• Phelps Breaks Gold Record:
  US swimmer Michael Phelps has broken the record [1] for most Olympic gold won by scoring his 10th and 11th in a double victory in races today. A win in the 200m butterfly gave him his 4th gold for these Olympics, keeping him on track to take home eight golds for these games. The most golds ever won prior to Phelps was nine.



• Russian Convoy Violates Truce:
  A Russian military convoy has moved deep into Georgia [2] today in violation of a new truce agreement. Georgia's soldiers have retreated following the truce and the new movement by the Russians surprised the few remaining. The new movement came 12 hours after the cease-fire plan supposed to end the fighting that has uprooted an estimated 100,000 people.




• Contractors Cost US $85 Billion:
  Between 2003 and 2007 the US government spent $85 billion [3] on contractors to support the Iraq war. The figure is likely to top $100 billion by the end of 2008, according to a review by the Congressional Budget Office. There are currently 190,000 employed on a one-to-one ratio with military personnel. Contractors have been used in Iraq at a much larger scale than in any other major conflict.

Source [4]