BBC News with Gaenor Howells

　　There has 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 practise 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 accuse each other of violating the resolution, and their governments have lodged formal complaints here. The UN peacekeeping mission in the area says it's still investigating the circumstances that led to the clash. The acting head of the force has himself gone to the 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.

　　The United Nations says more than three 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 the 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 distress call of the helicopters the army has reached out. Now it is basically a relief work. A lot of relief camps have come up. The medical aid is there. The soldiers have given their own rations because it wasn't possible to reach out to far-flung areas."

　　The oil giant BP has started a long-awaited operation known as a "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 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 greater pressure the nature is forcing the oil out. As a backup, work is continued on relief wells which might offer a longer term solution. Hopes have been raised and dashed before with the regularity of the ocean tides though, and it's still not clear when BP will declare the "static kill" operation a success or another failure.

　　You are listening to the World News from the BBC.

　　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 every day. In some areas around Moscow, there are reports of a shortage of fire engines.

　　A plan to build an Islamic cultural centre, including a mosque, near the former World Trade Center in New York has cleared its final bureaucratic hurdle. The body that protects 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.

　　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 is 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 were 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 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 Islamic State of Iraq.

　　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's 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.

　　以色列和黎巴嫩之间发生罕见的边境冲突，这是自四年前以色列和真主党之间发生战争以来最为严重的类似的冲突。双方之间简短的枪战造成一名以色列高级军官，至少两名黎巴嫩士兵和一名黎巴嫩记者遇难。联合国安理会已经表示了深切的担忧。Barbara Plett报道。

　　安理会敦促各方采取最大限度的克制态度，终止敌意，防止紧张形势进一步升级。联合国安理会呼吁两国尊重边境，严格遵守终止了2006年以色列和伊斯兰真主党运动的联合国决议条款。黎巴嫩和以色列军队互相指责对方违反该决议，他们的政府已经提出了正式投诉。该地区联合国

　　维和任务表示，他们仍然在调查导致冲突的背景。维和任务代理负责人已经亲自到达事发地点，深切担忧这次边境小冲突会引发更广泛的冲突。

　　黎巴嫩好战组织真主党领袖已经警告以色列，如果黎巴嫩边境发生更多冲突，他们将加入战斗。Hassan Nasrallah也指控以色列密谋了2005年杀害黎巴嫩前总理拉菲克·哈里里(Rafiq Hariri)的行动。

　　联合国表示，巴基斯坦超过300万人受到80年来最严重的洪水影响。许多幸存者对未能获得援助表示愤怒，但是军方发言人，少将Athar Abbas告诉BBC，现在已有50,000军队抵达需要救助的大部分偏远地区。

　　“由于直升飞机有限，再加上天气条件恶劣，有一些地区很难到达。然而，此时此刻，救援行动已经几乎完成。直升飞机发出紧急呼救的地方军队都已经到达。现在基本上已经是救济工作。现在已经建立起了一些救济营。医疗救助也已经到位。士兵们也拿出了自己的口粮，因为他们不可能到达极其偏远的地区。”

　　英国石油公司开始了等待已久的“静灭法(Static Kill)”，永久性地封堵墨西哥湾水下破裂的油井。Kevin Connolly刚刚从华盛顿发回的报道。

　　封堵墨西哥湾水下石油泄漏的任何人都不能未卜先知，但是美国政府证实这是历史上最严重的漏油事件几个小时之后，BP距离成功封堵漏油越来越近。最近的努力包括通过管道向井中注入泥沙。在更大的压力下，自然会使石油流出。作为后备工作，开凿减压井的工作仍在继续，可能提供更加长期的解决方法。然而，尽管海洋潮汐存在规律性，希望降低和粉碎，现在仍然不清楚BP可以在什么时间宣布“静灭法(Static Kill)”成功或再次宣告失败。

　　您现在收听的是BBC世界新闻。

　　俄罗斯正在努力控制由持续高温引发的森林和耕地野火。官员表示，每天有300多处新的灾情发生。在莫斯科周围一些地区，有报道称灭火器出现短缺。

　　在纽约前世贸中心遗址建造伊斯兰文化中心，包括清真寺在内的计划扫清了最后的官僚障碍。该市保护地标性建筑的机构认为，现在，该地址上的建筑已经没有任何历史意义，应该拆除。反对者称，该计划的建筑对那些在2001年世贸中心袭击中遇难的人是不敬的。

　　在伊拉克南部城市库特发生的炸弹袭击中，3人死亡，至少50人受伤。此前，在巴格达发生的独立的袭击事件中已有几名警察和一名伊拉克士兵遇难。Hugh Sykes报道。

　　库特的炸弹于夜幕降临时在一个商业区爆炸。当时，夏季午后的酷热刚刚过去，人们纷纷外出购物，这正是最为繁忙的时候。其中一些幸存者伤势非常严重，所以死亡数字还有可能上升。周二早上，在巴格达一个检查点，5名警察被使用了消音武器的男子杀害。报道称，他们先枪杀了两名值班的警察，然后杀害了另外三名休息时间睡觉的警察。目击者称，歹徒在检查点留下了一面旗帜，是伊拉克伊斯兰国家的旗帜。

　　墨西哥政府表示，总统卡尔德龙派遣军队打击贩毒团伙已经三年多的时间，暴力水平依然在上升。全国情报机构负责人表示，墨西哥安全力量每天都卷入与贩毒团伙的武装冲突。她表示，自2006年末卡尔德龙总统执政以来，已有超过28,000人因与毒品相关的暴力死亡。