• Iraq says 650 doctors have returned from exile
• US: California stop-smoking campaign saved $86 billion in health care costs
• South Africa: First park for disabled children opens in Johannesburg

• Maharishi University of Management to hold national conference for healthcare professionals
• Maharishi's unparalleled contribution to the field of health - Dr Anand Srivastava: Part III
• Maharishi's unparalleled contribution to the field of health: Dr Anand Srivastava - Part II

• Cigarettes in movies seen to cause teen smoking - US report
• Stress of war may help cause schizophrenia - study
• US: Consumers face rising medical debt - survey

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Positive Trends
10 Short Summaries of Top Stories

Iraq says 650 doctors have returned from exile
26 August 2008 - Some 650 of the 8,000 Iraqi physicians who fled the country since 2003 due to violence have returned to their jobs in the past two months because of improved security, a Health Ministry official said Monday. Several weeks ago the government appealed to doctors to come home. Adel Muhsin, the ministry's inspector general, said the doctors have gone back to hospitals across Iraq. (more)

US: California stop-smoking campaign saved $86 billion in health care costs
26 August 2008 - California's large-scale tobacco control campaign has saved $86 billion in health care costs in its first 15 years, US researchers said on Monday. Unlike many programmes which center on teens, the California programme focuses its tobacco-control efforts on adults through an aggressive media campaign and changes in public policy, such as promoting smoke-free environments. (more)

South Africa: First park for disabled children opens in Johannesburg
25 August 2008 - Children who suffer from multiple disorders will for the first time be able to enjoy the pleasure of a playground following the launch of Johannesburg's first stimulation park. Situated at the Nkanyezi Stimulation Centre in Orlando West, Soweto, the park is fitted with specialized play equipment, such as merry-go-rounds, swings, and a wheelchair maze, designed to stimulate the motor and sensory development of children with disabilities. (more)

US: Traffic fatalities down
25 August 2008 - This year, gasoline climbed over $4 a gallon, and the traffic death toll -- according to one study --appears headed to the lowest levels since Kennedy moved into the White House in 1961. (more)

Study: Yoga eases physical and mental menopause symptoms
23 August 2008 - Yoga can reduce hot flashes and night sweats among women going through menopause, and also appears to sharpen their mental function, researchers from India report. (more)

Exercise and less television helps keep children healthy - US study
22 August 2008 - Children who regularly exercise and limit their time in front of the television and computer are much less likely to be overweight than their peers, a new study at Iowa State University suggests. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children devote no more than two hours per day to watching television and playing video games. Experts also encourage children to exercise regularly. The findings are published in the Journal of Pediatrics. (more)

Europe's latest craze: non-polluting electric bikes
21 August 2008 - Electric bikes are one of the hottest buys in Paris this summer, and are filling the streets of Amsterdam, Beijing, and beyond. More than 10,000 electric bikes were sold in France last year, up from 6,000 in 2006, according to the Conseil National des Professions du Cycle, an association of bike professionals. And the trend is hitting all of Europe. Sales of power-assisted bikes in Germany this year are expected to double the 60,000 sold in 2007, according to Hannes Neupert, manager of ExtraEnergy, a nonprofit organization promoting light electric vehicles headquartered in Tanna, Germany. (more)

France bans broadcast of television shows for babies
21 August 2008 - France's broadcast authority has banned French channels from marketing television shows to children under three years old, to shield them from developmental risks it says television viewing poses at that age. The ruling also ordered warning messages for parents on foreign baby channels that are broadcast in France -- such as Baby TV, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, and BabyFirstTV, which has ties to News Corp's Fox Entertainment. (more)

UK researchers report alternative therapy technique does help back pain
20 August 2008 - Chronic back pain can be eased by teaching the Alexander technique, an alternative therapy involving learning better posture, British researchers said on Wednesday. Until now, there has been no real evidence of the long-term benefits of the Alexander technique. After a year of treatment, patients reported experiencing just three days of back pain, compared to 21 days for those given normal care by their doctor. The technique was originally developed at the end of the 19th century by the Shakespearean actor Frederick Alexander. (more)

US: University opening new integrative medicine centre
16 August 2008 - Many academic health centers offer programmes that include Ayurvedic medicine from India or traditional Chinese treatments. The University of New Mexico also offers traditional treatments from local healers. Native American healers and Hispanic curanderas are invited to work with patients at the clinic. The centre focuses on prevention and keeping the body in balance, staying healthy, exercising, eating healthy, and doing good things in life. (more)

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

Maharishi University of Management to hold national conference for healthcare professionals
25 August 2008 - Speaking 20 August 2008 on Maharishi Global Family Chat, Dr Mario Orsatti, National Director of Communication for the Global Country of World Peace in the United States, reported on an important healthcare conference coming up in October at Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, USA. (more)

Maharishi's unparalleled contribution to the field of health - Dr Anand Srivastava: Part III
24 August 2008 - Concluding his presentation about the unparalleled contribution of Maharishi Ayur-Veda to the field of health, Dr Anand Srivastava spoke about the value of Ayurvedic medicine for re-enlivening the intelligence of the body, and how Maharishi Ayurveda Products has the possibility to support all of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's projects for creating Heaven on Earth. (more)

Maharishi's unparalleled contribution to the field of health: Dr Anand Srivastava - Part II
23 August 2008 - During the Guru Purnima celebrations of the Global Country of World Peace, held in MERU, Holland, in late July, Dr Ananda Srivastava, Chairman and Managing Director of Maharishi Ayurveda Products, spoke about the value of Maharishi Ayur-Veda for providing relief and reducing suffering. (more)

Maharishi's unparalleled contribution to the field of health: Dr Anand Srivastava - Part I
22 August 2008 - During the Guru Purnima celebrations of the Global Country of World Peace, held in MERU, Holland, in late July, Dr Anand Srivastava, Chairman and Managing Director of Maharishi Ayurveda Products, spoke about Maharishi's unparalleled contribution in the field of health: the whole thought process of society has turned around from disease to health. 'He switched on a light in a dark room,' said Dr Srivastava. (more)

Transcendental Meditation can help manage stress
21 August 2008 - The practice of Transcendental Meditation reduces high blood pressure, which lowers the risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, and avoids the risk of harmful, drug-induced, negative side-effects. (more)

Great Britain: New research on health benefits of Transcendental Meditation Technique sparks wave of publicity - Part II
12 August 2008 - Speaking 8 August 2008 on Maharishi Global Family Chat, Raja Peter Warburton, Raja of Invincible Great Britain for the Global Country of World Peace, reported that the Transcendental Meditation Technique has gained widespread media coverage in Great Britain as a result of recent breakthrough research on its benefits for heart disease. (more)

Great Britain: Groundbreaking research on Transcendental Meditation Technique gains media coverage - Part I
11 August 2008 - Speaking 8 August 2008 on Maharishi Global Family Chat, Raja Peter Warburton, Raja of Invincible Great Britain for the Global Country of World Peace, reported on recent major newspaper and radio coverage of breakthrough scientific research on Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation Technique and its benefits for heart disease. (more)

Plans for proposed Maharishi Ayur-Veda hospitals in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
10 August 2008 - Speaking 3 August 2008 on Maharishi Global Family Chat, Dr Paul Gelderloos, National Director of Invincible Netherlands for the Global Country of World Peace, reported further details of a plan for the proposed building of three Maharishi Ayur-Veda hospitals in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (more)

Room with Vastu: Vedic design creates positivity and peace in the home
3 August 2008 - Canadians are being introduced to the ancient design principle called vastu, which combines nature's elements to create health and harmony in one's work and home environment. (more)

Maharishi Vedic Approach to Health - Part II - Creating perfect health through Maharishi Health Centres and Colleges
28 July 2008 - Dr Rainer Picha, Minister of Health for the Global Country of World Peace, explained the role of Maharishi Health Centres in the creation of perfect health and elimination of sickness and suffering from the world in his talk during the continuing grand global celebration of Guru Purnima. (more)

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Flops
10 Short Summaries of Top Stories

Cigarettes in movies seen to cause teen smoking - US report
24 August 2008 - Tobacco promotions and depictions of smoking in movies cause teenagers to start smoking, according to a sweeping report on tobacco in the media released on Thursday. The US report by the National Cancer Institute found the tobacco industry spent more than $13 billion on smoking-related advertising and promotion in 2005. These efforts boosted overall tobacco use, contradicting industry claims that they are intended to build brand loyalty. Tobacco use remains the single-largest cause of preventable death in the United States, accounting for more than 400,000 premature deaths each year. (more)

Stress of war may help cause schizophrenia - study
23 August 2008 - Pregnant women who live through wars are more likely to give birth to a child who develops schizophrenia, US researchers reported on Thursday in a study linking prenatal stress with the mental illness. Babies born to women who were in their second month of pregnancy during the height of the 1967 Arab-Israeli 'Six-Day' War were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia as adults, they found. Similar patterns are likely among many stressed women, said Dr. Dolores Malaspina of the New York University School of Medicine, who led the study. (more)

US: Consumers face rising medical debt - survey
22 August 2008 - A growing number of US adults are struggling to pay their medical bills, tapping into savings accounts, home equity, and credit cards to cover health care costs, according to a survey released on Wednesday. An estimated 72 million Americans aged 19 to 64, or 41 per cent, said they had trouble paying for medical care in 2007, with some slipping far enough behind to face collection agencies. That compared to nearly 58 million, or 34 per cent, in 2005, the Commonwealth Fund survey found. The report comes as US consumers face rising financial pressures, including higher energy costs, food bills, and mortgage payments. (more)

Arsenic found to have firm link to diabetes in US study
20 August 2008 - Arsenic, a naturally occurring poison and carcinogen found in ground water, is strongly linked to adult-onset diabetes, US researchers said. Arsenic contaminates drinking water for millions of people in Bangladesh, parts of Central Europe, Chile, Argentina, and the western United States, where ground water is the source of drinking water and the land has higher concentrations of arsenic. Arsenic also raises the risk for cancers of the bladder, lung, kidney, skin and, possibly, the prostate, researchers said. The US government sets a limit for drinking water at 10 micrograms of arsenic per liter, which is exceeded in the water consumed by 13 million Americans who mostly live in rural areas that rely on wells to bring up ground water, the researchers wrote in the Journal of the American Medical Association. (more)

Poor sleep equals high blood pressure for teens
19 August 2008 - Poor sleep habits can do more than annoy parents and make teenagers drowsy in school, they can lead to high blood pressure, US researchers reported. Teens who slept fewer than 6 1/2 hours a night had more than twice the risk of high blood pressure and those with troubled sleep had more than triple the risk. The research team studied 238 13-to-16-year-olds and found 14 per cent of the adolescents had high blood pressure or readings at the borderline, called pre-hypertension. Researchers also said the study may underestimate the problem because it excluded children with known sleep disorders and other illnesses. High blood pressure can damage arteries and kidneys, causing stroke, kidney disease, and other illnesses. (more)

Scores of cities using untreated wastewater
18 August 2008 - Cities in developing countries around the world are using untreated or partially treated wastewater for agriculture, posing serious health risks to urban consumers, a study released on Monday said. The IWMI said wastewater was most commonly used to produce vegetables and cereals, especially rice. The study looked at 53 cities in Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. In over 70 per cent of the cities studied, more than half of urban agricultural land was being irrigated with wastewater, either raw or diluted in streams. Few developing countries reported having official guidelines for use of wastewater in agriculture and in the cases where they did exist there was little enforcement, the IWMI said. (more)

Iraq: Life in tent camps remains grim
17 August 2008 - While the rate of people fleeing their homes in Iraq has decreased during the first half of 2008, daily life for the thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) living in tent camps remains grim, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in an assessment issued on 15 August. 'Tent camp residents have little or no access to basic services, cannot protect themselves against the elements or extreme weather, and are located far away from medical care, education, and other services,' the IOM statement said. 'These harsh conditions, combined with a cultural aversion to living without familial privacy and personal dignity, make tent camps a last resort for Iraqi IDPs.' (more)

Canada: Smog-related deaths set to soar - report
15 August 2008 - Smog-related deaths are set to soar to more than 700,000 in Canada over the next two decades, the Canadian Medical Association said. Long- and short-term exposure to air pollution will kill at least 21,000 Canadians this year, the CMA said in landmark study into health costs of poor air quality. That is much higher than a government estimate of 5,900 premature deaths linked to pollution. In addition, pollution-related illnesses such as asthma and cardiovascular disease will prompt more than 30,000 emergency-room visits and 620,000 doctor's visits this year. (more)

US: Study finds 140,000 bad reactions to antibiotics
15 August 2008 - Bad reactions to antibiotics, mostly allergic ones, send people to US emergency rooms more than 140,000 times each year, government researchers reported on Wednesday. The findings offer another reason for doctors to limit their use of the drugs, which are overused in the United States, the team at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Many studies have suggested that half of the estimated 100 million antibiotic prescriptions written for respiratory tract infections in the United States are unnecessary. Most such infections are caused by viruses, and antibiotics are useless against them. (more)

Smoking doubles stroke risk in younger women
14 August 2008 - Younger women who smoke have more than double the risk of stroke compared to nonsmokers, with the heaviest smokers among them having nine times the risk, according to a US study published on Thursday. The research assessed stroke risk in women 15 to 49 years old who smoked cigarettes. Current smokers were 2.6 times as likely to have a stroke than women who never smoked, according to researchers led by Dr John Cole of the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore. (more)