It’s only 60 miles from some West Bank villages to the sea, yet many Palestinian children have never seen the ocean. However, Israel is begining to allow more freedom of movement for Palestinians – removing some roadblocks and loosening restrictions. And Israeli peace activists helped arrange for some Palestinian children to finally enjoy a day at the beach in peace. NBC News Martin Fletcher reports.

VIDEO: A day at the beach for young Palestinians…(read more)

CAIRO – While General Motors sales struggle in the United States, the American automaker can’t keep up with demand for its Chevrolet Lanos here in Egypt. The car’s popularity has skyrocketed due to a new government-sponsored incentive to encourage Cairo’s taxi drivers to trade in their decades-old beaters for brand new models. 

Although prospective buyers can select from five models – ranging from the modest Russian Lada at ,607 to the pricey French Peugeot – the vast majority opt for a Chevy at ,549. 

“There is a high demand for Chevrolet. It is a durable car and people love it, but the choice is left to the driver and supplier,” said Mohamed Shawky, the supervisor of the program. 

Mohamed Muslemany

One of the typical old black-and-white taxis that used to rule Cairo’s streets.

But many of Cairo’s cabbies have made their choice clear.

“Chevrolet is the most popular car because it is strong, and has spare parts readily available on the local market. Installments are cheap at only 800 Egyptian pounds a month (3) for a five-year period,” explained Magdy Mansour, the happy new owner of a 1-month-old Chevrolet.  The only drawback: “It takes a lot of gas.” 
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BEIJING – As Americans struggle to dig themselves out of debt and soldier on through recession, one U.S- based organization is asking them to loan their spare dollars not to the needy at home, but to those residing in the United States’ largest foreign creditor: China.

Wokai (”I Start” in Chinese), is a small Oakland, Calif.- based microfinance organization that is working to provide micro loans to an estimated 200 million Chinese who live on less than a day. 

VIDEO: Microfinance takes off in China

Founded eight months ago by 25-year-olds, Casey Wilson and Courtney McColgan, Wokai is the convergence of the pair’s shared interest in economic development and China. The pair, who met in a Chinese language program at Beijing’s Tsinghua University in 2006, created a microfinance program to help provide assistance to some of China’s estimated 228 million people who have no access to basic financial services.

Wilson and McColgan created a Web site that they’ve coined “Facebook for Farmers” – it features many of the core characteristics of Web 2.0: social networking, blogging and interactive media.

Functioning similarly to the one of the more established microfinance sites, Kiva.org, Wokai’s online system of peer-to-peer loans allows potential lenders to scan the profiles of pre-screened rural Chinese borrowers and decide for themselves who they want to loan money to. 

The loans are small – the average loans is around 0 – and are mostly used by farmers to invest in simple business improvements such as adding additional livestock or buying new products for dry goods stores.

To attract loans and help develop the organization, Wokai has enlisted an army of young volunteers both in the United States and China. They have assisted in everything from website development to working directly with field partners in China to screen potential borrowers.  Meanwhile, member chapters in San Francisco, Seattle and New York help drive awareness and donations through localized fund raising events.

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JACALEAPA, Honduras – Exiled Honduran President Manuel Zelaya has been hanging out in Ocotal, a Nicaraguan mountain town near the Honduras border, for the last four days as he tries to launch his return to power after a coup last month.

It’s been a little bit like the childhood song and dance, “The Hokey Pokey.” On Friday, Zelaya took a few steps into the no-man’s-land between the countries. When he arrived at a sign that said “Welcome to Honduras,” Zelaya claimed he was home. But he didn’t stay long, returning quickly to the Nicaraguan side of the border.

As the song says, “You put your right foot in, you put our right foot out, and shake it all about.”

Mayerling Garcia / AFP – Getty Images

Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya (in white hat) greets supporters at an improvised camp site in Ocotal, Nicaragua on Monday.

It’s unclear, though, what Zelaya thinks his border dance will achieve.

I asked him if his camping stunt was costing him in the court of world opinion. He said it was “a just action” and that the world should not support “a tyrant.” He was referring to de facto President Roberto Micheletti.

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 MOSCOW – Like on any other Thursday, I was looking forward to my weekly Texas Hold ‘Em poker game. A laid-back, low-stakes game with some friends in the back room of a Moscow restaurant is always a nice way to unwind towards the end of the work week.

But this week, our game was cancelled due to new Russian legislation which removed poker’s classification as a sport, effectively banning any poker playing for money.

“We are trying to get some clarification from the police as to how they see friendly games,” said the restaurant manager who allows us to play in his restaurant for nothing more than the price of the drinks and food. He explained the reason for canceling this week’s game: “We wanted to clear it first, and we also wanted to stay out of trouble for a while.” Fearing authorities, he prefers to remain anonymous.

The Russian government shut down casinos in most of country earlier this month, exiling them to four gaming zones that don’t yet have the infrastructure to support casinos. At first, it looked like poker would survive the shutdown due to its designation as a sport (and not a game of chance). Now, players are wondering how far-reaching the new decree will push authorities to crack down on various kinds of poker games.

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