The time is 17:00 (UTC) on May 19th, 2006, and this is Audio Wikinews News Briefs.

United States
On Wednesday John Murtha, a member of the United States House of Representatives, said that the incident on November 19, 2005 near the Iraqi town of Haditha was "much worse than was reported in Time magazine". On March 21, 2006 Time magazine reported that "U.S. Marines killed 15 Iraqi civilians in their homes", including "seven women and three children". Time reported that U.S. troops were responding to an IED and insurgent fire.
India
As the dispute over a government proposal to increase the quota of University seats reserved for students from the Other Backward Castes (OBCs) continues, pro-quota demonstrators in Patna, India were baton-charged by police, apparently after the protest turned violent.
Police officials alleged that the rally organised by medical students had commenced without prior permission from the authorities.

Norway
A suggestion to translate the national anthem of Norway in a language spoken by immigrants to the country is causing controversy. Those who oppose this suggestion say that the people who cannot understand Norwegian could just hum with the Norwegian citizens. Since a week, there have been huge patriotic rallies in Norway to mark the occasion of Norwegian Constitution Day on May 17. The debate is over the suggestion to translate the Norwegian national anthem in writing to Urdu, a language spoken by many immigrants in Norway.

United Nations
The United Nations Committee against Torture told the United States today that the US should close its detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba as well as disclose the existence of any secret prisons it operates.

United States
Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle wrote a letter to Republicans in the U.S. Senate urging passage of the controversial Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act (S. 147), commonly known as the Akaka Bill after Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), its main proponent.
In a letter dated May 15, 2006 addressed to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Lingle cited a recent report by the U.S. Civil Rights Commission that urged defeat of the measure on the grounds that it is racially based, calling it a "misguided action" and saying that it was based on a "grossly flawed understanding of the history of Hawaii and of the law itself."

United States
State schools Superintendent Jack O’Connell has his lawyers working “around the clock” to prepare to ask the State Supreme Court to overturn a lower court judge’s ban on using the California State High School Exit Exam as a graduation requirement, he said today.

Australia
Two men operating a car transport ferry at Berowra Waters, New South Wales, Australia, North of Sydney have been charged with operating a vessel with high range PCA according to police.

sports – rugby
Hurricanes are through to the Super 14 2006 Final after a 16-14 win over the Waratahs.

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Wikinews:Briefs/May 19, 2006