World Peace News: Top Stories

	Top Stories Africa: Niger rebel leader says Saharan Tuaregs to set down guns Cambodia and Thailand begin border talks Libyan leader Gaddafi urges Tuaregs to end Niger, Mali revolts

	Top Stories Invincible Defence: Reports from around the world - Part I Brazil: Final day of tour by Dr David Lynch and Donovan recharges the nation with bliss Presenting the worldwide achievements of the Global Mother Divine Organization: Israel, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia

	Top Stories Germany disappointed over Russian withdrawal from Georgia Poland and US sign missile deal Algeria: Bombing kills 43
Positive Trends 10 Short Summaries of Top Stories Africa: Niger rebel leader says Saharan Tuaregs to set down guns 19 August 2008 - Niger's Tuareg rebel leader Aghaly ag Alambo said his fighters would lay down their guns from Monday and, together with neighbouring Mali's Tuareg rebellion, submit to mediation by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Tuareg nomads in the Saharan north of Niger and Mali took up arms against their respective southern-based central governments last year. (more) Cambodia and Thailand begin border talks 19 August 2008 - Thailand expressed hope its dispute with Cambodia over border territory near an ancient temple would end with a peaceful resolution as formal talks began Tuesday. The two neighbours came close to an armed clash last month over competing claims to land surrounding the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple on on Thailand's northeastern border with Cambodia. (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) Russian military starts to pull out of Georgia 19 August 2008 - A column of Russian tanks and armoured vehicles left the Georgian city of Gori on Tuesday in what Russian officials said was the start of the pull-back demanded by the West. Russia agreed to pull its forces back under a ceasefire deal brokered last week by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Russian troops went in after crushing a Georgian attack on Moscow-backed South Ossetia. (more) Russians announce troop withdrawal has begun 18 August 2008 - Russia said its military began to withdraw from the conflict zone in Georgia on Monday. In Moscow, Colonel General Anatoly Nogovitsyn told a briefing that 'today, according to the peace plan, the withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers and reinforcements has begun.' He added that forces were leaving Gori, which sits on Georgia's main east-west highway. (more) Israel approves release of 200 jailed Palestinians as goodwill gesture 17 August 2008 - Israel's Cabinet on Sunday approved the release of some 200 Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture to the government of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Abbas he would free some of the 11,000 Palestinians held by Israel to help energize peace talks between the two sides. (more) Russia and Georgia sign ceasefire 17 August 2008 - Russia and Georgia have signed a ceasefire agreement to end their war. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday signed a French peace plan already endorsed by Georgia and the two pro-Russian rebel regions, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which are at the heart of the conflict. (more) Russia says Georgia pullout to start Monday: France 17 August 2008 - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Sunday that Russian forces would begin their withdrawal from Georgia around midday on Monday, Sarkozy's office said in a statement. (more) Thai, Cambodian troops leaving disputed territory 16 August 2008 - A month-long standoff between Thailand and Cambodia appeared to be ending as both sides pulled back their troops Saturday from disputed territory around a temple near their shared border, a Cambodian official said. The redeployment from the Preah Vihear temple area began Friday evening and was continuing on Saturday, said Hang Soth, director-general of the Preah Vihear National Authority. The authority is the government agency that manages the historical site. (more) Cambodia says ready for troop pullback from frontier with Thailand 15 August 2008 - Cambodian officials said Friday that their troops are ready to pull back from the frontier with Thailand under an agreement to ease a month of military tension on disputed territory near an ancient border temple. About 800 troops from Cambodia and 400 from Thailand have been facing off in the area for a month. (more)
Success of Maharishi's Programmes 10 Short Summaries of Top Stories Invincible Defence: Reports from around the world - Part I 20 August 2008 - Colonel Gunther Chasse, International Deputy Minister of Invincible Defence for the Global Country of World Peace, gave progress reports from South Korea, Trinidad and Tobago, and Russia. Invincible Defence is a programme of Maharishi's Vedic Science to create indomitable coherence in the collective consciousness of a nation through the technology of the Transcendental Meditation and Transcendental Meditation Sidhi Programme, including Yogic Flying. (more) Brazil: Final day of tour by Dr David Lynch and Donovan recharges the nation with bliss 19 August 2008 - Dr Jose Luis Alvarez, Raja of Invincible Latin America for the Global Country of World Peace, presented news of the final day of the Brazilian tour by Dr David Lynch, renowned filmmaker, artist, and pioneer for Invincibility, singer-songwriter Donovan Leitch, and Dr Robert Roth, National Director of Expansion for the Global Country of World Peace in the United States. (more) Presenting the worldwide achievements of the Global Mother Divine Organization: Israel, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia 19 August 2008 - The National Director of Israel and a representative for the Czech Republic and Slovakia present the recent activities and achievements of the Global Mother Divine Organization in their countries. (more) New DVD series features landmark addresses from Maharishi, August 2007 through January 2008 18 August 2008 - Speaking 5 August 2008 on Maharishi Global Family Chat, Dr Peter Swan, Minister of Communication for the Global Country of World Peace, outlined the contents of a new series of weekly conference DVDs, featuring lectures and commentary from Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, as well as Raja John Hagelin, world-renowned physicist and Raja of Invincible America; Dr Bevan Morris, Prime Minister of the Global Country of World Peace; and other important leaders. (more) Report from Canada: Good news 18 August 2008 - A C$1.5 million investment by New Brunswick will help secure land with high biodiversity which is of international importance and which needs environmental protection. In the first month of the 3rd year of Canada's national Invincibility Programme, there continue to be indications of national consciousness rising to invincibility as evidenced by positive trends in the economy and other areas of national life, from the expanding groups of Yogic Flyers throughout the world. (more) The Complete Book of Yogic Flying, by Dr Craig Pearson, soon to be published - Part II 17 August 2008 - Speaking 13 August 2008 on Maharishi Global Family Chat, Dr Bevan Morris, Prime Minister of the Global Country of World Peace, presented a newly completed book by Dr Craig Pearson, Executive Vice President of Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, USA, titled, The Complete Book of Yogic Flying. (more) Land acquired in France and Latvia to boost invincibility 17 August 2008 - During a recent Maharishi Global Family Chat, Raja Michael Dilbeck, Raja of Invincible France and Invincible Latvia for the Global Country of World Peace, reported on the acquisition of land in his domain. (more) Maharishi's programmes, inaugurated in France in 1963, continue to expand and promote national invincibility 16 August 2008 - During the continuing celebration of Guru Purnima in MERU, Holland, Dr Dominique Lemoine, National Director of France for the Global Country of World Peace, gave a report highlighting past and current achievements in his country. (more) Maharishi Academy: How students can create a peaceful world 6 May 2008 - Students at Maharishi Academy of Total Knowledge - High School for Leadership in New Hampshire, USA will help create a peaceful world. Fifty scientific studies have shown that the Transcendental Meditation Programme can be used to defuse acute societal stress, as measured by reduced crime, terrorism, and conflict. Through their group practise of Transcendental Meditation students will radiate a measurable influence of calm and coherence throughout society. (more) Initiatives to create invincibility in Denmark - Part I - Consciousness-Based Education 17 March 2008 - Many initiatives to create invincibility, including several Consciousness-Based Education programmes, are going ahead simultaneously in Denmark reported Raja Bjarne Landsfeldt, Raja (Administrator) of Denmark for the Global Country of World Peace. (more)
Flops 10 Short Summaries of Top Stories Germany disappointed over Russian withdrawal from Georgia 20 August 2008 - Germany said on Wednesday it saw no clear evidence Russian troops were withdrawing from Georgia and, in a sign of growing Western frustration with Moscow, called the situation 'very unsatisfactory'. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has travelled to Russia and Georgia in the past week to mediate in the conflict, has said she received assurances from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Friday that a pullout would go ahead. But Reuters reporters in and just outside Georgia said that by Wednesday there was no sign of a large-scale pullout, beyond the movement of some Russian military trucks over the border into Russia. (more) Poland and US sign missile deal 20 August 2008 - The United States and Poland signed a deal on Wednesday to station elements of a US missile defence shield on Polish soil, a move certain to aggravate Russia-Western tensions over Moscow's intervention in Georgia. As part of the deal, Washington agreed to meet Poland's demand to equip its army with a battery of Patriot missiles as defence against a short-range attack Warsaw fears. Russia sees the prospect of placing the shield in parts of central Europe that it used to control as a threat to its security. Some Russian politicians and generals have said Poland must be prepared for a preventive attack on the site in the future, a threat that Washington has dismissed as empty rhetoric. (more) Algeria: Bombing kills 43 19 August 2008 - A bomb attack east of Algiers killed 43 people and wounded 38 on Tuesday, the Algerian interior ministry said, in one of the deadliest incidents in years in the OPEC member state. In recent months the mountainous areas east of Algiers have seen numerous attacks by al Qaeda's north Africa wing, which is fighting to set up purist Islamic rule in the north African country. Conflict began in Algeria in 1992 when a military-backed government scrapped legislative elections a radical Islamic party was poised to win. About 150,000 people have died during the ensuing violence. Islamist guerrilla leader Abdelmalek Droukdel, told the New York Times last month that increasing numbers of young men around the region were joining his group out of persistent poverty and anger at what he called the West's war on Islam. (more) North Korea angry as South Korea and the US begin military drills 18 August 2008 - South Korean and US forces began annual military drills on Monday, as a North Korean military spokesman denounced the exercises as a prelude to war and said they spoiled the prospects for nuclear disarmament talks. About 56,000 South Korean troops and 10,000 US troops will join the exercises that test communication, computer, and command systems, South Korean and US military officials said. The United States has about 27,000 soldiers in South Korea to support the country's 670,000 troops. North Korea positions most of its 1.2 million troops near the border with the South. North Korea's official media on Monday quoted a military spokesman for the communist state as saying the drills were intended to start a war on the peninsula and stifle the North. (more) North Korea says that the US is hampering nuclear disarmament 18 August 2008 - North Korea accused the United States on Monday of using human rights to block progress in a six-nation agreement on eliminating nuclear weapons in the communist country. President Bush 'blustered that he would handle the 'human rights issue' as 'an element for negotiations with North Korea,'' the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. President Bush, in South Korea earlier this month, commented on human rights abuses in North Korea at a news conference. KCNA accused the US of raising the human rights issue to shift the blame to North Korea for not removing it from the terror list. (more) Iraq: Life in tent camps remains grim 17 August 2008 - While the rate of people fleeing their homes in Iraq has decreased during the first half of 2008, daily life for the thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) living in tent camps remains grim, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in an assessment issued on 15 August. 'Tent camp residents have little or no access to basic services, cannot protect themselves against the elements or extreme weather, and are located far away from medical care, education, and other services,' the IOM statement said. 'These harsh conditions, combined with a cultural aversion to living without familial privacy and personal dignity, make tent camps a last resort for Iraqi IDPs.' (more) Russia could strike Poland over US shield: report 16 August 2008 - A top Russian general on Friday said Poland's deal with the United States to set up parts of a missile defence shield on Polish territory lays it open to a possible military strike, a Russian news agency reported. Col-General Anatoliy Nogovitsyn, deputy chief of the general staff, told Interfax that Russian military doctrine would allow for a possible nuclear strike. Washington says the missile system is aimed at protecting the United States and its allies from long-range missiles that could in the future be fired by Iran or groups such as al Qaeda. The Kremlin has long said that was untrue, and has opposed the shield as a threat to Russia. (more) US may cut more aid over Mauritania coup - envoy 16 August 2008 - The United States threatened more cuts in aid to Mauritania on Friday if the country's new military rulers did not reinstate its first freely elected president. Mr Todd Moss, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs said the $25 million in US aid that Washington had already suspended for this year was just the start. The Aug. 6 coup provoked virtually unanimous condemnation from the United Nations, the European Union, and other quarters. The African Union suspended the Islamic republic and the United States and France quickly suspended non-humanitarian aid. (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) Georgia says bombing continues after Russian order 12 August 2008 - Russia ordered a halt to military action in Georgia on Tuesday, after five days of air and land attacks that sent Georgia's army into headlong retreat and left towns, military bases, and homes smoldering. Georgia insists that Russian forces are still bombing and shelling. Despite the pledge by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Russia launched an offensive Tuesday in the only part of Abkhazia still under Georgian control. An Associated Press reporter saw 135 Russian military vehicles driving through Georgia en route to Abkhazia's Kodori Gorge, and Georgian officials said their troops in the gorge were under Russian attack. Russia has accused Georgia of killing more than 2,000 people, mostly civilians. Many Georgians also have been killed in the fighting. Tens of thousands of terrified residents have fled the fighting, South Ossetians north to Russia, and Georgians west toward the capital of Tbilisi and the country's Black Sea coast. (more)