The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Central African Republic (CAR) and the country’s major rebel group have signed an agreement that will allow some child soldiers in the northeast – the scene of fierce fighting in recent months – to return to their families and become reintegrated with their former communities.
In an accord signed […]

EasyJet, the low-cost airline, has unveiled a design for a new “eco-plane”, capable of cutting CO2 emissions in half by 2015.
With the no-frills end of the market under attack for the surge in aviation and its impact on climate change, Andy Harrison, the company’s chief executive, has pinned his hopes on technology to improve the […]

A proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage was defeated today by a joint session of the Legislature by a vote of 45 to 151, eliminating any chance of getting it on the ballot in November 2008. At least 50 votes were needed to advance the measure.
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Because fewer than 50 of the state’s 200 lawmakers supported […]

I’ve been meaning to blog this for a few days, but you may have noticed a few items on Breaking Blue about a major step for the Save the Internet coalition: our first legislative victory. Maine passed into law a provision ordering the Office of the Public Advocate to investigate what Maine could legally […]

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today welcomed the announcement by a former Sudanese rebel faction that it will begin handing over children participating in its armed groups in Darfur.
The Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A), which is one of the signatories of last year’s Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA), has indicated that several children attached to its […]

Yoga’s postures, controlled breathing and meditation may work together to help ease brains plagued by anxiety or depression, a new study shows.
Brain scans of yoga practitioners showed a healthy boost in levels of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric (GABA) immediately after a one-hour yoga session. Low brain levels of GABA are associated with anxiety and depression, the […]