US money ended up in Taliban hands: report

US government funds earmarked ostensibly to promote business in Afghanistan have landed in Taliban hands under a $2.16 billion transportation contract, The Washington Post has reported.

Citing the results of a year-long military-led investigation, the newspaper said US and Afghan efforts to address the problem have been slow, and all eight of the trucking firms involved remain on US payroll.

Moreover, the Pentagon extended the contract for six months last March, the report said.

The investigation found "documented, credible evidence ... of involvement in a criminal enterprise or support for the enemy" by four of the eight prime contractors, the paper noted.

Strauss-Kahn accuser speaks publicly

Maid who accused former IMF chief of attempted rape tells the US media he appeared as a "crazy man" and attacked her.

The New York hotel maid who has accused former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn of attempting to rape her has been interviewed by Newsweek magazine, saying that he appeared as a "crazy man" and attacked her when she entered his room.
The magazine interview marks the first time the 32-year old Guinean immigrant to the United States has publicly spoken to the media since she made the allegations against Strauss-Kahn, who denies the charges.
She claimed that he had emerged naked from the bathroom of his luxury suite on May 14 and forced her to perform oral sex.

Trypophobia a Real Phobia? (Creepy Clustered Holes)

If you’re like me and you have a visceral reaction to the image above—if it makes your skin crawl, your hair hurt, and your stomach turn—you can count yourself among the trypophobic. According to its Facebook page, which is more than 4,000 members strong, trypophobia is fear of clustered holes. It is usually small holes in organic objects, such as lotus seed heads or bubbles in batter, that give trypophobics the extreme willies, triggering reactions like itchy skin, nausea and a general feeling of discomfort. 

Although this may be of no comfort to those who suffer from it, trypophobia is simply one of an infinite number of fears that people experience, some more idiosyncratic than others. The onlinePhobia List, run by an amateur etymologist, contains the names of hundreds of fears, from the well-known (fear of heights: acrophobia) to the fringe (fear of the great mole rat: zemmiphobia). Trypophobia hasn’t made the list yet.

20th Century Fox to launch movies on Android devices

Twentieth Century Fox is set to allow Android smartphone and tablet owners to view the studio's Blu-ray movies on their mobile devices.

The move will see movies 'side loaded' via an Android application in a launch due in the US, UK, Germany and France this October.

The Blu-ray movie to be made available on Android devices is to be "X-Men: First Class"

"Given its strong growth as a mobile operating system, the support for Android is an important move for us because it further enhances Blu-ray discs as the best way to get your movies to all your screens," Fox marketing veep Vincent Marcais told the Financial Times.

It's not known if Fox will make digital copies of movies for sale separately from Blu-ray discs.

Helensburgh people key to solving fire murder case

Police investigating the murders of a man and his sister in a deliberate house fire in Helensburgh have said the answer lies in the local community.

Thomas Sharkey, 21, died in the blaze at his family home in Scott Court at about 0500 BST on Sunday. His sister Bridget, eight, died later in hospital.

Their parents, Angela, 46, and Thomas, 55, both survived the fire and are in a critical but stable condition.

Strathclyde Police said they were following a number of lines of enquiry.

The officer in charge of the investigation, Detective Chief Inspector Anne McKerchar, held a news conference on Monday to appeal for help.

She said she had been "greatly encouraged by the response so far" from members of the public but believed "the answer lies within the local community".

Det Ch Insp McKerchar would not comment on reports about the background of family members but said her officers were following "a number of lines of enquiry".

Captain America Smashes Harry Potter at the Weekend Box Office!

Arriving approximately on 7,100 screens at 3,715 locations, including 3D and 2D screens, the fourth and final superhero film of summer earned $65.8 million. This was over $10 million over what both “X-Men: First Class" and “Green Lantern” collected upon their debuts in June and slightly above what Thor had earned in its opening weekend in May.

Captain America's estimated attendance on the first day was comparable to G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, but was less than Fantastic Four and X-Men among past July Marvel Comics kick-offs, according to Box office Mojo.

Distributor Paramount Pictures' exit polling showed that 64 percent of the Captain's crowd was male, which was about the same as Thor, and 57 percent was 25 years of age and older.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, had earned a $48.1 million domestically in the second weekend by falling 72 percent off 4,375 screens. The eighth and final part of the boy-wizard franchise in its first weekend made $169.2 million, the largest debut on record, and smashing international, worldwide and IMAX records as well.

In the meantime, Friends with Benefits got an estimated $18.5 million start on around 3,500 screens at 2,926 locations, which was less than the $19.7 million made by another "Friends with Benefits" sex comedy "No Strings Attached" back in January, Box Office Mojo reported.

Source:ibtimes.com

Uruguay win record 15th Copa America

Uruguay defeated Paraguay 3-0 on Sunday to win a record 15th Copa America with striker Diego Forlan grabbing two goals to take his international tally to 31.

Liverpool attacker Luis Suarez was also on target as Uruguay took a first continental crown since 1995 and broke their Copa title tie of 14 which they held with Argentina.

Suarez opened the scoring in the 12th minute when his drive took a deflection off Dario Veron and left goalkeeper Justo Villar wrong-footed.

Former Manchester United striker Forlan added the second three minutes from the interval when Egidio Arevalo cleverly intercepted the ball to release the Atletico Madrid attacker who confidently buried a left-footed strike.

It was Forlan's 30th international goal, but first in 13 matches as Uruguay, who knocked out hosts Argentina in the quarter-finals, were in cruise control at River Plate's famous Estadio Monumental.

Norway's attacks reveal world of hatred

The Norwegian terrorist who murdered more than ninety innocent civilians - many of whom were teenagers - did not act alone. Or rather, he acted within a cultural and political context that legitimises his fearful and hate-infested worldview. It is now clear that Anders Behring Breivik was exposed to large amounts of right-wing propaganda. This tragedy underlines the urgency with which normal people around the world must combat fundamentalist nationalists and chauvinists wherever they may be. But it also demonstrates the extent to which reactionary bigotry has infected mainstream thought.

Many reacted to the news from Oslo with wide eyes and a pointed finger. The most animated reactionaries took to the pages of the New York Times comment section to issue sweeping proclamations about the Clash of Civilisations and something called "the cult of death". In many ways, readers were merely reinforcing the paper's woefully editorialised reportage. As Glenn Greenwald helpfully pointed out, the editors of the NYT - America's allegedly liberal newspaper - reserve the word "terrorist" solely for use in conjunction with the word "Muslim".

Egypt to hold parliamentary vote in November

Egypt's parliamentary elections, a crucial step in transitioning to civilian rule, will be held in November, according to Egyptian state media reports.

In a meeting with reporters in Cairo on Saturday, Abdul Moaez Ahmed Ibrahim, the chief of the Higher Election Commission, said that the elections of both houses of the parliament will be held at the same time and fully supervised by judges.

"Whether Egyptian expatriates will be able to vote or not needs a political decision," Ibrahim said.

No exact date for the voting has been announced.

The election commission was created on July 19 at a meeting of the supreme council of the armed forces, where it was also announced that no international observers would be allowed to monitor the vote.

Major General Mamdouh Shaheen, who presented the new election law to reporters, said barring foreign monitors was a necessary step to protect Egypt's sovereignty.

He said the generals "reject anything that affects our sovereignty" and that Egyptian election monitors will observe the process instead.

The decision has been criticised by activists, who say it raises questions about the transparency of the first elections after the toppling of former President Hosni Mubarak in February.

Entourage: All About Season 8

For seven seasons, Entouragefans have followed the triumphs and trials in the life of Vincent Chase as the movie star character and his pals conquered Hollywood and lived the good life in Los Angeles. 

In doing so, fiction has altered real life of Adrian Grenier, who plays Vince. "I was a brooding pretentious artist before I met Vince, and I now I'm somewhere in between having mildly good taste and being able to just let down your guard and have fun," the actor, 35, told PEOPLE of how his character has changed him. 

It's all coming to an end, though, as Entourage begins its final season on Sunday (10:30 p.m. ET). Before the curtain draws to a close on the HBO hit, Grenier gives some insight into what to expect in the final eight episodes, as well as the future of the franchise. 

Vince Is Clean: In season 7, Vince found himself entangled with a porn star girlfriend (Sasha Grey), and he developed a cocaine habit. Though better now, "he's got to prove that he's over his little snafu with drugs and porn stars," Grenier said while hosting a party at Las Vegass Chateau on Friday. "I don't think people realize that Vince isn't out of control. On paper it may seem that way, but I think he was just having a bad week or a bad couple episodes."