By Adrienne Mong, NBC News Producer
BEIJING – By all rights, Beijing should be suffering the post-Olympic hangover anticipated by skeptics and cynics.
China’s exports-driven economy has taken a big hit from the global recession. Millions of college graduates are still unemployed. Newly built shiny commercial buildings stand unoccupied. And in recent weeks the Chinese government has stepped up its ongoing efforts to control the flow of information on the Internet.
If anything, however, the Chinese capital is enjoying a renaissance in the arts and culture – normally what would be the first casualty in a climate of recession and censorship. And it’s attracting a growing number of people from around the world who want to be part of the scene.
“Beijing has that combination of optimism, possibility, opportunity, as well as being an interesting city in its own right,” said Aric Chen, a freelance writer, curator and design consultant who recently moved here from New York City.
The 34-year-old is juggling several international projects – a book on Brazil, an exhibition in Israel, and a biennale in South Korea – any of which could be launched from another base.
But in Beijing, he found that “there is still a hunger and openness for new things, so there’s room for people like me.” Within China, he helps to oversee projects like the “100% Design Shanghai,” a major industry fair that he hopes will help to elevate the discourse on design in the country and nurture homegrown designers and artists.
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By Mary Murray, NBC News Havana Bureau Chief
HAVANA – As news of the death of the “King of Pop” spread last Thursday night, a group of fans and Jackson impersonators gathered in a tiny Havana living room in disbelief. They huddled around a shortwave radio and tuned to Florida stations, hoping someone would say it was all a hoax.
“We’re stunned and heartsick. For us, Michael was the sun,” said Nestor Hernandez. “All of a sudden, the skies darkened.”
For the most part, Michael Jackson’s controversies didn’t tarnish his fame in Cuba. As Cuba’s state-run media is devoid of celebrity gossip, many fans know all about his talent but nothing about his troubles.
After his death on Thursday, Cuban radio and TV hosts paid tribute to the American pop star and his musical creations with scant references to his excesses with drugs, spending or sexual molestation charges.
The daily Granma, published by Cuba’s ruling Communist Party, reported on Jackson’s death, describing him as a “magnificent talent with a strange personal life,” without providing any further explanation.
“Radio Rebelde,” the island’s main radio station, abandoned regular rush-hour programming Friday morning to run news of Jackson’s death and play some of his most popular hits from decades ago while fans called in with accolades and requests.
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By Tom Aspell, NBC News Correspondent
BAGHDAD – No American military vehicles patrolled Baghdad’s streets for the first time in six years on Tuesday morning, as U.S. forces in Iraq finished withdrawing from towns and cities to bases in the countryside.
Iraqi army troops and police manned checkpoints in the Shiite area of Sadr City, searching cars for explosives and weapons. They can still call for American support if necessary, but Iraqis are hoping they can cope with the ongoing insurgency alone from now on.
As the midnight deadline for the handover of security in towns and cities drew nearer, Iraqis gathered in a park near the Baghdad Zoo for an outdoor concert to celebrate.
Pop singers entertained the crowds and there was a modest firework display. For many present it was the first outdoor celebration of its kind in recent memory.
In the Shiite slums of Sadr City, many greeted the departure of American forces with optimism. But Fouad Mohsen, who is 40 years old and unemployed, was cautious.
“I’m not too happy because the security situation is not ideal,” said Mohsen. “I think the Iraqi forces are 70 percent capable of protecting us.”
Taleb, 27, and also unemployed, said he already sees a decline in the security situation compared with just two months ago.
“I don’t think it is the right time for U.S. forces to leave the cities,” said Taleb, who declined to give his last name. “We still don’t think the government is doing enough to help us. There is no work and no money.”
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By Yonatan Pomrenze, NBC News Producer
MOSCOW – When I first heard about the International Medical Leech Center from a colleague, my reaction was probably a typical one for an American: Yuck. Gross.
A breeding center for 150,000 leeches in a small village just outside Moscow did not sound like my ideal location for a story. But when I heard the center’s claims that they raise and sell 10 times the number of leeches than the rest of the world combined, curiosity overcame my initial disgust.
Natasha Lepyoshkina is one of the 29 leech breeders at the center, all of whom are women. According to her, the gender choice is no accident. “You need to have patience with the leeches. You have to be industrious and patient. A man couldn’t do that,” she said.
Most of the breeders live in the local village and take shifts on weekends to check on the leeches, lending the center a family-like atmosphere. “They won’t ever bite us – they know us too well,” said one breeder as I prepared to dunk my hand in a jar full of hungry leeches. (Maybe it was leech breeders who coined the phrase about biting the hand that feeds you?)
The breeders often referred to the leeches as their children. “Just like a child – we raise them and love them, and once they grow up they leave us,” said Lepyoshkina, as she prepared a batch of 1,000 live leeches to be shipped from the center.
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With the warmer weather, Guo Li Yi gets more business repairing bicycles on a Beijing street corner.The 63–year-old from Anhui province talks to NBC News about his life and work in the big city.
VIDEO: Swift business for Beijing bike repairman…(read more)
