Archive for the ‘Reader’s’ Category
Cambodia, China Sign 8 Cooperation Deals
Cambodia and China signed on Monday eight cooperation documents during Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s official visit in China, according to Chinese News Agency Xinhua.
After the bilateral meeting between Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Chinese Premier H.E. Li Keqiang in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on Monday, eight deals were signed, said Xinhua.
They are the Memorandum of Understanding between the National Bank of Cambodia and the China Banking Regulatory Commission,the Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation between the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) and the Government of China (300 million Yuan), the Framework Agreement on a Concessional Loan Agreement Provided by China to Cambodia (Koh Thom Bridge Project) between the RGC and the Government of China (126 million Yuan), the Exchange of Notes on the Project of Vocational School on Agriculture in Kratie Province between the RGC and the Government of China, the Concessional Loan Agreement on the Staung River Basin Water Resources Development Project Phase I between the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Cambodia and the Export-Import Bank of China (329.75 million Yuan), the Concessional Loan Agreement on the Koh Thom Bridge Project between the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Cambodia and the Export-Import Bank of China (126 million Yuan), the Action Plan on the Implementation of the China-Cambodia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Cooperation between the Government of China and the RGC, and the Memorandum of Understanding on the 5 million tons Oil Refinery Project among China Development Bank, China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation, China Perfect Machinery Industry Corporation and Cambodia Petrochemical Company (US$1.67 Billion).
Yesterday the Cambodian delegation led by Hun Sen arrived in Beijing after attending the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2013 held in China’s Hainan province.
British former PM Thatcher dies after stroke
Iron Lady ruled England between 1979-1990
LONDON, April 8 (Xinhua) — Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has died at the age of 87 after suffering a stroke, her family spokesman announced Monday.
Lady Thatcher’s children Mark and Carol said their mother, who suffered bouts of ill health in recent years, died peacefully on Monday morning.
Baroness Thatcher, nicknamed the “Iron Lady,” was Conservative prime minister from 1979 to 1990, the first woman to hold the post.
Her death has drawn great attention both at home and abroad.
British Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted shortly after the news broke out, “It was with great sadness that I learned of Lady Thatcher’s death. We’ve lost a great leader, a great prime minister and a great Briton.”
Cameron, who was in Madrid for meetings with EU leaders, decided to cut short his trip and will return home this afternoon.
The Queen is “sad to hear the news of the death of Baroness Thatcher and will send a private message of sympathy to the family,” said the Buckingham Palace.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg described Lady Thatcher as one of the “defining figures in modern British politics.”
“She may have divided opinion during her time in politics but everyone will be united today in acknowledging the strength of her personality and the radicalism of her politics,” said Clegg.
Labour leader Ed Miliband, who was launching his local election campaign on Monday, cancelled the party’s operations as a mark of respect.
He said, “She will be remembered as a unique figure. She reshaped the politics of a whole generation. She was Britain’s first woman Prime Minister. She moved the center ground of British politics and was a huge figure on the world stage.”
Former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair called the ex-PM a “towering political figure” who exercised a huge influence over Britain and the world.
“Very few leaders get to change not only the political landscape of their country but of the world. Margaret was such a leader. Her global impact was vast,” he said.
London Mayor Boris Johnson tweeted, “Very sad to hear of death of Baroness Thatcher. Her memory will live long after the world has forgotten the grey suits of today’s politics.”
British Independence Party leader Nigel Farage called Lady Thatcher a “great inspiration.”
“Whether you loved her or hated her, nobody could deny that she was a great patriot, who believed passionately in this country and her people. A towering figure in recent British and political history has passed from the stage. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family.”
French President Francois Hollande described Thatcher as a “great figure who left a profound mark on the history of her country.”
“Throughout her public life, with conservative beliefs she fully assumed, she was concerned with the United Kingdom’s influence and the defence of its interests,” Hollande said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel hailed Thatcher as an “extraordinary leader” who played a pivotal role in overcoming Europe’s Cold War division.
“She was an extraordinary leader in the global politics of her time,” Merkel said in a statement. “I will never forget her part in surmounting the division of Europe and at the end of the Cold War.”
Merkel, a fellow conservative who was often compared to Thatcher when she became chancellor in 2005, said Thatcher would not be remembered as a “female politician” but one who had blazed a trail for women in the halls of power.
But not every one speaks highly of Thatcher’s legacy. One of her most significant opponents gave a critical assessment.
Ken Livingstone, twice the mayor of London and a former Labor MP as well as the former leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) which was abolished by Lady Thatcher, said many of Britain’s current problems were her legacy.
Livingstone said, “She created today’s housing crisis. She created the banking crisis, and she created the benefits crisis. It was her government which started putting people on incapacity benefit rather than register them as unemployed because the Britain she inherited was broadly full employment.”
He added, “She decided when she wrote off our manufacturing industry that she could live with two or three million unemployed, and the benefits bill, the legacy of that, we are struggling with today. In actual fact, every real problem we face today is the legacy of the fact that she was fundamentally wrong.”
No. 10 said Thatcher will not have a state funeral but will be accorded the same status as Princess Diana and the Queen Mother.
The ceremony, with full military honors, will take place at London’s St Paul’s Cathedral. Both the Downing Street and the Buckingham Palace have lowered their flags at half mast.
The streets between Westminster and St Paul’s will be cleared for the procession, the date of which is yet to be decided. The route will be lined with members of Armed Forces.
Lady Thatcher retired from public speaking in 2002. Over the decade, She suffered acute short-term memory loss and a series of strokes.
Her husband Denis died in 2003 and her children Mark and Carol both live abroad.
Commentary: Cambodia optimism on temple unsettles Siams
Bangkokpost 14-3-2013 by Wassana Nanuam
Siam folks unsettle over ICJ hearing on Preah Vihear temple
‘No matter how the World Court’s verdict comes out, we are neighbours and should not fight each other,” Cambodia’s defence minister and deputy premier, Gen Tea Banh said.
“We can [solve problems through] talks. We are supposed to be close friends as both of us are heading for the Asean Economic Community.”
He was urging both countries to stay calm while the Preah Vihear territory dispute unfolds.
However, the Cambodian general dodged a question about his expectations of the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) verdict on the ownership of the disputed 4.6 sq km area surrounding the Preah Vihear temple. The ICJ’s ruling is expected later this year.
But the statement contained hints of optimism that Cambodia will win the dispute and will be able to claim ownership of up to 600 rai of the disputed territory.
Of particular concern to Thailand is Cambodia’s attempt to create the impression that it is the rightful owner of the disputed area. A military source mentioned a report which the Cambodian government cites to Unesco, that more ancient artefacts have been discovered around the temple ruins.
The ICJ ruled in 1962 that the temple belongs to Cambodia.
The report is seen as an attempt by Cambodia, which put up a fence and a Unesco sign around the “discovery” location, to expand the temple zone beyond the 20×100 metre plot that the Sarit Thanarat government allocated to Cambodia following the 1962 verdict.
The Thai side is also worried about the so-called “5+5″ meeting point _ about 500m from the temple’s naga stairs. Each country deploys five soldiers (rangers for Thailand) to the spot every day from 8am-4pm. Despite the ongoing land dispute, Cambodia has constructed a border patrol police house for its soldiers next to the meeting point.
So at the end of the day, the Cambodian soldiers remain in the disputed area while the Thai side has to walk back to their base, giving the impression that the area belongs to Cambodia.
These rangers are more like “hostages”. If a conflict arises, the Thai rangers could easily be taken captive, as happened in February 2011 when the two sides clashed.
Moreover, all the signs placed at this meeting point read only in Khmer, despite Thai demands to have Thai-language signs erected on the Thai side of the meeting point. “We are supposed to have put up our signs but we don’t want to spoil the friendly atmosphere over such a trivial matter,” the source said.
Another source said Thailand is dubious about its neighbour. When Defence Minister Sukumpol Suwanatat travelled to the Preah Vihear temple to meet his counterpart Gen Tea Banh on Feb 26, Cambodian Deputy Defence Minister Nieng Pad was said to have wanted to welcome the Thai minister and his entourage at this 5+5 meeting point. The Thai side, however, resisted on the grounds it would give the impression that Thailand acknowledges Cambodian ownership of the overlapping area. Instead, the Thai side asked the Cambodian general to offer his welcome at the temple’s naga stairs over which Cambodia has ownership rights.
“We are keen to see that history will not repeat itself,” the source said, referring to a visit of Prince Damrong to the temple ruins in 1930.
At that time, the French resident general and Cambodian officers came to the site to welcome the Siamese prince who was then interior minister. Cambodia cited this historical incident when petitioning to the ICJ in 1962, saying it was tantamount to Siam’s acknowledgement of its ownership over the temple ruins. And the World Court ruled in Cambodia’s favour. The issue blew up again in 2008 when Cambodia registered the temple as a World Heritage site, triggering conflicts over overlapping land around the temple.
Since the Preah Vihear conflict erupted, Thai-Cambodian relations have ebbed and flowed depending on who is in power on the Thai side.
With Yingluck Shinawatra _ whose brother enjoys cordial relations with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen _ in office, relations have improved. Hun Sen has encouraged Thai and Cambodian soldiers to meet more often. The unprecedented meeting at the Preah Vihear temple between ACM Sukumpol and his counterparts was to give an impression that the bilateral relationship has improved and the ICJ’s eventual ruling will not lead to war.
Cambodia is confident, however, that the Yingluck government will be able to control its army should the ICJ rule that Thailand must give up the territory.
But this is pure speculation. We don’t know what the court will decide and whether the army, not to mention nationalistic groups such as the People’s Alliance for Democracy, will agree to act peacefully if the verdict is not favourable to Thailand.
Bottom Up: Drink on Empty Stomach to good health, cold plain freshwater
In Japan today it is popular to drink water immediately after waking up every morning.
Furthermore, scientific tests have proven its value. We publish below a description of use of water for our readers. For old and serious diseases as well as modern illnesses the water treatment had been found successful by a Japanese medical society as a 100% cure for the following diseases:
Headache, body ache, heart system, arthritis, fast heart beat, epilepsy, excess fatness, bronchitis asthma, TB, meningitis, kidney and urine diseases, vomiting, gastritis, diarrhea, piles, diabetes, constipation, all eye diseases, womb, cancer and menstrual disorders, ear nose and throat diseases.
Method of Treatment
1. As you wake up in the morning before brushing teeth, drink 4 x 160ml glasses of water
2. Brush and clean the mouth but do not eat or drink anything for 45 minute
3. After 45 minutes you may eat and drink as normal.
4. After 15 minutes of breakfast, lunch and dinner do not eat or drink anything for 2 hours
5. Those who are old or sick and are unable to drink 4 glasses of water at the beginning may commence by taking little water and gradually increase it to 4 glasses per day.
6. The above method of treatment will cure diseases of the sick and others can enjoy a healthy life.
The following list gives the number of days of treatment required to cure, control and reduce main diseases:
1. High Blood Pressure (30 days)
2. Gastric (10 days)
3. Diabetes (30 days)
4. Constipation (10 days)
5. Cancer (180 days)
6. TB (90 days)
7. Arthritis patients should follow the above treatment only for 3 days in the 1st week, and from 2nd week onwards – daily.
This treatment method has no side effects, however at the commencement of treatment you may have to urinate a few times. (That’s normal). It is better if we continue this and make this procedure as a routine work in our life.
Drink Water and Stay healthy and Active.
This makes sense. The Chinese and Japanese drink hot tea with their meals not cold water. Maybe it is time we adopt their drinking habit while eating!!! Nothing to lose but to gain everything of benefits from drinking lots of water. For those who like to drink cold water, this article is applicable to you.
It is nice to have a cup of cold drink after a meal. However, the cold water will solidify the oily stuff that you have just consumed. It will slow down the digestion.
Once this ‘sludge’ reacts with the acid, it will be broken down and be absorbed by the intestines faster than the solid food. It will line the intestines. Very soon, if not correcting it timely, sludge will turn into fats that can lead to cancerous symptoms. Best result is to drink hot soup or warm water after each meal.
Excerpt from
by Sam
at Engineer Vs Doctor blog
Senators join newly formed opposition party
Phnompenhpost 21-01-2013 In the latest signs of political maneuvering ahead of July’s national elections, eight out of 11 opposition party senators are planning on resigning their posts to run for seats in the National Assembly under the newly formed Cambodian National Rescue Party banner.
Mr. Ho Van ; Mrs Ke Sovannaroth
Nuth Romduol, one of the senators whose constituency is in Kampong Speu province, said he likes his chances of getting elected there as a National Assembly member.
“There is much support from people to take [me] back there,” Romduol said.
Phnom Penh Senator Ho Vann said he and the other Sam Rainsy Party senators have to resign before May and put their names in the hat as parliamentarians. At the same time, they would submit the names of their replacements to the National Election Committee.
According to Romduol, the names of the other senators are Ke Sovannroth, Eng Chhay Eang, Men Sothavarin, Tach Setha, Ouch Sereyuth and Thak Lany.
Though Romduol presented the move as a way of targeting CPP seats in the upcoming elections, Sam Rainsy Party spokesman Yim Sovann declined to call it part of an officially planned strategy.
“The spokesman issues official information; if not, it’s not official,” Sovann said.
But Puthea Hang, executive director of the Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia, said that when political parties change, it is normal for them to start seeking support early on.
“The political party that is a competitor always finds a way to choose important actors so that they can struggle over more seats,” he said.
National Election Committee Secretary-General Tep Nytha said that if an opposition party wants to replace any senator, it must send a list of proposed names to the NEC before the end of April.
Film reveals the personal cost of Aung San Suu Kyi’s political choice
Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has drastically changed the political landscape of the country. Photograph: Reuters
When Mynamar opposition activist Aung San Suu Kyi made the choice to stay under house arrest in 1989 rather than return to her family in Oxford, she made a personal sacrifice that would leave a legacy of pain within her personal life.
This is the intimate insight given by Aung San Suu Kyi: The Choice, the 2012 documentary about the dissident leader shown last night at Meta House.
Directed by German Mark Eberle and Angus McQueen from England, the film offers a rare glimpse into Suu Kyi’s personal life — and an unflinching assessment of the 21 years of consequences of her lonely choice.
The daughter of General Aung San, the man who brought independence to Myanmar in 1947, Suu Kyi studied at Oxford in the 1960s. There, she married Englishman Dr Michael Aris and had two sons.
When her mother suffered a heart attack in 1988, she was called back to Myanmar, a trip that coincided with demonstrations for democracy in Yangon. As her father’s daughter, she became the prominent figure and face of the movement.
She remained in the country and was detained as a political prisoner in 1989, after rejecting an offer by the military junta to leave and never come back.
It is at that point — when Suu Kyi chooses to stay — that Eberle and McQueen pick up the story. Through a series of interviews conducted in 2011, including one with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who praises Suu Kyi move into politics, the film-makers compile an intimate portrait of the housewife who became a national leader.
The beginning of Suu Kyi’s political activism meant a diminishing role in the lives of her children and husband.
In an extended interview, she admits her sadness, but says she doesn’t regret the decision. The emotional turmoil it caused her children, however, is evident.
In one scene from 1995, Suu Kyi is reunited with her sons. A press photographer arranges the shot: Suu Kyi hugging her son Kim and patting his head. Once it is taken, Kim flees the scene.
In an interview for The Choice in 2011, he is a different man. In his early 30s, divorced with two children of his own, he says his father did not get enough credit for raising him and his brother Alexander while their mother was away. Overwhelmed with emotion, he leaves the scene.
Kim visited his mother in Yangon in 2011. A video shot at the airport shows him urging his mother to travel and spend time with him, in front of many cameras. “Mummy… you have no excuses,” he says.
According to Eberle, the other son lives in a religious community in Chicago and doesn’t visit his mother, though he is said to phone her regularly.
Family friend and Tibetan scholar Dr Peter Carey Oxford, interviewed for the film, goes so far as to attribute the death of their father in part to the hardships he endured while separated from Suu Kyi.
Aris died from cancer in 1999. Suu Kyi didn’t come to his sick bed or his funeral – a decision he supported. If she had left the country, she could never have returned.
Political leaders tend to shy away from justifying what they do on a personal level. After all that they accomplish on the global stage, it seems irrelevant.
In The Choice, Eberle and McQueen do a remarkable job of dismantling the shroud.
What is left is a woman with a dilemma – and a family changed by the pain her choice has left behind.
To contact the reporter on this story: Julius Thiemann at ppp.lifestyle@gmail.com
៧ មករា ១៩៧៩ យួនប្លន់រាស្រ្ត ខ្មែរ
Stooges commemorated Day of Yuon occupied Cambodia 34 years ago
CHERS COMPATRIOTES,
A si atch dérichhan Hun sen n’a pas cessé de mentir au peuple khmer que ce jour du 07 janvier est le jour de sa révolution contre la monarchie et leur prise de pouvoir en compagnie de A Sdech Norodom sihanouk, et où des contingents nord vietnamiens et vietcongs accompagnés de khmers rouges pro-vietnamiens dirigés par ces trois singes dérichhan A Chea Sim, A Heng Samrin, et A sday atch yuon Hun Sen sont entrés chez nous partout au Cambodge pour massacrer une dernière fois à plusieurs reprises tous nos concitoyens khmers survivants de ce 1er régime des khmers rouges de A Pol Pot ennemi juré de ces yuons kantorp sakey yeur.
Il a fait basculer les massacres en sauvetage de nos khmers sans aucune honte alors que beaucoup de nos compatriotes ont péri dans ces massacres par millions.
Mais A Hun sen et comme il est l’un des chefs des dérichhan sday atch yuon, il ne peut pas faire autrement que d’apporter chaque année à cette époque ses cadeaux à ces anciens chefs vietcongs et nord vietnamiens pour l’avoir mis à la tête de notre pays et pour que ces dirigeants viets reviennent une fois encore le sauver de la colère du peuple khmer en ce début de cette nouvelle année 2013.
Il est bien temps pour ce peuple khmer de relever la tête pour mettre fin à ce 2ème régime des khmers rouges avec courage et détermination les armes à la main comme dans les autres pays où les citoyens se sont manifestés avec courage unis comme un seul doigt pour libérer leur pays de ces dictateurs à la con et pour nous il faut que ce soit fait bien avant les dates de ces élections législatives pouvant mettre en danger et notre pays et notre peuple khmer en esclavage complet.
Et si ce matin A dérichhan Hun sen et tous les membres de sa famille sont allés à Hanoi pour présenter leur reconnaissance avec de très beaux cadeaux à ces anciens maîtres vietnamiens annamites c’est justement pour obtenir une dernière fois leur aval dans l’envoi de leurs forces armées pour nous faire peur mais le peuple khmer est encore plus fort que ces envahisseurs et ces traîtres, il va s’unir et se mobiliser pour mettre fin à ce régime des meurtriers durant juste une semaine.
Mais il paraît que A si atch Hun Sen a très peur du réveil de ces membres de la famille royale et de tous les vrais khmers dans ses propres rangs, c’est pourquoi il essaie par tous moyens de les diviser pour qu’il n’y ait pas de cohérence et d’union dans leurs actions de libération de notre pays, et j’espère que tous ceux qui sont auparavant avec ces trois singes comprennent à présent que notre pays court un très grand danger pour son avenir, il faut que tous ces gens viennent nous rejoindre pour que nous puissions vraiment mettre fin à ce régime des khmers rouges très nuisible pour notre peuple khmer en descendant dans les rues de partout sans se soucier de ce que peuvent penser ces chefs de polices et de nos forces armées sous les ordres de ces yuons.
L’UNION FAIT LA FORCE MES CHERS COMPATRIOTES KHMERS A L’INTERIEUR DU PAYS !!!
C’EST A VOUS DE FAIRE CETTE REVOLUTION AU JASMIN ET AU LOTUS POUR SAUVER VOS ENFANTS ET PETITS ENFANTS. REFLECHISSEZ BIEN !!! C’est bien le bon moment enfants de la patrie khmère LEVEZ VOUS ENSEMBLE !!!!
VIVE LA REPUBLIQUE KHMERE !!!
VIVE LE PEUPLE KHMER COURAGEUX !!!!
VIVE L’UNION DE TOUTES NOS FORCES KHMERES POUR LIBERER NOTRE PAYS !!!!
VICTOIRE POUR CE PEUPLE KHMER !!!!
A BAS A DERICHHAN HUN SEN ET SA BANDE DE MEURTRIERS KHMERS ROUGES !!!!
RITHY KOMAR
Thousand word in a picture
A leader hugged his fellow citizen, coolhead Barack
Jan. 24, 2012: “One of the most memorable moments of the year was when the President hugged Rep. Gabrielle Giffords as he walked onto the floor of the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol to deliver his annual State of the Union address.” (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Indian women live in fear of sexual violence…Sadistic males terrorized women
The gang rape of a young woman on a bus in New Delhi has brought days of protest, but for women across India the fear of public gropings and even violent assault is a daily reality.
21-12-2012 AP NEW DELHI — It is almost every Indian woman’s nightmare, lived daily when in public — a stream of obscene comments, unwanted hands being placed on them and then being blamed for causing the sexual violence.
The gang rape and beating of a 23-year-old student by six men on a bus in New Delhi may have sparked days of protests and demands for authorities to take tougher action, but for women in India, it is just an extreme example of what they have to live with.
Many in India’s capital and across the country say they are constantly on guard, fearing everything from the routine gropings they suffer on public buses to far more violent assaults. Some say they have structured their entire lives around protecting themselves and their children.
Here are the stories of three women:
Gita Ganeshan, a 52-year-old bank worker, moved to New Delhi with her husband four years ago from the central city of Bhopal to protect their oldest daughter after she was attacked in the Indian capital, where she was studying.
The young woman had been out for a morning walk in a park near her house when four men surrounded her and began tormenting her, Ganeshan said.
“One of the men squeezed her breast. She screamed and kept screaming and running till she came home,” she said.
She said she and her daughter would go to the park when she visited the city.
“This was a park where we would walk every day. The girls would jog or run and we would walk along,” she said. “Just that one day, she went alone and this happened, and it changed our outlook as far as the safety of our girls was concerned.”
Her daughter gave up jogging and wouldn’t leave the house alone for months. Her parents got themselves transferred to the city to look after her.
“That was when we decided that protecting our children had to be our first priority. We’ve given them a good education. We cannot now tell them not to pursue their careers because it is not safe to be out working late,” she said.
She has trained the young woman to be alert: “Never let your guard down.”
Now, Ganeshan is thinking of moving to the central city of Indore to protect her younger daughter, who got a job there.
But for now, she has arranged a special plan to watch over her from far away.
Every evening, her daughter calls as soon as she gets off the bus on her way home from work. The two talk for the next 15 minutes while the young woman walks more than half a mile to her home, Ganeshan said.
“Every day, I wake up and my first thought is of my daughters and their safety. I call them up, or they call me,” she said. “It is a real fear we confront when, even for a few hours, we are not in touch over the telephone.”
Sandhya Jadon, 26, a lawyer from the northern town of Agra, said the harassment starts as soon as she leaves her home.
“For most men, any woman who is out of the four walls of her house is fair game,” she said.
Last week, she was repeatedly groped on a public minibus.
“It was broad daylight. I was heading to court, and this man kept trying to touch my thigh. I shouted at him and he had the gall to ask me, ‘So what can you do to stop me?’” she said.
She shouted, made the driver stop and got off. But the man continued sitting in the bus, grinning at his own audacity. Not one of the 10 other passengers came to her help. Most looked away, she said.
“All day that day I was disturbed. I was shaking inside but also angry. Why do we women have to suffer this?” she asked.
For the next few days, she avoided public buses for fear she would run into the man again.
She feels relatively safe at court, in her lawyer’s robes. But she still doesn’t stay late at work and asks her parents to meet her at the bus stop to walk her home.
“But the fear — that something bad will happen if you are not careful — is always with you. It hangs over your work; it hangs over everything you do — what you wear, or don’t wear, how you talk or how you walk. It is like this big suffocating cloud hanging over you every single day of your life,” she said.
Priyanka Khatri, a 21-year-old college student, said fear of attack has forced her to limit her world.
There are no movies in the evening, no late-night parties, no outside activity at all after sundown. College events are cut short because she has to get home.
“Whatever happens, I have to be home before dark. Otherwise, my parents get so worried and they will keep calling me on my cell phone till they know I’m safe,” she said.
Khatri said she will only go out in the evening accompanied by her parents to a nearby temple or a family wedding.
She is shadowed by fear when she gets dressed in the morning.
“I wouldn’t dream of wearing shorts or skirts in public,” she said.
She is petrified by her daily commute to school on public buses.
“Usually I carry a safety pin with me, because in buses there are always men who will try to touch you,” Khatri said. “Some men are so brazen. You tick them off and they will persist on groping you. Then you feel you have to do something. So I stick my pin into them, or I use my elbow, and just jab them with my elbow. But that too makes you afraid.”
And she has tempered her dreams to fit the reality of life in Delhi. The outgoing badminton enthusiast longed to be an event planner. Instead, she is looking for teaching jobs, “because then I can be home before dark.”
If her precautions fail and she is attacked, Khatri has a backup plan, she said.
“I will scream. I always have a scream.”
Malala asks Pakistan not to rename college for her…a genuine decency
21-12-2012 MINGORA, Pakistan (AP) — A 15-year-old Pakistani girl who was shot by the Taliban for promoting girls’ education has urged Pakistan to reverse a decision to rename a college in her honor to avert militant attacks on students, an official said Friday.
Malala Yousufzai, who became a symbol of youth resistance to the Taliban, made the request after students broke into the school, tore down Malala’s pictures and boycotted classes in her home town of Mingora. They said renaming the college endangered their lives.
Senior government official Kamran Rehman said Malala called him from London, where she was being treated for critical wounds from the attack on Oct. 9. The Taliban said it targeted her for promoting education for secular girls.
Malala’s case won worldwide recognition for the struggle for women’s rights in Pakistan and Taliban have vowed to target her again.
Pakistani Taliban have a strong presence in the country’s tribal regions bordering Afghanistan.
A bomb ripped through the office of a local militant commander Maulvi Abbas in Wana, a main town in the South Waziristan tribal region in the northwest, killing him and three of his guards, two intelligence officials said Friday.
Abbas was an associate of Hakimullah Mehsud, the head of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan militant group, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters.
It was unclear who had planted the bomb. The attack came weeks after a suicide bomber in the same town attacked Maulvi Nazir, a prominent militant commander who is believed to have a nonaggression pact with the army.
Nazir was wounded in the attack, and seven of his men were killed.
Since then there has been tension between followers of Nazir and the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan in the region.
