DRESDEN, Germany –Egyptian Magdi Khalil is an educated man. He lived in Japan for seven years, teaching architecture and designing environmentally-friendly houses. Now he lives in Dresden and teaches at the local university. He says he likes the town — but that the Egyptian community has suffered what he calls “a disaster.”

A protester at Cairo airport awaits the body of Marwa El-Sherbini, who was killed in Germany.

He’s referring to the killing of Marwa El-Sherbini — an Egyptian woman, mother and wife — in a German courtroom by a man who appears to have acted upon hatred for Muslims.

That man, a German man of Russian descent identified only as Alex W. by German authorities, had already been fined for calling his victim, who wore a headscarf, a “terrorist,” after she asked him to let her son use a swing in a playground. She had taken him to court; he had been fined and was now going into revision when the incident happened.

By all accounts, almost everything that happened in the court room was a disaster. Khalil recounts the details of what has been reported –- and believes many questions remain unanswered

He wants to know why Alex W was not searched when he went into the court. No one seems to have noticed that he was carrying a knife. “How can something like this happen in a court where people are supposed to be safe?” Khalil asks me.

Khalil also wants to know why, when El-Sherbini’s husband went to her aid (and was himself attacked and stabbed by Alex W), a policeman shot him in the leg in the mistaken belief he was the assailant. “Why did the cop think the Muslim-looking man must be the killer?” asks Magdi.

The public response after the incident has been muted. It took days for German politicians to react and publicly condemn the act. Khalil asks: “What would happen if an Egyptian man would stab a German woman to death in court?”

Khalil is asking questions – and so are many other people. there latent anti-Muslim sentiment in Germany, perhaps in many western European countries? Where were the candlelight vigils for the victims? Where was the public outrage? Why is there no debate about possible political reactions?

The German government has since condemned the attack but maintains that its response was adequate. “We cannot tolerate right-wing extremism, hatred of foreigners or Islamophobia in our country,” Thomas Steg, a spokesman for Chancellor Merkel, said at a press conference Wednesday. Meanwhile outrage at the killing has continued to grow in Egypt, to where Marwa El-Sherbini’s body has now returned.

Khalil is clear: “I believe this was an isolated incident that this has nothing to do with Germany as a whole.” But he says the German government needs to answer the questions being asked — not least for its reputation in the Islamic world, for its reputation among Muslims in Germany and to ensure that Marwa El-Sherbini did not die in vain.

L’AQUILA, Italy — It’s a dirty little secret among the journalists here: What would we do without Silvio? His perpetual personal scandals are the only spark of this summit.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd talks to German Chancellor Angela Merkel behind U.S. President Barack Obama at the G-20 summit.

Please forgive the “watching paint dry” cliché, but that’s exactly what most of these summits are like.

The G-20 a few months ago in London was refreshingly different. But after a couple days at this Italian G-8, the cliche is back to haunt us all.

In terms of relevancy, the G-20 set a new standard in not just consensus, but practical policy. The sheer scale and scope of the crisis cut through the usual grinding negotiations and there was real action on stimulus, financial oversight, trade and more money for the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

But this summit has gone back to the same old slog, a fog of declarations and details that amount to sound and fury signifying something that won’t happen for months, even years.

The issue of climate change is a perfect example of what is sure to make this summit forgettable.

Going into the summit, environmental groups and eager policy hawks were optimistic, hoping this meeting could break new ground on climate change.

But within hours it was clear that any concrete progress would have to wait until yet another meeting at the end of the year in Copenhagen.

Greenpeace was especially critical saying it had hoped for more leadership at this summit, especially from U.S. President Barack Obama.

“I don’t think President Obama has gone much further than Clinton. It’s easy to compare him to Bush, who denied the science. The big problem now is President Obama actually accepts the science. He accepts this is a big problem and still he’s doing very little to nothing to lead on the issue. I don’t know what’s worse: Not believing in it and not doing anything, or knowing how bad the problem is and not doing anything,” said Phil Radford of Greenpeace USA.

After seeing an advance copy of the declaration, it was clear it would be even more diluted than first thought.

There are no set goals for decreasing emissions, just a promise to decide on one by the end of the year.

As with so many issues on the table at this summit, and there is quite a laundry list, there is very little substantive policy development taking place and very little detail I is on offer.

Just a few years ago that might have been acceptable. Not today.

Italian President Silvio Berlusconi is hosting this week’s G8 summit

The pressing issues of the economy and climate change are a big talking point not just at summits but at dinner tables around the world.

Many here were hoping for more than the usual declarations and photo-ops that litter these summits.

For the past two years, I have been involved in CNN’s coverage of Autism Month.

My own 14-year-old adopted son appeared in last year’s coverage as he and I talked about his struggles with autism and the strain on our family and on his ability to get a good education.

This year, I stepped back a bit to watch the story of an extraordinary young man and his relationship with a ‘Befriender’ programme.

Eleven-year-old Joel D’Angelo has Asperger’s Syndrome, which is a higher functioning part of Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

His buddy in this story is Swedish-born flight attendant Andre Hellstrom. Andre joined the National Autistic Society’s befriender program in order to better the life of a child in London, England, for a few hours every month.

The goal is little more than getting Joel out of the house and that seems to have worked out great since they both share a passion for roller blading, airplanes and going to the movies.

Andre has now vowed to be part of Joel’s life until he moves into his own flat. That is a long-term commitment indeed.

The woman who introduced Joel and Andre, Rosie John-Baptiste, told me: “Autism affects people in a way that reduces their capacity to make friends, to experience socialization in a way that many people who don’t have autism take for granted.”

Rosie also has an autistic child and I could not agree with her more.

It’s an extremely difficult time when an autistic child goes through adolescence. They have to cope with becoming a teenager who sees the world differently from their peers. Interaction with large groups can therefore be very difficult.

And frankly, for many autistic teenagers, it’s easier and less stressful to sit in front of the computer all day than to confront the world outside the front door.

But I can see from my son’s experience that he really thrives when he has one-to-once contact with an adult.

Sadly, however, when we met Joel in March, there were 300 children on the NAS waiting list in London.

John-Baptiste said, “We don’t actively advertise the service because we are beyond capacity at the moment.”

That means at least 300 children who won’t have an Andre calling them on the phone to arrange fun plans.

LONDON, England — Torrential weather in London did not stop an outpouring of love from Michael Jackson fans attending memorials and visiting makeshift shrines across the capital Tuesday.

Fans gather at London's O2 arena to watch a live broadcast of Jackson's memorial.

Overlooked by the imposing dome at London’s O2 Arena — the very spot where Jackson was to give his final 50 concerts this fall — several hundred fans watched a live broadcast of the star-studded memorial taking place in Los Angeles.

Twenty-one year-old “die-hard” fans Jenny Kemp and Miina Markkannen — who became good friends after meeting on a Jackson fan Web site — were obviously shaken as they spoke of their biggest idol. “I am still in denial. It really is like losing family,” said Kemp, as rain splashed down on her Michael Jackson umbrella.

Both agreed that what they admired most in the pop star was his “gentle soul. He genuinely cared about other people.”

Others at the event went as far as crediting Jackson with causing the thunder and lightning.

“Michael may have caused this weather because he is angry and wants to come back,” said 22-year-old Jackson impersonator and life-long fan, Chris Doody.

Doody had bought three tickets to watch Jackson perform at the O2 Arena and said he would hold on to one “to remember this.”

“His only weakness was his kindness,” he added.

Standing beside Doody, fan Celeste Dixon said: “Michael IS the King of pop, not WAS. He is bigger than life and nothing will ever compare to him.”

In central London crowds gathered outside the Lyric Theater, where flowers and notes written in numerous languages adorned the venues’ outside wall. Lyric has has been showing “Thriller Live,” a Jackson musical, since February 2009, and the audience for Tuesday’s show had big hopes.

Jason and Claudia Li from Hong Kong had booked tickets for the show before the singer’s passing and were very excited about the show: “It’s very special to be here,” said Claudia “and we hope the show’s producers plan to make it even more special tonight.”

A few meters down the road, more walls were filled with Jackson praise and love at another London theater hotspot, the Trocadero.

And in the usually frantic rush hour of London streets, cars with open windows calmly drove along to Jackson tunes like “Heal the World” and “You Are Not Alone.”

LONDON, England – The biggest gathering in central London during the Michael Jackson memorial service was not to pay tribute to the King of Pop — but another icon of popular culture.

The biggest gathering in London during the Michael Jackson memorial service was to celebrate another pop culture icon — Harry Potter.

Fans of all ages massed in celebration of “Harry Potter” at the premiere of the sixth movie in the series “The Half-Blood Prince.”

Some of the most fervent camped out all night, then braved showers and hail to snare the perfect position next to their idols on the red carpet at Leicester Square, home to London movie premieres.

There was little evidence of Michael Jackson’s memorial service, which was going on almost simultaneously in LA — and several Potter fans said it was not a hard choice to make.

“No contest, it’s Harry Potter,” Megan Southey, 38, from Bournemouth, southern England told CNN. “You know, his funeral will carry on. I can watch it on TV later.”

Although most people said they were fans of Jackson’s music, the overarching feeling among the crowd was that events in Jackson’s later life had overshadowed his talents.

“I liked him when he was younger, probably,” said Vicky McKinley, 52, from Chicago. “Then later on, I didn’t like some of the stuff he was doing. All the plastic surgery and that kind of stuff.”

Catherine, 18, from Bromley near London echoed her sentiments saying, “I think he was a bit before my time, and all we’ve known him for are controversial issues.”

“He wasn’t so much famous for his music, he was famous for other things like holding the baby out of the window and stuff,” added her friend Emily, 18.

“I’ve got mixed feelings. He was very strange in later life,” said Amelia Robinson, 15 from New Hampshire in the U.S.

Of course, for younger fans like 19-year-old Faith Bradley from Cambridge, Harry Potter inhabits a place in pop culture that Michael Jackson holds for people who grew up in the 1980s.

“We’ve grown up with Harry Potter,” Bradley added.

NEW DELHI, India – His music and dance moves have woven their way into many cultures around the world — and India is no exception. Every now and then you can hear the unmistakable Michael Jackson track or beat seamlessly blend into India’s Hindi pop music. Or catch a glimpse of some of Jackson crisp choreography in a Bollywood dance scene.

There was something universal about Michael Jackson, and that is being reflected in the way people around the world are mourning him. From Los Angeles to New Delhi, his fans seem to veer away from sadness and enjoy the invincible part of Michael Jackson — his music.

In a bar in New Delhi the Jackson memorial gathering was small — only a dozen or so people in a city of roughly 14 million. But it conveyed how the influence of one man had reached around the world.

On the wall of the Delhi bar that usually only plays hard rock, the King of Pop’s music was blasting away, candles were lit underneath two framed pictures of Jackson and customers had written sweet messages saying goodbye.

Across the room, where framed pictures of rock legends hung on the wall an empty space was created. That space was set-aside as a permanent place for Michael Jackson’s pictures.

In a county where more than half the population is 35 or younger, the bar manager put it this way: “We all grew up with Michael Jackson. Other generations had The Beatles, or Elvis Presley. Michael is our generation.”

(CNN) – He has all the hallmarks of the real Michael: The slim frame, well-powdered face hidden under a cocked hat, dark glasses, and the delicate swagger. He’s a little shy too. 

WJ performs his MJ routine to members of the public.

“I’m grateful that my parents gave me this face,” he says quietly.

29-year-old Wang Jie is China’s most famous Michael Jackson impersonator. He told us to just call him “WJ.”

WJ says he discovered MJ when he was a teenager and fell in love with his dance moves.

“I realized I looked like my idol by accident,” says Wang. “So step by step, with a lot of hard work and study, I made it on stage. Now he’s a part of my life.”

Wang had no idea he would someday make a living from his looks. He has since appeared on Chinese TV shows and won contests.

I first saw Wang as he sauntered in with his “agent” to meet our crew. WJ quickly drew perplexed but fascinated Chinese crowds. If the real Michael Jackson hadn’t just passed away, they might have thought it was really him.

It’s when he started dancing that I really had to do a double take. Wang strutted and snapped his hips as if he’d learned from Jackson himself.

The real Michael Jackson never performed in China, but he’s loved here nonetheless. Members of the official Michael Jackson Fan Club (yes, there is one in China) even rented a hotel room so they can watch his funeral broadcast live on CNN.

“I miss Michael Jackson even more. I adore him even more,” said one die-hard fan.

“There are impersonators of Michael Jackson everywhere but I think they can only try to imitate him, never overtake him.”

Jackson’s music was some of the first Western music widely available in China. His rise to stardom coincided with China’s opening up to the world. So, to the Chinese, he symbolized what was out there.

To this day, he still has a huge Chinese following. Clearly, through WJ and MJ fans throughout China, Jackson’s music lives on.

SEOUL, South Korea – Over the weekend, North Korea fired seven missiles into the sea between Korea and Japan.

Shortly afterwards, South Korean media published stories about just how much this display of missiles cost the impoverished North Korean regime.

The price tag for each missile fired on July 4 was said to be between $3 to 5 million — all seven, a total of about $25 million.

North Korea has launched 18 short to long-range missiles so far this year. This total comes to some $330 million, according to Joongang Ilbo, which quoted a military source. Analysts say that is enough to keep North Koreans fed for an entire year.

So did North Korea gain more than a big bang for its buck?

Some analysts believe the launches were conducted on the U.S. Independence Day to show the North’s displeasure at the Obama administration. Washington has been pushing for tough enforcement of the U.N. Security Council sanction imposed after North Korea conducted a nuclear test in May. But if the North wanted to get a rise out of the United States, it failed. Washington had little to say on the matter.

North Korea did manage to spook South Korea. Some of the missiles were thought to be scuds with an extended range that would cover all of South Korea.

And South Korean media quoted military officials as saying the latest launch showed North Korea had been able to significantly improve the accuracy of the scuds.

This does not bode well as relations between South and North Korea have deteriorated to its worst level in recent years. South Korean projects in the North which were supposed to foster friendship between the two Koreas have either been suspended or have hit major stumbling blocks.

The North openly denounces the South Korean president as a war-monger.

After the missile launches, Chung Mong-Jun, a prominent National Assemblyman called upon the government to address the South Korean people to explain the level of threat North Korea posed to the South.

But what if North Korea’s fireworks display really didn’t have much to do with the outside world?

Kim Tae-Woo, a long-time North Korea watcher with the Korea Institute for Defense Analysis, laughs in agreement when asked if the outside world thinks it means more to North Korea than it actually does.

Kim sees the missile launches as simply a process in North Korea wanting to be what it always said it wanted to be: an independent and strong nuclear power.  “North Korea needs to test its missiles to see if their technological advances are real.”

“And it doesn’t hurt to let its potential buyers know as well,” he says.

While it is difficult to know exactly how many missiles North Korea exports, it is known that missile sales are a major source of foreign currency and their main customers are countries like Iran and Libya.

And then there is the internal political reasoning. “North Korea often uses such military actions to concentrate internal forces, to enhance domestic stability,” says Kim.

For North Korea, which seems to be in the process of transferring leadership from Kim Jong-Il to his 26-year-old son Kim Jong-Un, this is a crucial time. After a stroke last year, the North Korean leader’s health is in question.

The 26-year-old heir apparent is a relative newcomer to the North Korean power structure and a young man shrouded in mystery to the outside world. The only picture publicly known of Kim Jong-Un was taken when he was a student in Switzerland ten years ago.

And to realize a smooth transition of power from father to son, analysts point out that the leadership needs the backing of all factions of its society, especially the military.

So if testing out and showing off its missile prowess keeps the military happy, it is more than worth the hefty price tag the North Korean leadership paid, says analysts.

“For the North Korean leadership, nothing is more important than regime survival,” says Kim.

MOSCOW, Russia – U.S. President Barack Obama is heading for Moscow for this week’s summit with Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev. Discussions on arms talks, Iran, the Mideast and North Korea will all be on the agenda. Summit watchers also believe there could be the emergence of new issues including climate change and energy efficiency.

A wooden doll depicts the leaders of Russia and the United States ahead of this week’s summit.

What’s more, the Obama administration says it has bigger plans for the relationship with Russia: it wants to go beyond government-to-government ties.

Touching on one of the president’s bedrock themes, Obama administration officials say they want to establish a multi-faceted relationship with different parts of Russian society, Running concurrently with the summit will be what they are calling a “parallel business summit” and a “parallel civil society summit.”

Some Russia experts think the Kremlin is not happy about this — but it hasn’t tried to limit those meetings. Some U.S. officials aren’t completely ruling out the possibility that Medvedev might show up at the sessions along with Obama.

Obama will also give an interview to the opposition newspaper “Novaya Gazeta,” the publication for which murdered Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya worked. And he will meet with opposition politicians, including Gary Kasparov and Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov.

But don’t look for Obama to take a page from Bush and rake Russia over the coals for its human rights record. Obama, aides say, is intent on explaining what American’s interests are, not in preaching to Russia about what it should do. Experts say he’s more likely to talk about human rights issues both countries face, like illegal migration and civil rights in the context of terrorism.

U.S.-Russian relations slid toward the abyss during President George W. Bush’s second term over issues such as Iran, independence for Kosovo, the Russian assault on the former Soviet republic of Georgia and the missile defense system.

Critics complained there was no longer a structure to manage the relationship, similar to the Clinton-era Gore-Chernomyrdin commission. Now, Russia and the U.S. are expected to announce what’s being called a “joint intergovernmental commission,” headed by Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Russia expert Robert Legvold says, to be effective, this commission must be led by people “with a direct ear to the presidents” and with the “authority to crack heads.”

 Former Russian President Vladimir Putin is now Prime Minister and protocol does not require a meeting with him — but Tuesday morning Obama and his wife Michelle will drive out to Putin’s residence for breakfast. Most Russian and U.S. experts believe it is Putin still who calls the shots in Russia’s domestic and foreign policy. Russians call it “tandem” leadership.

Just before the summit Obama took a swipe at Putin, telling the Associated Press the Prime Minister has “one foot in the old ways of doing business and one foot in the new.” Putin, well-known for his expert moves in political judo, replied: “We don’t know how to stand so awkwardly with our legs apart… We stand solidly on our own two feet and always look into the future.”

In the media, we often like to evaluate summit success on “who out-manoeuvred whom” or who was tougher, who didn’t “cave.” But the biggest threat to success at this summit is not likely to be the political arm-wrestling between the two leaders. That’s all part of the game.

The real threat could be the forces behind the scenes, some in the United States, many more in Moscow, who feel threatened by improving relations, who are more comfortable with confrontation, who see any “win” by the other side as a defeat for their own – what politicians call the “zero-sum” mentality.

ATLANTA, Georgia – The “rags-to-riches” story! Few of us haven’t dreamed about it! Maybe one day lightning will strike and we’ll be rich and be happy! But more often reality check strikes, a rags-to-riches tragedy, like the Michael Jackson story. When it hits, it makes us wonder, why aren’t people who have so much going for them happy?

The thing is that riches place you in a whole different league, a place where some can’t make it.

I learnt about that from an old friend who came into money. it was not a “King of Pop” kind of fortune, but still her newly earned “riches” put her in a different league. She never felt comfortable in that world of wealth. She told me she saw some people get ruined by their financial success.

But my friend’s story has a different ending. Because she found a way to be happy in her new circumstances. Her answer was to stay grounded in her old world.

She clung to her old friends but had to make a few adjustments. People from her old circles couldn’t afford her lifestyle. It meant toning down her spending and spreading the wealth, just enough, to avoid making her friends uncomfortable. That’s worked for her. 

Michael Jackson never had the benefit of my friend’s “old circles,” the friends before success struck. You know, the ones who keep you grounded and tell you the truth, no matter what. 

Jackson was a star since he could remember. I once heard him describe how, as a child being driven to a rehearsal, he wished he could join the kids playing outside.

He never had a life beyond show business to develop the kind of relationships that helped my friend survive financial success AND be happy.