• UN-backed Asian forum highlights transportation's role in sustainable development
• Asia policymakers optimistic Japan stimulus will revive growth
• Asia stocks up as US jobs picture brightens

• India, Nepal: Universities learn about integration of modern science and health care with ancient Vedic Science
• Buddhist monks in Asia learn Transcendental Meditation with support from Japan
• Thousands of Buddhist monks in Asia learn Transcendental Meditation

• Sharp fall in breastfeeding figures makes Asia Pacific 'biggest cause for concern'
• China, Japan engage in new invective over disputed isles
• Asian powers double defence spending in a decade

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Positive Trends
Short Summaries of Top Stories

UN-backed Asian forum highlights transportation's role in sustainable development
29 April 2013 - On 23 April, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed efforts by Asian countries meeting at a United Nations-backed regional forum to address transportation as part of the effort to fight climate change and achieve sustainable development. Topics include the promotion of public bicycle schemes, greenways initiatives for converting road space into leaner parks and high quality pedestrian areas, and the full integration of public transport modes. (more)

Asia policymakers optimistic Japan stimulus will revive growth
5 April 2013 - Asian policymakers braced for a flood of capital unleashed by the Bank of Japan's huge monetary stimulus, but some conceded on Friday the impact on global money flows and currencies might prove to be a necessary side-effect to get the region's Number 2 economy growing. New BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda on Thursday promised to inject about $1.4 trillion into the Japanese economy in less than two years and committed the bank to open-ended asset buying, a dose of shock therapy officials hope will end two decades of stagnation. (more)

Asia stocks up as US jobs picture brightens
7 March 2013 - A positive jobs report that pushed the Dow to another record high this week helped boost Asian stock markets on Friday. The US government reported a drop in the number of people applying for jobless benefits, a positive sign ahead of the release of the February job growth report later in the day. Japan's Nikkei 225 index jumped, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose as well as Australia's S&P/ASX 200. (more)

Southeast Asia stocks-Manila, Jakarta set new record; Thai at 19-year high
20 February 2013 - Southeast Asian stock markets mostly gained on Wednesday, with the Philippines and Indonesian stock markets hitting a record high, while Thailand ended at a 19-year peak as an improving global economic outlook helped boost investor appetite for risky assets. (more)

China, Japan move to cool down territorial dispute
25 January 2013 - China and Japan sought to cool down tensions over a chafing territorial dispute on Friday, with Communist Party chief Xi Jinping telling an envoy from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that he was committed to developing bilateral ties. Xi will consider holding a summit meeting with Abe, Natsuo Yamaguchi, a senior lawmaker and head of the junior partner in Japan's ruling coalition, told reporters after his talks with the Chinese leader. (more)

Asian nations giving enthusiastic welcome to 2013
31 December 2012 - In Asia, the first nations to see 2013, celebrations are enthusiastically welcoming the new year. In Sydney, the shores were packed when an eight-minute preliminary show for young children exploded over the harbour three hours before the main event. The buoyant economies of the Asia-Pacific are prepared to celebrate with renewed optimism. (more)

ASEAN and FTA partners launch the world's biggest regional free trade deal
21 November 2012 - Determined to explore options to beat the global economic slowdown, the Heads of State and Government of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Member States, and ASEAN's Free Trade Agreement partners, namely Australia, China, India, Korea, Japan, and New Zealand, officially kicked off negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership or RCEP. (more)

Southeast Asia to ask China to start talks over islands
18 November 2012 - Southeast Asian leaders decided Sunday to ask China to start formal talks 'as soon as possible' on crafting a legally binding accord aimed at preventing an outbreak of violence in disputed South China Sea territories, a top diplomat said. Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations made the decision during their annual summit in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan said. (more)

Asian factories perk up, US shows improvement
1 November 2012 - Asia's large economies started to pick up steam last month after a year of slower growth, surveys showed on Thursday, while US manufacturing showed modest improvement. In Brazil, manufacturing expanded for the first time since March, according to the HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index, boosting hopes for economic improvement in the fourth quarter. Data from Asia was encouraging as well. China's economy, the motor of global growth in recent years, appears to have gathered pace in October. Chinese manufacturing showed renewed vim, with the official manufacturing purchasing managers' index rising to 50.2 from 49.8 in September. (more)

Asia stocks up as US jobless claims fall sharply
11 October 2012 - Asian stock markets rebounded Friday after the number of Americans applying for jobless benefits plummeted unexpectedly, suggesting the recovery in the world's largest economy might be gaining traction. Weekly applications for unemployment aid fell to their lowest since February 2008, the US government said Thursday. The positive figures follow a report last week that said the unemployment rate fell in September to 7.8 per cent -- below 8 per cent for the first time since January 2009. (more)

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Success of Maharishi's Programmes
Short Summaries of Top Stories

India, Nepal: Universities learn about integration of modern science and health care with ancient Vedic Science
28 January 2013 - During the first stage of his Total Health World Tour, Robert Schneider, MD, FACC, was invited to speak in a graduate and faculty seminar at Apeejay Stya University, a large private university dedicated to science, research, and technology in Delhi. India. He went on to address a conference on 'Integrative Medicine for the 21st Century for Nepal' at Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu. (more)

Buddhist monks in Asia learn Transcendental Meditation with support from Japan
24 December 2011 - Over the last nine years several thousand Buddhist monks in southeast Asia have been learning the Transcendental Meditation Programme. Japan has played an important role in the project's continuing success, through the leadership of Reverend Koji Oshima, a Buddhist monk from Japan, and also through the generous support of many Japanese people. (more)

Thousands of Buddhist monks in Asia learn Transcendental Meditation
31 October 2011 - More than 3,000 Buddhist monks in 100 monasteries throughout Southeast Asia have learned the Transcendental Meditation Technique, as a result of the work by a revered Japanese Buddhist monk, Reverend Koji Oshima, who is a longtime TM practitioner and certified TM teacher. According to Rev Oshima, the Buddhist monks appreciate the simplicity, effortlessness, and profound experience of transcendence, which is gained almost immediately after starting Transcendental Meditation practice. (more)

Asian nations applying Maharishi's technologies of consciousness
3 September 2011 - In Sri Lanka, India, and Nepal, interest is rising in applications of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's programmes and technologies of consciousness in education, health, agriculture, and world peace. (more)

Buddhist monk in Japan brings Transcendental Meditation to monks in Thailand and Sri Lanka
10 July 2011 - For the last eight years, an initiative that originated with a Buddhist monk in Japan has been bringing Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's technologies of consciousness to monks in other Asian countries. Since 2003, 4,000 Buddhist monks have been inspired to learn the Transcendental Meditation Technique--1,500 in Sri Lanka, and 2,500 in Thailand. (more)

Women and girls' Consciousness-Based programmes flourishing in Asia and Pacific
19 January 2011 - Consciousness-Based programmes for women and girls in education and health are proving popular in many countries in Asia and the Pacific region. (more)

Global Mother Divine Organization reports achievements in Asia
23 July 2010 - Reports from many Asian nations--including Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Taiwan, and Vietnam--were featured during the Global Mother Divine Organization's Third International Congress. The organization has been very active in each country, with projects and initiatives in Total Knowledge Based, Consciousness-Based programmes for women and girls. These are often being accomplished with the support of newly qualified Teachers of the Transcendental Meditation Programme--who in some cases are the first such Teachers in their countries. (more)

Global Country of World Peace programmes bringing Transcendental Meditation to Vietnam and Laos
13 June 2010 - Interest in Transcendental Meditation and Consciousness-Based Education is rapidly growing in Vietnam, and new avenues are also developing in the Lao People's Democratic Republic to help make Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's programmes widely available. (more)

Global Mother Divine Organization celebrates bright year of achievements in Asia
14 March 2010 - Throughout Asia, ladies, mothers and girls are enjoying courses and programmes of the Global Mother Divine Organization, which was inaugurated in many countries across the continent during the past year. (more)

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Flops
Short Summaries of Top Stories

Sharp fall in breastfeeding figures makes Asia Pacific 'biggest cause for concern'
23 March 2013 - Only one third of women are breastfeeding in the Asia-Pacific region compared with almost half of women six years ago, Save the Children said on Monday, noting the sharp drop may be linked to the aggressive marketing of infant formulas. Countries such as India, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam 'have made no progress on improving exclusive breastfeeding, despite having some of the highest burdens of child mortality,' said the report. The report specifically highlighted what it calls 'questionable marketing practices adopted by some breast milk substitute companies,' saying it found evidence of companies violating the International Code of Marketing of Breast­‐Milk Substitutes. Aid agencies say mothers sometimes spend a lot of money buying formula milk, putting a strain on the family budget and reducing spending on items such as education and healthcare in the belief that formula milk is better for their children than natural milk, which is free. (more)

China, Japan engage in new invective over disputed isles
8 February 2013 - China and Japan engaged on Friday in a fresh round of invective over military movements near a disputed group of uninhabited islands, fuelling tension that for months has bedevilled relations between the Asian powers. An increasingly muscular China has been repeatedly at odds with others in the region over rival claims to small clusters of islands, most recently with fellow economic giant Japan which accused a Chinese navy vessel of locking radar normally used to aim weapons on a Japanese naval ship in the East China Sea. China's Defence Ministry rejected Japan's complaint about the radar, its first comment on the Jan. 30 incident. It said Japan's intrusive tracking of Chinese vessels was the 'root cause' of the renewed tension. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe led his conservative party to a landslide election victory in December, promising to beef up the military and stand tough in territorial disputes. (more)

Asian powers double defence spending in a decade
15 October 2012 - Asia's top powers have doubled defence spending in the past decade, spurred by the explosion in military expenditure by China, new research shows. While troop numbers have remained constant, overall annual spending has grown to $224 billion in 2011. Spending particularly accelerated in the second half of the decade. The research covers China, Japan, India, South Korea and Taiwan, which account for some 87 per cent of Asia's defence spending. China's share of the total spending has risen from about 20 per cent in 2000 to 40 per cent in 2011. The report's authors noted that the official figures they cite likely underestimate how much China actually spends, perhaps by a margin of around 60 per cent. Only the United States spends more on defence. (more)

Biggest Asian wildlife traffickers are untouchable
15 August 2012 - A 10-fold increase in wildlife law enforcement actions, including seizures, has been reported in the past six years in Southeast Asia. Yet, the trade's Mr Bigs, masterful in taking advantage of pervasive corruption, appear immune to arrest and continue to orchestrate the decimation of wildlife in Thailand, the region and beyond. This is partly due to widespread corruption; officials working-hand-in-hand with traffickers ensure that other shipments through Suvarnabhumi International Airport are whisked off before they even reach customs inspection. And Southeast Asia's honest cops don't have it easy. Several kingpins, says wildlife activist Steven Galster, have recently been confronted by authorities, 'but in the end, good uniforms are running into, and often stopped by bad uniforms. It's like a bad Hollywood cop movie.' 'The bottom line is that if wildlife traffickers are not treated as serious criminals in Southeast Asia we are just going to lose more wildlife,' says Chris Shepherd, TRAFFIC's Southeast Asia deputy director. 'How often is anyone arrested? They just run off, they must be the fastest people on Earth.' (more)

Nearly seven decades later, Northeast Asia still haunted by war
14 August 2012 - Bitter memories and current rivalries are straining Japan's ties with China and South Korea nearly seven decades after Tokyo's defeat in World War Two, raising the risk of ruptures as all three nations head for leadership changes. As Japan marks the 67th anniversary of the end of the war and its colonisation and occupation of its neighbours on Wednesday, a decades-old feud with Seoul over disputed rocky isles turned acrimonious after South Korean President Lee Myung-bak visited the territory last week. A row with China over islands in the East China Sea has also heated up, while attention is focused on whether members of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's cabinet will violate his stance against paying homage at Yasukuni Shrine for war dead on Wednesday, seen by many as a symbol of Japan's past militarism. Managing the feud with China over disputed islands near potentially huge oil and gas reserves could be tougher at a time when China -- where memories of Japan's military occupation run deep -- faces a once-in-a-decade leadership change and Japan worries about its rival's rising regional and global clout. (more)

Japan-Russia talks make no progress on island dispute
28 July 2012 - Russia and Japan sparred on Saturday over disputed islands that have strained their relations since World War Two, making no visible progress in talks toward a resolution weeks before Russia hosts a summit of Asian states. Japan wants Russia to hand over four islands at the southern end of the Kuril chain that were occupied by Soviet forces at the end of the war in 1945, saying they are Japanese territory. Moscow disagrees, and senior Russian officials have drawn protests from Japan in the past two years by travelling to the Pacific islands, which Russia calls the Southern Kurils and Japan calls the Northern Territories. Tension over the issue was palpable beneath the diplomatic language at a joint news conference following talks between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Japanese counterpart, Koichiro Gemba, who also met President Vladimir Putin in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. 'It is very sad that 67 years after (World War Two) the territorial issue is still not resolved,' Gemba said. (more)

Asia: Nuclear expansion on track despite Fukushima: OECD report
26 July 2012 - Strong expansion of nuclear power as a carbon-free energy source in Asia is expected to press ahead despite the Fukushima accident in Japan that soured sentiment in some countries, a benchmark report said on Thursday. Nuclear energy had been gaining momentum as an energy source for nations seeking to reduce harmful carbon emissions, but the Japanese accident caused second thoughts in some countries. World nuclear capacity is, however, expected to grow by 44 per cent to 99 per cent by 2035, according to a biennial report from the United Nations nuclear body and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Nuclear capacity is due to expand in East Asia by 125 per cent to 185 per cent by 2035, the report said. The strongest growth is expected in China, India, South Korea, and Russia. (more)

Thirsty South Asia's river rifts threaten 'water wars'
23 July 2012 - The NEW 330-MW Kishanganga dam is a symbol of India's growing focus on hydropower but also highlights how water is a growing source of tension with downstream Pakistan, which depends on the snow-fed Himalayan rivers for everything from drinking water to agriculture. Islamabad has complained to an international court that the dam in the Gurez valley, one of dozens planned by India, will affect river flows and is illegal. The court has halted any permanent work on the river for the moment, although India can still continue tunneling and other associated projects. In the years since their partition from British India in 1947, land disputes have led the two nuclear-armed neighbours to two of their three wars. Water could well be the next flashpoint. And it's not just South Asia -- water disputes are a global phenomenon, sparked by growing populations, rapid urbanisation, increased irrigation, and a rising demand for alternative power such as hydroelectricity. (more)

Western fast food tied to heart risks in Asia
20 July 2012 - Even relatively clean-living Singaporeans who regularly eat burgers, fries, and other staples of US-style fast food are at raised risk of diabetes and significantly more likely than peers to die of heart disease, according to a new study. With globalization, fast food -- widely regarded as nutritionally poor -- has become commonplace in East and Southeast Asia. But there's been little research into the effects of western junk food on the health of non-western populations, especially those transitioning to more-prosperous lifestyles. These findings hold serious implications for recently developed and emerging countries. 'We know (heart disease and diabetes) are very expensive because they are chronic and ongoing,' said said Sara Bleich, an assistant professor of health policy at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. New studies suggest that public health officials need to pay 'more attention to global behavioural and dietary changes that occur as cultures interact with one another.' 'The big multinational fast-food companies are increasingly looking to maximize profit outside the United States, and they're looking to emerging economies like Singapore to do that,' Bleich told Reuters Health. 'So at the global level, the health implications are very strong.' (more)

SE Asia meeting in disarray over sea dispute with China
13 July 2012 - A Southeast Asian regional summit ended in acrimony on Friday over China's assertive role in the strategic South China Sea, failing to agree on a concluding joint statement for the first time in its 45-year history. Divisions between the 10 countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) follow a rise in incidents of naval brinkmanship involving Chinese vessels in the oil-rich waters that has sparked fears of a military clash. The Philippines said it 'deplores' ASEAN's failure to address the worsening row. The South China Sea has become Asia's biggest potential military flashpoint as Beijing's sovereignty claim over a huge, looping area has set it against Vietnam and the Philippines as the three countries race to tap possibly huge oil reserves. (more)