The time is 22:00 (UTC) on June 1st, 2006, and this is Audio Wikinews News Briefs.

England
There were been several large chemical explosions at the Terra Nitrogen UK chemical plant (previously owned by ICI) in Billingham, Teesside, England. The explosions started at 0015 BST. People living in Billingham and nearby Middlesbrough were advised to stay inside and keep windows closed if at all possible.

India
A terror attack against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh headquarters in Nagpur was thwarted by Maharashtra police earlier today. The militants were driving a white Ambassador car and were armed with AK-47s. They were confronted and killed by security forces as they tried to break through the security cordon surrounding the building.

Zimbabwe
Human rights group Amnesty International has released satellite images showing how the Zimbabwean community of Porta Farm, which once housed some 10,000 people, has been completely destroyed. Taken in 2002 and 2006, the photos starkly contrast the previous built-up area with the empty scrubland that remains.

United States
A fuel storage tank at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) caught fire today.

Australia
The Australian Labor Party has accused speaker of the Australian House of Representatives, David Hawker (Liberal, Wannor) of failing to be impartial.

United States
A United States military MH-47 Chinook helicopter has crashed in Colquitt County, Georgia after clipping a wire connected to the WFXL television tower. It is not known whether the wire was the cause of the crash, or if the helicopter was having problems prior to the incident.

computers
The Ubuntu Foundation released its fourth version of the popular GNU/Linux operating system distribution yesterday.

United States
Hans Mobius, 72, a former candidate for mayor in Buffalo, New York, a horse farmer and owner of properties 1109-1121 Elmwood in Buffalo, where a hotel is proposed to be placed, reported that he had taken pictures allegedly of "Bigfoot", which experts later dismissed as a "hoax."

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Wikinews:Briefs/June 1, 2006