• Panel calls for steep cuts in US nukes
• Iran talks to continue, both sides see progress
• Myanmar halting arms purchases from North Korea, says South Korea

• Latin American leaders will soon command invincible militaries: So could South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak! - The Seoul Times
• New Paradigm tour creates 'a wave of knowledge' across North America
• How is the Transcendental Meditation Technique different?

• As foreign troops leave, Afghan refugees and poverty increase
• NATO underplayed civilian deaths in Libya - HRW
• Two dead, 20 hurt in Lebanon clashes - medics

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Positive Trends
10 Short Summaries of Top Stories

Panel calls for steep cuts in US nukes
16 May 2012 - An influential panel is calling for an 80 per cent reduction of US nuclear weapons and an elimination of all nuclear armed intercontinental ballistic missiles. The report argues that such drastic cuts in nuclear forces by the United States and Russia could open the way for the two countries to open arms control talks with other countries, including China. 'There is no conceivable situation in the contemporary world in which it would be in either country's national security interest to initiate a nuclear attack against the other side,' the report says. (more)

Iran talks to continue, both sides see progress
15 May 2012 - UN nuclear negotiators seeking to probe Tehran's nuclear programme for signs of secret work on atomic-weapons technology spoke of a good exchange of views Tuesday after talks with Iranian officials, who described the meeting as having made progress. Neither side elaborated on the substance of their talks. But they stood together as they talked to reporters and in another indication that some common ground had been found after more than four years of stalled discussions, both said the talks would resume Monday. (more)

Myanmar halting arms purchases from North Korea, says South Korea
15 May 2012 - Myanmar's President has confirmed that his country bought weapons from North Korea during the past 20 years and assured his South Korean counterpart that it will no longer do so. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak is on an official two-day visit to Myanmar. A statement from President Lee's office said he agreed to expand South Korean financial assistance to Myanmar. It said South Korea agreed to help Myanmar develop human resources, build a think tank, and invite Myanmar students to South Korea in an effort to share its successful experience in economic development. (more)

UN and Iran agree to keep talking on nuclear
15 May 2012 - Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog ended two days of talks on Tuesday by agreeing to meet again next week, just two days before Tehran resumes negotiations with world powers concerned it may be seeking to develop atomic bomb capability. Both sides were upbeat about the discussions, which will continue on Monday. (more)

Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu responds to Palestinian letter
12 May 2012 - Israel and the Palestinian Authority issued a rare joint statement on Saturday, saying they were committed to peace after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dispatched an envoy to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. 'Israel and the Palestinian Authority are committed to achieving peace and the sides hope that the exchange of letters between President Abbas and Prime Minister Netanyahu will further this goal,' a statement said. (more)

Civilian casualties in Afghanistan fall 20 per cent, says UN
11 May 2012 - After five years of rising deaths, civilian casualties in Afghanistan dropped 20 per cent in the first four months of the year, the United Nations said, a rare piece of good news as foreign combat forces prepare to pull out by the end of 2014. 'There are several elements behind this ... there was perhaps less fighting in the first four months,' Jan Kubis, the UN special envoy to Afghanistan, said late on Thursday. (more)

Germany urges revival of Middle East peace process
8 May 2012 - Germany's Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle is urging Israel and the Palestinians to 'move ahead courageously' and swiftly to reopen negotiations toward achieving a two-state solution. Foreign Minister Westerwelle made the comments in a speech alongside his Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman in Berlin. (more)

Britain's Prince Harry draws attention to plight of wounded warriors
7 May 2012 - Prince Harry urged the United States and the United Kingdom on Monday not to forget the plight of wounded veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The 27-year-old Prince was in Washington, DC to accept an award for humanitarian service from the Atlantic Council. The Prince shook hands with former US Secretary of State Colin Powell who presented him with the council's Distinguished Humanitarian Leadership award. Prince Harry and his elder brother, William, serve as cultural ambassadors for Britain and have worked with Walking with the Wounded, which raises funds to train and educate injured soldiers and help them return to work in civilian life. (more)

Britain's Prince Harry in Washington, DC to accept award for service
7 May 2012 - Britain's Prince Harry accepted an award for his charitable work with wounded soldiers during a formal event Monday in Washington, DC, his first visit to the city. Prince Harry, 27, was being recognized along with his older brother Prince William for their charitable foundation's work. Prince Harry has worked with a number of charities including Walking with the Wounded, a British charity that retrains and re-educates veterans, and Help for Heroes, which helps wounded servicemen and women. Prince Harry urged Americans and the British to work together to heal and support wounded veterans, pooling expertise and experience. (more)

Philippines: Government, Muslim rebels move closer to peace deal
7 May 2012 - The Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have edged nearer to a peace treaty after agreeing to a set of consensus points that could lead to less confrontation on the ground, officials say. At talks in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, at the end of April, both sides signed a document containing 'decision points on principles' that they said would open public scrutiny of any final peace deal with the 12,000-strong MILF. (more)

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

Latin American leaders will soon command invincible militaries: So could South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak! - The Seoul Times
14 May 2012 - Four countries in Latin America are due to achieve a state of invincible peace and security around the end of May, 'with large groups in the military and in educational settings currently receiving Invincible Defense Technology (IDT) training,' writes Dr David Leffler recently. He highlights this progress in Latin America to draw attention to a similar approach proposed by scientists to reduce tensions on the other side of the world--in South Korea. 'President Lee Myung-bak could make his mark,' Dr Leffler states, 'by adopting the ideal IDT paradigm--and mark a turning point not only in the history of Korean national defense, but also by leading the world into lasting perpetual peace.' (more)

New Paradigm tour creates 'a wave of knowledge' across North America
9 May 2012 - A grand event has been unfolding in the past month across the North American continent: the 'New Paradigm' tour by leading scientists, artists, and business leaders, which has been working its way through 10 major cities from the West Coast to the East Coast. Beginning in California, the tour has presented profound knowledge in its themes of 'Veda, Consciousness, the Ramayana, and the Self' to enthusiastic audiences, including many of Indian descent, in the US and Canada. (more)

How is the Transcendental Meditation Technique different?
5 May 2012 - It's well known that different meditation techniques engage the mind in different ways and produce different effects on the mind, body and behaviour. Some techniques involve watching one's thoughts or focusing on breathing or bodily sensations. Others employ concentration, visualization or trying to clear the mind of thoughts. There's also guided meditation, contemplation or meditating for insight. The Transcendental Meditation technique is unlike all of these--in fact, it's a completely different process. To begin with, it's completely effortless. (more)

David Lynch Foundation launches in UK
3 May 2012 - Thursday 26 April saw the eagerly-awaited UK launch of the David Lynch Foundation, which was established in the USA by the film director five years ago to fund courses in Transcendental Meditation for young people, combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, the homeless, and other disadvantaged groups. Since then, the Foundation has enabled over 200,000 people to learn the technique in the USA, Latin America, and elsewhere. (more)

Vastu City Planning e-published as Kindle book
25 April 2012 - Vastu City Planning--the latest book dealing with the comprehensive restructuring of cities and towns according to the ancient principles of Vedic architecture--is now available on Kindle, through Amazon.com. Published by the MUM Institute of Vedic City Planning, the book contains valuable information in the field of city planning, showing how to build sustainable cities that create a coherent and harmonious influence on their citizens, with reduced crime, for greater success, health, wealth, and happiness. The book's design is rich with many colorful illustrations, photographs and renderings. (more)

'A New Paradigm: Veda, Consciousness, the Ramayana, and the Self' - Tour visits 10 North American cities
22 April 2012 - Science and spirituality merge as leading scientists, artists, and business leaders present cutting-edge knowledge to Indian communities throughout North America. A team of leading scientists, artists and business leaders is touring 10 North American cities in April and May, delivering a series of cutting-edge presentations entitled 'A New Paradigm: Veda, Consciousness, the Ramayana, and the Self'. The tour includes visits to San Diego; San Francisco; Vancouver; Fairfield, Iowa; Chicago; Toronto; Montreal; Boston; New York; and Washington, DC. (more)

'Meeting point of science and spirituality': Themes of the 10-city 'New Paradigm' tour of Indian communities
22 April 2012 - In cutting-edge presentations to Indian communities on the current 10-city 'New Paradigm' tour of North America, leading scientists, artists, and business leaders are exploring three main themes: the sounds of the Veda are blueprints that structure the physiology on every level; the applications of this discovery on the collective level of society through large peace-creating groups of Vedic Pandits; and the profound correlation between the characters, details, and happenings of the Ramayana with every part of the human physiology--described in Ramayan in Human Physiology, the new book by Tony Nader, MD, PhD, which is being released on the tour. (more)

A Brain-Based Approach to Peace - Friday, May 4, 2012, Washington, DC
17 April 2012 - Improving brain functioning and reducing stress and violent behaviour in individuals and society. This private luncheon meeting will introduce an innovative, evidence-based approach to conflict resolution. The session will present cutting-edge research on the impact of stress and trauma on the brain. It will also showcase 30 years of research and clinical applications of the Transcendental Meditation technique for restoring balanced brain functioning, overcoming stress and reducing violent, impulsive behaviour among at-risk individuals and, perhaps more intriguingly, among entire at-risk populations living in high-crime and war-torn regions. (more)

Eternal Being and the unified field theory of modern science: Maharishi
16 April 2012 - The Excellence in Action page of Global Good News is featuring excerpts from Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's book, Science of Being and Art of Living. Maharishi describes Being as the ultimate reality, the absolute, unmanifest field at the basis of the entire creation which expresses itself in the different forms and phenomena of the material world. He predicted that one day theoretical physicists would succeed in establishing a unified field theory: ''It may be given a different name, but the content will establish the principle of unity in the midst of diversity, the basic unity of material existence.'' (more)

Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr 2009 reunion benefit concert: First PBS broadcast 29 April, New York
14 April 2012 - Former Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr reunited on an American stage for the only time in the past 20 years, during the historic 2009 Radio City Music Hall benefit concert for the David Lynch Foundation. The long-awaited film of the concert will be broadcast on New York City's WNET THIRTEEN--the most watched public television station in the US--on Sunday, 29 April 2012. The show is expected to be broadcast on other PBS stations in the US over the next few months. (more)

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Flops
10 Short Summaries of Top Stories

As foreign troops leave, Afghan refugees and poverty increase
14 May 2012 - Intensifying violence as NATO combat troops prepare to leave by end-2014 and a poor economic outlook in the face of shrinking aid could spell a humanitarian disaster for Afghanistan, where a third already live beneath the poverty line. UN Humanitarian Affairs chief Valerie Amos, meeting internal refugees in the country's north late last week, warned that their plight could worsen when the enormous sums being poured into the country as part of the US-led war and nationbuilding effort disappear. 'We are worried that people will be forgotten. We are worried that the sort of resources we need on the financial side are not going to be available,' Amos told Reuters. She cited a recent World Bank report, which says that up to 10 per cent of the Afghan workforce has benefited from aid. 'Thousands are at risk of losing their jobs,' she warned, saying that once the aid dries up, there will be more unemployed or even internally displaced. 'It will be like when the Russians left all over again,' a refugee said. (more)

NATO underplayed civilian deaths in Libya - HRW
14 May 2012 - NATO air strikes killed 72 civilians in Libya last year, Human Rights Watch said on Monday, accusing the western alliance of failing to acknowledge the scope of collateral damage it caused during the campaign that helped oust Muammar Gaddafi. In a report based on investigations at bombing sites during and after the conflict, the New York-based HRW said NATO strikes killed 20 women and 24 children. It called on the alliance to compensate civilian victims and investigate attacks that may have been unlawful. 'NATO did everything possible to minimise risks to civilians, but in a complex military campaign, that risk can never be zero,' said NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu in a statement. HRW acknowledged that NATO had taken care to minimise civilian casualties and added that countries such as Russia that had made claims of large-scale civilian deaths did so 'to score political points'. But Abrahams, principal author of the report, said the care NATO took during the campaign was 'undermined by its refusal to examine the dozens of civilian deaths.' (more)

Two dead, 20 hurt in Lebanon clashes - medics
14 May 2012 - Two men were killed and at least 20 people were wounded in clashes between Alawite supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Sunni Muslims in the Lebanese city of Tripoli, medical sources said on Monday. Fierce clashes overnight shook the northern port city and sporadic fighting continued on Monday. Machineguns and rocket propelled grenades were used. Tension between the Alawite and Sunni communities in Tripoli has been fuelled by the unrest in neighbouring Syria, where Assad is seeking to crush a 14-month-old uprising which began with largely peaceful protests against his rule but has become increasingly militarised. Clashes began late on Saturday and three people were killed at the weekend in the city's Alawite enclave and surrounding Sunni Muslim neighbourhoods. The fighting in Tripoli, 70 km (43 miles) from Beirut, highlights how sectarian tensions in Syria can ignite conflict in Lebanon. Buildings in the area are still riddled with bullet holes from similar clashes earlier in the year. (more)

Gunman kills Afghan peace council member in Kabul
13 May 2012 - A gunman in a car killed a former high-ranking Taliban official working on reconciling Afghanistan's insurgency with the government, a fresh blow to peace efforts even as Kabul announced it was gradually taking the lead from the US-led coalition for providing security in much of the country. The death of Arsala Rahmani, a top member of the Afghan peace council and a senator in parliament's upper house, dealt another setback to efforts to negotiate a political resolution to the decade-long war. Rahmani was a former Taliban official who reconciled with the government and was active in trying to set up formal talks with the insurgents. His assassination follows that of the council's head last year. He was shot just hours before President Hamid Karzai announced the third of a five-stage transition process that will have the Afghan National Security forces in control of the country by the end of 2014, when most foreign combat troops are to leave the country. The transition process is a key part of NATO's exit strategy from Afghanistan. Transition can't succeed fully without some kind of reconciliation with the Taliban. Rahmani's assassination may provide a new setback in that effort. (more)

More than 100 hurt in Bangladesh clashes
13 May 2012 - More than 100 people including many police were injured in clashes Sunday between opposition activists and security officials in southeastern Bangladesh, witnesses said. The United News of Bangladesh news agency said the violence broke out in Chittagong when police blocked a protest march by Jamaat-e-Islami, the country's largest Islamic party. It said police swung batons and fired tear gas to disperse the stone-throwing protesters. Witnesses said at least 100 people were injured. Local journalist Osman Gani Mansur said the protesters smashed at least 50 vehicles and set fire to at least three others in Chittagong, Bangladesh's second-largest city, 215 kilometers (135 miles) southeast of Dhaka. (more)

Sectarian clashes rock Lebanese city
13 May 2012 - Sectarian violence linked to the unrest in neighbouring Syria shook the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli on Sunday, with street clashes killing one soldier and two civilians, the state news agency said. The fighting highlights how easily trouble in Syria can raise tensions in neighbouring Lebanon, with which it shares a complex web of political and sectarian ties and rivalries. Residents said running gunbattles broke out in the city Saturday and continued through the night primarily between a neighbourhood populated by Sunni Muslims opposed to Syrian President Bashar Assad and another area with many Assad backers from his Alawite sect. (more)

UN refugees chief: Africa sinks deeper into crisis
11 May 2012 - The head of the UN refugee agency says deepening humanitarian crises across the Middle East and North Africa combined with persistent global economic woes have created a 'nightmare scenario.' UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said the formation of a broad crisis area across Africa encompassing Libya, Nigeria, Mauritania, and Somalia poses a major threat to global peace and security. Political unrest and civil conflict in countries such as Syria, Mali, and newly independent South Sudan over the last year have further stretched thinly resourced humanitarian organizations. Guterres warned developed nations against complacency and the dangers of allowing isolated crises to take on a pan-regional dimension. 'It is not only a matter of solidarity. It is a matter of enlightened self-interest that should mobilize the international community to address this crisis,' he said. (more)

US resumes Bahrain arms sales despite rights concerns
11 May 2012 - The United States will resume some military sales to Bahrain, a key Gulf ally facing Iran, despite human rights concerns linked to months of popular protests against the island kingdom's rulers, the State Department said on Friday. US officials said among the sales now allowed to go forward would be harbour security vessels and upgrades to turbo-fan engines used in F-16 fighter aircraft as well as legislation which could pave the way for a future sale of a naval frigate. The decision was criticized by Senator Patrick Leahy, who wrote a provision Congress passed last year requiring the administration to consult lawmakers before allowing sales of tear gas and other crowd-control items to governments of countries undergoing democratic transition in the Middle East. Human rights advocates have criticized Washington for its muted response Bahrain's crackdown contrasted with strong US public support for popular protests in Egypt, Tunisia, and Syria. (more)

Bombs and hunger haunt Sudan's Nuba mountains
10 May 2012 - Since the latest round of fighting in Sudan erupted in June last year, the combat and what local leaders describe as sustained bombings by Sudanese warplanes have driven tens of thousands of civilians from settlements from South Kordofan state into caves and rocky shelters in the hills. Civil society leaders in the Nuba Mountains, a jigsaw of communities mixing Muslims, Christians, and others practising traditional African beliefs, estimate that out of the 350,000 displaced by the fighting as many as 100,000 are hiding in caves, eating tree leaves, sap and wild fruits. They say some are starting to die from hunger. Driven from their homes and land by the fighting, and facing starvation in their cave hideouts, hundreds of Nubans are making the dusty trek over the border to the swelling Yida refugee camp 10 km (six miles) inside South Sudan. More than 700 arrived on one day last week, some walking through the night with their possessions perched on their heads. Aid agencies running the camp say a bad situation is about to get worse with the onset of the rainy season. But for the SPLM-N rebels, the rainy season heralds a chance for intensified fighting. (more)

Al-Qaida surprise attack kills 20 Yemeni soldiers
7 May 2012 - Al-Qaida militants staged a surprise attack Monday on a Yemeni army base in the south, killing 20 soldiers and capturing 25 just hours after a US drone strike killed a senior figure in the terror network wanted in connection with the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen. Yemen has been waging an offensive on al-Qaida, whose fighters took advantage of the country's political turmoil during the past year to expand their hold in the south, seizing entire cities and towns and large swathes of land. Abyan's provincial capital of Zinjibar has been held by al-Qaida for a year. The drone strike was carried out by the CIA, after an extended surveillance operation by the CIA and US military, two US officials said. (more)