“Michael is the first and only international singer who inspired me to learn English to understand his songs,” a die-hard Jackson fan wrote on Pantip, the most popular Thai web forum.

Another comment, posted nine hours after the “King of Pop” was pronounced dead, read, “I’m still waiting for news agencies to say they made error report.”

A devastated fan said she has been writing a diary to Jackson for years now, and she would continue doing so even after his death.

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BEIJING – It’s not often that a confessed murderer is feted publicly for her heroism and bravery, but that is precisely what happened to Deng Yujiao in China’s blogosphere following her release from house arrest last week.

Deng, a 21-year-old waitress from Hubei Province who fatally stabbed a Communist Party official after he tried to force himself on her, became an Internet sensation in China after she was arrested on suspicion of voluntary manslaughter a month ago.

Chinafotopress / Getty Images Contributor

Deng Yujiao, in white shirt, leaves a local court on in Badong County, Hubei Province, on June 16 after being exempted from criminal charges.

According to the police investigation, two local officials, Huang Dezhi and Deng Guida, were customers at the Fantasy City Bathhouse, a karaoke parlor in rural Badong County, on May 10th when they approached Deng and demanded “special services.” (In China, bathhouses are often fronts for brothels.)

When she refused, Deng Guida (who was not related to Deng) allegedly threw a wad of money at her face and pushed her onto a nearby sofa. As they proceeded to attack her, she pulled out a fruit knife and repeatedly stabbed and killed Deng Guida.

Deng immediately turned herself in to authorities and police initially charged her with manslaughter.

However, details of the case soon leaked out on the Internet. Deng told her side of the story to a Chinese newspaper, and the county government went into overdrive to downplay allegations of similar acts of aggression by Deng Guida and Huang Dezhi. 

Chinese bloggers and netizens reacted swiftly. They began to express their outrage over government excess and Ms. Deng’s helplessness in the face of unruly government officials.  
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UPPER DIR, Pakistan – “The noose around the Taliban is tightening,” said 50-year-old Sirajuddin, the leader of a tribal militia based in Dhogbala, a town in the Upper Dir region of Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier Province. “Our fight will go on to the final victory.”

Taliban militants have been pouring into Upper Dir for weeks, fleeing the Pakistan army assault in the adjacent Swat Valley. Sirajuddin, who goes by just one name, said that the army had been bombing the militants’ hideouts in the nearby hills and hit some shops in Dhogbala by mistake. The militants then swarmed down from the mountains, raided the shops and stole all the food.

Fakhar Rehman / NBC News

Sirajuddin, the leader of a tribal militia fighting the Taliban.

Sirajuddin, tall and slim with a neatly cropped salt and pepper beard, spoke softly as he explained the militia’s determination to go after the Taliban. But his voice rose in anger and his lips quivered when he recalled the suicide attack by the Taliban on his mosque on June 5.

“Those criminals killed 40 innocent people at prayer, just because they would not support them. We had to bury 12 children that day,” said Sirajuddin. “Tell me, what was their crime?”  

The next day, after the funerals, 500 villagers gathered at the home of one of their elders and voted unanimously to avenge the deaths from the mosque bombing and go after the Taliban.  Sirajuddin volunteered to give up his job as a laborer and lead the militia.

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BEIJING – Wow. People in Iran have the right to elect their own president? Candidates are allowed to participate in TV debates and give speeches to their supporters, just like in the United States? And they are allowed to publicly protest?

This comes as news to many in China who have long viewed Iran as an extremely conservative Muslim country where women have to cover their hair and bodies with scarves and robes. It’s mostly known here for leaders who openly challenge the United States and play cat-and-mouse over their stubborn nuclear power policies.

But people in Iran, usually seen as so mysterious and different from China, do enjoy many rights not endowed to Chinese citizens – such as voting and going out on the streets to express their discontent.

So it comes as a surprise to see that China’s mainstream media coverage of the post-election crisis in Iran has been fairly thorough. The protests and resulting bloodshed were reported all week in newspapers and on Web sites, with vivid videos and pictures.

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For the thousands of Iranian expatriates who moved to Los Angeles after the overthrow of the shah thirty years ago, the latest chapter in the troubled history of their homeland has them deeply worried and watching closely. NBC News’ George Lewis reports.

VIDEO: ‘Tehrangeles’: Expats in California keep an eye on Iran…(read more)