• US President Obama, Russian President Medvedev happy on arms pact, signing seen near
• US and Russia in final push to clinch new START treaty
• PLO gives nod for talks, US envoy meets Prime Minister Netanyahu

• Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, 'a perfect example of total love and benevolence, wishing to the whole world everything good': Reflections of Dr Bevan Morris
• Music legend Donovan and Friends to perform benefit concert for David Lynch Foundation - 19 March 2010, Los Angeles
• Brahmanand Saraswati Trust: Ensuring permanent world peace and invincibility

• Russia to build up to 16 nuclear reactors in India
• West condemns Georgia's divisive war spoof
• Explosions across Afghanistan's Kandahar

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Positive Trends
10 Short Summaries of Top Stories

US President Obama, Russian President Medvedev happy on arms pact, signing seen near
14 March 2010 - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and President Barack Obama are satisfied with the 'high level of consensus' on a new pact to cut nuclear arms and it is now possible to talk of a firm date for signing a treaty, the Kremlin said on Saturday. Russia and the United States have been negotiating for nearly a year a new treaty to reduce their arsenals of nuclear weapons. The pact is a cornerstone of Washington's efforts to improve relations with Moscow. (more)

US and Russia in final push to clinch new START treaty
9 March 2010 - US and Russian arms control officials began on Tuesday what both sides hope will be a final push to clinch a treaty cutting their strategic nuclear arsenals, officials said. Dozens of negotiators from each country were taking part in the START talks which resumed in Geneva, Switzerland after a 10-day break for consultations in their capitals. The world's two largest nuclear powers are seeking a replacement to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) which expired last December. (more)

PLO gives nod for talks, US envoy meets Prime Minister Netanyahu
7 March 2010 - The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) endorsed US-mediated talks with Israel on Sunday and Washington envoy George Mitchell met the Israeli Prime Minister to discuss getting those negotiations under way. Israel, which has welcomed the decision Abbas made last week with the endorsement of the Arab League, has said the Palestinians can raise any issue in the talks, which US Middle East envoy Mitchell will mediate. (more)

US Vice President to try to boost Middle East peace prospects
7 March 2010 - US President Barack Obama is dispatching his Vice President to the Middle East on Sunday to try to build support for reviving Israeli-Palestinian peace talks despite deep skepticism on both sides. Vice President Biden will meet Israeli, Palestinian, Egyptian, and Jordanian leaders starting on 8 March, but a main component of his trip will be public diplomacy. (more)

Israeli officials meet with US Middle East envoy
6 March 2010 - Israel says its defence minister is to meet with the US Middle East envoy to discuss indirect Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations that are expected to start soon.The Defence Ministry said that Ehud Barak was meeting with US envoy George Mitchell on Saturday evening. Mitchell also is expected to meet with other Israeli and Palestinian leaders over the next few days to try and lay the groundwork for negotiations before US Vice President Joe Biden arrives in the region next week. (more)

UN to start troop withdrawals from Democratic Republic Congo in 2010
6 March 2010 - The United Nations could begin withdrawing troops from the western part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the biggest UN peacekeeping mission in the world, as early as June, the peacekeeping chief said on 5 March. 'It was a clear request from the government of Kinshasa and from the President that the first draw-down should start around June 2010 at the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the independence of the Congo,' UN peacekeeping head Alain Le Roy said. Le Roy said the withdrawals would only involve peacekeepers in the relatively peaceful western part of the country. (more)

China wants to restart North Korea nuclear talks soon
4 March 2010 - China hopes to revive stalled negotiations on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons programme within the next few months, an official newspaper reported Friday. The comment from Beijing's envoy to the six-country talks follows a flurry of diplomatic efforts in recent weeks to prod North Korea into rejoining the negotiations. China hosts the six-nation talks, which also include the US, South Korea, Japan, and Russia. (more)

Muslim leader issues anti-terror fatwa
2 March 2010 - The leader of a global Muslim movement has issued a fatwa, or religious edict, that he calls an absolute condemnation of terrorism. Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, a former Pakistani lawmaker, says the 600-page fatwa bans suicide bombing 'without any excuses, any pretexts, or exceptions'. The religious scholar is the founder of Minhaj-ul-Quran, a worldwide movement that promotes a nonpolitical, tolerant Islam. The group has hundreds of thousands of followers around the world, most of them in Pakistan or Pakistanis living in other countries. (more)

Prominent Muslim to issue anti-terrorism fatwa
1 March 2010 - A prominent Islamic scholar is to issue a 600-page religious edict (fatwa) denouncing terrorism in London on Tuesday in what he says is a bid to persuade young Muslims to turn their backs on extremism. The fatwa from Muhammad Tahir ul-Qadri, a leading figure who has promoted peace and interfaith dialogue for 30 years, echoes edicts condemning extremism issued by a number of Islamic groups since the 11 September attacks on the United States. But Qadri says his fatwa, which declares terrorists and suicide bombers to be unbelievers, goes further than any previous denunciation. (more)

South Korea renews offer of incentives for disarmament
1 March 2010 - South Korea's President said Monday that he wants to achieve 'genuine' reconciliation with North Korea through dialogue and renewed his offer of a package of incentives for the North's nuclear disarmament. The North has recently reached out to Seoul and Washington following months of tension over its nuclear and missile programme. A US State Department spokesman said Friday that the North could rejoin international nuclear disarmament talks in coming weeks. (more)

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

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, 'a perfect example of total love and benevolence, wishing to the whole world everything good': Reflections of Dr Bevan Morris
15 March 2010 - During a global assembly on 3 March 2010, Dr Bevan Morris, Prime Minister of the Global Country of World Peace, reflected on the historic address of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi on 11 January 2008. Maharishi 'set the perfect example for us of how to function in the world--in that sweetness of simplicity and humility to just do our work with all the light and with all pleasure and with all knowledge, that the future of the world is bright,' Dr Morris said. (more)

Music legend Donovan and Friends to perform benefit concert for David Lynch Foundation - 19 March 2010, Los Angeles
15 March 2010 - Legendary folk-rock-pop troubador Donovan will headline a benefit concert for the David Lynch Foundation on Friday, 19 March at the El Rey Theater in Los Angeles, California, USA. The Foundation has provided more than 100,000 scholarships for students to learn the Transcendental Meditation Technique, as well as for prison inmates and guards, formerly homeless men in re-entry programs, soldiers with PTSD returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, and American Indians suffering from diabetes. (more)

Brahmanand Saraswati Trust: Ensuring permanent world peace and invincibility
14 March 2010 - During a global assembly on 3 March 2010, Dr Bevan Morris, Prime Minister of the Global Country of World Peace, reflected on Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's steps to ensure that his knowledge and programmes would always be available throughout future generations. On 11 January 2008, Maharishi established the Brahmanand Saraswati Trust to support large permanent groups of Vedic Pandits of India, and through them global peace and invincibility for all time. (more)

Global Mother Divine Organization celebrates bright year of achievements in Asia
14 March 2010 - Throughout Asia, ladies, mothers and girls are enjoying courses and programmes of the Global Mother Divine Organization, which was inaugurated in many countries across the continent during the past year. (more)

New accommodations, courses on Maharishi's Vedic Science planned for international guests at centre of India
14 March 2010 - Raja John Konhaus, Raja (Administrator) of Japan and other countries for the Global Country of World Peace, spoke recently about his profound experience at the Global Capital of World Peace, and the power of silent administration radiating from that central point, the Brahmasthan, of India. The location, and the foundation of the Vedic tradition there, provide the best opportunity for establishing a very strong coherence-creating group for world peace, Raja Konhaus commented. Plans are underway to develop a portion of the campus for international guests who practise the Transcendental Meditation Technique and the advanced Transcendental Meditation-Sidhi Programme. (more)

Honouring Maha Raj Rajeshwari, leader of the Global Mother Divine Organization
13 March 2010 - The 13 March 2010 Maharishi Global Family Chat honoured the life of Maha Raj Rajeshwari, the leader of the Global Mother Divine Organization, established in 2007 to inspire and nourish the enlightenment of the mothers and children of the world, and through them, to create invincibility in every nation. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi honoured Maha Raj Rajeshwari as 'Mother of the World Movement'--his worldwide organizations offering Transcendental Meditation and programmes for development of full potential in every area of life. (more)

Maharishi Towers of Invincibility in every nation: Prime Minister Dr Bevan Morris reflects on Maharishi's farewell request
13 March 2010 - The Prime Minister of the Global Country of World Peace, Dr Bevan Morris, recently reflected on the farewell gift requested by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in January 2008: Maharishi Towers of Invincibility to be built in every nation, to secure permanent global peace and invincibility. (more)

Birthright of everyone: 'The full bliss of total fulfilment in enlightenment' - Maharaja Adhiraj Rajaraam
12 March 2010 - The birthright of everyone is 'living fullness and experiencing bliss in all one's activities, undertakings, achievements--and ultimately, the full bliss of total fulfilment in enlightenment', said Maharaja Adhiraj Rajaraam, First Ruler of the Global Country of World Peace, on 3 March. Continuing his address honouring Dr Bevan Morris, Prime Minister of the Global Country of World Peace, Maharaja concluded, 'We want this world of ours' to enjoy 'harmony and happiness pervading everywhere'. (more)

Dominica: Prison inmates calmer, feel less anger through Transcendental Meditation
12 March 2010 - At the state prison in Dominica, 8 officers and 53 inmates have learnt the Transcendental Meditation Programme in the past four weeks. The inmates now participate in twice daily group practice of the technique, and many have reported feeling calmer, less anger, and increased happiness as a result. (more)

'Great administrator, powerhouse of energy, intelligence, organizing power': Maharaja Adhiraj Rajaraam honours Prime Minister, Global Country of World Peace
11 March 2010 - On 3 March, Maharaja Adhiraj Rajaraam, First Ruler of the Global Country of World Peace, honoured the great leadership and achievements of Dr Bevan Morris, Prime Minister of the Global Country. Speaking from MERU, Holland during a global assembly, Maharaja said that in Dr Morris, 'We have a great example of what a great knower of Reality, a great administrator, a powerful powerhouse of energy, intelligence, and organizing power represents.' (more)

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Flops
10 Short Summaries of Top Stories

Russia to build up to 16 nuclear reactors in India
15 March 2010 - Russia will build up to 16 nuclear reactors for power stations in India, Russia's Deputy Premier said on Friday during a visit to India with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to reaffirm decades-old ties. Russia is competing with French and American firms for lucrative contracts to build nuclear power plants for energy-hungry India because Asia's third-largest economy needs to boost its supply to help sustain rapid economic growth. Setting the tone for his one-day visit mainly aimed at keeping one of the world's biggest arms importers interested in Russian weapons, Putin offered state financial aid for the Indian telecoms unit of Russian conglomerate Sistema. He also sought to assure Indian businessmen that Russian nuclear reactors were safe. Russia has almost completed equipment delivery for two reactors at Kudankulam nuclear power station and is in talks to build two more reactors. (more)

West condemns Georgia's divisive war spoof
15 March 2010 - Western envoys on Monday condemned a fake news report in Georgia that Russian tanks had entered the capital, wading into a row that has exposed deep divisions over opposition attempts to mend ties with Moscow. Saturday's 20-minute primetime report on pro-government Imedi TV caused panic 18 months after the ex-Soviet neighbours fought a five-day war. Shock has given way to accusation over the politics behind the broadcast. EU special envoy to the South Caucasus Peter Semneby said the stunt did not help stability in Georgia and the region. 'It seems to have created further internal political divisions. It may even have been intended to do so,' he told Reuters. (more)

Explosions across Afghanistan's Kandahar
14 March 2010 - Taliban suicide bombers struck across Afghanistan's southern city of Kandahar on Saturday, killing 30 people and wounding scores in a series of strikes the militants called a message to NATO. The city is at the centre of the Taliban's heartland and the next major target for NATO forces this year. Officials said the biggest attack was aimed at the prison on the city's outskirts, apparently an attempt to repeat a jailbreak there two years ago. (more)

At least 27 arrested in Egypt Christian-Muslim clash
13 March 2010 - At least 27 people were arrested in northern Egypt on Friday after fighting erupted between Muslims and Christians over land, security sources said on Saturday. At least 24 people were hurt in the fighting in Marsa Matrouh governorate, including women and children, security sources said. The dispute broke out after Coptic Christian villagers built a fence around land next to a church-run building, the state news agency MENA reported. Relations between Egypt's Muslims and Christians, mainly Copts, are usually calm but can become strained and sometimes erupt into violence over issues such as inter-faith relationships and land. (more)

Russia to make 1,000 stealth jets, eyes India deal
12 March 2010 - Russia will build more than 1,000 stealth fighter jets within four decades, including at least 200 for its traditional weapons buyer India, the head of plane maker Sukhoi said on Friday. Sukhoi test-flew its long-delayed fifth-generation fighter at the end of January, and Moscow said it would be able to compete with its US F-22 Raptor rival built more than a decade ago. Sukhoi said last week it hoped the fighter, codenamed T-50, would be ready for use in 2015. Analysts say Russia's plans for a joint venture with India to produce the stealth fighters will likely be watched with unease by India's uneasy neighbour Pakistan and regional rival China. (more)

Israeli group: Police improperly arresting children
10 March 2010 - Israeli police are improperly arresting Palestinian boys in nighttime raids in Jerusalem that involve assault rifle wielding security forces handcuffing minors and interrogating them without lawyers or parents, an Israeli rights group charged Tuesday. Most of the youths were accused of hurling rocks at Jewish settlers and damaging their property in the east Jerusalem neighbourhood of Silwan. 'They are using military-style night raids to extract children as young as 12,' said Sarit Michaeli of rights group B'tselem, which says the raids are an inappropriate method to detain children. They also argue the raids defy Israeli law, which demands children be accompanied by guardians while being arrested. In affidavits to B'tselem, six boys aged between 12 and 14 years old described arrest raids involving around a dozen heavily armed military police surrounding their homes, handcuffing them, and leading them to cells where they were slapped, kicked, and told by interrogators to confess if they wanted to go home. (more)

North Korea has medium-range missile division
9 March 2010 - North Korea has recently created an army division in charge of newly developed intermediate-range missiles capable of striking US forces in Japan and Guam, a South Korean news agency said Tuesday. The report came as North Korea stepped up its war rhetoric against the US and South Korea after the allies started their annual drills aimed at improving their defense capabilities. The North Korean Ministry, said the country is ready for both dialogue and war, a position that contrasts from a military statement Sunday that the North would break off dialogue with the US. About 18,000 American soldiers and an undisclosed number of South Korean troops are taking part in 11 days of drills that began Monday across South Korea. (more)

North Korea to boost nuclear weapons capability
9 March 2010 - North Korea said on Tuesday it would boost its nuclear weapons capability because US President Barack Obama was determined to ignore its calls for peace and bring it down by military force. North Korea said this week that it had put its army on full combat alert as US and South Korean forces began joint military drills involving nearly 40,000 troops, an annual event that draws anger from the North but typically results in no major incidents. The North has come under pressure to return to six-party disarmament-for-aid nuclear talks because of UN sanctions imposed after a May 2009 nuclear test and prodding by its major ally and the host of the talks, China. Sanctions have dealt a blow to its wobbly economy, and a botched currency move late last year has sparked inflation and rare civil unrest. (more)

Israel weighing construction of nuclear power plant
8 March 2010 - Israel will this week unveil plans to produce nuclear-generated electricity, officials said on Monday, a move that could draw fresh international attention towards its assumed atomic arsenal. Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau told Reuters he will announce at an energy conference in Paris on Tuesday that Israel is officially looking into the possibility of building a nuclear power plant to diversify its energy sector. Landau said Israel, which generates electricity mostly using imported coal and local and imported natural gas, is capable of building a nuclear reactor. But it would prefer to work with other countries. Israeli officials have said the Jewish state hopes to have a functioning nuclear power plant by 2020 or 2025. (more)

Security tight after hundreds die in central Nigeria
8 March 2010 - Soldiers patrolled the central Nigerian city of Jos on Monday and aid workers tried to assess the death toll after attacks on outlying communities in which several hundred people were feared to have been killed. Acting President Goodluck Jonathan called an emergency meeting with all security service chiefs on Monday to discuss strategies to prevent clashes spreading to neighbouring states, Presidential sources said. Residents of three predominantly Christian settlements near Jos said Muslim herders from surrounding hills launched what appeared to be reprisal attacks in the early hours of Sunday following sectarian clashes which killed hundreds in January. Plateau state lies at the crossroads of Nigeria's Muslim north and Christian south and fierce competition for control of fertile farmlands between indigenous groups and settlers from the north have repeatedly triggered unrest over the past decade. (more)