BBC news 2011-08-31 加文本

BBC news 2011-08-31

BBC News with Marion Marshall

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.

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.

The US has imposed new sanctions on three top Syrian government officials in what the State Department said was an attempt to further tighten the noose on President Bashar al-Assad's inner circle. It follows a violent end to the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in which at least seven people were shot dead in protests across Syria.

Russia's state-owned oil company Rosneft and the United States energy giant Exxon Mobil have announced a strategic deal to jointly explore and develop oil and gas reserves under the sea in the Arctic. More from our economics correspondent Andrew Walker.

The two companies are planning to put a total of over $3bn into exploration of the Arctic Ocean and the Black Sea. Rosneft gets access to Exxon Mobil's expertise and capital; the US company extends its position in Russia, which is widely seen as a key location for future oil and gas production. The Arctic elements in the agreement replaced the deal between Rosneft and BP that failed earlier this year over a dispute with the British company's other Russian partner.

The authorities in Sudan have denied allegations by international human rights groups that they are continuing aerial bombardments of civilians in the province of South Kordofan. Human rights researchers said they saw Sudanese planes bombing what appeared to be civilian areas. James Copnall reports from South Sudan.

A spokesman for President Omar al-Bashir's National Congress Party has categorically denied the Sudanese armed forces are breaking their own ceasefire in Southern Kordofan. Ibrahim Ghandour accused the rebels of continuing the fighting, saying the government troops were acting in self-defence. He rejected reports that the Sudanese armed forces were indiscriminately bombing civilians or stopping the flow of humanitarian aid to people in need. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch say they have documented air attacks that killed at least 26 civilians in Southern Kordofan before the ceasefire.

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Bolivia's Supreme Court has sentenced five former senior military officers in connection with the killing of almost 60 people during protests in 2003. They'll serve between 10 and 15 years in prison. The protesters were killed during demonstrations against the export of natural gas to the United States. A BBC correspondent says this is the first civilian trial of military officials in Bolivia accused of human rights to reach a conclusion.

Some of Sweden's main newspapers have announced a temporary shutdown of their previously unrestricted online comment pages while they are overhauled to prevent hate speech. The move was prompted by some of the responses to the killings in Norway last month. Here's Mike Sanders.

Up to now, Swedish readers have been able to log on to the newspapers' comment pages using pseudonyms or nicknames. Some overtly praised Anders Behring Breivik for killing 77 people, endorsing his views about what he called the Islamisation of Europe. Now contributors will have to use their Facebook or other social networking accounts to access comment pages run by three of the top newspapers. Editors admit it won't be entirely foolproof - mischief-makers could set up bogus accounts - but they think it will weed out most racist and other anti-social opinions.

The Israeli army says it's training Jewish settlers in the West Bank to repel 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.

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