The number of mobile phone subscriptions in the world will reach four billion by the end of the year driven by growth in developing economies, the International Telecommunications Union said Friday. ‘Since the turn of the century, the growth of mobile cellular subscribers has been impressive,’ the ITU said in a statement. The ITU stressed however that its estimate does not mean that four billion individuals each have their own mobile phone, as many people in developed countries have more than one. Earlier this year the ITU said that the number of mobile phone subscriptions topped 3.3 billion by the end of 2007. Continued progress in 2008 is chiefly due to the growth in major developing markets such as Brazil, Russia, India and China. ‘These economies alone are expected to account for over 1.3 billion mobile subscribers by the end of 2008,’ the ITU said. China surpassed the 600 million mark by mid-2008, becoming the world’s biggest mobile phone market, while India had around 296 million subscribers by the end of July. ‘Market liberalisation has played a key role in spreading mobile telephony by driving competition and bringing down prices,’ the ITU noted.
I think I am probably going to die any minute now. An inflamed, deceived mob of about 50 desperate men are crowding round the car, some trying to turn it over, others beating at it with large rocks, all yelling insults and curses. They have just started to smash the windows. Next, they will pull us out and, well, let’s not think about that … I am trying not to meet their eyes, but they are staring at me and my companions with rage and hatred such as I haven’t seen in a human face before. Those companions, Barbara Jones and Richard van Ryneveld, are – like me – quite helpless in the back seats. If we get out, we will certainly be beaten to death. If we stay where we are, we will probably be beaten to death. Our two African companions have – crazily in our view – got out of the car to try to reason with the crowd. It is clear to us that you might as well preach non-violence to a tornado. At last, after what must have been about 40 seconds but that felt like half an hour, one […]
The cost of health insurance continues to rise and premiums far exceed the rate of wage increases and inflation in the United States. Health insurance premiums are going up ten times faster than people’s incomes and the average dollar amount employees must pay per year for family health coverage increased by 30% from 2001-2005. Federal employees premiums will climb an additional 13% next year for enrollees in the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) negotiates on behalf of the nations largest group of employees, more than eight million federal health workers, retirees and dependents. Despite this bargaining clout, they were unable to keep cost increases at a reasonable rate. On average, enrollees with family coverage will pay about 30% of the plan’s total cost with the government picking up the remaining 70%. Blue Cross and Blue Shield, which covers the bulk of Federal employees, blames the cost increases on drug costs and the fact that few patients have switched to cheaper generic medications. In 2009, the government wide service benefit plan will waive the first four copays for members who use mail order generic drugs in an attempt to reward the switch. […]
The UN Security Council has unanimously passed a new resolution on Iran, reaffirming demands it stop enriching uranium, but imposing no new sanctions. The text calls on Iran to ‘comply and without delay with its obligations’ under past resolutions and co-operate with the UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA. Iran dismissed the move and said it would not stop enriching uranium, which it says is for peaceful purposes. Western nations suspect Iran wants to build a nuclear weapons capability. The draft was agreed after Russia said it would not support further sanctions. But Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, said the new resolution would cause ‘mistrust’ and would not help global peace and security. ‘These [resolutions] are not constructive,’ he told Iranian television. ‘What they need to do is to attract the trust of the Iranian nation through constructive co-operation and collective commitment.’ On Wednesday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned it would resist ‘bullying powers’ trying to thwart its nuclear ambitions. ‘Comply without delay’ The UN Security Council has already imposed three packages of sanctions against Iran for defying its calls to halt uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing and refusing to answer […]
PHILADELPHIA — Elin Danien quietly listens to a meditation tape, eyes closed, as the radioactive tracer is injected into her IV, freezing a picture of the blood flow in her brain. As a research associate at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Danien is sharp enough to organize an upcoming exhibit on the Mayans but finds herself increasingly forgetful. Now she is part of a study to determine whether meditation can improve brain functioning — to measure how traditional spiritual practices alter the structures of the brain itself. It is typical work for Andrew Newberg of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine — perhaps the nation’s leading expert on the biological basis for religious experience. More exotic subjects of his brain scans have been nuns at prayer, Buddhist monks during meditation, Pentecostals speaking in tongues and entranced Brazilian mystics who write out messages from the other side. These subjects have little in common theologically. But the activity of the brain during intense religious experiences is often (though not always) similar. The frontal lobes are activated, indicating attention and focus. The thalamus shuts down normal sensory input. And the parietal lobes — which ground us […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
