英国新闻听力 北约空袭造成阿富汗平民伤亡（在线收听）

The White House said it’s gravely concerned about reports that civilians were among 90 people killed in an attack by NATO-led aircraft in Afghanistan. Local officials said up to 30 civilians had been killed. The Afghan President Hamid Karzai said targeting civilians in any form was unacceptable. And the NATO-led forces have expressed their regret. Chris Morris reports from Kabul.

Two fuel tankers were hijacked by the Taliban last night in the province of Kunduz. A few hours later the tankers were destroyed by a NATO air strike. NATO said it believed only insurgents were in the area when the attack took place. But several sources in Kunduz say both Taliban fighters and civilians were among the dead. President Karzai expressed deep sorrow for the loss of Afghan compatriots. And the NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said an investigation is underway.

The Chinese authorities say five people have been killed in the unrest in the city of Urumqi this week. Almost 200 people died in July in fighting between Muslim Uighurs and Han Chinese. The latest protests were triggered by reports of a series of stabbings by people armed with hypodermic syringes. Michael Bristow reports from the city.

Riot police armed with batons, shields and rifles fanned out across the city at first light. After two days of demonstrations, the authorities seemed intent on preventing further protests, but that warning went unheeded. Tempers flared and there were clashes between protesters and the riot police. Tear gas was used. The Minister for Public Security, Meng Jianzhu, has now arrived in Urumqi. He says he wants to restore order as soon as possible.

The rate of unemployment in the United States has hit a 26-year high. However, analysts say the number of job losses was lower than expected and suggest that labor market conditions might now be stabilizing. Our Washington correspondent Kevin Connolly reports.

The news from America’s labor market remains bad and the economists are left to quarry what nuggets of encouragement they can from the observation that the rate at which is getting worse is slowing down. The most widely used measure of unemployment now stands at 9.7%, its highest level since 1983. But while 216,000 workers lost their jobs in August, that does compare well with the early stages of this recession when unemployment rose by as much as 700,000 in a single month.

The authorities in Sierra Leone say they are closing down nearly 50 health clinics in the capital Freetown because they say they are stuffed by people with little or no medical training. The Deputy Health Minister said people had been killed in botched operations, and that inappropriate treatment was given to patients. He said many of those working in the clinics were foreigners. Sierra Leone’s health care system was badly damaged during the 11 years of civil war that ended in 2002.

There’s been more violence in Gabon as the constitutional court confirmed the election of Ali Ben Bongo as the country’s new president with 41% of the vote. About 50 people were arrested in the city of Port Gentil overnight during unrest following the announcement of the election result. Ali Ben Bongo succeeds his father Omar Bongo who died in office after more than 40 years in power.

The Obama administration has expressed its concern over reports that Israel looks set to approve the construction of hundreds of new buildings for settlers in the occupied West Bank. It said the plans were inconsistent with the commitment to restart peace negotiations. Paul Adams reports from Washington.

The White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the Obama administration regretted reports of Israel’s plans to approve additional construction in West Bank settlements. But for all the apparent frustration, it’s still widely believed that President Obama plans to issue an invitation to the Israeli and Palestinian leaders for a three-way meeting later this month. Sources familiar with intensive, behind-the-scenes discussions have told me they still expect to see Israel announcing a settlement’s freeze in return for a number of concessions from moderate Arab states.

Iraq has begun deploying thousand of extra police on its border with Syria as tensions between the two countries continue to rise. Baghdad accuses Damascus of harboring militants who they say have carried out a spate of bombings in Iraq. A local police chief said there was proof of Syria’s involvements and / reinforcements have been ordered by the Prime Minister. Syria has called Iraq’s accusations immoral.

Yemen says it will suspend its military offensive against Shiah rebels in the north of the country if the rebels agreed to do the same. The statement on the ruling party’s website said this was to allow aid agencies into the area. This week, the government rejected the rebel group’s offer of a truce prompting the rebels to threaten a war of attrition.

一份报告称，在北约领导的飞机对阿富汗的袭击中死亡的90人中包含平民，白宫对此表示非常担忧。当地官员称，大约30名平民被杀。阿富汗总统卡尔扎伊称，任何形式的袭击平民的行动都是不可接受的。北约领导的军队对此表示遗憾，Chris Morris在喀布尔报道。

昨晚，昆都士省两辆油罐车被塔利班分子劫持。几小时之后，油罐车被北约空袭毁坏。北约称，他们相信，袭击发生时该地区只有反叛分子。但是来自昆都士的几个消息来源均表示，死者中除了塔利班战士之外还有平民在内。总统卡尔扎伊对阿富汗同胞的遇难表示深切的忧伤。北约秘书长拉斯穆森(Anders Fogh Rasmussen)称现在正在进行调查。

中国官方称，本周在乌鲁木齐的暴乱中5人死亡。7月份，穆斯林维吾尔族和汉族人的冲突中，大约200人死亡。最新的抗议活动由人们用针筒伤害路人的一系列报道引发。Michael Bristow在乌鲁木齐报道。

很早的时候手持警棍，盾牌和步枪的防暴警察就在该市呈扇形展开。经过两天的示威活动之后，官方似乎只是想防止进一步的抗议活动，但是该警告似乎并未引起注意。双方群情激愤，抗议者和防暴警察之间发生冲突。公安部长孟建柱目前已抵达乌鲁木齐。他说，希望能够尽快恢复该地区秩序。

美国失业率攀升到26年来最高水平。然而，分析家称，失业人数比预期较低，而且就业市场环境现在正在逐渐稳定。我们的华盛顿记者Kevin Connolly报道。

来自美国就业市场的仍然是坏消息。经济学家只能挖空心思的找出能够鼓舞人心的地方，就是失业率升高的速度正在减慢。使用最广泛的失业率目前已经高达9.7%，自1983年来的最高水平。但是，8月份216,000人失业，与经济衰退初期相比确实更加乐观。当时每个月新增失业人口为700,000。

塞拉利昂官方称他们关闭了首都弗里敦接近50家医疗诊所，因为他们雇用未接受过医疗训练的人员。卫生副部长称，多人在笨拙的手术和不当的治疗中死亡。他说，这些诊所中许多工作人员为外国人。在11年的内战中，塞拉利昂的医疗体系受到严重毁坏。内战于2002年结束。

加蓬宪法法庭确认阿里·邦戈以41%的选票当选加蓬新任总统，加蓬发生更多的暴力活动。选举结果宣布后，让蒂尔港发生动乱，一夜之间大约50人被捕。阿里·邦戈将继其父亲之后成为加蓬总统。前总统奥默尔·邦戈在位40多年，在位期间去世。

有报告称，以色列似乎同意在西岸为定居者建立数百座新的建筑，奥巴马政府表达了深切担忧。奥巴马政府称，该计划于承诺重新开始和平谈判的承诺不一致。Paul Adams在华盛顿报道。

白宫新闻秘书罗伯特·吉布斯称，对于以色列计划同意在西岸建筑更多定居点的计划，奥巴马政府深感遗憾。但是尽管存在非常明显的沮丧情绪，人们仍然普遍相信，本月末奥巴马总统将向以色列和巴勒斯坦领导人发出进行三方会谈的邀请。熟悉幕后会谈的人告诉我，他们仍然预期将看到以色列宣布冻结定居点，以换取温和的阿拉伯国家的一些妥协。

由于两国紧张形势增加，伊拉克向其与叙利亚边境增派了数千名警察。巴格达谴责大马士革窝藏在伊拉克实施爆炸行为的好战分子。当地警察局长称，有证据显示叙利亚卷入这些事件，总理下令加强边境防守。叙利亚称伊拉克的职责是不道德的。

也门称，如果反叛分子同意停止攻击，他们将停止对国家北部什叶派的军事行动。发表在执政党网站上的声明表示将允许救助机构进入该地区。本周，政府拒绝了反叛组织休战的提议，威胁将对其发起战争。