以色列与黎巴嫩边界交火(有声)

以色列与黎巴嫩边界交火

There's been a rare border clash between Israel and Lebanon, the worst such incident since the war between Israel and Hezbollah four years ago. The brief gun battle killed a senior Israeli army officer, at least two Lebanese soldiers and a Lebanese journalist. The United Nations Security Council has said it's deeply concerned. Barbara Plett reports.

The Security Council urged all parties to practice utmost restraint to end hostilities and to prevent further escalation. It called on both countries to respect the border and to strictly observe the terms of a UN resolution which ended the 2006 war between Israel and the Islamist Hezbollah movement. The Lebanese and Israeli armies accused each other of violating the resolution, and their governments have launched formal complaints here. The UN peacekeeping mission in the area says it's still investigating the circumstance that led to the clash. The acting head of the forces had himself gone to site, reflecting deep concerns that the border skirmish could trigger a wider conflict. 

The leader of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, has warned Israel his group will join the fighting if there are more clashes on the Lebanese border. Hassan Nasrallah also accused Israel of being behind the assassination of the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in 2005.

巴基斯坦遭遇80多年来最严重洪灾超过300万人受灾

The United Nations says more than 3 million people have been affected by floods in Pakistan, the worst for 80 years. Many survivors are angry at the failure to get aid through, but a military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told the BBC that 50,000 troops have now reached most of remote areas that needed help. 

"Because of the limited helicopter fleet available and because of the weather also, it was difficult to reach out to some areas. However, at the moment, the rescue operation has almost been completed. Wherever there was a distance call of the helicopters, the army has reached out to. Now it is basically a relief, but lot of the relief camps have come up automatically. The medical aid is there. The soldiers have given their own rations because it wasn't possible to reach out to far-flung areas. "

BP实行"静态封堵法(static kill)", 海湾止油有望

The oil giant BP has started a long-awaited operation known as "static kill" to permanently seal its blown-out underwater well in the Gulf of Mexico. Kevin Connolly has just sent this report from Washington. 

No one involved in trying to plug the leak below the Gulf of Mexico wants to tempt providence, but it's possible that BP is getting closer to bringing its gushing oil well under control just hours after the US government confirmed it's the worst spill in history. This latest attempt essentially involves forcing mud down a pipe into the well at great pressure. The Nature is forcing the oil out, as a backup, work has continued on relief wells which might offer a longer-term solution. Hopes have been raised and dashed before with the regularity of ocean tides though, and it's still more clear when BP would declare the static kill operation a success or another failure. 

You are listening to World News from the BBC. 

俄罗斯高温大火仍在继续, 已出现消防车短缺

Russia is struggling to contain hundreds of wildfires in forests and arable land caused by continuing high temperatures. Officials say more than 300 new blazes are appearing everyday in some areas around Moscow. There are reports of a shortage of fire engines. 

纽约世贸中心遗址附近将建伊斯兰文化中心引发争议

A plan to build Islamic cultural center including a mosque near the former World Trade Center in New York has cleared its final bureaucratic hurdle. The body that protects the landmarks in the city decided that the building, now on the site, had no historical significance and could be demolished. Opponents say the planned development is disrespectful to the memory of those who died in the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001. 

伊拉克南部城市库特发生爆炸事件

Three people have been killed and at least 50 wounded in a bomb attack in the southern Iraqi city of Kut. Earlier, several policemen and an Iraqi soldier were killed in separate incidents in Baghdad. Hugh Sykes reports. 

The bomb in Kut exploded during the early evening in a commercial district, which was busy at that time of the day in the summer, when people come out to go shopping after the searing heat of the afternoon has dissipated. Some of the survivors of the attack very badly injured, so the death toll may rise. In Baghdad, early on Tuesday morning, five policemen were killed at a checkpoint by men using weapons with silencers. Reports suggest that they shot the two policemen on duty and then killed the other three as they slept during time off. Witnesses said the killers left a flag at the checkpoint, the black flag of the Islamist state of Iraq. 

墨西哥调用军队打击暴力, 但暴力仍在增长

The government in Mexico says that more than three years after President Felipe Calderon deployed the army to fight drugs, gangs, the level of violence is still growing. The national intelligence chief said Mexico security forces were involved in armed confrontations with the gangs. On a daily basis, he said more than 28,000 people had been killed in drug related violence since President Calderon took office at the end of 2006.