• Croatia's farmers seek market niches with organic, homegrown produce
• Mexico starts campaign to save endangered porpoise
• Peru: Moody's Investors Service raises credit rating on steady improvement

• Coherence-creating group planned for Indonesia; Yogic Flyers supported United Nations climate change conference in Bali
• Awakening of invincibility in Spain through Maharishi's programmes - Part I
• Announcing a special Live Broadcast Monday, 9 June, in honour of Raja John Hagelin

• UK: Police arrest 2,500 in knife crime blitz
• Peru's President Garcia approval rating hits all-time low
• Somalia: Street children increase as food insecurity grips region

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Positive Trends
10 Short Summaries of Top Stories

Croatia's farmers seek market niches with organic, homegrown produce
20 August 2008 - Croatian farmers hope their produce will fare well on EU markets after Croatia joins the Union, probably around 2011. 'Our vegetables are perhaps a bit more pricey but they are home-grown, freshly picked, untreated with chemicals. Buyers always prefer our own products,' said Nada Suskovic, a 48-year-old vendor at Zagreb's main farmers' market. In Croatia, farmers are striving for a segment of niche markets as large swathes of land remain uncultivated and the government resists foreign land purchases. (more)

Mexico starts campaign to save endangered porpoise
20 August 2008 - Mexico is investing 163 million pesos (US$16 million) to save a highly endangered type of porpoise from fishing nets in the upper Gulf of California. The money will be dedicated to stepping up enforcement of fishing regulations in the warm, still waters of the far northern Gulf, a designated nature preserve. (more)

Peru: Moody's Investors Service raises credit rating on steady improvement
20 August 2008 - Moody's Investors Service said on Tuesday it upgraded Peru's sovereign credit rating to 'Ba1' from 'Ba2', just one notch below investment grade, on significant and sustained reductions in foreign-currency related credit vulnerabilities. (more)

US: New York City mayor calls for wind turbines atop skyscrapers
20 August 2008 - Wind turbines would top New York City skyscrapers and bridges and dot the city's shorelines, while the mighty tides that drive the Hudson and East Rivers would also generate power under a new plan Mayor Michael Bloomberg presented on Tuesday. Geothermal plants and rooftop solar panels are also options, said the billionaire mayor. (more)

Indonesia tapping into the fast growing Islamic finance market to fund infrastructure needs
19 August 2008 - Indonesia's finance ministry has appointed three banks -- HSBC, Standard Chartered, and Barclays Plc -- to handle the government's planned global Islamic bonds, a source close to the deal said on Tuesday. The Indonesian government is trying to tap into the fast growing Islamic finance market to fund its huge infrastructure needs. (more)

Libyan leader Gaddafi urges Tuaregs to end Niger, Mali revolts
19 August 2008 - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has urged an end to Tuareg revolts in Mali and Niger, saying more war will hurt the impoverished states and plunge a region unsettled by security and smuggling problems into turmoil. Africa's fourth largest country, Libya wields influence in parts of the Sahara and the Sahel region on its southern fringe thanks to its oil wealth and tribal links between its own population and those of neighbouring states. (more)

Olympic host China enjoys best air in decade in Beijing
19 August 2008 - Olympic host Beijing enjoyed its cleanest air in 10 years this month and will adopt strict new measures to ensure its notorious smog does not return, a top environment official said on Tuesday. (more)

African sun fuels solar-powered study time
18 August 2008 - The launch of the Lighting Africa programme, a recent initiative from the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), has made it possible for some people to swap kerosene lamps for a solar-powered LED lantern. Lighting Africa is a $12 million project which intends to bring light to the poorest regions across sub-Saharan Africa. The programme works with the lighting industry to develop clean, affordable lighting and energy solutions for millions without access to electric grids. (more)

Denmark: Living a green dream on the island of Samso
18 August 2008 - Concerns about energy security may run high elsewhere in Europe, but on the windswept Danish island of Samso the inhabitants have achieved a decade-long target of self-sufficiency in renewable power. The islanders have shown that where there's a wind, there's a way -- and in the process mounted a global showcase for one of the prize export industries in Denmark, which is home to the world's largest wind-turbine maker, Vestas. (more)

East Asia: Coral Triangle Initiative plans regional approach to save coral reefs
18 August 2008 - A 5.7 million square kilometre triangle in the Indo-Pacific area contains over one-third of all known coral species on earth, over half the world's coral reefs, over 3,000 fish species, the greatest extent of mangrove forests of any region in the world, and important fish spawning grounds. This area is known as the Coral Triangle. The Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) is taking a regional strategy to save it. (more)

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Success of Maharishi's Programmes
10 Short Summaries of Top Stories

Coherence-creating group planned for Indonesia; Yogic Flyers supported United Nations climate change conference in Bali
18 August 2008 - Speaking on 16 August 2008, while discussing plans for establishing a permanent coherence-creating group of Yogic Flyers to create invincibility for Indonesia, Dr Willem Meijles, Raja (Administrator) of Invincible Indonesia for the Global Country of World Peace, highlighted the activities of a group of Yogic Flyers that demonstrated great success in Bali in December 2007, supporting the final three days of the United Nations Climate Change Conference. (more)

Awakening of invincibility in Spain through Maharishi's programmes - Part I
17 July 2008 - Dr Antonio Bartolome, Raja (Administrator) of Spain for the Global Country of World Peace, gave an inspiring tribute to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and an historical perspective on the rise of invincibility in Spain trough Maharishi's programmes. (more)

Announcing a special Live Broadcast Monday, 9 June, in honour of Raja John Hagelin
9 June 2008 - The Maharishi Channel announces a special live broadcast on Monday, 9 June 2008, of an international celebration in honour of Raja John Hagelin, Raja of Invincible America for the Global Country of World Peace. The celebration will be broadcast live via satellite and over the Internet on the Maharishi Channel, Channel 3. (more)

Part I: Maharishi Mahesh Yogi establishes the World Capital of Raam Raj - Seat of administration through silence
12 January 2008 - On the evening of the day of Maharishi's inauguration of the Year of Invincibility - Global Raam Raj, on 12 January 2008, to the sound of Scottish bagpipers and fireworks in the magnificent gardens of MERU, Holland, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Founder of the Global Country of World Peace, founded the World Capital of Raam Raj located in the Brahmasthan - geographic centre - of India. (more)

Part II: Maharishi Mahesh Yogi establishes the World Capital of Raam Raj - Functioning capital in the Brahmasthan (geographic centre) of India
12 January 2008 - In his talk about the crowning achievement of the beautiful day of Maharishi's inauguration of the Year of Invincibility - Global Raam Raj, on 12 January 2008, Dr John Hagelin, Raja [Administrator] of Invincible America for the Global Country of World Peace, said that Maharishi Mahesh Yogi has established the World Capital of Raam Raj, and it is beginning to function today in two vitally important ways. (more)

Transcendental Meditation and recidivism
2 January 2008 - Currently, about 1.4 million Americans are behind bars, and experts agree that conventional approaches to rehabilitating prisoners have failed. In fact, nearly two-thirds of all inmates who are paroled return to prison within three years. (more)

Report on the 28th Day of the World Congress of Rajas
22 December 2007 - On its 28th day, the World Congress of Rajas (Administrators) of the Global Country of World Peace heard a report on keeping the world's foods safe, discussed a chart on the structure of the rule from silence, and saw a presentation on advances in sustainable building. (more)

Bali, Indonesia: Coherence-creating group for United Nations Climate Change Conference - Part I
17 December 2007 - A group of 350 peace-creating experts gathered--through the generosity and incentive of Mr Declan Murphy, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and environmental activist--to practise Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation Programme and its advanced techniques including Yogic Flying in order to create an influence of coherence and positivity during the United Nations Climate Change Conference held 3-14 December 2007 in Bali, Indonesia. (more)

1st Resolution of the World Congress of Rajas of the Global Country of World Peace, proposed by Dr John Hagelin, Raja of Invincible America
23 November 2007 - On this 23rd day of November, 2007 in the Capital of the Global Country of World Peace in MERU, Holland, in the auspicious presence of His Majesty Maharaja Nader Raam, First Ruler of the Global Country of World Peace, in the sublime and royal atmosphere of the World Congress of Rajas, filled with the divine blessings of Guru Dev, having performed Puja to Guru Dev, all the assembled Rajas of Maharaja's Royal Court do hereby unanimously resolve to each individually assume responsibility, initially, to bring enlightenment and invincibility to one country of the world; and in the near future, to assume responsibility for additional countries, until the complete family of 192 nations is raised to enlightenment and invincibility. (more)

1st Session of the Global Congress of Rajas
23 November 2007 - Following Puja [a Vedic ceremony of thanksgiving] to the Vedic Tradition of Total Knowledge, Maharishi addressed the Congress of Rajas, on 23 November 2007, at the International Capital of the Global Country of World Peace, MERU, Holland (more)

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Flops
10 Short Summaries of Top Stories

UK: Police arrest 2,500 in knife crime blitz
18 August 2008 - UK Police have arrested 2,500 people and stopped and searched a total of 55,000 during a massive clampdown on knife crime prompted by a series of high-profile murders, the Home Office said on Monday. The scale of the problem was highlighted with two more deaths this weekend. Official figures last month showed that there were 22,151 serious offences involving knives across England and Wales in the year up to 2008. Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced at the launch of the programme that prosecutors should get tough on young people found carrying weapons, with a presumption to prosecute those aged 16 or 17 rather than to let them off with a caution. (more)

Peru's President Garcia approval rating hits all-time low
17 August 2008 - President Alan Garcia's approval rating has dropped to an all-time low of 22 per cent, as higher food prices and a botched earthquake rebuilding effort have frustrated voters, Peru's top polling firm said on Sunday. Hundreds of Peruvian quake victims protested on Friday to complain that millions of dollars in reconstruction funds have never reached them and were diverted or disappeared into inefficient and sometimes corrupt bureaucracies. (more)

Somalia: Street children increase as food insecurity grips region
16 August 2008 - Food insecurity in Somalia, compounded by inflation and recent fighting between insurgents and government forces around the town of Beletweyne in central Somalia's Hiran region, has led to a sharp increase in the number of street children. 'More and more children are taking to the streets; some to engage in petty trade while others are just there in search of food,' a journalist based in Beletweyne, who declined to be named, told IRIN. A spokesman for the UN Children's Fund in Somalia said the agency is currently conducting a rapid assessment of the child protection situation to provide insight into the scale of the problem. (more)

Yemen: Alarm bells over water
15 August 2008 - Water availability in Yemen has been worsening by the year and the government has no clear strategy on how to deal with the problem, experts said. They say water shortages, which affect about 80 per cent of the country's 21 million people, are exacerbated by the high fertility rate, rapid urbanization, the cultivation of `qat' (A mild narcotic), a lack of public awareness, and the arbitrary digging of wells. Mr Khalil al-Maqtari, an official at the Ministry of Agriculture, said that total amount of water used annually in Yemen is 3.5 billion cubic metres (cu.m.), while the renewed fresh water is only 2.5 billion cu.m. per year, leaving a gap of 1 billion cu.m. a year. He added that 4.6 billion cu.m. would be required in 2025, as by that time Yemen's population will have doubled. (more)

'Green' land grab could sow seeds of new conflict
14 August 2008 - A race to grab land in developing countries and exploit food supply fears and payments to conserve forests could spark conflicts in areas of land disputes, development and civil rights groups say. Much of the sough after land is marginal and forested land, which is common property. 'Communities had been told the land was theirs. Now it's contested,' said Andy White, coordinator for a Washington-based development NGO, explaining that a community in Liberia had told him that in one week they had separate visits from a mining company, a logging company and a biofuel company. 'They were told by the government: 'go out and prospect'.' (more)

Iraq contracts have cost at least $85 billion
14 August 2008 - Military contracts in the Iraq theater have cost taxpayers at least $85 billion, and when it comes to providing security, they might not be any cheaper than using military personnel, according to a report released Tuesday. The study does not include monetary figures for 2008, so the total paid to contractors for work in the Iraq theater since the invasion of Iraq in 2003 is probably much higher. If spending for contractors continues at about the same rate, by the end of the year, an estimated $100 billion will have been paid to military contractors for operations in Iraq. (more)

Nepal: Hundreds held as Tibet exiles, police clash
14 August 2008 - Nepali police detained 760 Tibetan exiles in renewed crackdowns against protests outside the Chinese embassy in Kathmandu on Thursday, police and witnesses said. Nepal is home to more than 20,000 Tibetans. Thousands fled Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959. Last Friday, authorities detained more than 1,300 Tibetans who protested in Kathmandu as the Olympic Games opened in Beijing. 'There will be more and more protests, certainly through the Olympics and the movement will grow stronger,' said Tenzin Choeying, a Tibetan protester. (more)

Kashmir protests spread to Indian cities
13 August 2008 - Riots erupted across Indian-controlled Kashmir on Wednesday as Muslims mourned 15 people killed in a day of bloody violence, as the protests spread to other parts of India. On Wednesday, the protests which were sparked over a government proposal to transfer land of Amarnath shrine in India's only Muslim-majority state, spilled over to other parts of India, with Hindu nationalist groups blocking traffic and railway lines for several hours in New Delhi, Mumbai, and the tourist hub of Agra. The protests have crystalized anti-Indian feeling in Kashmir just as Indian forces appeared to be gaining an upper hand in their nearly two decade fight against the region's separatist rebels. (more)

Mexico: Drug gangs turn to kidnapping in the US
13 August 2008 - An unintended consequence of Mexican efforts to weaken drug gangs, drug traffickers around Tijuana are turning to abducting US citizens and residents in southern California and holding them in Mexico as a new way to get funds, US and Mexican authorities say. More than 200 people have been kidnapped in Baja California state so far this year, a third more than in all of 2007. Several Americans have also been kidnapped in Texas this year and held for ransom in Mexico, the FBI said. (more)

US: After combat, citizen soldiers turning to alcohol
13 August 2008 - National Guard and Reserve combat troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are more likely to develop drinking problems than active-duty soldiers, a new military study suggests. The authors speculate that inadequate preparation for the stress of combat and reduced access to support services at home may be to blame. The research is one of the first major studies to emerge from the Pentagon's landmark 'Millennium' study. The study found that more than 600 combat troops who reported no binge drinking at the start of the study developed the problem after deployment and combat exposure. That accounted for about 26 per cent of the estimated 2,400 military personnel exposed to combat who did not report binge drinking at the start of the study. Alcohol abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, and depression make up an 'unholy trinity' that haunts some combat soldiers, psychologists said. (more)