The time is 17:00 (UTC) on June 3rd, 2006, and this is Audio Wikinews News Briefs.

Iraq
Adnan al-Kazimi, close to Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki rejects US probe clearing US troops of killings civilians in Ishaqi. The U.S. military yesterday said that troops executed a family is "absolutely false".

Indonesia
Human to human transmission of the H5N1 Avian Flu (Bird Flu) virus is suspected in an Indonesian nurse currently hospitalised who is showing symptoms of the virus. She had been in close contact with two children, brother and sister, who have died.

England
At dawn yesterday morning a team of 250 policemen stormed a building in Forest Gate, London, England. A part of the police teams were armed, while others were equipped with chemical weapons gear. Two men were arrested and one was shot in the raid made under the 2000 Terrorism Act.

Montenegro
Montenegro is preparing today to declare its independence from Serbia in a special parliamentary session in the capital, Podgorica. The official announcement comes two weeks after a referendum, where just over 55% of voters chose to support the split.

Australia
NSW Senator Bill Heffernan wants the Federal government to take control of all the nations waterways. He is calling for a referendum on this issue.

New Zealand
New Zealand Greens party has elected a new party co-leader, Russel Norman at the Annual General Meeting this weekend.

Australia
Australia would appear to be in the middle of a baby boom, with the largest number of births recorded since 1992. Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveraled that 261,400 births were registered in 2005, 6,200 more than 2004.

India
Rahul Mahajan, the son of late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan has been admitted to the Apollo Hospital in New Delhi in a critical state, apparently after a drug overdose.

Antarctica
Researchers have found a giant asteroid impact crater under the Wilkes Land ice sheet of Antarctica and it may have been responsible for the creation of the dinosaurs, but may also have been the cause of a mass extinction.

Sweden
The Pirate Bay is back online following the Swedish police raid of their office on May 31.

sports - rugby
Following a three-day summit in Sydney rugby union officials reached a decesion to start a National Rugby Competition in Australia in July of 2007. The aim of the competition will be to bridge the gap between Super 14 and club rugby.

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Wikinews:Briefs/June 3, 2006