The time is 18:00 (UTC) on June 12th, 2006, and this is Audio Wikinews News Briefs.

India
At least nine people were killed in a series of attacks in Kashmir on Monday, including one                                                  close to a camp housing Hindu pilgrims, while a boy died in police firing. Suspected Islamist militants threw three grenades at a crowded bus station in Jammu city, police said, killing one person and wounding 22.

Israel
A train carrying 200 people has crashed into a pick-up truck in Netanya, Israel. At least 35 people are injured and at least one has died. Police say that the truck was pushed onto the tracks by another car when the train smashed into it. The driver was not injured.  

United Kingdom
Tony Blair has been asked to speak out on behalf of a British artist, Michael Dickinson, who has been charged in Turkey with "insulting the (Turkish) prime minister's dignity". This carries a sentence of up to 3 years in jail.

Norway
A large meteorite struck in Norway slamming into the side of a mountain near the areas of Troms and Finnmark at about 2:05 a.m. on June 9, 2006. Scientists say the explosive force of the meteorite could have been "compared" to the "Hiroshima bomb."

New Zealand
A huge snowstorm has hit New Zealand. Some parts of South Canterbury have had as much as 30 cm of snowfall. Some bus services in Christchurch have closed down, including the Rangiora line. Christchurch Airport has closed. The MetService reports that there is a good chance of getting up to half a metre of snow.

India
The Tamil Nadu Government on Sunday said it would forego sales tax on the incremental component    of the recent diesel price and yet maintain bus fares of State Transport Undertakings at existing levels.

Germany
The Lower Saxony, Germany tax authority is migrating 12,000 desktops to use SuSE Linux with KDE as the desktop environment.

Australia
Researchers at the University of New South Wales have discovered that Australian healthcare workers do not wash their hands often enough in the course of their work. Researchers claim the practice places patients at risk of contracting infections.

United States
Kevin Aviance, a 38-year-old gay male drag-queen and singer, was attacked outside the "Phoenix," a gay bar in Manhattan, New York's East Village. Police say that he suffered head injuries, a broken jaw and bruises, but is in stable condition.

Australia
Police in the Australian state of New South Wales have reported that they pulled over a 10 year-old child driving his grandmother's car along the Newell Highway in North-Western NSW on Sunday.

sports – football or soccer
World Cup debutants Australia beat Japan 3-1 in the opening game of Group F, Monday.

sports - rugby
Argentina has defeated Wales in rugby at Raul Conti Stadium in Puerto Madryn on Sunday.

sports - baseball
The University of Oklahoma baseball team defeated Rice University   11-5 in the second game of the NCAA Super Regional on Sunday.

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Wikinews:Briefs/June 12, 2006