• Bosnia passes laws key to EU bid
• Spain says US to help in nuclear clean-up
• US: President Obama pushes for veterans jobs programmes

• UK: Maharishi School parent, former council officer, awarded OBE
• Countries of Latin America and Caribbean strive to work together peacefully
• A timely message to Heads of State and Finance Ministers from the Finance Minister of the Global Country of World Peace

• A failed province: Cautionary tale for South Africa
• Heavy weapons rattle northern Mali town, thousands flee
• Syrian activists: 200 dead in government assault

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Positive Trends
10 Short Summaries of Top Stories

Bosnia passes laws key to EU bid
4 February 2012 - Bosnia passed laws on Friday seen as crucial to reviving its European Union accession bid, with Serb, Croat, and Muslim leaders agreeing to the first census since 1991 and to a single state-level body to coordinate EU aid programmes. The new census will be conducted in April 2013. (more)

Spain says US to help in nuclear clean-up
4 February 2012 - Spain said Friday it had received guarantees that the United States will help clean up land contaminated with radioactivity after a mid-air collision in 1966 dumped four US hydrogen bombs in the country's south. Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo said he will discuss the clean-up with US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Saturday. (more)

US: President Obama pushes for veterans jobs programmes
4 February 2012 - In an effort to cut the unemployment rate among veterans, President Barack Obama is calling for a new conservation programme that would put veterans to work rebuilding trails, roads, and levees on public lands. The administration will also propose a training programme designed to help veterans wanting to start their own small businesses. (more)

China streams live panda video to foster conservation
3 February 2012 - China began on Wednesday streaming live video footage of its pandas around the world via webcam in an attempt to boost awareness of conservation efforts for its beloved but endangered animal ambassadors. China has been sending pandas abroad in gestures of goodwill since the 1950s in what has come to be known as 'panda diplomacy'. (more)

Nicaragua to spend $29 million on school lunches
3 February 2012 - The government of Nicaragua will spend the equivalent of 29 million USD to ensure more than one million servings of free school meals to preschool and elementary students. In statements, Deputy Minister Jose Treminio said on Wednesday that the money will attend to more than 94 per cent of students at these educational levels, primarily for the benefit of the territories with the highest poverty rates. (more)

Re-greening the border between Nicaragua and Honduras
3 February 2012 - Steps are being taken to restore the river that winds along the border between Nicaragua and Honduras. The project, 'Strengthening local capacities for integrated management of water resources from the Coco River Basin between Honduras and Nicaragua', is being implemented by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) with funding from the European Union, in collaboration with local government authorities, civil society organizations, national authorities, and other UN agencies. (more)

South Africa: Premier's Hotline set to improve service delivery
3 February 2012 - The Gauteng provincial government has launched the Premier's Hotline in a move aimed at accelerating service delivery in the province. Speaking at the launch of the hotline in Soweto on Thursday, Premier Nomvula Mokonyane said: 'The hotline will focus on improving service delivery by providing accurate, reliable, and timely information to the residents of Gauteng on all services rendered by government.' (more)

US Senate puts the brakes on insider trading
3 February 2012 - The US Senate on Thursday approved new curbs aimed at preventing lawmakers from trading shares based on inside information, and also extended the bill's disclosure requirements to more than 300,000 other federal employees. After years of languishing, the disclosure bill has gained momentum at a time when voters are fed up with Congress. (more)

Britain's canals and rivers get new lease of life with funding pledge
2 February 2012 - Britain's waterways are about to receive a boost with an announcement next week by Richard Benyon, the Environment Minister, of a new 15-year funding settlement. It will help secure the financial future of the new Canal and River Trust, a 'national trust' for canals and rivers which takes over from British Waterways in April. (more)

Good News Canada 19 - 20 January 2012
2 February 2012 - Canadian consumers are experiencing a strong bounce in confidence in January from last month. Results of the TNS Canada consumer survey for January suggest Canadians think things are all right and are going to get better. A new grant will provide fresh nutritious food to Ontario hospitals, just like the programme 'Real Food for Real Kids' is doing for Ontario schools. The new meals are healthy and naturally cooked with low sugar and low salt, to better aid patients on the road to recovery. In the same vein, a Canadian scientist reveals why mom's food tastes better: Research finds that when we believe there are good intentions behind something, it improves our experience of it. Across a variety of experiments, perceived kindness was not only found to enhance flavour but also to heighten pleasure and to reduce pain. Food made with love simply tastes better and is better for you. (more)

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

UK: Maharishi School parent, former council officer, awarded OBE
12 January 2012 - A former council officer of the London Borough of Sutton in the UK, who moved to Skelmersdale, Lancashire, for his daughter's education, has been awarded an OBE in the New Year's Honours List. Dr Ian Birnbaum, who practices Transcendental Meditation, moved his family to Skelmersdale when he retired two years ago so that his daughter could attend the Maharishi School. (more)

Countries of Latin America and Caribbean strive to work together peacefully
6 December 2011 - Last weekend, a gathering of all the leaders of Latin America and the Caribbean met in Caracas to discuss the possibility of creating a union of their 33 countries. 'This news, both on a political and economic front, shows that something very basic is changing. The way things are seen in Latin America as a whole . . . the whole continent, almost 600 million people are changing their destinies,' said an administrator of the Transcendental Meditation Programme in Latin America. (more)

A timely message to Heads of State and Finance Ministers from the Finance Minister of the Global Country of World Peace
27 October 2011 - On the occasion of Dipavali, the Festival of Lights, celebrated by families in India and around the world, Dr Benjamin Feldman issued a message reflecting on the very timely value of a Global Development Currency, the RAAM. The present crisis in the global economy brings into sharp focus the usefulness of the Global Development Currency to restore balance, growth, and prosperity in the world economy. (more)

Timely message to restore balanced economy through a Global Development Currency - GreatReporter.com
27 October 2011 - A message to Heads of State and Finance Ministers, issued last week by Dr Benjamin Feldman, Finance Minister of the Global Country of World Peace, reflected on the very timely value of a Global Development Currency, the RAAM. The present crisis in the global economy brings into sharp focus the usefulness of the Global Development Currency to restore balance, growth, and prosperity in the world economy. (more)

How does total Natural Law behave? The Ramayana in Vedic literature and in human physiology
6 October 2011 - It's fascinating that the Vedic literature expresses the behaviour of total Natural Law 'in the most accessible form for human understanding, through example, through story; and that is the story of the Ramayana', said Maharaja Adhiraj Rajaraam, honoured by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi as first ruler of the Global Country of World Peace, continuing his address on Victory Day, 6 October. (more)

Combating stress in police work and preventing crime, terrorism, and war
30 September 2011 - John Theobald, a former officer in the New York City Police Department (NYPD), describes high levels of stress in police work, manifesting in high rates of divorce, alcohol abuse, and suicide. Researching stress-reduction methods, he found that ''the Transcendental Meditation (TM) program appeared to be the best approach because it was widely available, could be practiced anywhere at any time, and had unparalleled success at addressing these personal problems faced by police. . . . Shortly after learning the TM technique, I noticed the marked reduction in my own stress levels.'' (more)

US: Governor of the state of Iowa lauds Maharishi University of Management - 40th anniversary celebration
19 September 2011 - Among government leaders and dignitaries who saluted Maharishi University of Management (MUM) in Fairfield, Iowa, USA on the 40th anniversary of its founding in September, the Honorable Terry Branstad, Governor of the state of Iowa, sent warm congratulations. 'Maharishi University of Management has achieved remarkable growth and international recognition, and has had a profound influence on the well-being of its home community of Fairfield,' Governor Branstad wrote. (more)

Maharishi Vedic City, USA celebrates 10th anniversary
25 July 2011 - Maharishi Vedic City in Iowa, USA, celebrated its 10th anniversary on 25 July. The city was incorporated 25 July 2001 as a model of ideal city life, based on the practical application of the 40 approaches of Vedic knowledge brought to light by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi to promote life supported by total Natural Law--including architecture, organic agriculture, education, and health. The day's festivities culminated in a grand fireworks display on the grounds of the Maharishi Peace Palace. (more)

More cooperation among nations: News reports show rising coherence in world consciousness
3 July 2011 - World news in May reported that more countries cooperated with other nations on trade, investments, human rights, energy, development, diplomatic relations, and the environment. They also came to each other's aid, most notably to Japan. Global Good News documents the trends of rising world consciousness resulting from the success of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's programmes in every area to create coherence and positivity in individual life and for the whole society. (more)

More focus on appreciating and protecting the environment: News reports show rising coherence in world consciousness
26 June 2011 - World news in May showed the rising popularity of eco-tourism, while the Tourism Authority of Thailand has mapped out twenty low-environmental impact 'green routes'. Other countries in southeast Asia and Africa are taking steps to protect animals and trees; and the United Nations wants to promote more efficient and safe use of resources. Global Good News documents the trends of rising world consciousness resulting from the success of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's programmes in every area to create coherence and positivity in individual life and for the whole society. (more)

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Flops
10 Short Summaries of Top Stories

A failed province: Cautionary tale for South Africa
4 February 2012 - One of the nine provinces created for a democratic South Africa following the end of apartheid in 1994, Limpopo was carved out of what used to be the sprawling Transvaal province. Once a beacon of hope, the province and its many unfinished projects are becoming a symbol of government greed and failure in South Africa's impoverished north. Government-built homes for the poor have leaking roofs and crumbling brickwork. Residents say windows were so poorly installed that thieves just pull out the whole frame to break in. Potholed roads are said to have started crumbling within months of tar being put down. That contrasts with the extravagant homes said to have been built by friends, relatives, and business partners of important politicians. Observers say the governing ANC party needs to pay more attention to the plight of the poor and to voters' concerns about corruption. Otherwise, they say the party credited with ending racist white rule also will be remembered as the party that oversaw the failure of yet another African state. (more)

Heavy weapons rattle northern Mali town, thousands flee
4 February 2012 - Sporadic heavy weapons fire rang out in the northern Malian town of Kidal overnight and on Saturday, in a sign that a Tuareg-led rebellion was nearing its most significant target to date after two weeks of fighting. Rebels combining veteran Tuareg insurgents and returnees from Libya's war last year are fighting to create an independent state in north Mali. They have gained ground in a three-pronged advance, scattering thousands across Mali's desert north and beyond its borders, but Kidal is the most significant town yet to be threatened. Hama Ag Sid'Ahmed, a Europe-based spokesman for the rebels, said the attack had already begun. 'We will take the two military camps and occupy the town.' Civilians fearing an attack have been fleeing Kidal by bus in recent days. Some Tuareg say many of their community have also fled Bamako, in the south, fearing reprisals after violent demonstrations this week. (more)

Syrian activists: 200 dead in government assault
4 February 2012 - In a barrage of mortar shells, Syrian forces killed 200 people and wounded hundreds in Homs in an offensive that appears to be the bloodiest episode in the nearly 11-month-old uprising, activists said Saturday. Telephone calls to Homs were not going through, but residents of nearby areas described a hellish night of shelling. Two main opposition groups, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees, said the death toll in Homs was more than 200 people and included women and children in mortar shelling that began late Friday. More than half of the killings -- about 140 -- were reported in the Khaldiyeh neighbourhood. It was not immediately clear what precipitated the attack, but there have been reports that army defectors set up checkpoints in the area and were trying to consolidate control. (more)

6 dead, 20 wounded in new attack on Colombia cops
3 February 2012 - Assailants in pickup trucks fired homemade mortars at a police station in this western town Thursday, killing at least six people and wounding more than 20, the regional police chief said. President Juan Manuel Santos and his defence minister both said they had no doubt the authors were the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, the country's main insurgency. The FARC numbers about 9,000 combatants. Although it has suffered major setbacks in recent years, analysts say its hit-and-run attacks have been rising. In January alone, it staged 133 attacks on police and military targets, according to the independent think tank Nuevo Arco Iris. (more)

Egypt protesters besiege Cairo ministry
3 February 2012 - Protesters laid siege to Egypt's Interior Ministry on Friday, extending a rally against the military-led government into a second day in a show of anger triggered by the deaths of 74 people in the country's worst soccer disaster. In separate clashes in the city of Suez, two protesters were killed as police used live rounds to hold back crowds trying to break into a police station, witnesses said. Demonstrations erupted in Egypt this week following deaths at a soccer stadium in Port Said as the football incident turned quickly into a political crisis. Protesters hold the military-led authorities responsible for the bloodshed. The soccer stadium deaths have heaped new criticism on the military council, which has governed Egypt since Mubarak stepped down a year ago in the face of mass protests. Critics regard them as part of his administration and an obstacle to change. (more)

Insight - Deficits, the US election, and politics of fear
3 February 2012 - The top contenders in the US presidential race seem to have a simple plan for the gaping budget deficit: use it to strike fear into the hearts of voters. Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney says President Barack Obama is such a big spender that he would trigger a Greece-style crisis if re-elected in November. Democrat Obama says Republican candidates would balance the budget by slashing social programs older Americans rely on to pay their medical bills. Romney is trying to connect with voters with a prop -- a giant electronic debt clock that shows the nation's total debt and the debt per taxpayer. The figures tick up while he is speaking. But with the public shaken by high unemployment, some voters worry aggressive measures to shrink deficits could leave people in the cold. Obama frequently paints the Republican vision of government as 'you're-on-your-own' economics. To punch his point home, Obama has brought up his own grandmother, who he says depended on Medicare as she lay on her deathbed in 2008. It remains unclear if Obama's allusions to ailing grandmothers can neutralize Republican prophesies of doom and joblessness. (more)

Activist : Jamaican police violence fostered by a culture of impunity
2 February 2012 - Jamaica is rife with police violence, affected by what human rights activists say is a culture of impunity that has allowed police to serve as judge, jury, and executioner. And when families of alleged victims try to get justice through the court systems, their wait usually turns out to be long, painful, and fruitless. More than 2,000 fatal shootings by security officers were reported by police over the last decade in this Caribbean country of 2.8 million people, but only one officer stands convicted of involvement in a wrongful killing. Police almost always claim that the deaths came as they responded to unprovoked gunfire. Police statistics show that more accused officers have fled the island than have been convicted of abuse since 1999. (more)

Bahrain boils as uprising nears 1-year mark
2 February 2012 - A year ago this month, Bahrain's majority Shiites took inspiration from the Arab Spring to sharpen long-standing grievances against the Sunni monarchy, accused by Shiites of relegating them to second-class status in the Western-allied nation. Within days of the first protest march, Bahrain was sliding into a crisis that would bring more than two months of martial law, more than 40 deaths, hundreds of arrests, and ongoing clashes so disruptive that the US Embassy last month relocated workers into safe haven neighbourhoods. Hit-and-run battles are now a near daily event in some areas with tear gas so intense that it's been blamed for respiratory failure among some of the nearly 40 deaths from the unrest. But the troubles also reach far beyond the tiny flame-shaped island off the Saudi coast. The past year has turned Bahrain into a crossroads for every major showdown in the region. 'The international paralysis over Bahrain has, if anything, become more pronounced with the rising tensions over Iran's nuclear programme,' said Toby Jones, an expert on Bahraini affairs at Rutgers University. 'It's every tough problem in the region funnelled into one small place.' (more)

Fans, not constructors responsible for Egypt deaths
2 February 2012 - In terms of global visibility there could hardly be a greater contrast between Wednesday's soccer disaster in Egypt which claimed the lives of at least 73 people and the world's worst recorded stadium disaster in which 340 people died in Moscow in 1982. Video footage of the riot in Port Said seen by millions around the world on the internet within minutes of it unfolding. But the disaster in Moscow was covered up for seven years by the Soviet authorities who originally said 66 people died but later admitted -- in July 1989 -- that 340 people had lost their lives. UEFA, European soccer's governing body, recently issued a guide to 'quality stadiums' in which its general secretary Gianni Infantino expressed the need for the best design and construction to ensure that stadiums were safe. The Stadium in Port Said, a multi-use 18,000 all-seater venue, was built in 1955 and more than met FIFA's standards after modern improvements. Unlike other disasters the stadium could not be faulted for the resulting loss of life which appears to be due entirely to human failings. (more)

Juarez police leave their homes after 5 are slain
2 February 2012 - Every one of the 2,500 police officers in this Mexican border city has been ordered to leave home and stay in a hotel after the killing of five officers by a local drug cartel. The gang threatened a week ago to kill one policeman a day unless Police Chief Julian Leyzaola resigns. Juarez Mayor Hector Murguia said Wednesday that the attacks carried out since the warning are a response to toughening police action against drug cartels in the city across from El Paso, Texas. At least 10 banners bearing threats to Juarez's police chief appeared around the city last week. The messages were signed by the New Juarez Cartel, an offshoot of the La Linea or Juarez Cartel, a major target of law enforcement actions in recent months. (more)