A new report by the International Telecommunications Union shows that there is great disparity in access to high-speed broadband Internet access around the world. In African countries it can cost nearly 39 times the average monthly income to access the Internet. On the other end of the spectrum, in Israel, broadband access is one-third of one percent of average monthly income. The most expensive countries for broadband Internet access include: 1) Central African Republic, 2) Ethiopia, and 3) Malawi. The most affordable countries for broadband Internet access include: 1) Israel, 2) United States, and 3) Singapore.

We are five years away from the 2015 deadline for the Millennium Development Goals. With that in mind, there is going to be an international conference at the end of the month in New York for world leaders to meet to accelerate progress on the Millennium Development Goals. The United Nations provides an update as to the status of each goal. Unfortunately, many of the goals are nowhere close to being met. The updates include: "Progress to end hunger has been stymied in most regions," "A decisive response to climate change is urgently needed," "Child deaths are falling, but not quickly enough to reach the target," and "Hope dims for universal education by 2015, even as many poor countries make tremendous strides." Hopefully the conference will indeed spur action.

Hurricane Earl is currently a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph as it approaches the East Coast of the United States. CNN reports on Twitter that a, "NOAA plane just recorded a 199 mph wind gust in the eye wall." So, if Hurricane Earl intensifies and maximum sustained winds exceed 155 mph, Hurricane Earl will become a Category 5 hurricane. If Hurricane Earl does reach Category 5 strength, it will be the first Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean in three years. The last Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic was Hurricane Felix in early September 2007. Hurricane Felix was a Category 5 hurricane that made landfall near the border of Nicaragua and Honduras. Hurricane Felix had maximum sustained wind speeds of 175 mph. Wikipedia provides a list of Category 5 hurricanes in the Atlantic since the 1920s.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is offering monetary incentives to couples who have children in order to reverse a declining birth rate. According to the Population Reference Bureau, "The total fertility rate dropped from 6.6 births per woman in 1977 to 2.0 births per woman in 2000, and to 1.9 births per woman in 2006." Ahmadinejad's incentive is $950 deposited into a bank account upon the each child's birth with $95 added each year until the child turns 18. Upon turning 18, the money can be spent on education or family needs. PRB's Farzaneh Roudi expects that the plan will not work because Iranians have already realized the economic value of quality over quantity in the number of children.