China invites Taiwan party head to visit
17 May 2008 - In a sign of warming relations, China has invited the head of Taiwan's incoming ruling party to visit the mainland, where he is to meet with President Hu Jintao. Taiwan Nationalist Party Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung will start a six-day visit 26 May, a party official said Saturday. The Nationalist Party will become Taiwan's ruling party on Tuesday when Ma Ying-jeou is sworn in as President. Relations between China and Taiwan seemed to improve as soon as Ma's election victory became clear in March. (more)

Latin America sees steady economic performance and more credit rating upgrades
17 May 2008 - Emerging markets bonds, stocks, and currencies posted further gains on Friday as expectations of steady economic performance and more credit rating upgrades in Latin America. Investors left inflation concerns on the back burner and focused on the positive growth outlook for the region, which has been supported by high commodities prices. In the equities market, the Morgan Stanley Capital International index for Latin America soared 2.3 per cent, on its way to close at an all-time high for the second straight session. (more)

Listening to music found to lower blood pressure - US study
17 May 2008 - Listening to half an hour of music each day may significantly lower your blood pressure. A study recently presented at the American Society of Hypertension meeting, revealed that people with mild hypertension (high blood pressure) who listened to classical, Celtic, or Indian (raga) music for just 30 minutes a day for one month had significant reductions in their blood pressure. (more)

Sunshine vitamin may lower breast cancer risk - Canadian study
17 May 2008 - A Canadian study adds to a growing body of evidence that an adequate amount of vitamin D, made when sunlight hits the skin and used to fortify many foods including milk, is important for preventing chronic diseases. It is key to maintaining strong bones. Lack of vitamin D may also be associated with prostate, colon cancer, and heart disease. (more)

Turkish Airlines Jan-April passengers up 15 per cent
17 May 2008 - Turkish Airlines (THY), one of the fastest growing airlines in Europe, carried 6.29 million passengers in January to April, up 14.8 per cent year-on-year, it said late on Friday. THY has said it aims to increase passenger traffic to 23.5 million in 2008, up from 19.6 million passengers last year. (more)

United Kingdom: Ancient Rama epic pictures on display for public to appreciate for first time
17 May 2008 - Nearly 120 ancient paintings charting the life, struggles, and eventual triumph of the legendary Indian King Rama go on show to the public on Friday for the first time at the British Library in London, England. The highly detailed and lavishly illustrated pictures which date from the 17th century were formerly bound together in book form and available only for scholarly study. Originally comprising 400 paintings and 24,000 verses of text in Sanskrit, the pictures were bound in seven volumes of which the British Library has four and a half. The paintings, which originate in the Rajput court of Rajasthan have been removed from the bound volumes for conservation reasons. (more)

United Nations sees chance for global ban on cluster bombs
17 May 2008 - Even though the main users won't be at the conference, the United Nations sees renewed momentum for a global ban on cluster bombs as more than 100 nations gather in Dublin to finalize an anti-cluster munitions treaty. A top UN official and diplomats from countries that support a ban say there is a good chance that the conference, which starts on Monday and runs through 30 May, will end with the signing of a treaty outlawing cluster bombs. (more)

US: Bureau of Land Management keeps Alaska wetlands off limits to drilling
17 May 2008 - The Bush administration on Friday proposed keeping potentially oil-rich wetlands in Arctic Alaska off-limits to drilling because of their ecological sensitivity, a reversal of its earlier plan. The Bureau of Land Management proposed a 10-year leasing moratorium for 430,000 acres of wetlands north and east of vast Teshekpuk Lake in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. Environmentalists and local groups hailed the decision. (more)

World computer project One Laptop Per Child expands technology to reach more children
17 May 2008 - Microsoft and The One Laptop Per Child project, an organization devoted to spreading inexpensive portable computers to schoolchildren, announced Thursday that the nonprofit's green-and-white 'XO' computers now can run Windows in addition to their homegrown interface, which is built on the open Linux operating system. Nicholas Negroponte, the founder of the laptop project, is eager to speed XO sales and donations beyond their initial deployments, which include Haiti, Afghanistan, Rwanda, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, Mongolia, and Birmingham, Ala. (more)