International Positive News

Darfur: Landmark peace meeting being held

A landmark conference in Darfur aims at reconciling
the feuding factions of the main rebel group, the
Sudan Liberation Movement, in preparation for
next month's peace talks with the government.

An influential think tank had recently warned that
divisions among the Darfur rebels could derail efforts
by the African Union to bring peace after 32 months
of conflict.

An estimated 800 delegates were expected to attend
the meeting, along with 200 invited guests, including
observers from the United States, the European Union,
the United Nations, and the African Union as well as
Sudanese political leaders and intellectuals.

The article noted that 'up to 300,000 people have died
in Darfur since the ethnic minority rebels launched their
uprising in early 2003'.

PNN view's these peace talks as very positive development
in resolving this terrible situation.

North Korea's leader Kim praises
China's efforts in nuke talks

North Korea's leader praised Beijing's effort to
ensure peace on the Korean Peninsula after he
promised the Chinese President Hu that Pyongyang
will take part in the next round of nuclear talks.

Hu's government is making 'serious efforts to
ensure peace and stability on the neighbouring
Korean Peninsula. We highly appreciate this,' Kim says.

Philippines: Govt signs peace pact
with renegade guerrilla group

Government negotiators signed a ceasefire agreement
with former communist guerrillas who were still waging
a separate war in the Philippine island of Mindanao.

Chief negotiator Franklin Quijano said the peace solution
was the result of community efforts, and that it would
'open the gate for development in the affected areas'.

PNN sees these developments as a very positive sign
that peace in the world is possible and in fact is in the
process of emerging everywhere!

Market for organic products expands worldwide

The 'Organic Products and Foreign Trade' seminar in
São Paulo, Brazil, showcased the economic reality that,
in addition to Europe, the US, and Japan, other regions
of the world are waking up to the value of eating foods
without pesticides.

The organic products market has an annual turnover
of US $25 billion worldwide. Mr. Positive views these
developments in agriculture as very healthy for both
our people and the planet.

I'm confident that less chemicals in the human body
and the enviroment will have a positive effect on our health.

The Positive News About the Rising Cost of Oil

The Positive News About the Rising Cost of Oil

Yes there's a positive side to this situation. Have you
noticed the new commercials yet? Have you heard about
the upcoming invasion of the hybird cars, suvs and trucks?

This is very positive news and there are even tax incentives
for purchasing these vehicles.

GM, Ford, Chrysler are all in a rush now to develop and
market their own hybrid vehicles to catch up with the
Japenese automakers Honda, Toyota and Nissan.

In fact, I was surprised to learn that even Porsche, BMW
and Mercedes were planning to introduce hybrid models!

Now it's been 30+ years since the last "energy crisis" here
in the states but this time it looks like the tide is turning for
alternate fuel vehicles and alternate energy in general.

I understand that not everyone can rush out and afford
a new hybrid but with so many coming to market the
prices will slowly normalize and the transition from
an oil dependent transportation system has begun.

Several other developments are on the horizon for
alternative energy and I sense this time it's for real.

FBI: US Murder Rate Drops to 40-year low!

POSITIVE NEWS - US Murder Rate Hits 40-Year Low

There were 391 fewer murders nationwide in 2004
than the year before, the FBI said.

Last year's total of 16,137 murders (out of 300
million people) is a decrease of 3.3% from 2003
and is the lowest murder rate since 1965.

The rates for all seven major crimes were down,
and the overall violent crime rate reached a
30-year low, according to the FBI.

I have a couple of questions for you to consider.

1) Did you learn about this story online,
on the newspaper, or on your local or national
radio station or TV newscast?

I found it on page 4a in my local paper.

I tend to think news like this should be on the
front page of every paper and the lead story
on the evening news.

2) What do you think?
Please email me your thoughts or post a comment below.

Positive News Update 10-19-05

Here's a couple of examples of how
a disaster can bring the world closer.

Please do what you can to help...
http://www.networkforgood.org

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

U.N.: Countries Have Pledged $165M in Aid
to victims of the South East Asia Earthquake

GENEVA - Countries have pledged some $165 million
to aid the victims of the devastating weekend earthquake
in South Asia, the United Nations said Thursday.

"We are in a hurry; we should all be in a hurry to
rush assistance to victims," said Yvette Stevens,
an emergency relief coordinator of the U.N. Office
for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The U.N. estimates some 4 million people were affected
by Saturday's earthquake, including 2 million who lost
homes ahead of the fierce winter.

So far, some 30 nations have contributed relief
supplies and manpower.

Quake prompts dramatic accord
on Kashmir contacts

The catastrophic earthquake which shattered
Pakistani Kashmir opened a door to reconciliation
with Pakistan's old foe India on Tuesday.

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf made
a dramatic appeal to India to allow the
quake-stricken people of divided Kashmir
to help each other deal with the catastrophe.

India agreed with unusual speed.

"We will allow every Kashmiri to come across
the Line of Control and assist in the reconstruction
effort," Musharraf told a news conference in
the region.

"We would also like to facilitate the political leaders
on both sides to go across and interact each with other
and assist each other in whatever reconstruction effort,"
he said.

He said Pakistan would accept anything New Delhi
offered, short of a military crossing of the Line
of Control -- a ceasefire line and de facto border
dividing Kashmir and its people.

IMMEDIATE NEEDS

Although longer-range planning to help survivors
through the harsh Himalayan winter has started,
large numbers still need immediate help but are
cut off by landslides.

Helicopters, back in the air after weekend rains
grounded the only means of getting aid deep into
the mountains quickly, deliver supplies and bring
down people who had lain injured since their
remote world was shattered.

But they have not been able to reach everywhere.

The lowest estimate of the number of people
left homeless in Pakistani Kashmikr is 1 million.
They urgently need winter tents, and Musharraf
again appealed for tents to shelter people who
have lost everything.

Would you like to help? Start here
http://www.networkforgood.org

US NEWS

Ben & Jerry's returns to social issues

Ben & Jerry's, the ice cream brand whose
image and marketing was built on social
consciousness, tonight revives that tradition
in its first TV ad campaign in a decade.

The ads focus on issues, not ice cream.
In the first of five commercials to run
throughout the year, Ben & Jerry's takes
on the decline of family-owned farms in the USA.

CEO Walt Freese admits that Ben & Jerry's
has been soft in recent years on continuing
its founders' tradition of social consciousness.

"Ben & Jerry's has tremendous heritage in
leading with its values. Over the last few years,
we've honored our values, but we haven't stepped
out there boldly the way that (founders) Ben
Cohen and Jerry Greenfield taught us to lead."
says Walt Freese, who became CEO a year ago.

The campaign comes as some ad giants are spending
more on social responsibility programs and ads:

• GE in May announced its Ecomagination program
- a $1.5 billion program of research for less-polluting
technologies - and is running a corporate ad.

• Starbucks, which already offers coffees that promote
fair pay for growers and environmentally sound cultivation,
recently announced it will donate $10 million over five
years for clean drinking water around the world through
sales of its Ethos bottled water.

• British Petroleum has been advertising its environmental
awareness and is spending $350 million over several years
to create energy-efficient products.

Such spending is a cost of doing business in a global economy
with consumers connected by e-mail and blogs, says Steve
Lippman, vice president of social research at Boston-based
Trillium Asset Management, which invests in socially
responsible funds and companies.

"Customers expect companies to act responsibly," he says.
"In business terms, it's basic risk management. Customers,
employees and potentially investors can turn against you
if they don't like what they see. And the Internet (lets)
activists get the word out faster."


Social Security Announces 4.1 Percent
Benefit Increase for 2006

Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security
Income benefits for more than 52 million Americans
will increase 4.1 percent in 2006, the Social Security
Administration announced yesterday.

Lose weight, enjoy a better sex life: study

Obese women who start to lose weight will also see
an improvement in the quality of their sex lives,
according to a U.S. study released on Monday.

Even a moderate weight loss reduced complaints
of feeling sexually unattractive and led to improved
desire, according to the study presented at the
annual meeting of The North American Association
for the Study of Obesity (NAASO) in Vancouver.

"If people experience benefits and rewards from
their weight loss and health efforts, it may motivate
them to continue a healthy lifestyle," said Martin
Binks, director of behavioral health at the Duke
Diet and Fitness Center in Durham, North Carolina.

Positive News Update 10-05-05

US NEWS - THE ECONOMY

Orders to U.S. factories show
best increase in three months.

WASHINGTON - The Commerce Department
reported that orders rose by 2.5 percent to
$395.2 billion, led by strong demand for
computers and other electronic products.

The increase followed a 2.5 percent drop in July
which had fed worries that manufacturing, an
energy-intensive sector of the economy, could
falter as crude oil prices climbed to record levels.

However, the August rebound and a big jump in
September in a closely watched gauge of
manufacturing sentiment should ease those worries.

The Institute for Supply Management said that its
index surged to a 13-month high of 59.4 percent in
September despite the surge in energy prices and
the battering the economy took from Hurricanes
Katrina and Rita.

September was the industrial sector's
28th consecutive month of growth

The Institute for Supply Management said its
manufacturing index advanced to 59.4 percent
in September from 53.6 percent the month before,
for the industrial sector's 28th consecutive month
of growth.

It was the highest reading since the gauge hit 59.6
percent in August 2004 and well above the 54 percent
reading that analysts had expected.

A reading above 50 indicates the sector is expanding;
below 50 indicates manufacturing activity is shrinking.
The index is compiled from a survey of purchasing
executives in industries across the country.

Record High Construction Spending

In Washington, meanwhile, the Commerce Department
reported that construction spending climbed to a record
high in August, helped by a renewed boom in housing.

Even bigger gains are expected in coming months, spurred
by the massive rebuilding required in the wake of Katrina,
which hit the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, and Hurricane Rita,
which struck the coast last month.

The Commerce Department said total August construction
spending rose by 0.4 percent, the biggest increase in three
months.

It pushed building activity to an all-time high of $1.11 trillion
at a seasonally adjusted annual rate.

The increase did not include any hurricane-related activity
because Katrina did not strike until late in August. But the
government said all the spending on the rebuilding of homes
and businesses in coming months will add to the construction figures.

HEALTH NEWS
Fighting prostate cancer with pomegranates
Ivanhoe.com

A promising new study from the University of Wisconsin
Medical School in Madison, Wisconsin, USA, suggests that
pomegranate juice may ward off prostate cancer.

Pomegrantes are found to contain powerful antioxidants
that are effective at killing cancerous cells as well as keeping
cancerous tumours from growing as rapidly as they would otherwise.

Researchers tested pomegranate extract on cancer cells grown
in the laboratory and found the more extract applied to the cells,
the more likely the cells were to die.

Ivanhoe quoted the authors of the study saying, 'Based on the
present findings, it is tempting to suggest that the fruit
pomegranate and its associated antioxidants may possess
a strong potential for development as a chemo-preventive
and possibly therapeutic agent against prostate cancer.'

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Less is more: Working miracles in Nepal's rice fields
SciDev.Net

SciDev.Net reported: A new method of growing rice called
'System of Rice Intensification' (SRI) that has been tried
and tested in about 20 countries, is now catching on in Nepal.

Without requiring farmers to flood their fields or use chemical
fertilizers and pesticides, farmers report they have bigger
harvests and better incomes while using fewer seeds and less water.
The normal variety of local rice is used.

Positive News Network views this news as a sign of rising positivity
in the field of enviroment, documenting the growth of life-supporting,
evolutionary trends.

The new technique was developed in 1983 by Henri de Laulanie,
a French Jesuit priest in Madagascar. Tens of thousands of farmers
have adopted the method in the few years since researchers
introduced it into Cambodia.

Using ordinary rice and not genetically modified varieties, the secret
to success is said to lie in the cultivation method. Typically, a paddy
field needs 50 kilograms of seed per hectare, so the new method
which uses only ten kilograms of seed or less per hectare is
more economical.

Used in India, Laos, Sri Lanka, and elsewhere, farmers continue
to report that SRI provides bigger harvests and better incomes,
for less investment in seeds and water.

Positive Trends

Kadhafi seeks 'friendship' with United States

Libya's President Moamer Kadhafi said that his country is seeking
'friendship' with the United States. In a surprise announcement
by Kadhafi in December 2003, he said that Libya was giving up
the quest for weapons of mass destruction.

As a result, diplomatic relationships with the United States were
restored in June 2004. With his recent speech, the President kept
up the momentum towards normalizing relations.

Sharon and Abbas agree to meet

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader
Mahmoud Abbas agreed Sunday to hold their first summit
since Israel's pullout from Gaza as part of their efforts to
restart the stalled Middle East peace process.

The announcement came as a new flare-up in fighting
eased in recent days.

South American leaders call for trade zone

South American Presidents committed themselves to
establishing a continental free trade zone. No deadline
was set for a 32-point plan that would lead to an
economic bloc, unified by modern roads, railroads,
bridges, and airports.

The South American summit was attended by the
Presidents of Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay, Ecuador,
Venezuela, Brazil, and Argentina.