2008: March 21st Good News (Birthday Cake Saves German Woman; France to Pare Down Nuclear Arms; more...)

Good Afternoon All,

So hey I found this great website today that has headline links from 38 news websites. It's pretty cool, as it publishes an amalgamate of headlines, and is an easy way to quickly scan for interesting articles. I'm including the address here so if anyone else wishes to check it out, they can.
http://www.veryquiet.com/shrtnews.htm?gclid=CMHDgcH7npICFQ0aewod1AwH7A

Things are going well here in Korea, and I am going on another tour today, of Kyong Bok Kung (a palace) in Seoul later on today. I have been to this palace three times before, but it's always fun to revisit it.

As for the articles today, it turns out that there are four articles related to peace and peaceful steps forward by 4 separate countries. In France, President Sarcozy announced that his country would trim their Nuclear weapons. In Cyprus, Greek and Turkish leaders make moves towards peace on the island. In Bhutan, the King makes a peaceful move towards becoming a democratic nation. And, in Afghanistan, the people celebrate peacefully the Persian New Year, something they were unable to do under the former Taliban rule. :) Additionally, I liked the article about the labor nurse who coached people through her own delivery on the side of the freeway in Sacramento. Go LADY!

I hope you enjoy today's articles, and see you again tomorrow!



Today's Top 5:
1. Sarkozy Says France to Cut Nuclear Arsenal (MSNBC)
2. German Woman in Car Accident Saved by Her Birthday Cake (Fox News)
3. Fossil Sheds Light on the History of Sex (Times Online UK)
4. Labor Nurse Helps with Emergency Delivery: Her Own!(News 10)
5. Greek and Turkish Cypriot Leaders Agree to Talk Peace (Sky News)




Honorable Mention:
1. Subaru Shows off Electric Car (Mainichi Japan)
2. S.F. Moves to Greenest Building Codes in U.S. (San Francisco Chronicles)
3. Democracy by Royal Decree in Bhutan (LA Times)
4. New Year Fever Grips Afghanistan (BBC)



Today's Top 5:

1. Sarkozy Says France to Cut Nuclear Arsenal
President says atomic weapons would remain vital to country's defenses http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23743337/
updated 10:27 a.m. ET March 21, 2008
CHERBOURG, France -

President Nicolas Sarkozy announced a modest cut Friday in France's nuclear arsenal, to less than 300 warheads, and urged China and the United States to commit to no more weapons tests.
In his first major speech as president on France's nuclear "strike force," Sarkozy said atomic weapons would remain a vital component of its defenses to deter potential attackers.
"It is the nation's life insurance policy," he said.
Sarkozy said that while France faces no foreseeable danger of invasion, other threats exist. He singled out Iran's expansion and improvement of its long-range missile forces amid questions about whether it is trying to develop atomic weapons.
Europe's security 'at stake'"The security of Europe is at stake," he said.
Sarkozy did not say how many warheads France currently has, and the Defense Ministry said that information is a state secret. The Federation of American Scientists, which tracks nuclear arsenals around the globe, said in a status report for 2008 that France had 348 warheads.
More than half of France's nuclear weapons are believed to aboard submarines, with the rest on warplanes.
Sarkozy said France would cut reduce its airborne force of atomic weapons by a third. "After this reduction, our arsenal will include less than 300 nuclear warheads," he said.
Speaking at the inauguration of a new nuclear submarine, The Terrible, Sarkozy followed his announcement of weapons cuts with appeals for other nations to scale back their nuclear facilities.
He appealed to China and the United States to ratify a nuclear test ban treaty that they signed in 1996. "It's time to ratify," he said.
Sarkozy also called for negotiations on treaties to ban short- and intermediate-range nuclear-armed missiles and bar the manufacture of fissile material for new atomic weapons.



2. German Woman in Car Accident Saved by Her Birthday Cake
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,340371,00.html
Friday, March 21, 2008

A German woman was not able to blow out her candles and make a wish, but her birthday cake served as an even better present — it saved her life.
The 26-year-old driver skidded on a snowy road and hit a tree near Freudenstadt, but walked away uninjured after landing on her homemade birthday cake, Germany’s The Local reports.
The car was completely wrecked, The Local reports, but the woman was fine after being caught by her airbag and the cake, police said.



3. Fossil Sheds Light on the History of Sex
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article3593959.ece#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=797093
March 21, 2008

A long, thin rope-like creature standing erect on the sea floor up to 570 million years ago has been identified as the first animal on Earth to have had sex.
Fossilised remains of the mysterious tubular creature have been uncovered in Australia and put back the history of sex by up to 30 million years. While the experience was unlikely to have been memorable for the animals, the discovery has excited scientists who said that the fossils open a window on one of the most ancient ecosystems.
The knobbly animal, named Funisia dorothea, is thought most likely to have reproduced in a similar way to modern corals and sponges, but little else is understood of its biology.
Researchers identified the creature’s capacity for sexual rather than asexual reproduction because fossil specimens were found in groups that all appeared to be the same age. Because they had found a foothold in a sandy seabed at the same time, it was considered they must have resulted from a simultaneous spawning instead of uncoordinated asexual births.
Mary Droser, the paleontologist who led the excavations, named the animal after her 80-year-old mother, Dorothy Droser, who took care of the paleontologist’s young children and cooked for the research team on several digs in the Australian outback.
Mrs Droser said she was “thrilled to tears” at having a fossil named in her honour. She thought it appropriate that the ancient beast was the first to have sexual relations: “My family thinks it’s humorous. I have 11 grandchildren — obviously reproduction is a good thing.”
Sex for the creature would have been functional rather than a social affair, Professor Droser, of the University of California, Riverside, said. “I think they would have been way too basic to have enjoyed the sex. I don’t think they would wind around each other. But I could be wrong — I would like to think they enjoyed it.”
The only time the Earth moved for the creatures, researchers suspect, was when a storm churned up the seabed and covered them with sand, killing them but allowing their bodies to be preserved. Funisia dorothea thrived on the sea floor in the Neoproterozoic era, a 100-million-year period ending about 540 million years ago, and formed part of the earliest known animal ecosystem. It was a soft-bodied creature that grew 30cm long and would have been safe from predators because it would be several more million years before they evolved. Even scavengers had yet to appear. Once the tubular animals had fixed themselves to the seabed, either as a larva or a fertilised egg, they were immobile and unable to go off in search of mates. Researchers, who reported their findings in the journal Science, were unable to identify a mouth or any other recognisable anatomy.
“In general, individuals of an organism grow close to each other, in part, to ensure reproductive success,” said Professor Droser, who co-authored the report with James Gehling of the South Australia Museum.
“In Funisia, we are very likely seeing sexual reproduction in Earth’s early ecosystem – possibly the very first instance of sexual reproduction in animals on our planet. How Funisia appears in the fossils clearly shows that ecosystems were complex very early in the history of animals on Earth.”





4. Labor Nurse Helps with Emergency Delivery: Her Own!
Jodi Fankhanel has been a labor and delivery nurse for 8 years
http://www.news10.net/display_story.aspx?storyid=39778
Written by George Warren, Reporter

SACRAMENTO, CA - A UC Davis Medical Center labor and delivery nurse is resting with her new baby daughter after giving birth by the side of a freeway.
Jodi Fankhanel, 38, went into labor early Friday morning at her home in Rancho Cordova and got a ride to the hospital where she works and planned to deliver her baby.
But things didn't quite work out as expected.
"I knew we weren't going to make it," Fankhanel told News10 from her bed in the maternity ward at the hospital.
Fankhanel's husband Paul, who is also a UCD nurse, was at work. So she awakened her sister-in-law who is visting from Minnesota.
Jennifer Sweet said the baby was already crowning before they got halfway to the hospital. Sweet, who doesn't know her way around Sacramento, pulled over when she saw a CHP unit helping a stranded motorist by the side of Highway 50 just east of Watt Ave.
CHP officer Charmaine Fajardo called for an ambulance, but there was no time.
Fankhanel talked Fajardo through the delivery process and the baby girl was born in the back of the Honda Odyssey just after 3 a.m.
In an interview in her hospital room, Fankhanel was laughing about the event. She has three other childdren and eight years of delivery nurse experience. But she said all her earlier deliveries were induced and she expected to have plenting of warning for baby number four who, by the way, arrived two weeks early.
She and her husband named their baby Lainey Grace Fankhanel.
George Warren will have much more on this story, tonight on News10 at 5 p.m.





5. Greek and Turkish Cypriot Leaders Agree To Talk Peace
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1310255,00.html?f=rss
Updated:13:59, Friday March 21, 2008

Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders have agreed to reinvigorate peace talks, prompting hope for an end to the decades-long division of the island. Hopes for the divided islandA UN-brokered meeting has seen Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat also agree to open a divided street in the capital Nicosia, long a symbol of the island's bitter troubles.
The two leaders will meet again in three months to begin negotiations for possible reunification.
"I look forward ... to having in three months' time results which will help both of us have a dialogue under the auspices of the (UN) Secretary General," Mr Christofias said.
"We have to be optimistic anyway and we agreed that we shall work together in good will."
His feelings were echoed by the Turkish Cypriot leader.
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"This is a new era we are starting for the solution of the Cyprus problem," Mr Talat said.
"Our target is to find a comprehensive solution to the Cyprus problem as soon as possible."
Cyprus has been divided down ethnic lines since 1974, when a Turkish invasion was triggered by a Greek-inspired coup.
Past peace efforts have failed, most recently in 2004 when Greek Cypriots refused to endorse a UN plan that had Turk Cypriot backing.
Former Cypriot president Tassos Papadopoulos made little progress with Turkish Cypriots while in office.
The newly-elected Mr Christofias on the other hand has promoted closer ties between the island's two communities.





Honorable Mentions:

1. Subaru Shows off Electric Car
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/business/news/20080321p2g00m0bu029000c.html
March 21, 2008

NEW YORK (AP) --Subaru of America Inc. showed off the automaker's R1e electric car Thursday, saying it's fun to drive while also being easy to charge and emissions free.
The R1e has a range of 50 miles (80 kilometers) and can post a top speed of 65 mph (104 kph). It can charge to 80 percent capacity in 15 minutes using a dedicated charger, or be fully charged overnight with a regular domestic outlet, Tim Mahoney, Subaru of America's chief marketing officer, told reporters at the New York International Auto Show.
The vehicle's lithium-ion battery has an estimated life of 10 years or 100,000 miles (160,000 kilometers), largely eliminating battery replacement problems, Mahoney said.
"We at Subaru just don't talk about green issues -- we put our talk into action," Mahoney said. "The R1e is being readied for delivery to customers in Japan and now Subaru is looking at world markets such as the U.S. as part of that global outreach."
As part of the vehicle's evaluation in the U.S., Mahoney said the New York Power Authority, which runs power plants across the state, is putting two of the vehicles in to service and their performance will be monitored over the next few months.




2. S.F. Moves to Greenest Building Codes in U.S.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/20/MN7QVMJ5T.DTL
Cecilia M. Vega, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, March 20, 2008

San Francisco moved a step closer Wednesday to imposing the country's most stringent green building codes, regulations that would require new large commercial buildings and residential high-rises to contain such environmentally friendly features as solar power, nontoxic paints and plumbing fixtures that decrease water usage.
City officials estimate that by 2012, the new green building codes could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 60,000 tons and save 220,000 megawatt hours of power and 100 million gallons of drinking water.
The Building Inspection Commission, which oversees building permitting and construction, voted unanimously Wednesday to send the green building standards to the Board of Supervisors. If the supervisors approve the regulations, Mayor Gavin Newsom, who last year convened a task force to study and develop the proposals, has promised to sign them into law.
The rules, if implemented, would be phased in gradually, and developers would have until 2012 to fully comply with the strictest levels of the green building codes.
"George Bush is doing nothing to fight climate change on the national level, but with this groundbreaking ordinance, we're doing our part on the local level," said Nathan Ballard, a Newsom spokesman. "Many people don't realize that buildings have a big carbon footprint, and this will help reduce the size of that footprint."
While local builders initially would see the overall cost of their projects increase by as much as 5 percent as a result of the new requirements, they nonetheless applauded the stricter codes.
"One of the best things about it is the fact that it's a gradual ordinance," said Ken Cleaveland, the director of government and public affairs for the San Francisco Building Owners and Managers Association and a member of Newsom's green building task force. "When you set a goal and give the industry time to meet that goal, you have a far better chance of succeeding."
New residential high-rises taller than 75 feet, new commercial buildings larger than 5,000 square feet and renovations on buildings larger than 25,000 square feet would have to comply with the environmentally friendly building standards known as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED. The standards were developed by the U.S. Green Building Council.
Buildings are given certified silver, gold or platinum LEED ratings depending on how many green features they incorporate and their energy efficiency.
All new residential construction would have to comply with another nationally accepted standard, known as GreenPoint Rated, which requires home builders to use such features as paint made from recycled materials and solar-powered water-heating systems.
"The goals that are stated here are all achievable and something that we have to work to develop in our building code," Building Inspection Commissioner Vahid Sattary said during Wednesday's meeting in City Hall.
Boston is the only large U.S. city that has imposed strict environmental standards for private construction, but its mandate is not as far-reaching as San Francisco's proposal.
San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, a vocal Newsom critic, signaled his support and agreed to allow a similar green building measure he had introduced last year to be incorporated into the mayor's proposal.
"It is a societal imperative that we start doing this in new construction in San Francisco and help lead the nation and reduce the carbon footprint in San Francisco," Peskin said.
He expressed concern, however, that the legislation doesn't go far enough to protect existing buildings, especially historic ones.
"The greenest building that exists today is one that is already built," he said. "I want to make sure this does not become a license to demolish existing buildings."
Jennifer Matz, managing deputy director of the Mayor's Office of Economic and Workforce Development, said city officials had hoped to offer incentives to builders whose projects reached the highest levels of environmental performance. In the end they decided against that idea because they feared it could lead to developers unnecessarily tearing down buildings or remodeling structures in order to take advantage of incentives.
"What we have now is legislation that says if you're going to build, you have to build to this standard. But it doesn't encourage you to build a green building in lieu of keeping your existing building," she said.
To get involved The San Francisco Board of Supervisors will consider stringent new building codes designed to reduce the environmental impact of development. To find contact information for your elected supervisor, log on to links.sfgate.com/ZCHU.
Making your building green New building standards under consideration by San Francisco officials would allow developers to choose the best ways to make their buildings green. Some tactics suggested by the U.S. Green Building Council:
Solar: Install solar panels to increase the building's energy efficiency.
Bikes: Provide storage rooms for employees' bicycles, as well as places to change clothes.
Landscaping: Use plants that don't require irrigation.
Construction: Incorporate already-standing walls into the new building.
Wood: Use types certified as sustainably harvested.
Light: Use windows so nearly all spaces can by lit by daylight.




3. Democracy by Royal Decree in Bhutan
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-bhutan21mar21,1,3058717,full.story
By Henry Chu, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
March 21, 2008

THIMPHU, BHUTAN -- In this idyllic Himalayan country that measures progress by its "gross national happiness" index, the stoplight just didn't cut it.
Residents here in the capital complained that Bhutan's one and only automated traffic signal was too impersonal. It got taken down. Now, a white-gloved police officer gracefully directs motorists.
A lone man in charge: That's what most Bhutanese want when it comes to how their entire country is run, not merely a single intersection. But their beloved king, the man in question, has other ideas.
On Monday, Bhutan is set to become the world's newest democracy, with the first general elections in the history of this isolated Buddhist kingdom. At the heart of this brave new world lies a paradox: It is people power by royal decree. The Bhutanese are choosing their leaders because, essentially, they were told to by their king.
He intends to bow out as an absolute ruler and turn Bhutan into a modern constitutional monarchy. But the changes afoot have produced deep ambivalence in a traditional, largely rural populace more inclined to see democracy as a Pandora's box apt to bring dissension and other nasty influences to their placid, cohesive society.
"I feel maybe we're too early for democracy," said Wangchuk Wangdi, 47, a tour operator who was dressed for work one morning in a colorful striped gho, the traditional knee-length robe worn by Bhutanese men. "Till now, we've been under five kings. All have been good."
Few people here seem particularly thrilled about the prospect of governing themselves, preferring to remain subjects under direct rule by the Golden Throne, which has guided the Land of the Thunder Dragon for the last 101 years. But spurred by devotion and duty to the king, they say they will do their best to fulfill his vision of a shiny new Bhutan.
"We are reluctant democrats," said Sonam Tobgay Dorji, a candidate for parliament. "It's been forced on us, and we have to embrace it."
In many ways, the carefully planned transition to democracy is the most daring leap into modernity for a country whose diplomatic and physical isolation had, in the eyes of most residents, been pretty splendid for much of its history.
Sandwiched between Asia's two giants, India and China, Bhutan has fiercely guarded its independence and held itself aloof from the rest of the world, establishing ties with only a handful of nations, which do not include the United States. Its population of fewer than 700,000 citizens lives in an area barely twice the size of Vermont. Most are devout practitioners of a form of Buddhism believed to have been introduced to Bhutan in the 8th century by a guru who arrived on the back of a flying tiger.
Television, including satellite channels, and the Internet were gingerly allowed in only in the last decade, and only after great debate. Even then, authorities banned MTV and a sports channel that broadcast professional wrestling because of their potentially deleterious effect on youth.
Protecting Bhutan's spectacular natural environment -- glacial lakes, fertile valleys and towering forests of blue pine, oak and cypress -- is one of the pillars of public policy here. So is preservation of its cultural heritage, which includes the elegant native dress, the Dzongkha language and, many say, the Buddhism-inspired social harmony that is now under threat from the evils of Western-style party politics.
"It frightens me," said Dorji Yangki, 18, as she hung out with friends in the main square in Thimphu. Like many youths here, she likes her fashions new and hip, such as bluejeans and sneakers -- but not her politics.
"Democracy is just starting right now," Yangki said. "We can see the candidates fighting, and it's just the beginning."
Newspapers have shuddered at the negative campaigning between the two new parties: the Druk Phuensum Tshogpa, or DPT, and the People's Democratic Party, or PDP.
But even Bhutan's gloves-off politicking seems more akin to a sandbox squabble than the vicious mudslinging common in the West: A typical dispute centers on one party's use of yellow in its logo, which the other side indignantly points out is the king's color.
In reality, very little separates the two parties. Neither dares deviate from the blueprint for increasing "GNH" -- gross national happiness -- laid out by the king, based on sustainable development.
"Bhutanese politics is still without ideology," said the Harvard-educated Sonam Tobgay Dorji, a candidate for the People's Democratic Party. "So basically, what people are looking at is what candidates can deliver."
The politicians' promises are of the usual kind in the developing world: more roads, reliable electricity, better sanitation, safe drinking water.
But to an electorate afraid of change, both parties also preach stability. The DPT, whose slate of nominees boasts five former ministers in the royal government, promotes itself as the safest hands for an uncertain time, while the PDP projects a younger, more dynamic image, a party able to "walk the talk," as its slogan goes. The leader of the party that wins a majority of the 47 parliamentary seats will be Bhutan's first elected prime minister.
This may well be one of the most micro-managed elections on Earth, with officials eager to regulate almost every aspect of the process to ensure the smoothest, most harmonious outcome possible. They even held a mock election last year to prepare voters.
There are rules on fund-raising limits, the size of posters, where they can be displayed, what goodies can be handed out to voters, how the parties ought to treat each other (only "constructive criticism," please). Candidates must have a college degree, which drastically shrinks the available pool. Monks are ineligible to vote, in order to keep religious institutions and figures remain above politics.
The parties are also barred from campaigning on matters of "security" or "citizenship" -- code words for Bhutan's most intractable issue, its population of ethnic Nepalese. A crackdown on "illegal immigrants" by the king more than a decade ago resulted in tens of thousands of Nepali speakers fleeing the country.
Independent observers are monitoring participation in the election process by ethnic Nepalese who stayed behind.
No one knows with certainty why Bhutan's fourth "Dragon King," Jigme Singye Wangchuck, decided a few years ago that the time had come to limit the monarchy and impose democracy. (The monarchy was established in 1907 after centuries of feuding between chieftains and religious leaders.) Turbulent experiments in democracy -- and dismal results -- in some other South Asian countries such as Pakistan and Bangladesh were less than encouraging.
On his nationwide tour to explain his decision, some of his subjects wept and begged him to reconsider. Almost to a person, the Bhutanese credit the king's wisdom and ability for the impressive strides in literacy rates, life expectancy and other social indicators the nation has made since he inherited the "Raven Crown" as a teenager in 1972.
New hydroelectric projects, partly funded by energy-hungry India, which buys up all the power, are bringing in much-needed revenue to what remains a fairly poor country of mostly small farmers who plant rice, wheat and other crops. Annual per capita income is more than $1,400 -- high for the region but low by international standards.
Some speculate that the example of another Himalayan kingdom may have triggered the push for democratic reform. In April 2006, a violent popular revolt forced the king of Nepal to end absolute rule; that country now stands on the verge of abolishing the monarchy altogether.
In Bhutan, the royal palace has, in effect, opted for peaceful evolution now rather than possible revolution later. After setting the democratic process in motion, the fourth king abdicated in December 2006, handing the throne to his Oxford-educated son, Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck, then 26.
"We are blessed to do this peacefully, literally as a gift from the king. Everywhere else it's at the point of a gun," said Ugyen Tshering, a candidate for the DPT in north Thimphu.
For 10 days, Tshering hiked and rode horseback to visit the more remote parts of his constituency, pressing the flesh in three far-flung villages with about 300 voters, out of an overall roll of 4,888.
"Every ballot is going to count," he said one afternoon while out canvassing a hillside of whitewashed mud-and-wood homes just a few miles, as the tiger flies, from central Thimphu. Campaigning "wasn't something we were used to. It took a little time to get into the rhythm of it."
Now, putting aside the characteristic Bhutanese modesty that frowns on self-promotion, he waves down passing cars and motorcycles to introduce himself. He shakes hands. He sips tea in living rooms. At a silversmith's house, he gamely climbs a narrow staircase that is little more than a hollowed-out tree trunk.
Everyone who receives him is unfailingly polite. Some are bewildered. Few give any inkling as to what they think. There are no opinion polls.
"The Bhutanese people are consummate diplomats," said candidate Dorji, who is running in south Thimphu. "They listen to both sides, but none of us can get inside their minds."
Wangdi, the tour operator, has not been impressed with any of those who would be his new leaders. "People can yap and convince and talk," he said, "but when it comes to the realities, we don't know if they can handle it."
He hasn't made up his mind which party to support, but he plans to cast a vote Monday anyway.
It's what the king would want.


4. New Year Fever Grips Afghanistan http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6476079.stm
Last updated: Friday, 21 March 2007, 16:41 GMT
By Mark Dummett BBC News,

Kabul-- Nowruz is celebrated across the Persian speaking world It is the Afghan New Year, or Nowruz, and the people of Kabul have been celebrating the first sunshine of spring on the city's muddy hillsides.
With the winter now over, the Taleban, who had banned this festival when they were in power, have threatened to unleash a wave of suicide attacks. But their warnings have not dampened the mood.
"My friends and I have been dancing and enjoying ourselves. It is the start of the New Year and I'm very happy," Mohammed Jamshaid, a journalism student says. "It is going to be a good year and I'm looking forward to going back to university."
His friend Baktaz agrees. "Everybody is very happy and wishing each other happy Nowruz," he says. "Fortunately the sun is shining, because in the last few days it has been raining cats and dogs."
Hundreds of people walked to the top of Bibi Mahro hill to enjoy the spectacular views of the city, and celebrate beside an empty Olympic-sized swimming poll built by the Soviets.
Crowds clapped and cheered as young men took turns to dance and wrestle. Children flew multi-coloured kits and had rock-throwing competitions. There was the faint smell of marijuana and smoke from charcoal grills cooking kebabs. Most women kept to a discreet distance and sat around picnics in large family groups.
After a long, cold and wet winter, people enjoyed the good weather. "This winter there was too much rain and snow," Hamayoun Khattack, who works for an international aid agency, said. "But that is good for our country because we've been suffering from drought. We hope this will be a good and peaceful year for us."
At a ceremony at the city's main Shia shrine, the Sakhi Shrine, an eight-metre flag pole was erected smoothly. This is considered an auspicious sign for the coming year - 1386 by the calendar used in Afghanistan and Iran. If the pole falls or slips as it is manoeuvred into place, as happened last time, some people believe the year will be bad one.
Certainly, many are worried that the onset of spring will see a sharp rise in violence across Afghanistan.
Kabul suffered its first suicide attack in 2007 on Monday. A bomber drove his car into a convoy carrying US embassy personnel. Like in many such attacks, the only person killed other than the suicide bomber was a young Afghan passer-by.
"Yes, everybody is concerned by the Taleban's threats," Mr Khattack says. "But I hope this year will be a year of reconciliation between the government and the Taleban. They are our countrymen."
"These attacks take place all over world," Baktaz the student said. "So long as we get the co-operation from the rest of the world our country can defend us."