http://www.globalgoodnews.com/global-news.html Good News From Around The World en-us Copyright Global Good News(sm) Service 2004 rss-feeds@globalgoodnews.com Wed, 16 May 2012 20:30:12 EST Wed, 16 May 2012 20:30:12 EST GlobalGoodNews.com In house http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss/ http://www.globalgoodnews.com/government-news-a.html?art=133713648911577771 Global poverty in 2010 -- the most recent report -- was half its 1990 level. The world reached the United Nations 'millennium development goal' of halving world poverty between 1990 and 2015 five years early. This implies that the long-term rate of poverty reduction -- slightly over one percentage point a year -- continued unabated in 2008-10. A lot of the credit goes to China. Half the long-term rate of decline is attributable to that country alone, which has taken 660 million people out of poverty since 1981. Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 EST http://www.globalgoodnews.com/business-news-a.html?art=133718085013543290 Canada's manufacturing sales blew past expectations to grow 1.9 per cent in March from February. Analysts surveyed by Reuters had forecast, on average, a 0.3 per cent increase in sales at the factory gate in the month. New orders for manufactured goods rose for the second straight month in March, up 2 per cent. Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 EST http://www.globalgoodnews.com/government-news-a.html?art=133717922713487171 Data is not available, but interviews with more than 30 lenders, builders, Realtors, and consumers suggest that a growing number of Americans are getting back into the housing market, even though they went through a foreclosure, bankruptcy, or short sale in recent years. Much of the comeback wouldn't be possible without help from the US government, namely the Federal Housing Agency. Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 EST http://www.globalgoodnews.com/government-news-a.html?art=133713288811435734 New French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel acknowledged differences on Tuesday over how to boost growth in recession-plagued Europe, but pledged to forge a joint approach in time for an EU summit next month. 'Growth has to feed through to the people. And that's why I'm happy that we'll discuss different ideas on how to achieve growth,' Merkel said. Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 EST http://www.globalgoodnews.com/government-news-a.html?art=133713564411546198 The Haitian government is drafting legislation for the newly emerging mining industry to help the impoverished Caribbean nation reap benefits, the new Prime Minister said Tuesday. The legislation will lay out rules apportioning royalties for the government and setting protections for the people and environment that could be affected by mines. Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 EST http://www.globalgoodnews.com/health-news-a.html?art=133719009913961103 The number of women dying of pregnancy and childbirth related complications has almost halved in 20 years, according to new estimates released today [16 May] by the United Nations, which stressed that greater progress is still needed in significantly reducing maternal deaths. The Millennium Development Goal (MDG) is to reduce maternal deaths by 75 per cent from 1990 to 2015. Ten countries have already reached the MDG target: Belarus, Bhutan, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Iran, Lithuania, Maldives, Nepal, Romania, and Viet Nam. Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 EST http://www.globalgoodnews.com/world-peace-a.html?art=133713394711479864 An influential panel is calling for an 80 per cent reduction of US nuclear weapons and an elimination of all nuclear armed intercontinental ballistic missiles. The report argues that such drastic cuts in nuclear forces by the United States and Russia could open the way for the two countries to open arms control talks with other countries, including China. 'There is no conceivable situation in the contemporary world in which it would be in either country's national security interest to initiate a nuclear attack against the other side,' the report says. Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 EST http://www.globalgoodnews.com/science-news-a.html?art=133718901113912446 Solar power gathered in space could be set to provide the renewable energy of the future thanks to innovative research being carried out by engineers at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. Last month, a team of science and engineering students at Strathclyde developed an innovative 'space web' experiment, which was carried on a rocket from the Arctic Circle to the edge of space. The experiment, known as Suaineadh -- or 'twisting' in Scots Gaelic, was an important step forward in space construction design and demonstrated that larger structures could be built on top of a light-weight spinning web, paving the way for the next stage in the solar power project. Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 EST http://www.globalgoodnews.com/government-news-a.html?art=133718842013871830 The manufacturing sector is to get a R5.75 billion injection over six years from the Department of Trade and Industry to help factories become more competitive. The programme, which would borrow on lessons from the successful Clothing and Textile Competitiveness Improvement Programme, includes six incentive grants. These will help improve firms' competitiveness in capital investment, green technology and resource efficiency improvement, enterprise-level competitiveness improvement, cluster competitiveness improvement, and funding for feasibility studies. Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 EST http://www.globalgoodnews.com/business-news-a.html?art=133718216213598455 A growing number of people are attracted to a career in horology as Swiss watch firms vie for staff to meet buoyant Asian demand for high-end timepieces. Exports of Swiss timepieces soared 19 per cent to a record 19.3 billion Swiss francs ($20.8 billion) last year, rebounding from the 13.2 billion low hit in 2009 in the depths of the financial crisis. Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 EST http://www.globalgoodnews.com/health-news-a.html?art=133714774012004480 Those who practise Transcendental Meditation, or TM for short, daily 'claim they feel calmer, have more energy and feel healthier, both mentally and physically, than they used to. It's not a religion, they say, just a practice that reduces anxiety and improves well-being,' writes Kristin Tillotson in today's StarTribune. 'Now the U.S. military--not known for embracing the mystical--has taken note. The Department of Veterans Affairs has invested $5 million in a dozen trial programs studying TM's effects on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), including one at the Minneapolis Veterans Administration Health Care System.' Tue, 15 May 2012 00:00:00 EST http://www.globalgoodnews.com/cultural-news-a.html?art=13370550998737672 Narrating a recent episode of her new show, 'Oprah's Next Chapter', Oprah Winfrey gave a glimpse of the wide range of celebrities who endorse the practice of Transcendental Meditation. 'A few years back,' she began, 'TIME magazine devoted a cover story to the power of meditation. Today in 2012, meditation has gone mainstream. Comic legend Jerry Seinfeld has been practicing TM for most of his life. Many other celebrities have spoken out about how TM has greatly improved the quality of their lives.' Tue, 15 May 2012 00:00:00 EST http://www.globalgoodnews.com/education-news-a.html?art=13370563758783067 At the recent Ecobuild exhibition in London, one of the largest in the world, 'people really enjoyed hearing about [Vastu],' said Henry Brighouse, a coordinator for Maharishi Vastu architecture in the United Kingdom. 'We had many professionals coming to visit the site. We had young people and students.' A group of town planning students dropped by, and many were impressed by the idea that you could link your town with the great orderliness and intelligence of Natural Law. Tue, 15 May 2012 00:00:00 EST http://www.globalgoodnews.com/education-news-a.html?art=13370277427594751 At Maharishi School in Fairfield, Iowa, USA, Consciousness-Based Education results in learning with depth and relevance as students explore the deeper layers both of the subjects they study, and of their own consciousness through meditation. 'When new students attend our school and learn the TM technique,' says Dr Richard Beall, Head of the School, 'they're surprised to discover that beneath the active surface of their minds is a calm, steady, silent field waiting to welcome them. They discover verticality, their mind's innate ability to dive to deeper levels, to transcend.' Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 EST http://www.globalgoodnews.com/health-news-a.html?art=13370529788652546 Emotional and psycho-social stress are known to contribute to the onset and progression of breast cancer and cancer mortality. Having a technique to experience inner silence and timelessness can reduce the sense of helplessness and fear that women often feel when facing a life-threatening disease. Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 EST http://www.globalgoodnews.com/world-peace-a.html?art=13370358167955535 Four countries in Latin America are due to achieve a state of invincible peace and security around the end of May, 'with large groups in the military and in educational settings currently receiving Invincible Defense Technology (IDT) training,' writes Dr David Leffler recently. He highlights this progress in Latin America to draw attention to a similar approach proposed by scientists to reduce tensions on the other side of the world--in South Korea. 'President Lee Myung-bak could make his mark,' Dr Leffler states, 'by adopting the ideal IDT paradigm--and mark a turning point not only in the history of Korean national defense, but also by leading the world into lasting perpetual peace.' Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 EST http://www.globalgoodnews.com/science-news-a.html?art=13367861397759477 The first Vastu house in Scotland, in addition to upholding rigourous Maharishi Vastu (Vedic architecture) design principles, is also built according to eco-friendly technology. The house is powered by wind energy, which means that electricity is generated through a small wind turbine on the property. The house also makes use of ground-source heating. Both these features have yielded great savings for the homeowners in electricity and utility bills every month. Sun, 13 May 2012 00:00:00 EST http://www.globalgoodnews.com/cultural-news-a.html?art=13368988492898267 Whether one is searching for inner beatitude or simply to move through each day with grace, the Transcendental Meditation technique naturally unfolds the wholeness of one's inmost Self--the spiritual essence of life. Sat, 12 May 2012 00:00:00 EST http://www.globalgoodnews.com/health-news-a.html?art=13367203155344961 This Friday, 11 May, the renowned Dr. Oz Show features Candace Badgett, owner of The Raj Maharishi Ayurveda Health Spa in Fairfield, Iowa, USA. She will be discussing the new Ayurvedic weight-loss programme offered at The Raj. The Maharishi Ayurveda approach to weight loss includes specialized Ayurvedic purification treatments, which published research has shown to remove 50% of harmful fat-soluble environmental toxins from the body's tissues within 5 days. Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 EST http://www.globalgoodnews.com/health-news-a.html?art=13368147588864250 The military allocates untold monies and resources to treating post-combat stress. Now, for the first time, research is being conducted at the USA's oldest private military college, Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont, to determine whether the Transcendental Meditation Technique may provide an important addition to the promoting of resilience among military men and women--to prevent the trauma in the first place. Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 EST