions in hopes of bringing an end to hostilities in the tribal areas.

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