• Nigeria embarks on vast free trade zone with China
• Russia: Moscow bans night-time vodka sales in health drive
• Bosnia and Serbia restart steam train connection

• Inmates dive inward: The positive impact of Transcendental Meditation for prisoner rehabilitation
• New Colombian president visits indigenous peoples, the 'custodians of Natural Law'
• Crime rate in England and Wales lowest in 27 years: 'Where is all this coming from?'

• Deadly Mozambique price riots enter second day
• Nigeria on cusp of 'demographic disaster'
• 72 dead migrants found in Mexico tip of iceberg

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Positive Trends
10 Short Summaries of Top Stories

Nigeria embarks on vast free trade zone with China
2 September 2010 - Nigeria is building a multi-billion dollar free trade zone with Chinese investors on the edge of its commercial capital Lagos to try to develop a local manufacturing base and help reduce its import dependence. The consortium will provide basic infrastructure including roads, power plants, and water plants before manufacturing firms are invited to set up business, Lekki Free Zone Development Co (LFZDC) deputy managing director Adeyemo Thompson said. The free zone is modelled on free zones around China which have helped the Asian giant to develop its manufacturing base and economy over the past three decades. (more)

Russia: Moscow bans night-time vodka sales in health drive
2 September 2010 - Moscow banned night-time sales of vodka and other spirits on Wednesday, part of a nationwide drive to curb crime and disease linked with Russia's national drink. The ban is among a series of tough measures to reduce alcohol abuse ordered last year by President Dmitry Medvedev as part of a fight to slow Russia's persistent population decline. He called alcoholism a 'national disaster' that undermines public health and hampers the economy. (more)

Bosnia and Serbia restart steam train connection
31 August 2010 - Bosnia and Serbia have restarted an old steam-powered train in an effort to increase tourism in a region that was devastated by war in the 1990s. Bosnian and Serbian officials say the joint Serbia-Bosnia effort also is aimed at restoring the broken ties between the wartime foes. (more)

New cables tie West Africa closer - summary box
31 August 2010 - West Africa is getting a new connection to the Internet in the form of a second cable snaking along the West African coastline, ending in Lagos, Nigeria. It has more than five times the capacity of the old one. Following is a short summary of the new overseas line. (more)

New cables tie West Africa closer to Internet
31 August 2010 - For a decade, West Africa's main connection to the Internet has been a single fiber-optic cable in the Atlantic, a tenuous and expensive link for one of the poorest areas of the planet. But this summer, a second cable snaked along the West African coastline, ending at Nigeria's commercial capital, Lagos. It has more than five times the capacity of the old one and is set to bring competition to a market where wholesale Internet access costs nearly 500 times as much as it does in the United States. (more)

US gives $45 million funding for Tanzania power project
31 August 2010 - The United States will provide financing of $45 million for a power project in mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar, the US embassy said in a statement on Thursday. The funding is part of a $698 million grant to the east African country by the US in 2008 under the Millennium Challenge Corp to fund water, energy, and infrastructure. A total of $206 million has been allocated for energy projects. (more)

France to have 3,000 MW of offshore wind by 2015
30 August 2010 - According to Agence France Presse, the French government will launch next month a tender for contracts of 10 billion euros ($12.6 billion) to build 3,000 MW of offshore wind capacity. 600 wind turbines will be implemented within five to ten sites in Normandy, Brittany, and the regions of Pays de la Loire and Languedoc. They are scheduled to start producing electricity by 2015. This may be only the beginning as the government wants to produce up to 6,000 MW via offshore wind by 2020. (more)

Jubilant Kenyans usher in new constitution
30 August 2010 - Cheered by hundreds of thousands of jubilant Kenyans waving national flags, President Mwai Kibaki signed a new constitution on 27 August. In a ceremony full of military pomp and traditional dance, Kenyans packed Nairobi's Uhuru Park -- or Freedom Park -- to see their leaders take fresh oaths under the first overhaul of the charter since 1963. The new legal framework address issues which have plagued the country for decades. (more)

South Africa, China sign rail pact
30 August 2010 - South Africa and China, which operates the largest high-speed rail network in the world, have signed an agreement that seeks to promote co-operation, trade, and investment in rail projects between the two countries. (more)

US President Obama vows to finish Gulf Coast recovery
30 August 2010 - President Barack Obama pledged on Sunday to finish restoring the Gulf Coast area hit by Hurricane Katrina, five years after the storm ravaged the region and hurt the credibility of his Republican predecessor. On the most recent calamity to hit the region, the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the President said, 'We have a lot more work to do.' But Obama said that because of a swift response, 'there's a lot less oil hitting these shores and these beaches than anybody would have anticipated given the volume that was coming out of the BP oil well.' (more)

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

Inmates dive inward: The positive impact of Transcendental Meditation for prisoner rehabilitation
30 August 2010 - Tom O'Connor, Research Manager for the Oregon State Department of Corrections, discusses his views on inmate introspection, and the positive impact of the Transcendental Meditation Programme on prisoner rehabilitation. Since the first study, conducted in 1971, a range of scientific research has shown that the practice of the Transcendental Meditation Technique can reduce prisoner recidivism while simultaneously developing psychological functioning and stability. (more)

New Colombian president visits indigenous peoples, the 'custodians of Natural Law'
24 August 2010 - The new president of Colombia visited traditional indigenous people to obtain their blessings before assuming office. This event, along with new expansion of Consciousness-Based Education, reflects rising coherence in Latin America due to groups of people practising Transcendental Meditation, said the leader of the Global Country of World Peace in Latin America. (more)

Crime rate in England and Wales lowest in 27 years: 'Where is all this coming from?'
27 July 2010 - According to the British Crime Survey and police crime statistics, crime in England and Wales is the lowest it has ever been; in 27 years of observations, the figures have never been as low as in the past year. Britain has also announced its proposed withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, and the national economy is growing. These are all new expressions of rising coherence in collective consciousness in the United Kingdom, produced by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's programmes, say leaders of the Global Country of World Peace. (more)

Honouring and enriching traditional cultures of the world through Maharishi's programmes: Dr Chris Crowell
27 July 2010 - In founding the World Federation of Traditional Kings 10 years ago, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi helped to honour, sustain, and enrich the unique cultures of nations throughout the world with his programmes for all areas of society, and these traditional communities continue to benefit from the organization. (more)

New government cooperation in the United Kingdom
27 July 2010 - During the recent general election campaign in the United Kingdom, the politicians who became leaders of the new government not only mentioned the benefits of their practice of Transcendental Meditation, but one also noted it as a sign of his worthiness to be elected. Since the election, the two main parties are working closely together very effectively, and the third opposition party has also been very supportive. An editorial in a major newspaper stated that the election outcome 'borders on the supernatural'. Leaders of the Global Country of World Peace in the UK consider these developments as clear expressions of rising coherence in collective consciousness through Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's programmes. (more)

Global Country of World Peace celebrates Vedic Tradition of knowledge, 25 July 2010
25 July 2010 - The Global Country of World Peace held its grand, global celebration of the full moon day of Guru Purnima on Sunday, 25 July. This very special day-long celebration of the eternal Vedic Tradition of knowledge took place in MERU, Holland and at the Global Capital of World Peace in the Brahmasthan (geographical centre) of India. Celebrations were also held in countries around the world, where participants enjoyed the live global Internet webcast on the Maharishi Channel. (more)

Major conference to address consequences of traumatic stress in United States
29 June 2010 - This fall, a major conference for government and community leaders will take place in Washington, DC, focussed on the solution to the growing epidemic of traumatic stress in the nation. The 'National Summit: Addressing the consequences of stress in the US' will present the research and successful applications of the Transcendental Meditation Programme for populations experiencing the most severe levels of stress -- inner-city residents, the homeless, military veterans, and Native Americans. (more)

Four avenues to creating national invincibility
23 May 2010 - An expert in implementing Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's programmes in Latin American schools, communities, and on the scale of whole nations recently presented four avenues to creating national invincibility, for the benefit of colleagues around the world. Raja Jose Luis Alvarez, Raja (Administrator) of Invincible Latin America for the Global Country of World Peace, addressed the concluding session of the recent National Directors' Conference of the Global Country in MERU, Holland. (more)

Freedom behind bars: Transforming lives of inmates and guards
21 May 2010 - Dr Robert Roth writes about his experience teaching Transcendental Meditation to prison inmates at San Quentin prison 20 years ago, and how the technique is currently creating good effects for both inmates and prison officers in another US prison. Transcendental Meditation, he says, is re-emerging as 'a viable, highly effective tool for inmates to reduce the acute stresses of prison life . . . and inevitably, reduce their likeliness to return to prison once released'. (more)

The European National Directors' Conference: Planning for invincible permanent peace, prosperity of Europe
19 May 2010 - The European National Directors' Conference, for leaders of the Global Country of World Peace, drew 170 participants from 12 countries, who joined together to discuss their goals for implementing the programmes of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi--to create invincible permanent peace, prosperity, and fulfilment for all the people and nations of Europe. (more)

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Flops
10 Short Summaries of Top Stories

Deadly Mozambique price riots enter second day
2 September 2010 - Demonstrators blocked roads with burning tyres and looted shops in Mozambique's capital Maputo on Thursday as deadly riots sparked by soaring bread prices entered a second day. On Wednesday police and hospital sources said at least six people were killed, including two children, as police opened fire on protesters in the worst riots to hit the southern Africa country of 23 million people since 2008. The rioting was prompted by a 30 per cent rise in bread prices in one of the world's poorest countries, which has never fully recovered from one of Africa's bloodiest civil wars. (more)

Nigeria on cusp of 'demographic disaster'
2 September 2010 - Nigeria could become the fifth most populous country in the world, teetering on the edge of a 'demographic disaster' unless its stagnant economy rapidly expands to support its teeming youth population, according to a report released Wednesday. Estimates in the report by the British Council show Nigeria's population of 150 million people will swell by another 63 million people by 2050. However, the oil-rich nation's gross domestic product remained flat as its population multiplied in the last two decades, leaving it dangerously out of balance unless true economic development takes hold, the report said. 'Large cohorts of unemployed or underemployed young people destabilize their societies, fuelling crime and creating conditions where civil conflict becomes more likely,' it said. 'Instead of collecting a dividend, a country that is not well prepared to make the most of its Baby Boom generation can find itself in the midst of a demographic disaster.' (more)

72 dead migrants found in Mexico tip of iceberg
1 September 2010 - The true number of undocumented migrants killed in Mexico in recent years may never be known, but they would almost certainly dwarf the number discovered last week. Mexico's National Human Rights Commission said there were witness accounts of 198 mass kidnappings involving 9,758 migrants in a six month-period in 2009. Activists say drug cartels like Mexico's Zetas -- the gang blamed in the Tamaulipas massacre -- frequently kill one or two from each group to scare the rest into asking relatives to meet ransom demands. Almost 200 relatives showed up at the offices of the Honduras' foreign ministry in Tegucigalpa saying their loved ones had disappeared somewhere in Mexico. (more)

Myanmar reshuffle paves way for army-dominated polls
31 August 2010 - An armed forces shake-up in military-controlled Myanmar has surprised even the soldiers as the ruling junta gears up for a November election in which its civilian proxies are expecting a resounding victory. Dozens of generals have been promoted or have retired in one of the biggest overhauls of the top brass in decades, a move analysts say is aimed at tightening the military leadership's grip on power. Military insiders say those who are retiring, many of them years before the mandatory age, will run as politicians in the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), to ensure control of the parliament and senate that will emerge from elections on 7 November. Those promoted to plum military posts will be trusted proteges groomed to protect the institution's financial and political interests, and to prop up a new government made up largely of retired, obedient soldiers in civilian clothing. (more)

Pakistan's flood victims frustrated with medical care
31 August 2010 - Victims of Pakistan's floods queued to get medical treatment on Tuesday as doctors complained of a shortage of medical supplies to treat a rising number of patients. Monsoon floods have receded in some areas but aid agencies fear disease, food shortages, and malnutrition may create new crises as people head back to their shattered towns and villages and try to rebuild their homes and lives. The United Nations has warned of imminent waterborne diseases, including typhoid fever, shigellosis, and hepatitis A and E, and vector-borne diseases like malaria and dengue fever. The floods have left one-fifth of the country under water, an area the size of Italy. Some Pakistanis have grown increasingly angry with the sluggish government response, and are turning to Islamist charities, some of them tied to militant groups. (more)

Mayor in violent Mexican border state killed
30 August 2010 - Gunmen killed the mayor of a town in the drug-plagued Mexican border state of Tamaulipas on Sunday in a region where suspected cartel hitmen recently massacred 72 migrants, the government said. Hidalgo Mayor Marco Antonio Leal Garcia was the second mayor to be assassinated in the past two weeks in the area, which has become a battleground between the Gulf and Zetas cartels. Tamaulipas has seen at least two other killings of political figures this year. Rodolfo Torre, the front-running candidate for the state's governorship, was gunned down on a highway 28 June, and in May, gunmen killed a candidate for mayor of the town of Valle Hermoso. (more)

UK: Far-right protesters clash with police in
30 August 2010 - A right-wing group that opposes what it calls the spread of Islam in Britain clashed with riot police in northern England on Saturday, throwing bottles, rocks, and a smoke bomb at authorities. The demonstration by the English Defence League occurred in Bradford, a city with one of the country's largest Pakistani and Muslim communities. Bradford saw some of the UK's worst riots in 2001, when racial tension between whites and South Asian immigrants resulted in looting, arson, and attacks on immigrant-owned businesses. More than 180 people were charged with rioting in that incident. The English Defence League, which insists it is a peaceful organization, opposes what it calls the spread of Islam, Sharia law, and Islamic extremism in England. Its opponents say the group is racist and stages violent protests. (more)

Mexican drug cartels expand reach in Central America
29 August 2010 - Central America is struggling to contain rising violence as powerful Mexican drug cartels, facing an escalating government crackdown at home, expand southward and intensify operations in neighbouring nations. For years Central America has been a transit route for cocaine trafficked north from the Andes, but analysts and officials say Mexican cartels are now buying up land, storing arms and drugs, and hiring members of local criminal networks in Central America to help them move and sell drugs. The southward push comes as Mexican President Felipe Calderon vows to push ahead with his military campaign against drugs and as turf wars between Mexican cartels turn bloody. More than 28,000 people have died in drug violence in Mexico since late 2006. (more)

Pakistanis too broken to rebuild in flood crisis
28 August 2010 - Residents of Madyan don't have the energy, money, or support from Pakistan's government to help the small town recover from floods that decimated it nearly a month ago. The town looks more like an earthquake zone than a flood-stricken area. Pakistan's government was heavily criticized after its sluggish response to the floods, which hit about one-third of the country, made more than 6 million homeless, and threaten to the bring the economy to its knees without outside intervention. It could redeem itself by being more visible in the rebuilding effort. There is no sign of that in Madyan. 'The government is robbing everything from us,' a resident said. 'If this continues there will be lots of angry young men here. They could join the Taliban. They have nothing else to do.' (more)

US: Katrina, a tale of SBA failure
28 August 2010 - While stories of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's contaminated trailers and the Army Corps of Engineers' inability to shore up the levees captured the headlines in the aftermath of the deadly storms of 2005, the bungling of the SBA, the lead federal agency helping people rebuild their homes and businesses, has largely been untold. The sagas of those who worked out of the agency's massive loan processing center in Fort Worth, Texas, collectively reveal how the SBA failed in so many ways, an ominous experience as the agency prepares to play a similar role in the aftermath of the massive BP PLC oil spill. These are stories of a mismanaged bureaucracy that still hurt half a decade later: tales of applications for low-interest disaster loans that should have been approved but were not, of applications deleted from the SBA computer system for no valid reason, of impossible-to-meet deadlines manufactured to clear backlogs, and of a process so chaotic and painful that thousands simply gave up. (more)