Sunday, June 24 in the news....
- Iranian naval forces in the Gulf tried to capture an Australian Navy boarding team but were vigorously repelled in December 2004. The Australians to quote one military source, "were having none of it". The BBC has been told the Australians re-boarded the vessel they had just searched, aimed their machine guns at the approaching Iranians and warned them to back off, using what was said to be "highly colourful language". Coincidentally, the vessel the Aussies reboarded had a swear jar, the crew has retired to the Bahamas.
- The Iranians withdrew after being deterred, and the Australians were reportedly lifted off the ship by one of their own helicopters. Iran for their part said it was the most vile bigoted racist violent homophobic culturally xenophobic threats they've ever received, the Aussies said it was just like being back home at the cricket.
- Brad Greenspan, the 34-year-old former chief executive of the MySpace social networking site, has emerged with a rival proposal for the future of The Wall Street Journal - pitching him into a bitter conflict with media mogul Rupert Murdoch. Greenspan has gone and backed up his bid with dozens of wealthy MySpace sex offenders.
- The $25,000 a month in child support and household expenses that rapper 50 Cent pays to the mother of his 10-year-old son is not enough, says the boy's mother, Shaniqua Tompkins. With his G-Unit record label, clothing line, ring tones and other enterprises, 50 Cent reeled in an estimated $33 million in the past year, according to Forbes. 50 Cent was last seen playing golf with OJ Simpson, and it was there he was overheard saying, "I'm just gonna admit the shit, on my next record. Jail means sales."
- Burundi security forces shot dead a Russian diplomat today after he drove through a checkpoint, an army spokesman said. President Putin paid his respects to the slain diplomat, saying he should have lived as he never tried to dig up dirt on him.
- Deputy interior minister of Iran, Mohammad Baqer Zolghadr, said on Saturday that there was "zero chance" of a US attack on Iran to thwart its nuclear ambitions, the state IRNA news agency reported. Another top Iranian security official denied the interior minister struggled with maths in high school.
