Cultural News: Top Stories

	Top Stories Yahoo introduces Shine, a site for ladies Most Russians feel happy, poll shows Travel to gardens sees huge increase - 10 of the world's best botanical gardens

	Top Stories Maharishi Natural Reserve to help expand tourism in Paraguay Report of good news from Holland Maharishi's ashes immersed in Sangam

	Top Stories Chinese minority faces cultural extinction Tibet's language, customs fading away Yemen: Despite progress, still an uphill struggle for women
Positive Trends 10 Short Summaries of Top Stories Yahoo introduces Shine, a site for ladies 31 March 2008 - Yahoo Inc is introducing a new media site focused on women's daily lives, the latest in a string of sites that include ones for gadget enthusiasts and food lovers, the company said on Sunday. The Sunnyvale, California-based company said the new site, called 'Shine', offers nine categories covering a wide area of topics of interest to ladies. (more) Most Russians feel happy, poll shows 30 March 2008 - A recent poll finds that Russians consider themselves happy, a statistic that has changed over the past 10 years from a 60 per cent happy population to 77 per cent happy. (more) Travel to gardens sees huge increase - 10 of the world's best botanical gardens 30 March 2008 - There has been a huge increase in garden travel according to Elizabeth Scholtz, director emeritus of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in the United States. Travel and Leisure magazine lists their top 10 botanical gardens in the world. (more) US: Washington DC home to first 'green' stadium in US 29 March 2008 - The Washington Nationals' gleaming new baseball park that opens Sunday night will be the first green professional stadium in the United States, the US Green Building Council said. (more) US Secretary of State Rice urges China talks with Dalai Lama 25 March 2008 - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Monday urged China to consider a new policy to address Tibetans' grievances and to start talks with the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama, with his belief in nonviolence and 'his unassailable authoritative moral stature', can 'play a very favourable role' in seeking a peaceful resolution to unrest in Tibet, Rice said at a news conference with Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee. (more) Interest in learning Mandarin reflects China's attraction as land of opportunity 23 March 2008 - China is emerging as an economic power, perhaps the only one that could rival US dominance in the 21st century. For a new generation of students, business people, and even artists, the land of opportunity now lies to the East, not the West. The clearest barometer of this trend is a booming appetite for learning Chinese. (more) Spending money on others brings happiness, study finds 22 March 2008 - Spending as little as $5 a day on someone else could significantly boost happiness, a team at the University of British Columbia and Harvard Business School found. Their experiments on more than 630 Americans showed they were measurably happier when they spent money on others. (more) Nepal: Tibetan and Sanskrit meditation songs help support country's needy 21 March 2008 - Rather than just relying on prayer, a Buddhist nun is using her voice to help needy Nepalis in one of the world's poorest countries. Ani Choying Dolma, a 37-year-old Tibetan-Nepali known as Nepal's 'singing nun', has soared to global fame with her eight albums of Tibetan and Sanskrit meditation songs. (more) Kites and spirits soar at spring festival in Pakistan 19 March 2008 - March is the time to celebrate the spring festival of Basant, to say goodbye to the frosts and fogs of winter and welcome the warmth of the blossoming spring. In Pakistan, kite-flying is associated with spring because of the vivid colours of these delicate 'paper birds'. Adding to the festivities, a traditional musician played Pashto and Farsi songs for the crowd. (more) Saudi Arabia opens its first ladies-only hotel 19 March 2008 - Saudi Arabia's first hotel exclusively for females opened on Wednesday, offering plush lodgings with a full-range of health and beauty facilities for ladies to pamper themselves. (more)
Success of Maharishi's Programmes 10 Short Summaries of Top Stories Maharishi Natural Reserve to help expand tourism in Paraguay 19 March 2008 - The Maharishi Natural Reserve in Paraguay, with 343 hectares of forest, will offer a new tourist attraction at the base of the spectacular saltos de Monday (the Monday Waterfalls), in the Alto Parana region of Paraguay. (more) Report of good news from Holland 21 February 2008 - During a recent Maharishi Global Family Chat, broadcast daily via satellite and over the Internet on Channel 3 of the Maharishi Channel, Dr Willem Meijles, Raja (Administrator) of Invincible Holland for the Global Country of World Peace, reported on Holland's Tower of Invincibility, and the Mother of the Domain presented some news of rising positive trends in the nation. (more) Maharishi's ashes immersed in Sangam 12 February 2008 - On Tuesday afternoon, the ashes of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi were immersed in the Sangam, where the Ganga, the Yamuna, and the mythical Swaraswati rivers meet. (more) Donovan is honoured for bringing Maharishi's knowledge to the world 1 February 2008 - During recent celebrations of the Global Country of World Peace, broadcast on Channel 3 of the Maharishi Channel, Dr John Hagelin and Dr David Lynch praised Donovan for bringing Maharishi's knowledge to the world and the creation of the Invincible Donovan University for which Donovan has composed a new song. (more) India's timeless Vedic heritage: Meeting the challenges of our modern age - Part I 27 January 2008 - At this time, when stress and stress-related illness have reached epidemic proportions, and the demand for creativity and peak performance is higher than ever, it is deeply satisfying to see how India's cherished meditation tradition is filling a vast void--making its way into boardrooms, classrooms, and medical practice. (more) Donovan performs and is honoured during global celebrations of Maharishi's Year of Invincibility - Part I 19 January 2008 - The fifth day of the 12 January 2008 Global Celebrations was a day of joyous inspiration, with stories and music by renowned singer-songwriter Dr Donovan Leitch, and praise and reminiscences by the leaders of the Global Country of World Peace. (more) Maharishi Gandharva Music: Questions and answers - Part II 6 January 2008 - Continuing our series of articles about Maharishi Gandharva, we present more questions and answers about this unique, life-supporting music. (more) Some frequently asked questions about Maharishi Gandharva Veda - Part I 5 January 2008 - The following questions and answers give more information about the purpose and effect of Maharishi Gandharva Veda music. (more) Maharishi Gandharva Veda: Creating balance in Nature and peace in the individual and throughout society through the 'eternal music of Nature' 4 January 2008 - Dr Bjarne Landsfeldt, Raja (Administrator) of Denmark for the Global Country of World Peace, reported that many Maharishi Gandharva Veda concerts are taking place throughout the nation, enlivening peace and harmony continuously all year round, all over the country. (more) Sunday Times: Noted filmmaker David Lynch promotes Transcendental Meditation 4 December 2007 - While in Ireland recently, David Lynch, the director of 'Blue Velvet' and 'Twin Peaks', endorsed Transcendental Meditation and believes its practice can create world peace. (more)
Flops 10 Short Summaries of Top Stories Chinese minority faces cultural extinction 13 March 2008 - The culture and language of China's second smallest minority, the Shamanistic Hezhen who number less than 5,000, are rapidly slipping away and they need more state aid, a community leader said on Thursday. Fewer than 20 Hezhen still speak their mother tongue fluently, according to the United Nation's cultural body UNESCO, and Chinese officials have named it one of the country's most threatened languages, along with the old imperial tongue Manchu. The only Chinese minority group with fewer members are the Lhoba of Tibet. (more) Tibet's language, customs fading away 9 March 2008 - Tibet's language, customs, and traditions are fading away and Tibetans live in fear as they become an insignificant minority in their Himalayan homeland, the Dalai Lama will say in a speech on Monday. (more) Yemen: Despite progress, still an uphill struggle for women 9 March 2008 - Yemeni women, especially those living in rural areas, continue to have high illiteracy rates, insufficient medical care and face gender discrimination, specialists said at an event held in Sanaa on 8 March to mark International Women's Day 2008. (more) Benin: More than 40,000 children trafficked each year 5 March 2008 - A new study released jointly by the Ministry of Family and Children and the UN in Benin shows that more than 40,000 children aged between 6 and 17 were trafficked in 2006. (more) Racial inequality persists in US 5 March 2008 - Black Americans still trail whites on such basics as income, education, and health, a study showed on Wednesday. Across a range of economic indicators including measures of employment, poverty, housing, income, and wealth, blacks were much worse off than whites. Three times as many US blacks as whites live below the poverty line, defined as an income of $20,000 for a family of four. The disparity between the races on unemployment narrowed slightly, but blacks were still twice as likely to be jobless. (more) UK children 'becoming more materialistic': poll 28 February 2008 - British adults believe children are being damaged by increased commercialisation and a negative media portrayal of their age group, a poll found this week, but experts believe grown-ups are to blame. (more) Singapore: Chinese New Year exodus as cultural rituals abandoned 30 January 2008 - Rather than spending New Year at home with extended families in what is traditionally the year's one guaranteed family reunion, Chinese Singaporeans, some 77 per cent of the population, are fleeing their New Year in droves. Experts say the trend of abandoning traditional wider family obligations for short breaks overseas has accelerated as the economy booms and as Asia's budget airline networks encourage soaring leisure travel. (more) Muslims, West see divisions deepening: survey 21 January 2008 - Most people in Muslim and Western countries believe divisions between them are worsening and each side believes the other disrespects their culture, according to a poll released on Monday. The Gallup poll, published in a report on Muslim-Western relations for the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos this week, reflects 'an alarmingly low level of optimism regarding dialogue between Islam and the West', WEF chairman Klaus Schwab said. (more) Iraq: Syriac language struggling to survive 31 December 2007 - Syriac is an Eastern Aramaic language that was once a major literary language spoken throughout the Middle East. The influence of Syriac language is declining in Iraqi society. According to the Syriac culture and arts department in Iraq's Kurdistan, over half of the Syriac community cannot read or write in their native tongue. (more) Hindus: Project harms 'Rama's Bridge' 30 December 2007 - The Indian government plans to dredge a new shipping channel off southern India, which may damage a marine formation that Hindus believe was created by the god Rama. About 84 per cent of India's nearly 1.1 billion people are Hindus, and many complain dredging the 104-mile channel would damage what they call Rama's Bridge, a chain of shoals and reefs between India and the island nation of Sri Lanka off India's southern coast. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is under pressure from a partner in his coalition government, Dravida Munnetra Kazhgam of southern India, to expedite work on the channel. (more)