violent protests in anticipation of unrest by Palestinians when they make a bid for separate statehood at the United Nations next month. The military said local forces were being prepared to deal with what it called "any possible scenario", although settler officials denied they were being given tear gas and stun grenades.
Rescue workers in the eastern United States are airlifting food and water to towns cut off by flooding after up to 40cm of torrential rain fell
in the wake of
Hurricane Irene. Officials say several hundred roads and many bridges across Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Vermont remain closed. The governor of New York state said he would ask for federal assistance.
BBC News
The British government says the United Nations has agreed to release $1.5bn worth of Libyan money held in British banks to help with emergency humanitarian aid in Libya and restore confidence in the economy. The Libyan notes, which were frozen under UN sanctions, will be delivered to the Central Bank of Libya as soon as possible. Here's Gary O'Donoghue.
英国政府表示,联合国已经同时发放英国银行中价值15亿美元的利比亚资金,帮助利比亚进行紧急人道主义救助,重塑经济信心。由于联合国的制裁而被冻结的利比亚钞票将尽快转交给利比亚中央银行。Gary O'Donoghue报道。
UN Security Council resolution 1970, freezing Libyan assets, is still in place, and negotiations are continuing in New York to unwind it. But in the meantime, countries can apply to the sanctions committee to release amounts of money to assist with what it called basic expenses. So of the $18bn worth of Libyan assets held in Britain, the government has been allowed by the UN to release $1.5bn to the National Transitional Council in Tripoli. The Foreign Secretary William Hague said the money would help address the urgent humanitarian need, instil confidence in the banking sector, pay the salaries of key public sector workers and free up liquidity in the economy.