beyondBeijing2008.com

By Martin Fletcher, NBC News Correspondent  CASABLANCA, Morocco – Casablanca, Morocco’s largest city, conjures images of Rick’s Bar, couscous and the third largest mosque in the world, built at fabulous cost on land reclaimed from the sea. Only those in Mecca and Medina are bigger.
Critics complain that the close to $1 billion spent [...]

By Ian Williams, NBC News correspondent
DONGGUAN, China – “It’s been a rough year,” Ben Schwall shouted above the rumbling furnaces of a giant Chinese glass factory. He watched as workers, blowing down long tubes, transformed blobs of molten glass into juicers, bowls and lights.
“Orders are picking up. Things are getting better,” he said. “The [...]

By Mike Mosher, NBC News Producer
BUKIT LAWANG, North Sumatra, Indonesia – It’s said one should not take work along on vacation. “Leave the BlackBerry at home!” my supervisor insisted. But, no way was I going to leave behind the camera with the opportunity to spend a week on an eco-tour in Indonesia. In the forests [...]

By Adrienne Mong, NBC News Producer
KABUL, Afghanistan – If there was ever one “foreign devil” on the Silk Road who most fascinates amateur history buffs, it must be Sir Marc Aurel Stein.
The Hungarian-born British archaeologist’s career sparked an obsession of mine – and no doubt of countless others – with the history of the [...]

By NBC News’ Warangkana Chomchuen
BANGKOK, Thailand – Paper plane champ Mong Thongdee returned to the Thai capital Monday with a bag full of trophies after competing in a Japanese paper airplane contest – but the young boy’s joy may be fleeting.
The 12-year-old boy, who has no official nationality, brought home a third place [...]