• China adds new clean power equivalent to UK's entire electricity output
• A vocational school student stuns China by besting university competitors in a math contest
• The largest solar power plant in the world is now switched on

• China: Maharishi University of Management now offering MBA, Management PhD at university in Shanghai
• US: Maharishi University of Management - Chinese delegations continue to visit campus
• Planning for more students from Beijing and Taiwan to arrive at MUM next year

• China's landfills brim with textile waste as fast fashion reigns and recycling takes a back seat
• Takeaways from AP's report on how China's textile recycling efforts take a back seat to fast fashion
• Toxic: How the search for the origins of COVID-19 turned politically poisonous

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Positive Trends
Short Summaries of Top Stories

China adds new clean power equivalent to UK's entire electricity output
16 August 2024 - China added as much new clean energy generation in the first half of this year as the UK produced from all sources in the same period last year, data shows, as wind and solar power generation continued to surge in the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases. Electricity generation from coal and gas dropped by 5 percent in China in July, year-on-year, according to an update from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) thinktank, basing its analysis on data released by the Chinese government on Thursday. (more)

A vocational school student stuns China by besting university competitors in a math contest
22 June 2024 - A 17-year-old vocational school student from rural China became a celebrity on social media after reaching the final round of a math competition, beating many others from top universities and raising questions about the education system. Jiang Ping, who is studying fashion design, finished 12th in the Alibaba Global Math Competition, one of 802 who made it to the final round -- an eight-hour test that takes place Saturday. (more)

The largest solar power plant in the world is now switched on
7 June 2024 - The world's biggest solar plant has come online, according to Chinese media. Covering 13,333 hectares (32,947 acres) in the desert of northwest Xinjiang and capable of powering a small country on its own, the facility was reportedly connected to the grid last week. The installation comes amid a surge of investment into renewable energy in the country -- one that the International Energy Agency (IEA) recently described as 'extraordinary'. (more)

Corn, millet and ... rooftop solar? Farm family's newest crop shows China's solar ascendancy
20 May 2024 - Shi Mei and her husband earn a decent enough living by growing corn and millet on their small farm in eastern China's Shandong province. In 2021, they diversified by investing in solar energy -- signing a contract to mount some 40 panels on their roof to feed energy to the grid. Now, the couple get paid for every watt of electricity they generate, harvesting the equivalent of $10,000 per year that Shi can track through an app on her phone. (more)

World's smallest bear finally has its time in the sun (+CNN video)
7 August 2023 - The world's smallest bear is finally having its moment in the sun -- thanks to a viral video that sparked a conspiracy theory on Chinese social media. Public interest in sun bears, one of Asia's most endangered and intriguing animals, has rocketed after video footage emerged showing a bear named Angela in her enclosure at the Hangzhou zoo in eastern China standing upright on a rock and waving her paw. (more)

China's green power surge offers hope for climate
31 July 2023 - Solar power and and wind are booming in China and may help limit global carbon emissions far faster than expected, according to a new study. Solar panel installations alone are growing at a pace that would increase global capacity by 85 percent by 2025. The report says the country's green energy targets for 2030 look set to be exceeded five years ahead of schedule. (more)

China claims 'revolutionary breakthrough' in cooling power plants
1 January 2023 - China claims the 'world's first' power plant equipped with a 'natural direct cooling' (NDC) system is now connected to the grid in the Shaanxi Province of the country. This marks a 'breakthrough' in power plant cooling technology for China, according to a report published by the state-run China Global Television Network (CGTN). (more)

Evolutionary mystery of harmonious flower meadow in China may be solved
28 October 2022 - Amid the heights of a mountain range in southwestern China, thousands of different species of rhododendrons mysteriously live together in harmony, without fighting as they do in other areas for the pollinators that are crucial to their continued survival. The flowers' coexistence has baffled many scientists for years, but a new study may offer answers. (more)

Ancient forest found at bottom of huge sinkhole in China
20 May 2022 - An ancient forest has been found at the bottom of a giant sinkhole in China, with trees up to 40 metres (130ft) tall. Scientists believe it could contain undiscovered plant and animal species. Cave explorers in the Guangxi region of southern China alerted scientists when they found the sinkhole, which had a primitive forest inside. (more)

Study shows 'encouraging' results of China's bid to protect coastal wetlands
5 November 2021 - A new study has found that China's coastal wetlands have undergone significant recovery within the last 10 years after several decades of loss and destruction. An international team of researchers used satellite imagery to develop a series of maps that illustrated the changes that took place in three kinds of coastal wetland regions -- tidal flats, salt marshes, and mangroves -- between 1984 and 2018. In the study published this week in Nature Sustainability, they reported finding that coastal wetland areas decreased between 1984 and 2011, but started to rebound after 2012. (more)

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Success of Maharishi's Programmes
Short Summaries of Top Stories

China: Maharishi University of Management now offering MBA, Management PhD at university in Shanghai
25 March 2019 - Maharishi University of Management's graduate programmes in management are now being offered in Shanghai, China, in collaboration with Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the oldest university in China with about 40,000 students. The programme is oriented toward working professionals. Its first course, taught by MUM faculty, began last fall with 18 students, half MBA and half PhD. 'World-Class Brain for Success in Life' connected principles of the Science and Technology of Consciousness to management. Students learned about the levels of the mind and transcendence, and how this not only benefits the individual but also the organization. 'They appreciated how Transcendental Meditation gives organizations an extra edge,' said MUM faculty member Dr Fred Travis. (more)

US: Maharishi University of Management - Chinese delegations continue to visit campus
30 November 2016 - China's interest in Maharishi University of Management continues, with two delegations visiting the campus in Iowa, USA recently, including entrepreneurs, artists, and journalists. A business conglomerate covering real estate, urban development, schools, greenhouses and agriculture sent a 12-member delegation in late October. The chairman is 'very interested in what we have done and achieved as a university and as a Transcendental Meditation organization,' said Zhu Yunxiang, MUM vice president of Asia Expansion. Later, a second delegation included a group of 25 Chinese artists, organizers, and journalists representing the Chinese Xinhua News Agency, the Beijing Daily Group, and the Beijing TV station. The goal of the Chinese delegations is to introduce the beauty of the Chinese cultural heritage and promote understanding and friendship between the two countries. (more)

Planning for more students from Beijing and Taiwan to arrive at MUM next year
12 June 2014 - Prompted by interest in Consciousness-Based Education, six universities in China and one in Taiwan are now partnering with Maharishi University of Management and formulating plans to send students to study at the MUM campus in the USA. (more)

Maharishi University of Management: New relationships with China
24 July 2013 - Recently reviewing the university's many achievements, Dr Bevan Morris, President of Maharishi University of Management in the USA, described new relationships with Chinese universities that have developed in the past year. These began during Dr Morris's tour of China last year, which included visits to several institutions of higher learning where he gave presentations about MUM's Consciousness-Based system of education and the development of integrated brain functioning in students through their practice of Transcendental Meditation. (more)

Chinese university to offer scholarships to MUM students for study in China
31 January 2013 - A new partnership agreement with Beijing Union University--Maharishi University of Management's fifth partner institution in China--will include scholarships for MUM students to study at BUU in China for a semester or a year, taking classes taught in English or in both Chinese and English. The scholarships, which can accommodate a significant number of students, will cover all tuition costs. (more)

Ancient Chinese philosopher described Transcendental Consciousness
18 August 2011 - A new essay analyzes beautiful passages from the writings of Zhuangzi, also known as Chuang Tzu--esteemed alongside Laozi as one of the founders of Daoism in China--drawing on the knowledge and experience of the transcendental field of life provided by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's Transcendental Meditation Programme. (more)

China: Universities collaborate with Maharishi University of Management
15 July 2011 - Four Chinese universities have formed partnerships with Maharishi University of Management in the United States, and secondary schools in the country have expressed interest in Consciousness-Based Education as well. (more)

Students arrive at MUM from new Chinese partner schools
14 June 2011 - Sixteen new students arrived from China at Maharishi University of Management this spring, the first group from the University's new partner institutions. 'MUM is a harmonious and green campus,' said one of the new students. 'The relationships among students are very friendly. Although we came from different countries and cultural backgrounds, we really feel like a big family, caring for and loving each other.' (more)

Maharishi School achievements inspire educators, parents, students in China
19 April 2011 - At 15 recent school fairs in China, presentations about Maharishi School in Fairfield, Iowa, USA began with what most interested students and their families: Maharishi School students' achievements, and testimonials from Chinese students enrolled at the school. Parents and students engaged in lively discussions about the unique, low-stress environment of the Maharishi School campus. They were also impressed with the acceptance of Maharishi School graduates into top medical schools and universities including Yale, Harvard, and the University of California at Berkeley. (more)

Maharishi School principal tours China, awakens interest in students
19 April 2011 - The recent trip to China by Dr Richard Beall, principal of Maharishi School of the Age of Enlightenment in Fairfield, Iowa, USA, helped awaken the interest of Chinese educators, parents and students in Consciousness-Based Education. (more)

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Flops
Short Summaries of Top Stories

China's landfills brim with textile waste as fast fashion reigns and recycling takes a back seat
10 July 2024 - Textile waste is an urgent global problem, with only 12 percent recycled worldwide, according to fashion sustainability nonprofit Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Even less -- only 1 percent -- are castoff clothes recycled into new garments; the majority is used for low-value items like insulation or mattress stuffing. Nowhere is the problem more pressing than in China, the world's largest textile producer and consumer, where more than 26 million tons of clothes are thrown away each year, according to government statistics. Most of it ends up in landfills. ...Produced from petrochemicals that contribute to climate change, air and water pollution, synthetics account for 70 percent of domestic clothing sales in China. (more)

Takeaways from AP's report on how China's textile recycling efforts take a back seat to fast fashion
10 July 2024 - China is the world's largest textile producer and consumer, throwing away 26 million tons of clothes each year, mostly made of unrecyclable synthetics. A recycling factory in Zhejiang province on China's east coast repurposes discarded cotton clothes to try to deal with the urgent waste problem. So, too, are young innovative designers in Shanghai, by remaking old garments into new ones or creating clothing out of waste items such as plastic bottles, fishing nets, flour sacks, and even pineapple leaves. But these efforts are dwarfed by giant fast-fashion brands churning out cheap synthetic garments for a consumer base spreading rapidly across the world. (more)

Toxic: How the search for the origins of COVID-19 turned politically poisonous
22 April 2024 - The hunt for the origins of COVID-19 has gone dark in China, the victim of political infighting after a series of stalled and thwarted attempts to find the source of the virus that killed millions and paralyzed the world for months. The Chinese government froze meaningful domestic and international efforts to trace the virus from the first weeks of the outbreak, despite statements supporting open scientific inquiry, an Associated Press investigation found. That pattern continues to this day, with labs closed, collaborations shattered, foreign scientists forced out, and Chinese researchers barred from leaving the country. (more)

WHO asks China for more information about rise in illnesses and pneumonia clusters
23 November 2023 - The World Health Organization says it has made an official request to China for information about a potentially worrying spike in respiratory illnesses and clusters of pneumonia in children. The U.N. health agency cited unspecified media reports and a global infectious disease monitoring service as reporting clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia in children in northern China. In a statement late Wednesday [22 November], WHO said it was unclear whether those were linked to a rise in respiratory infections reported by Chinese authorities. (more)

China's quest for human genetic data spurs fears of a DNA arms race
25 September 2023 - The pandemic helped China scoop up DNA from countries around the world. Most of Europe was in lockdown in April 2020 when a plane arrived in the Serbian capital bearing a well-timed gift from the People's Republic of China. Inside was a Chinese invention called the Fire-Eye, a sophisticated portable lab that could detect coronavirus infections from tiny genetic fragments the pathogen leaves behind. And that, as Serbians soon discovered, was the least of its capabilities. ...'COVID-19,' said one senior U.S. intelligence analyst who closely tracks China's biotechnology sector, 'was the door.' (more)

One in 5 young people in Chinese cities are out of work. Beijing wants them to work in the fields
18 June 2023 - As the jobless rate among China's youth soars, the country's richest province has offered a highly controversial solution: Send 300,000 unemployed young people to the countryside for two to three years to find work. ...The announcement followed President Xi Jinping's call last December for urban youth to seek jobs in rural areas in an effort to 'revitalize the rural economy,' in an echo of a previous campaign launched decades ago by former leader Mao Zedong in which tens of millions of urban youth were effectively exiled to remote areas of China. (more)

People in China are so worried about the economy they're asking for divine intervention
18 June 2023 - China's post-Covid reopening was supposed to be the stimulant that the world needed. But after an early burst of activity, growth in the world's second largest economy appears to be stalling. Disillusioned by the deteriorating economic outlook, young people are flooding to Buddhist and Taoist temples to pray for divine intervention in securing jobs, getting into good schools, or becoming rich overnight. (more)

Yellow dust: Sandstorms bring misery from China to South Korea
14 April 2023 - From his high rise office window, Erling Thompson watches the Seoul skyline fade into a yellow-grey cloud as fine dust from sandstorms in China blankets South Korea. ...Yellow dust is a seasonal ordeal for millions in North Asia, as sandstorms from the Gobi desert that borders China and Mongolia ride springtime winds to reach the Korean peninsula and this year, farther east to Japan. It aggravates air pollution and puts people at greater risk of respiratory disease as the particles are small enough to be inhaled into the lungs. ...Sandstorms in the region have been increasing in frequency since the 1960s due to rising temperatures and lower precipitation in the Gobi wilderness, Chinese authorities said. (more)

One of China's most popular shopping apps has the ability to spy on its users, experts say
2 April 2023 - It is one of China's most popular shopping apps, selling clothing, groceries, and just about everything else under the sun to more than 750 million users a month. But according to cybersecurity researchers, it can also bypass users' cell phone security to monitor activities on other apps, check notifications, read private messages, and change settings. And once installed, it's tough to remove. ...experts say e-commerce giant Pinduoduo has taken violations of privacy and data security to the next level. (more)

The Indian monastery town coveted by China
9 March 2023 - High in the Himalayas, the holy town of Tawang is one of the most intractable issues in the border dispute between India and China -- and a potential flashpoint for future conflict. Along snow-capped ridges to its north, soldiers from Asia's two biggest armies face off, sometimes just a few hundred metres apart. Last December, they clashed in what some experts saw as a worrying sign of how things could escalate. (more)