About Global Good News

	Top Stories AP PHOTOS: Lunar New Year in the Philippines draws crowds to one of the world's oldest Chinatowns Philippines: Nueva Ecija farmers complete organic farming training Solar panels built from waste crops can make energy without direct light

	Top Stories Philippines: Transcendental Meditation enhances school's Quiet Time Programme Transcendental Meditation increasingly popular in Philippines, centre opens in Makati City Philippines: Plans for schools to offer Consciousness-Based Education

	Top Stories From living water to toxic sludge: the Philippine island devastated by a tanker's oil spill - a photo essay Philippines rocked by deadly 6.1-magnitude earthquake Philippines: Chaos, gridlock a daily ordeal for Manila's long-suffering commuters
Positive Trends Short Summaries of Top Stories AP PHOTOS: Lunar New Year in the Philippines draws crowds to one of the world's oldest Chinatowns 9 February 2024 - Crowds are flocking to Chinatown in the Philippine capital to usher in the Year of the Wood Dragon and experience lively traditional dances on lantern-lit streets with food, lucky charms, and prayers for good fortune. ...Lamp posts in Manila's riverside Binondo commercial district, said to be one of the oldest Chinatowns in the world, feature dragon decor with tails curled around the poles. In a crowded mall, a huge dragon hangs over selfie-taking shoppers. (more) Philippines: Nueva Ecija farmers complete organic farming training 17 March 2022 - Some 73 farmers from Bongabon in Nueva Ecija province recently completed a training on agriculture touching mainly on organic farming and 'agripreneurship.' The agri-training is part of Kabalikat sa Kabuhayan (KSK) program of the SM Foundation Incorporated (SMFI). ... On March 11, 2022, farmers from from barangays Peza and Ariendo in Bongabon graduated from 14-week long agri-training program. (more) Solar panels built from waste crops can make energy without direct light 11 March 2022 - A Filipino inventor has created resinous panels that harvest solar energy out of recycled vegetables, and it can work even when it's cloudy, rainy, or out of direct sunlight. It turns out that there are extremely sensitive chemicals in vegetables that turn UV light from the sun into visible light which can in turn be used to generate electricity from photovoltaic cells. The innovation won its creator, 29-year-old Carvey Ehren Maigue, the 2020 Dyson Foundation Sustainability Award. (more) Trolley school helps Philippine children keep studies on track 23 February 2022 - Student volunteers teach children through their makeshift trolley which serves as a mobile library, near the railroad, in Tagkawayan, Quezon Province, Philippines. Pushing the trolley like a scooter, the volunteers teach math and reading to over 60 children as they go. They started their initiative in November and have collected learning materials from donations to use for their classes. While stopped, the teachers lift the trolley off the tracks, allowing the use of the whiteboard for spelling lessons, and then move on to counting using flashcards. This also keeps the [trolley] tracks free for other users. (more) Philippines: Solar power offers students in unelectrified Laiban a chance to catch up 16 February 2022 - Believing that electricity access can play an important role in improving learning outcomes, a group of young individuals came together to energize off-grid schools through the use of clean energy. They launched Project Araw-Aral, which aims to build solar-powered co-studying spaces in unelectrified communities in the country, starting with Barangay Laiban. ... In March 2021, the team installed 14 solar panels on the roof of a classroom in LIS. These panels can be used to power computers and other appliances in the school. (more) Philippine women switch on solar to light their way in a storm 14 December 2021 - When Haiyan, one of the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded, smashed into the central Philippines in 2013, the town of Marabut in Eastern Visayas region suffered zero casualties. More than 1,000 residents scrambled up 32 feet (9.75 m) of slippery soil and limestone to take refuge inside the Tinabanan Cave, known for providing shelter since colonial times. (more) Philippine billionaire Ramon Ang's San Miguel ramps up solar investments, drops coal-based power projects 11 July 2021 - San Miguel -- controlled by billionaire Ramon Ang -- is ramping up its investments in solar farms and other renewable energy sources as it drops coal projects from its expansion plans to help the Philippines reduce its carbon footprint. (more) Philippines: More Ilocos farmers urged to adopt organic farming 10 May 2021 - The provincial government of Ilocos Norte is encouraging more farmers to adopt organic farming as it implements its sustainable agriculture program. Provincial agriculturist Norma Lagmay said a special incentive program is provided to those who intend to apply organically-based farming practices. ... Lagmay added they have intensified the establishment of organic farming demonstration sites to inspire more farmers to adopt better farm practices, particularly in this time of climate change. (more) The revolutionary boat powered by the ocean 15 July 2020 - The Philippines' traditional three-hulled boat is being redesigned, to draw its power not from fossil fuels, but from the energy of the waves. A new design of ship in the Philippines is hoping to pose a low-carbon alternative to the country's usual bangka, by working with the power of waves rather than against them.The ship is a hybrid model, using multiple internal combustion engines for initial propulsion but switching to wave energy while cruising in open waters. (more) Manila gets its skyline back as air quality improves amid COVID-19 lockdown 27 April 2020 - Filipinos living in the country's capital region have unimpeded views of the Sierra Madre mountain range -- a sight not seen in decades through Manila's notoriously polluted air. 'This health crisis, although truly unfortunate, provided us a glimpse of the quality of the air we and our families could be enjoying if our economy utilizes more of the clean sources of energy and not fossil fuel,' said lawmaker Loren Legarda. (more)
Success of Maharishi's Programmes Short Summaries of Top Stories Philippines: Transcendental Meditation enhances school's Quiet Time Programme 3 January 2010 - Transcendental Meditation has been added to the already existing Quiet Time Programme at a school in Manila, Philippines. All 144 students at the school, aged 10-16, are now practising Transcendental Meditation twice a day as part of their school routine. (more) Transcendental Meditation increasingly popular in Philippines, centre opens in Makati City 2 January 2010 - In the Philippines, many more people learnt the Transcendental Meditation Programme in 2009 than in previous years, including 144 students at one school. In addition, a new Maharishi Invincibility Centre opened in Makati City, teaching the technique and offering many other programmes of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the nation's financial, commercial, and economic hub. (more) Philippines: Plans for schools to offer Consciousness-Based Education 12 October 2009 - In the past year, interest in Consciousness-Based Education has been rising in the Philippines. In other news, a new Maharishi Invincibility Centre is offering the programmes of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the financial district of the Philippines. (more) Philippines promotes ideal education and Maharishi Vedic Organic Agriculture 28 March 2008 - Raja Bob LoPinto, Raja (Administrator) of the Philippines for the Global Country of World Peace, speaks about a new Maharishi School and land for a Maharishi Vedic Organic Agriculture project in that nation. (more) Philippines: Maharishi offers invincibility to the nations of the world 4 September 2007 - Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is inviting the citizens of the Philippines, and every nation, to participate in building a Tower of Invincibility, a historic monument that will mark the dawn of invincibility in the nation. The 12-storey tower will have at its base an Invincibility School whose students will create invincibility for their country. (more) Philippines leader highlights breakthroughs in establishing Consciousness-Based Education for ladies 21 July 2007 - Dr Josephine Castillo, Director of Consciousness-Based Education for Ladies in the Philippines, reported on successes in her nation on 19 July 2007 during the 'Global Celebration of Consciousness-Based Education for Mothers in Every Generation'. (more) Founders of Invincibility in the Philippines report on the rise of the Philippine stock market to an all-time high 18 June 2007 - As part of a recent Global Family Chat, a news programme of the Global Country of World Peace broadcast daily by satellite and over the Internet, Founders of Invincibility in the Philippines, Drs Poli and Josephine Castillo, reported on the growth of invincibility in the Philippines as reflected in the rising national economy. (more) Rising invincibility in the Philippines 25 May 2007 - In the Global Family Chat, Dr Peter Swan presented a report from the National Leaders and Founders of Invincibility for the Philippines, Dr Pauli and Dr Jospehine Castillo, on the progress and expansion of Transcendental Meditation in the areas of education and business. (more)
Flops Short Summaries of Top Stories From living water to toxic sludge: the Philippine island devastated by a tanker's oil spill - a photo essay 3 April 2023 - It is a beautiful sunny day on Mindoro island but a nauseating stench fills the air and black sludge covers the beaches and rockpools. The cause? A massive oil spill off the eastern coast of the island, from the tanker Princess Empress, carrying 800,000 litres of industrial fuel oil when it sank on 28 February. The resultant oil slick, stretching for 75 miles, threatens hundreds of fishing communities near Pola, as well as biodiversity in more than 20 marine protected areas. (more) Philippines rocked by deadly 6.1-magnitude earthquake 22 April 2019 - A 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck near the town of Bodega on the Philippine island of Luzon on Monday [22 April], according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The earthquake could be felt in the capital of Manila as well as other parts of Luzon. CNN Philippines said that at least 52 aftershocks have been recorded. Skyscrapers swayed from the force of the quake, causing frightened office workers to flee the high-rise buildings in the capital. (more) Philippines: Chaos, gridlock a daily ordeal for Manila's long-suffering commuters 26 February 2019 - It's 3.30 a.m. in the Philippines and much of San Jose Del Monte is fast asleep. Flashlight in hand, street sweeper Alejandro Galasao, 58, navigates a labyrinth of alleys to a main road to catch a bus to the capital Manila 30 km (18.6 miles) away. He has to wake up in the middle of the night for a job that doesn't start until 6 a.m. (more) Deadly typhoon wreaks havoc in the Philippines 15 September 2018 - Typhoon Mangkhut ripped through the Philippines' main island of Luzon, and is now moving west towards China. The storm tore off roofs, felled trees, triggered 42 landslides, and caused extensive flooding. The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) billed the storm as the strongest tropical cyclone the world has faced so far this year. (more) Philippines warns of volcanic mudflows from heavy rains 27 January 2018 - Residents around an erupting volcano in central Philippines have should prepare to flee to safer areas because of risks from huge debris that could be swept from slopes by heavy rains, state volcanologists said on Saturday (27 January). The most active volcano in the poor Southeast Asian country has been spewing lava and ash for the last two weeks and may have a major eruption within days, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said. (more) Storm leaves 120 dead, 160 missing in southern Philippines 23 December 2017 - A tropical storm in the southern Philippines unleashed flash floods that swept away people and houses and set off landslides, reportedly leaving more than 120 people dead and 160 others missing, officials said. Most of the deaths from Tropical Storm Tembin were in the hard-hit provinces of Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur and on the Zamboanga Peninsula, according to an initial government report Saturday [23 December]. (more) Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to extend drug war as 'cannot kill them all' 19 September 2016 - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has asked for a six-month extension for his war on drugs, saying there are too many people involved in the narcotics trade and he 'cannot kill them all'. Some 3,000 people have been killed since Duterte won May elections in a landslide on a vow to kill tens of thousands of criminals in an unprecedented blitz to rid the country of illegal drugs in six months. (more) Philippines: Major sea lane becoming target of Islamic State-linked Abu Sayyaf rebels 17 August 2016 - An Indonesian tugboat crewman escaped from his Islamist militant captors in the Philippines on Thursday by swimming out to sea after the militants threatened to cut his head off, a Philippine army spokesman said. Members of the Islamic State-linked Abu Sayyaf group captured Indonesian Mohammad Safyan and six other Indonesian seamen from their boat as it was passing through waters off southern Philippine islands on June 23. Abu Sayyaf rebels operating in Muslim areas of the largely Christian Philippines have developed a reputation as ruthless kidnappers. They have increasingly been turning their attention to vessels passing through busy shipping lanes in the Sulu Sea as security along coasts has been tightened. In recent weeks, the rebels, who have vowed allegiance to Islamic State, beheaded two Canadians they kidnapped from a beach resort after a ransom deadline passed. Indonesian authorities have said piracy in the area could reach levels previously seen in Somalia. Analysts say $40 billion worth of cargo passes through the waters a year. (more) Urgent need for shelter six months after clashes displace thousands in southern Philippines - UN 4 April 2014 - The United Nations has sounded the alarm on behalf of some 64,600 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in southern Philippines still living in evacuation centres, transition sites, and with host communities, six months after deadly fighting broke out between the rebel Moro National Liberation Front and Government forces in Zamboanga City. 'There is an urgent need to find shelter solutions for these IDPs,' said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), at a press briefing in Geneva, recalling that in September 2013, over 100,000 people were displaced by the fighting. At that time, OCHA estimated that, in addition to the tens of thousands displaced, some 132 people died as a result of the standoff between the Government forces and non-State actors. More than 10,000 homes were destroyed in and around Zamboanga City and, additionally, nearly 19,000 were displaced in Basilan province. In the immediate aftermath of the fighting, OCHA announced that the UN emergency relief fund (CERF) would allocate $3 million to assist the population. (more) Smuggling, fraud cost Philippines $25.8 billion in 2011, study says 4 February 2014 - More than $410 billion in illicit money crossed the borders of the Philippines from 1960 to 2011, with customs fraud related to imported goods surging in recent years, according to a study by a US-based anti-graft watchdog group released on Monday. Global Financial Integrity (GFI) said a record high of $25.8 billion came into the Southeast Asian, archipelago nation illegally in 2011, the most recent year for which data was available. That was up from $22.9 billion in 2010, marking back-to-back years of record illicit inflows. About $14.2 billion of illicit inflows was reported for 2009, the study said. These illicit inflows are typically the result of under-reported merchandise that is shipped into the country, said GFI economist Brian LeBlanc, one of the report's authors. 'This is mostly importers trying to avoid VAT taxes or import tariffs,' LeBlanc said. 'Customs corruption is a huge issue in the Philippines,' he said. Over the 42-year period, about $277.6 billion was illegally transferred into the country, and $132.9 billion in illicit funds went out of the country from crime, corruption, and tax evasion, the report said. The Philippine Treasury has lost at least $19.3 billion in tax revenue since 1990 due to customs duties evasion. (more)