9 newsday Tuesday bites for June 28

It’s Tuesday and you’ve likely had a little time to get over the sheer wonder that was Monday. Now it’s time to delve into another day but you couldn’t possibly do it without a hit of what’s happening out there beyond your bedroom. Easy! We’ve prepared everything you’ll need right here so you’ll be switched on and clever before you even leave your bathrobe.

Be honest. We have bathrobes too.

So, without further ado, the news:

1. The (civil) case against swimmer Nick D’Arcy continues in court.

It was the punch-up that stopped a nation. Swimmer Nick D’Arcy hit fellow team-mate Simon Cowley in March 2008 and was dumped from the Beijing Olympic team before later pleading guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm. Now Simon Cowley is suing, claiming the medical bills alone cost $40,000 and the mental anguish much, much more. Possibly up to $750,000. The case continues.

2. Libya has been bombed for 100 days now…

… and not a lot has changed. NATO forces (mainly France and America) have been launching air strikes on key Libyan strongholds and targets to try and protect the rebels from a surging Libyan ground force. The rebels were threatened with violence after they began protesting against the decades long rule of Muammar Gaddafi. Not much has changed in the balance of power but rebels say NATO has prevented a massacre in the eastern rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

UPDATE: As of late this morning, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Muammar Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam and Libya’s intelligence chief for ‘crimes against humanity’. This is one more step in the push to have Gaddafi removed.

3. Big Tobacco launches legal action against Federal Government

The Gillard Government says it won’t be bullied by one of the world’s largest tobacco companies Phillip Morris, which launched legal action yesterday in response to proposed new plain packaging laws. It’s the battle of the PM initialism. The Prime Minister says it is doing what is right for the health of Australians and Phillip Morris says the Government is violating trade treaties by forcing it to remove its trademark from its brands like Marlboro and Peter Jackson. It also says the Government has failed to demonstrate the new plain packaging laws will reduce the incidence of smoking. Which is, err, kind of counter-intuitive. Why they so stampy?

4. Will we be back to supersonic passenger flight by 2025?

A British company is working on a 20-seat supersonic jet called the sonic star which could fly at twice the speed of the Concorde without the sonic boom – the loud noise which limited the places the Concorde could go full throttle. An electromagnetic sheath would prevent the boom and the engines would be far more efficient and greener. Pipe dream? Well, there’s some serious talk around this one. Watch this (air)space!

5. Boy gets knocked out by whale tail. Not a typo.

Yeah, you read that right. Drew Hall was fishing off the NSW North Coast when a humpback whale flipped its fluke over their 5m boat, hitting Drew on the head and knocking him unconscious for 5 minutes. Drew broke a collarbone, the whale broke the windscreen on the boat and it was all over. Dare we say it, but Drew was not having a whale of a time. He has one mighty impressive story to tell though. Boaties are meant to stay 100m from surfaced whales, but can’t do much if the mammals rises from the deep to surprise them.

6. The US spends $20.2 billion on air-conditioning in Iraq and Afghanistan war. Every year.

That’s according to its own funding report. That’s more than the budget of NASA ($18 billion).

7. Tony Abbott is now preferred Prime Minister

There seems to be a new poll every week now and the latest is terminal for Prime Minister Julia Gillard. She’s slipped behind Tony Abbott for the first time in the preferred PM stakes and, well, not many think she is doing a good job. 39 per cent believe she would make the better PM, compared to Abbott’s 41 per cent.

8. City of Sydney declares 1788 arrival of Europeans an invasion.

After heated debate in Council, and after the City’s Indigenous advisory panel made moves to

quit, the language in official documents will be changed to say Australia and Sydney was invaded, or illegally colonised. Deputy Mayor Marcelle Hoff said it would be intellectually dishonest to say otherwise.

9. Kate and Will break with Royal protocol and, er, wave differently at Wimbledon

Next we’ll be hearing stories of how they did silly walks down the Thames or something. But, if it means we get to see pictures of what Duchess Catherine is wearing each day, so be it.

Discuss.