The time is 18:00 (UTC) on August 20th, 2006, and this is Audio Wikinews News Briefs.
Ecuador
The eruption of volcano Tungurahua on August 16 destroyed several small villages in the Ecuadorian Andes. At least 6 people have been killed and about 4000 residents of the affected area have been evacuated.

Australia
400 Australian soldiers have been officially farewelled at a parade in Darwin, NT, ahead of their deployment to Afghanistan on Tuesday.
Spain
Two men who were reportedly seen acting suspiciously on a flight bound for Manchester had to be taken off the plane, it has emerged today.
According to Monarch Airlines, a number of passengers informed staff of their worries surrounding the pair’s behaviour in Malaga on Wednesday.

United States
2008 Republican presidential hopefuls are spending a lot of time in South Carolina in the run-up to the 2006 off-year elections. All the interest in the Palmetto State is widely viewed in the light of its place of significance in the GOP's primary calendar.

Australia
The government of Victoria has announced plans to build what it says will be Australia's "most powerful wind farm." Planning Minister Rob Hulls has given the go ahead to a new $380 million wind farm at Mount Gellibrand in the state's south-west.

Thailand
The man being held in Bangkok on suspicion of murdering six-year-old JonBenét Ramsey more than ten years ago has started his extradition flight to the US.

sports - athletics
Track Star Marion Jones, winner of 3 gold medals in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, has tested positive for the performance enhancing drug, EPO. The hormone helps create extra red blood cells which allows the user's body to obsorb extra oxygen.

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Wikinews:Briefs/August 20, 2006