• US: Army's post traumatic stress disorder treatment could be Transcendental Meditation
• Czech Republic: Organic food consumption up 70 per cent in 2007
• Most Russians feel happy, poll shows

• Maharishi's programmes blossoming in Holland
• Meditation can lower blood pressure study seen around globe
• New research published: Meta-analysis shows Transcendental Meditation reduces high blood pressure

• Israel: River Jordan a 'sewage pipe'
• US: Tobacco cash behind lung study
• Women's hearts, minds affected by lack of sleep

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Positive Trends
10 Short Summaries of Top Stories

US: Army's post traumatic stress disorder treatment could be Transcendental Meditation
1 April 2008 - The United States Army is investigating ways to help the returning troops cope with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTDS), and Transcendental Meditation is one of the alternative healing methods that could be used to heal the troops. (more)

Czech Republic: Organic food consumption up 70 per cent in 2007
30 March 2008 - In 2006, Czechs spent Kc 760m on organic food, while in 2007 organic food consumption grew by 70 per cent to Kc 1.29 billion, according to a survey by the Green marketing agency. (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)

China: Olympic Beijing tries to kick smoking
29 March 2008 - A ban on smoking in most Beijing public places, similar to efforts in major North American, European, and Asian cities, is expected to take effect in May, aimed at meeting China's pledge of a smoke-free Olympics. City Hall is expected to unveil the new rules soon. (more)

US: Report says shift to organic would cut pesticide risks in diet
27 March 2008 - Converting the country's eight million acres of produce farms to organic would reduce dietary pesticide risk by 97 per cent, the non-profit Organic Center organization concluded recently. (more)

United Kingdom: Government considers measures to discourage young people from smoking
24 March 2008 - Britain's government is considering a string of measures to discourage young people from taking up smoking, including banning displays, removing cigarette machines from restaurants, and making nicotine patches and gums more readily available. The proposals are the subject of a public consultation to be launched in May. (more)

US: Wal-Mart's private-label milk to have no artificial growth hormones
22 March 2008 - Wal-Mart Stores Inc said on Thursday that its private-label Great Value milk is now being sourced only from cows that have not been treated with artificial growth hormones, such as recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST). Wal-Mart said it made the change in response to customer demand. Wal-Mart is the world's largest retailer. (more)

Australia to train Aboriginal doctors
20 March 2008 - Australia committed $17 million on Thursday to train Aboriginal nurses and doctors, and another $13 million to reduce tobacco smoking among Aborigines, as part of efforts to close a 17-year gap in the life expectancies of indigenous and other Australians. (more)

Vegan diet may help ease rheumatoid arthritis - study
19 March 2008 - A gluten-free vegan diet full of nuts, sunflower seeds, fruit, and vegetables appears to offer protection against heart attacks and strokes for people with rheumatoid arthritis, Swedish researchers said on Tuesday. 'These findings are compatible with previous results of vegetarian/vegan dietary regimens in non-rheumatoid arthritis subjects which have shown lower blood pressure, lower body mass index, and lower incidence of cardiovascular disease,' the researchers wrote in the journal Arthritis Research and Therapy. (more)

Study: Breast-feeding seen to curb type 2 diabetes later
15 March 2008 - Breast-fed babies appear to be less likely to develop type 2 diabetes when they reach adolescence, according to findings published in the medical journal Diabetes Care. Analysis indicated that the protective effect of breast feeding against type 2 diabetes was in large part attributable to its effect in moderating childhood weight. (more)

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

Maharishi's programmes blossoming in Holland
31 March 2008 - Maharishi's programmes are blossoming in Holland, a nation that has achieved the necessary number of Yogic Flyers to create national invincibility. Raja Willem Meijles, Administrator of Invincible Holland for the Global Country of World Peace, presented inspiring news about Consciousness-Based Education, Maharishi Ayur-Veda, and continuing media coverage during a talk on the Maharishi Global Family Chat. (more)

Meditation can lower blood pressure study seen around globe
28 March 2008 - A new University of Kentucky study, which appears in the March issue of the American Journal of Hypertension, reports that Transcendental Meditation can effectively control high blood pressure without causing the possible negative side effects associated with anti-hypertension drugs. Since the study first appeared, it has been reprinted worldwide including the US, India, and Estonia. (more)

New research published: Meta-analysis shows Transcendental Meditation reduces high blood pressure
27 March 2008 - The results of a meta-analysis published in the March issue of the American Journal of Hypertension show that the Transcendental Meditation Technique is an effective treatment for controlling high blood pressure with the added benefit of bypassing possible side effects of antihypertension drugs. (more)

Vastu: Practitioners design living spaces on ancient Indian principles based on harmony with nature
16 March 2008 - The ancient Vedic principles of architectural design have been revived to become the latest healthy trend in home building. (more)

Dr Rainer Picha presents the field of transcendental silence as revealed in the human physiology
11 March 2008 - During the celebration of Maha Shiva Ratri, on 5 March 2008, Dr Rainer Picha, Minister of Health of the Global Country of World Peace, expounded on Maharaja Adhiraj Raja Raam's discovery of total Natural Law, the Veda, in the human physiology -- in particular physiological expression of the silent administration of the universe, Shiva. (more)

Maharishi University meals transcend mundane cafeteria food
11 March 2008 - Maharishi University of Management, founded in 1974 by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and located in Fairfield, Iowa, USA, leads the trend toward providing healthy, organic, and locally grown produce and vegetarian fare for its students, staff, and administration. (more)

Research shows benefits of the Transcendental Meditation Programme for ADHD
9 March 2008 - Research on children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) shows that practising the Transcendental Meditation Technique for just a few minutes twice a day improves attention, impulse control, problem solving, organizational skills, and academic performance--and reduces stress, anxiety, and anger. (more)

Maharishi Vedic Approach to Health - Part I
4 February 2008 - Maharishi Ayurveda is the revival of the traditional Vedic health care system of India, which dates back thousands of years, by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The Sanskrit root 'Ayu' means life and 'Veda' means pure knowledge. Ayurveda can thus be understood as the total knowledge of life and living. (more)

New article published on connection between Vedic Literature and human physiology
21 January 2008 - A recent Maharishi Global Family Chat, broadcast daily via satellite and over the Internet on Channel 3 of the Maharishi Channel, included a report on a recently published article by Dr William Sands describing how reading Vedic Literature can strengthen specific areas of the body. (more)

South Africa - Sunday Times: Lowering blood pressure with Transcendental Meditation
20 January 2008 - Comprehensive new research has found that Transcendental Meditation signficantly reduces high blood pressure. The TM group had a 23% lower death rate from all causes, and a 30% lower rate of cardiovascular disease mortality, during the 8-year study compared to control groups practising other stress-reduction programmes. This article includes the full text of a report in the Sunday Times, the largest serious newspaper in South Africa. (more)

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Flops
10 Short Summaries of Top Stories

Israel: River Jordan a 'sewage pipe'
30 March 2008 - The continued dumping of untreated or partially treated sewage into rivers and streams is the number one source of dangerous pollution in Israel, the Ministry for Environmental protection has said. Municipalities are responsible for sewage treatment, but high costs of treating sewage and building new treatment plants have prompted many local councils to dump the sewage wherever they can, ministry officials said. (more)

US: Tobacco cash behind lung study
27 March 2008 - The disclosure of hidden tobacco money behind a big study suggesting that lung scans might help save smokers from cancer has shocked the research community and raised fresh concern about industry influence in important science. (more)

Women's hearts, minds affected by lack of sleep
23 March 2008 - Women who reported poor sleep quality and had difficulty falling asleep had more psychosocial distress than their peers who slept well, and also had higher blood levels of substances linked to type 2 diabetes, heart disease and other health problems, Dr Edward C. Suarez of Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, found. Women who slept poorly also reported more symptoms of depression, hostility, and anger. (more)

AP Poll: Students in US colleges overwhelmed by stress
22 March 2008 - US college students are so frazzled they can't sleep, eat, or study. They're even anxious about spring break. Most are just overwhelmed by stress, from everyday worries about grades and relationships, to darker thoughts of suicide, according to a poll of undergraduates from coast to coast. Four in 10 students say they endure stress often. Nearly one in five say they feel it all or most of the time. One in five say they have felt too stressed to do schoolwork or be with friends. Majorities cite classic stress symptoms including trouble concentrating, sleeping, and finding motivation. Most say they have also been agitated, worried, too tired to work. Many cite eating problems and say they have felt lonely, depressed, like they are failures. (more)

China stays top of world road death list
22 March 2008 - China recorded 5.1 road accident deaths for every 10,000 motor vehicles last year, the highest in the world, Xinhua news agency said on Friday. The world average was two deaths per 10,000 vehicles, the agency said. (more)

US: College students stressed by war
20 March 2008 - An AP-mtvU survey found that eight in 10 college students say they feel stress, including four in 10 who say it affects them often. The most often mentioned causes include school, money, and relationships. Also students experienced stress from having a relative or friend serving in Iraq or Afghanistan. MtvU is a television channel broadcast at many college campuses. (more)

More than 5 mln Americans said to have Alzheimer's
19 March 2008 - An estimated 5.2 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease, and it could steal the minds of one out of eight baby boomers, according to a report released on Tuesday by the Alzheimer's Association. (more)

Afghanistan: Kabul's air pollution putting people's health at risk
16 March 2008 - Worsening air pollution in Kabul is 'seriously' threatening the health and well-being of its estimated three million residents, Afghanistan's National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) has said. Severe air pollution causes respiratory disorders, eye and nasal problems, and is one of the major causes of lung cancer, public health experts say. (more)

US Report: Pollution is causing severe health problems in the Great Lakes
15 March 2008 - Under pressure from Congress, the government released a controversial draft report Wednesday that suggests pollution is causing health problems in some parts of the Great Lakes states, including cancer and premature births. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry conducted the study. It was requested in 2001 by the International Joint Commission, an independent panel that advises US and Canadian officials on Great Lakes water quality issues. (more)

Five years after US invasion, trauma and poverty shred young Iraqis' dreams
14 March 2008 - After five years of unremitting violence, hopes in Iraq have been replaced by despair. Young Iraqis have seen their hopes and dreams destroyed in the last five years, and, while many say they just want to leave, experts fear that as the violence continues, they might increasingly turn to more drastic measures. Bitter and without direction, young people then become easy targets for exploitation by militants whose violence has killed tens of thousands of Iraqis since the invasion began. (more)