Tear gas and clashes at HK protest

28 September 2014 Last updated at 12:48

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Police used pepper spray and tear gas on protesters trying to breach barricades

Hong Kong police have used tear gas to disperse pro-democracy protesters outside the main government building, after a week of escalating tensions.

Demonstrators trying to push through police barricades were earlier repelled by pepper spray.

Protesters want the Chinese government to scrap rules allowing it to vet Hong Kong's top leader in the 2017 poll.

Hong Kong Chief Executive CY Leung said the demonstration was "illegal" and elections would go ahead as planned.

In his first public statement since the protests began, Mr Leung also added that consultations would continue.

He said he and his government had "been listening attentively to members of [the] public". But, he said, "resolute" action would be taken against the "illegal demonstration".

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Chief Executive CY Leung said the government was "resolute in opposing the unlawful occupation" by protesters

Protesters blocked a busy road on Sunday, clashing with police as they tried to join a mass sit-in outside government headquarters.

Police used hand-held cans of pepper spray to drive back the protesters, who defended themselves with umbrellas and face masks.

As evening fell, the police lobbed tear gas canisters into the crowd, scattering some of the protesters.

Thousands joined a sit-in outside government headquarters this weekend, bolstering a week-old protest, which began as a strike by students calling for democratic reforms.

On Saturday night, the leader of Occupy Central, another protest movement, brought forward a planned action to merge it with the sit-in by the students outside the central government building.

A statement by the movement said Mr Leung had "failed to deliver on political reform".

The protesters had also called for further talks but it is not clear how far - if at all - Mr Leung's mention of further consultations will be seen as recognising their demands.

Faith Kwek, a 19-year-old student protester, said Mr Leung's "words are just words".

"I don't think myself or any of the protesters will give in until we see bigger progress in the form of action from him. We don't want our country to surrender to China."

Occupy Central had originally planned to paralyse the central business district next Wednesday, but organisers advanced the protest and changed the location in an apparent bid to harness momentum from student protests outside the government complex.

Student activists had stormed into a courtyard of the complex late on Friday and scuffled with police using pepper spray.

Police said they made more than 60 arrests including prominent student activist leader Joshua Wong.

The BBC's Juliana Liu in Hong Kong says that thousands had arrived spontaneously to support the demonstration by students.

Those outside the government buildings plan to stay until they are forcibly removed, she says.

However, some students expressed unease that their protest was apparently being taken over by Occupy Central.

"A lot of students left as soon as Occupy made the announcement they were starting their occupation," said university graduate Vito Leung, 24.

"I think they were really forcing it. This was always a separate student movement with similar goals but different directions. I don't think it should be brought together like this."

Unrest began when the Chinese government announced that candidates for the 2017 chief executive election would first have to be approved by a nominating committee.

Activists have argued that this does not amount to true democracy.

At least 34 people have been injured since the protests began, including four police officers and 11 government staff and guards, authorities said.

Hong Kong democracy timeline

• 1984: Britain and China sign an agreement where Hong Kong is guaranteed "a high degree of autonomy, except in foreign and defence affairs" for 50 years following the handover in 1997.
• 2004: China rules that its approval must be sought for changes to Hong Kong's election laws.
• 2008: China says it will consider allowing direct elections by 2017.
• June-July 2014: Pro-democracy activists hold an unofficial referendum on political reform and a large rally. This is followed by protests by pro-Beijing activists.
• 31 August 2014: China says it will allow direct elections in 2017, but voters will only be able to choose from a list of pre-approved candidates. Activists stage protests.
• 22 September 2014: Student groups launch a week-long boycott of classes in protest.

Q&A: Hong Kong's democracy controversy

Are you in Hong Kong? Have you been affected by the issues in this story? Have you taken part in the protests? You can share your experience by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

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US police officer shot in Ferguson

28 September 2014 Last updated at 05:53

A police officer has been shot in the strife-torn US town of Ferguson, Missouri, but the officer's condition is unclear, St Louis police say.

The officer was shot in the arm, according to local broadcaster KSDK, but the circumstances are not known.

Ferguson, a suburb of St Louis, has suffered outbreaks of violence since the shooting dead of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown on 9 August.

He was shot by white policeman Darren Wilson, leading to protests.

St Louis County Police spokesman Brian Schellman told AP news agency that an officer had been shot but he had no further information.

There have been violent clashes between police and demonstrators since the shooting of Mr Brown, 18.

Last week, police in Ferguson said they would not tolerate further violence after protesters looted shops and harassed officers.

Also last week, a street memorial where Mr Brown was shot was burned down in suspicious circumstances.

Police said the cause of the blaze was under investigation, and local residents suspected arson.

A St Louis grand jury has yet to decide whether or not to charge Mr Wilson with Michael Brown's shooting.

It is unclear when they will make a decision. A separate investigation by the US justice department is continuing.

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Sudan apostasy woman 'to campaign'

28 September 2014 Last updated at 08:05

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Mariam Ibrahim said she believed her imprisonment in Sudan was ''a test''

Mariam Ibrahim, the Sudan woman who escaped a death sentence imposed for renouncing her faith, says she wants to campaign for others who face religious persecution.

Speaking to the BBC in the US, where she is seeking asylum, Ms Ibrahim said she hopes to return to Sudan one day.

Ms Ibrahim earlier received an award from a US Christian foundation.

Her sentencing - by a Sudanese court that did not recognise her Christian faith - sparked outrage this year.

Born to a Muslim father, she was raised a Christian by her mother and married a Christian man.

Under Sudan's version of Islamic law, however, her father's religion meant that she too was still technically a Muslim. A court found her guilty of apostasy, or renouncing one's faith.

Sentenced to hang, she gave birth to her daughter while shackled in prison. Under intense international pressure, her conviction was quashed and she was freed in June.

She told the BBC that she had been threatened by the guards while she was in court.

"The judge told me that I needed to convert to Islam," she said. "And so these warnings made me anticipate I would be sentenced to death."

"It wasn't easy, I can't describe it," she said, of her time in prison. "But there are others who are in worse conditions in Sudan than those I was in."

"Sadly, this was all under the guise of the law. So instead of protecting people, the law is harming them."

On Saturday night, Ms Ibrahim received an award from a gathering of evangelical Christian conservatives in Washington, who see her treatment in Sudan as an assault on their values.

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Al-Nusra threat over air strikes

28 September 2014 Last updated at 10:48

Syrian militant group al-Nusra Front has denounced US-led air strikes as "a war against Islam".

In an online statement, the al-Qaeda-linked group called on jihadists around the world to target Western and Arab countries involved.

It comes as the US and other nations widened air strikes against Islamic State (IS) fighters in Iraq and Syria.

A Syrian activist group said overnight strikes hit three local oilfields near the Syrian IS stronghold of Raqqa.

The group, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, also said one civilian was killed in a strike on a plastics factory on the outskirts of Raqqa.

Previously, the Pentagon confirmed that jets hit Raqqa on Saturday as well as IS positions near the Turkish border.

Kurdish fighters have been defending the Kurdish town of Kobane on the Syrian side of the border since an IS advance sent about 140,000 civilians fleeing to Turkey.

The US-led coalition of about 40 countries, including Arab states, has vowed to destroy IS, which controls large parts of north-eastern Syria and northern Iraq.

The group's brutal tactics, including mass killings, beheadings, and abductions of members of religious and ethnic minorities, triggered the international intervention.

Despite sharing radical Islamist beliefs, IS and al-Nusra Front have been rivals, recently clashing with each other in Syria.

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Paul Wood's exclusive report from Kobane: ''The battle is far from over''

But on Saturday al-Nusra spokesman Abu Firas al-Suri threatened the coalition nations.

"These states have committed a horrible act that is going to put them on the list of jihadist targets throughout the world," he said.

"This is not a war against al-Nusra, but a war against Islam."

Both IS and al-Nusra form part of the complex network of rebel forces fighting in Syria. The US has not said al-Nusra is also being targeted but its planes have attacked a new group it terms Khorasan, which some analysts suspect is part of al-Nusra Front.

IS has also called on jihadists to launch attacks on coalition countries.

On Saturday, a spokesman for the moderate opposition Free Syrian Army said it supported air strikes against IS but opposed any action that caused civilian casualties.

Hussam al-Marie told the BBC that Western countries should also carry out strikes against the government in Damascus.

"(The) so-called Islamic State is our enemy as much as (President) Assad's regime is our enemy," he said.

"We want Syria free from dictatorship and from terrorism. We need the support of the free world to continue this battle against the regime and Isis (IS). We are fighting on two fronts."

Meanwhile on the ground, IS shelled Kobane on Saturday and several people were killed, the BBC's Paul Wood reports from the scene.

The US Central Command announced that an IS-occupied building and two armed vehicles were destroyed near the Kobane border crossing.

Several thousand Kurdish refugees, along with their sheep and cattle, are camped out at the railway line which marks the border with Turkey.

Other strikes hit IS targets elsewhere in Syria and in northern Iraq on Saturday.

On Friday the UK became the latest nation to join the air campaign against IS after MPs voted in favour of strikes in Iraq, but not in Syria.

Two of six RAF Tornados based in Cyprus carried out their first combat mission on Saturday but returned without carrying out any strikes.

On Saturday evening, local time, two RAF planes took part in a further flight and later returned safely.

French fighter jets are already taking part in strikes in Iraq with Belgium and the Netherlands each pledging six F-16s planes and Denmark deploying seven.

European countries have so far only agreed to strike targets in Iraq where the government has asked for help.

Who are Islamic State (IS)?

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In 60 seconds: What does Islamic State want?

• Formed out of al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) in 2013, IS first captured Raqqa in eastern Syria
• It captured broad swathes of Iraq in June, including Mosul, and declared a "caliphate" in areas it controls in Syria and Iraq
• Pursuing an extreme form of Sunni Islam, IS has persecuted non-Muslims such as Yazidis and Christians, as well as Shia Muslims, whom it regards as heretics
• Known for its brutal tactics, including beheadings of soldiers, Western journalists and aid workers
• The CIA says the group could have as many as 31,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria

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Kimetto breaks marathon world record

Kenya's Dennis Kimetto has broken the marathon world record in Berlin, winning the race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 57 seconds.

The 30-year-old broke away in a seven-man group that included fellow Kenyans Emmanuel Mutai and Geoffrey Kamworor.

He shook off Mutai with just under three miles remaining to become the first man to run a marathon in less than two hours and three minutes.

"I feel good because I won a very tough race," said Kimetto.

"I felt good from the start and in the last few miles I felt I could do it and break the record."

Year	Time	Athlete	Course
1947	2:25.39	Suh Yun-bok (Korea)	Boston
1958	2:15.17	Sergei Popov (Soviet Union)	Stockholm
1969	2:08.33	Derek Clayton (Australia)	Antwerp
1988	2:06.50	Belayneh Dinsamo (Ethiopia)	Rotterdam
1999	2:05.42	Khalid Khannouchi (Morocco)	Chicago
2008	2:03.59	Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia)	Berlin
2014	2:02.57	Dennis Kimetto (Kenya)	Berlin

The previous world record had been set on the same course 12 months ago by Kimetto's compatriot Wilson Kipsang, who ran 2:03:23.

Kimetto, who won marathons in Tokyo and Boston last year, had promised to attack the record in Berlin if conditions allowed.

And in weather perfect for long-distance running, with temperatures around eight degrees centigrade, Kimetto kept his promise, staying in the lead group throughout and sprinting to victory and a new world's best time.

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Gay Pride march returns to Serbia

28 September 2014 Last updated at 13:14

Serbia's first Gay Pride march for four years has been held in the capital Belgrade, amid massive security, including special forces and tanks.

Waving rainbow flags, hundreds took the short march through empty streets.

Authorities had cancelled the event every year since marchers were attacked in 2010 - nine years after Gay Pride was first held in Belgrade.

Serbia is keen to show increasing tolerance as it seeks to join the EU, the BBC's Guy De Launey says.

Keeping Brussels happy is undoubtedly the motivation for allowing the Gay Pride march to go ahead, our correspondent in Belgrade says.

Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic had announced he would not attend the event due to prior engagements - but also made it clear he would not have gone even if he had been free.

Our correspondent says that reflects widespread feelings in Serbia.

The patriarch of the influential Orthodox Church has condemned the event.

Two-thirds of respondents to a survey four years ago said they viewed homosexuality as a disease.

But Sunday's march took place without incident, with marchers blowing whistles as a police helicopter flew over them.

Participants marched through the centre of the city to the National Assembly, where ambassadors from numerous European countries addressed the crowd.

"I feel phenomenal. Our efforts of the past three years have borne fruit," organiser Boban Stojanovic told Reuters news agency.

On Saturday evening, anti-gay rights campaigners demonstrated in the capital in anticipation of the Gay Pride march on Sunday.

But the influence of the far right has declined in recent years, our correspondent says, and several government ministers have spoken in favour of the march.

Earlier in September a German LGBT ( lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender) rights speaker was treated in hospital after being beaten in Belgrade.

In response to the attack, Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said: "We will not allow this kind of thing to remain unpunished."

The march in 2010 was the only gay pride parade to go ahead in the Serbian capital since 2001.

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Air France pilots end long strike

28 September 2014 Last updated at 12:40

Air France pilots have called off a strike that has lasted for two weeks and cost the airline hundreds of millions of euros.

Pilots' union SNPL and the airline have yet to reach an agreement over a dispute about the carrier's plans to expand its budget subsidiary Transavia.

However, a union spokesman said it was ending the strike so negotiations could "continue in a calmer climate".

The loss-making airline wants to cut costs to compete with budget carriers.

The two parties failed to resolve their differences during weekend talks, with the airline rejecting an offer by SNPL on Friday night to end the strike if an independent mediator was appointed.

The government, which owns a 16% stake in the airline and has pressed hard for an end to the strike, also rejected the offer.

As a result, Air France announced late on Saturday that it would be operating less than half of its scheduled flights on Sunday.

Unresolved differences

With the strike now over, the airline and union will continue talks over employment contracts.

Pilots are angry about Air France's plans to expand its low-cost operation, Transavia, via regional hubs around Europe.

This is part of wider attempts by the airline to stem losses and compete with budget carriers such as Easyjet and Ryanair that have taken a large chunk of business from more established European carriers.

The company agreed to expand its Transavia operations only within France as a concession to the unions, but insists that it must have the right to vary employment contracts for those working at the low-cost subsidiary.

The pilots want the same contract to be offered to all pilots across all Air France's operations.

Currently, Air France pilots are paid more than Transavia pilots, and they are concerned the airline will replace some Air France flights with Transavia services.

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Japan volcano rescue finds 31 bodies

28 September 2014 Last updated at 13:04

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Survivors described volcanic rock falling "like hailstones", as Rupert Wingfield-Hayes reports

The bodies of 31 hikers have been found near the top of Japan's Mount Ontake a day after a sudden volcanic eruption.

The hikers were not breathing and their hearts had stopped. The search for a total of 45 for missing climbers has now been called off for the night.

The volcano, about 200km (125 miles) west of Tokyo, erupted without warning on Saturday, spewing ash and rocks.

About 250 people were trapped on the slopes of the popular beauty spot, but most got down safely.

The eruption forced many of those on the mountain to make emergency descents through clouds of volcanic ash and falling rocks.

"The volcanic rocks fell like hailstones," one man said.

"We couldn't breathe so we covered our mouths with towels. We couldn't open our eyes either."

Another told reporters: "The volcanic ash was hurtling so fast I couldn't run away. I'm worried about people still on the mountain."

Almost 50 people were thought to have stayed on the mountain overnight, reports said.

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Eyewitnesses and helicopters caught dramatic images of the eruption

After an intense search throughout Sunday, forty-five people are still listed as unaccounted for - including those found incapacitated and feared dead near the summit.

There was no official confirmation of death, which in Japan that can only be certified after a formal doctor's examination.

There are fears that the others could be buried under volcanic ash.

At least four people were transported back down the mountain on Sunday, according to reports, but their condition was not yet known.

No warning

Japan is one of the world's most seismically active nations but there have been no fatalities from volcanic eruptions since 1991, when 43 people died at Mount Unzen in the south-west.

The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, in Tokyo, says it's not clear why there was no warning of Saturday's eruption.

Japan monitors its volcanoes closely and any that show signs of activity are immediately closed to hikers - but this time that did not happen.

Japanese scientists say there had been an increase in seismic activity around the volcano recently, our correspondent says, but it was not enough to indicate that an eruption was imminent.

The sudden eruption on Saturday was described as "like thunder" by one woman who runs a lodge near the summit.

Heavy, toxic volcanic ash up to 20cm (8in) thick covered much of the mountain, reports said.

"All of a sudden ash piled up so quickly that we couldn't even open the door," Shuichi Mukai, who worked in a mountain lodge just below the peak, told Reuters.

"We were really packed in here, maybe 150 people. There were some children crying, but most people were calm. We waited there in hard hats until they told us it was safe to come down."

Ordinarily Mount Ontake is a popular place to see autumn foliage.

Its peak is 3,067m (10,120ft) high and the mountain is a popular hiking route, dotted with lodges, cabins and well-marked trails.

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Catalonia leader decrees referendum

27 September 2014 Last updated at 13:10

The president of the Spanish region of Catalonia has signed a decree calling for a referendum on independence.

Artur Mas wants Catalonia to hold a Scottish-style vote on 9 November, but does not have the backing of the central government in Madrid.

Spain quickly denounced the move, calling the plan unconstitutional.

Catalonia, which includes Barcelona, is one of Spain's richest and most highly industrialised regions, and also one of the most independent-minded.

On 19 September Catalonian lawmakers voted by a margin of 106 to 28 in favour of authorising the referendum, known locally as a "consultation".

Mr Rajoy and the Spanish government believe any vote would be illegal.

Two hours after Mr Mas signed the decree, Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz made Madrid's position clear: "This referendum will not be held because it is unconstitutional," she said.

The prime minister is expected to take action at a special cabinet meeting early next week, and is likely to take the dispute to the country's Constitutional Court.

However, Mr Mas says he can use local laws to hold a vote in a matter of weeks.

The decree was signed at a short ceremony and will serve as a message of intent to Spain's central government, says the BBC's Tom Burridge in Madrid.

The question now will be on how far the Spanish government is prepared to go in order to stop a referendum, our correspondent adds.

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The Spanish government has said a referendum on Catalan independence would be unconstitutional, despite protests

Mr Mas has previously insisted that the pro-independence movement would prevail, even if it faces stiff opposition.

"If they think in Madrid that by using legal frameworks they can stop the will of the Catalan people, they are wrong," he said in the wake of the Scottish "No" vote.

Until recently, few Catalans had wanted full independence, but Spain's painful economic crisis has seen a surge in support for separation, correspondents say.

There is resentment over the proportion of Catalan taxes used to support poorer regions.

The pro-independence movement in Catalonia believes that the region can go ahead with the independence vote after the decree is signed.

Earlier this month hundreds of thousands of Catalans formed a "V" for "vote" along two of Barcelona's main roads calling for their right to vote.

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Chelsea Clinton gives birth to girl

27 September 2014 Last updated at 07:31

Chelsea Clinton, daughter of former US President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has given birth to a baby girl.

"Marc and I are full of love, awe and gratitude as we celebrate the birth of our daughter, Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky," Ms Clinton tweeted.

Ms Clinton, 34, married Marc Mezvinsky in 2010, and announced her pregnancy in April 2014.

The baby arrives as Hillary Clinton considers a presidential bid in 2016.

She is seen as the leading Democratic contender for nomination to succeed President Barack Obama, and has said that she will make a decision on whether to run from around the beginning of 2015.

Bill Clinton served as the 42nd US president, from January 1993 to January 2001.

The former first daughter has often been tipped to follow her parents into politics.

Chelsea Clinton, educated at Stanford, Columbia and Oxford Universities, runs the Clinton Foundation with her parents. Her husband Marc Mezvinsky is an investment banker.

Ms Clinton stepped down from a $600,000 (£370,000) a year position as NBC special correspondent in August to concentrate on her pregnancy, motherhood and philanthropic work.

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W Africa Ebola deaths 'pass 3,000'

26 September 2014 Last updated at 22:42

The death toll from the Ebola outbreak in West Africa has passed 3,000, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.

The latest figures indicate that more than 6,500 people are believed to have been infected in the region.

Liberia is the worst affected country, having recorded around 1,830 deaths linked to the latest outbreak.

The outbreak is the world's most deadly - US President Barack Obama has called it a "threat to global security".

Some studies have warned that the numbers of infected could rise to more than 20,000 by early November.

The report said two new areas, in Guinea and Liberia, have recorded their first confirmed cases of Ebola in the last seven days.

It also highlights the risk of infection for health workers trying to stem the outbreak.

It says 375 workers are known to have been infected, and that 211 have so far died from the virus.

The deaths and sickness have made it even more difficult for the already weak healthcare systems in the affected countries to cope with the outbreak.

There is a severe shortage of hospital beds, especially in Liberia.

The US is sending some 3,000 troops to help Liberia tackle the disease, and set up emergency medical facilities.

Ebola virus disease (EVD)

• Symptoms include high fever, bleeding and central nervous system damage
• Spread by body fluids, such as blood and saliva
• Fatality rate can reach 90% - but current outbreak has mortality rate of about 70%
• Incubation period is two to 21 days
• There is no proven vaccine or cure
• Supportive care such as rehydrating patients who have diarrhoea and vomiting can help recovery
• Fruit bats, a delicacy for some West Africans, are considered to be virus's natural host

Ebola virus: Busting the myths

Sierra Leone last weekend enforced a three-day curfew in an attempt to quell the outbreak in the country.

During the curfew more than a million households were surveyed and 130 new cases discovered, the authorities say.

On Wednesday, Sierra Leone extended the quarantine area to three new districts, meaning more than a third of the country's six million people cannot move freely.

Some 600 people have died in Sierra Leone and a similar number in Guinea, where the outbreak was first confirmed in March.

Nigeria and Senegal, two other West Africa countries that have also been affected by the outbreak, have not recorded any new cases or deaths in the last few weeks, the latest WHO report says.

At the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Thursday, US President Obama called for more urgent action in the response to the outbreak.

"There is still a significant gap between where we are and where we need to be," he said.

A new BBC Ebola programme with the latest news about the outbreak is broadcast at 19.50 GMT each weekday on the BBC World Service.

Have you been affected by the Ebola outbreak? You can send us your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk

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Top India politician is convicted

27 September 2014 Last updated at 13:06

One of India's most colourful and controversial politicians, Jayaram Jayalalitha, has been jailed on corruption charges in a high-profile case which has lasted for 18 years.

The chief minister of the southern state of Tamil Nadu was found guilty of amassing wealth of more than $10m (£6.1m) which was unaccounted for.

She has to pay a multi-million dollar fine and resign as chief minister.

A former actress, her life has been marked by a series of high and lows.

The verdict was delivered by a special court in Bangalore amid tight security.

The prosecution argued that Jayalalitha and three others committed an offence against society, the Indian Express reported.

It said that supporters of AIADMK party were forcibly dispersed by police as they tried to make their way to the court.

The BBC's Jill McGivering says that Jayalalitha is a legendary figure - a flamboyant former film star who has been central to south Indian politics for three decades.

The corruption case focused on her personal wealth and was brought by a rival political party,

Jayalalitha has always argued that it was politically motivated.

Known by her followers as Amma or Mother, she inspires intense loyalty, even adoration.

But she has been associated with a lavish lifestyle.

Her foster son's wedding almost 20 years ago broke world records for its sheer scale - including 150,000 guests.

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Strikes 'target IS on Syria border'

27 September 2014 Last updated at 13:09

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Paul Wood's exclusive report from Kobane: ''The battle is far from over''

Islamic State fighters besieging the Syrian town of Kobane on the Turkish border have been targeted by air strikes, reports from the area say.

Warplanes circled through Friday night and explosions were heard in the early hours, the BBC's Paul Wood says.

Kurdish fighters have been defending the town from an advance by Islamic State militants.

There has been no word from the US-led coalition on whether it carried out air strikes in the area.

Kobane has become a flashpoint over the past week, as an estimated 140,000 civilians have fled the town and surrounding area.

Those displaced Kurds have crossed the nearby border with Turkey.

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Mark Lowen joined villagers on the Turkey-Syria border watching the fight against IS on Friday

The situation has been tense, with Turkish troops trying to prevent Turkish and Syrian Kurds crossing the border to help defend the town.

Overnight, the head of the US armed forces said air strikes in Syria were damaging the jihadist group, but said air power alone was not enough to defeat the militants.

A UK-based activist group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said air strikes continued on Saturday in Syria, with IS targets in the central province of Homs hit for the first time.

Strikes were also reported in the town of Minbej, east of Aleppo, for the first time, as well as new strikes on the city of Raqqa, which serves as IS headquarters, the activist group said.

The targets were far away from positions held by Syrian government forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, the Observatory's director told the AFP news agency.

At the scene: Paul Wood, Kobane

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The BBC's Paul Wood is one of the first western journalists to gain access to Kobane

The sound of warplanes circling overhead is nearly constant. And in the early hours of the morning people heard what they said were multiple air strikes against Islamic State positions.

Not before time, say the Kurdish forces defending this place. They are in the fight of their lives, with the jihadis now just a 10-minute drive from the town, and threatening to push further.

At the last Kurdish position outside Kobane last night bullets whined overhead and shells fell either side of the main road to the town.

The Kurds are grateful for the air strikes, but the battle for Kobane is far from over.

Coalition growing

On Friday the UK became the latest nation to join the US-led coalition against IS, which controls large swathes of Syria and Iraq after rapid advances in the summer.

MPs voted overwhelmingly in favour of air strikes in Iraq, but not in Syria.

Two of six RAF Tornados based in Cyprus took off on Saturday morning, heading for Iraq.

Their mission was unconfirmed but a BBC correspondent said they were loaded with laser-guided bombs and missiles and followed by an RAF refuelling tanker.

The UK also has a Rivet Joint spy plane in the region.

UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said "intensified surveillance" would identify "convoys" of IS fighters.

Speaking to BBC's Newsnight, he warned the campaign would be "long and drawn out".

French fighter jets are already taking part in strikes in Iraq with Belgium and the Netherlands each pledging six F-16s planes and Denmark deploying seven.

About 40 countries, including several from the Middle East, have joined the US-led coalition against IS.

European countries have so far only agreed to strike targets in Iraq where the government has asked for help.

But US aircraft have also attacked IS targets in eastern Syria, including oil installations.

Several US Arab allies - Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE - have "participated in or supported" the strikes.

Who are Islamic State (IS)?

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In 60 seconds: What does Islamic State want?

• Formed out of al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) in 2013, IS first captured Raqqa in eastern Syria
• It captured broad swathes of Iraq in June, including Mosul, and declared a "caliphate" in areas it controls in Syria and Iraq
• Pursuing an extreme form of Sunni Islam, IS has persecuted non-Muslims such as Yazidis and Christians, as well as Shia Muslims, whom it regards as heretics
• Known for its brutal tactics, including beheadings of soldiers, Western journalists and aid workers
• The CIA says the group could have as many as 31,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria

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Hosni Mubarak verdict postponed

27 September 2014 Last updated at 11:48

An Egyptian court has postponed a verdict in the retrial of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on charges of corruption and killing protesters during the 2011 uprising.

Mubarak, 86, was in court alongside his sons and a former minister. The verdict has now been set for 29 November.

He was found guilty and sentenced to life in 2012, but the conviction was overturned on technical grounds.

Mubarak ruled Egypt for almost 30 years before being ousted in the uprising.

He stood down after weeks of unrest ended in the deaths of hundreds of protesters across the country.

The current retrial began in April 2013, and has been adjourned several times since.

The presiding judge said he needed more time to finish writing his verdict, after examining 160,000 pages of evidence.

Small groups of Mubarak supporters and relatives of the dead, some of whom were demanding his execution, waited outside the court.

A minor clash erupted when news emerged of the postponement.

But the BBC's Orla Guerin in Cairo says many Egyptians appear to have lost interest in the fate of the former leader who dominated the country for three decades.

Changing evidence

In August, Mubarak was allowed to give a court-room speech broadcast on Egyptian television.

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Mr Mubarak insisted he was innocent in a court statement in August

In the speech, he defended his human rights record and said he did his best to fulfil his duties as president.

"I spent my whole life defending Egypt and its sons. I say before God, you and the people that I have spent my life fighting the enemies of the country," he said.

Commentators say that Mubarak could be acquitted, after several witnesses changed their evidence in his favour.

He is already serving a three-year prison sentence for embezzlement of public funds.

In August, a court ordered Mubarak's release from prison and transfer to a military hospital in Cairo, where he is being held.

He was found guilty in 2012 of the charge relating to killing protesters along with former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly, and sentenced to life in prison.

But in January 2013 the Court of Cassation upheld an appeal by the two men against their convictions on technical grounds and ordered a retrial.

His sons Alaa and Gamal are currently serving four-year prison terms for embezzlement of state funds.

Together with their father they were also fined $3m (£1.8m) and ordered to repay the $17.6m they were accused of stealing.

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Hong Kong police clear protesters

27 September 2014 Last updated at 12:00

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Juliana Liu in Hong Hong: ''Today will not be the end of the civil disobedience campaign''

Hong Kong police have cleared the main government compound of pro-democracy demonstrators who had occupied the area on Friday.

They arrested more than 60 people after a night of scuffles, with police using pepper spray to restore order. Nearly 30 people were hurt.

Reports suggest protesters remain in the area surrounding the compound.

Students and activists oppose Beijing's decision to rule out fully democratic elections in Hong Kong in 2017.

The ruling has prompted a protest movement in the autonomous territory, spearheaded by a group called Occupy Central.

In statement issued on Saturday, Occupy Central alleged that pepper spray was used without warning, and condemned the use of "unnecessary force" against "peaceful protesters".

"We strongly condemn such action which not only violates the police code of conduct but also tramples on people's freedom of expression," the group said.

Student leader held

The last of the protesters within the compound were removed on Saturday without resisting arrest, the South China Morning Post reported.

The students chanted the slogan: "No fear for civil disobedience" as they were led away, the Hong Kong-based newspaper said.

The break-in occurred just before 22:30 local time on Friday (15:30 BST), as protesters scaled security fences to get inside.

The protesters smashed barriers and scaled fences to occupy a forecourt outside government headquarters.

But police managed to restore a cordon around the building's forecourt by late on Friday night before removing the final 50 on Saturday.

Police said they had arrested 61 people on suspicion of forcible entry into government premises and unlawful assembly.

A 27-year-old man was also arrested for possession of an offensive weapon.

The South China Morning Post describes the forecourt as a popular protest spot, to which access has been restricted since July.

School and university students have joined the protests in recent days, and one prominent student activist leader, Joshua Wong, was among those arrested on Friday night.

Mr Wong, 17, was dragged away in handcuffs, a student leader from Hong Kong University said.

On Thursday, about 2,000 university students held a night-time protest at the house of the Hong Kong leader, Chief Executive CY Leung.

The students' boycott is seen as a prelude to a larger demonstration planned for 1 October, organised Occupy Central, which has vowed to block the financial district.

Hong Kong operates under a "one country, two systems" arrangement with Beijing, which means citizens are allowed the right to protest.

In August, Beijing decided that candidates for the 2017 chief executive election would first have to be approved by a nominating committee. Activists have argued that this does not amount to true democracy.

Hong Kong democracy timeline

• 1984: Britain and China sign an agreement where Hong Kong is guaranteed "a high degree of autonomy, except in foreign and defence affairs" for 50 years following the handover in 1997.
• 2004: China rules that its approval must be sought for changes to Hong Kong's election laws.
• 2008: China says it will consider allowing direct elections by 2017.
• June-July 2014: Pro-democracy activists hold an unofficial referendum on political reform and a large rally. This is followed by protests by pro-Beijing activists.
• 31 August 2014: China says it will allow direct elections in 2017, but voters will only be able to choose from a list of pre-approved candidates. Activists stage protests.
• 22 September 2014: Student groups launch a week-long boycott of classes in protest.

Q&A: Hong Kong's democracy controversy

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Japan volcano erupts trapping hikers

27 September 2014 Last updated at 12:43

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Mount Ontake erupted covering the area in a thick layer of ash

Several climbers have been injured in Japan after Mount Ontake volcano erupted, sending huge plumes of ash and stones into the sky.

Witnesses heard a "thunder-like" boom before the eruption at the 3,067m (10,120ft) peak, situated between Nagano and Gifu prefectures.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says the army will help rescue some 150 climbers sheltering in lodges near the summit.

Officials have warned residents within a 4km radius of the risk of debris.

Mount Ontake last erupted in 2007.

"It was like thunder," a woman who runs a lodge near the summit told Japanese broadcaster NHK.

"I heard boom, boom, then everything went dark."

"There are 15cm (six inches) of ash on the ground," she said.

Some climbers have managed to descend.

"I escaped with my bare life," one told NHK.

"Immediately after I watched the eruption, I rushed away but I was soon covered with ash."

Two of those injured have fractured bones caused by flying rocks, NHK said.

Three people are missing, believed buried under volcanic ash, it said. A fourth was rescued but remains unconscious, the broadcaster added, citing police.

Kiso Prefectural Hospital, near the mountain, said it had dispatched a medical emergency team.

"We expect a lot of injured people so we are now getting ready for their arrival," said an official at the hospital.

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New images from Flight MH370 hunt

26 September 2014 Last updated at 12:57 By Richard Westcott BBC Transport Correspondent

The team looking for missing flight MH370 has released detailed images of the seabed - revealing features such as extinct volcanoes and 1,400-metre depressions for the first time.

The collection of data from one of the most secret parts of the world is a by-product of the search.

Until now there were better maps of Mars than of this bit of the sea floor.

The Malaysian Airlines plane vanished without trace on 8 March with 239 people on board.

Twenty-six countries have helped look for the Boeing 777, but nothing has ever been found.

The aircraft was flying from the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, to Beijing.

The team at the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), which is leading the hunt for the plane, is using sonar to map the new "priority" search area, at the bottom of the Southern Indian Ocean.

After that they will deploy two or three deep sea vehicles to begin the painstaking, inch-by-inch seabed search for wreckage.

The "priority" area is based on the only piece of hard evidence investigators have, which is a series of brief, electronic "hellos" between the Boeing and a satellite.

It is the equivalent of your mobile phone buzzing next to a loud speaker because it is checking in with a ground station, even when you are not making a call.

But those "hellos" don't give an exact location, just a very rough idea, so the smaller, "priority" area is still 60,000 square kilometres (23,200 square miles) - an area roughly the size of Croatia.

Making sonar maps is vital to ensure the team does not crash its deep-water vehicles into ridges and volcanoes. The equipment is pulled along just above the sea floor by a 10km-long armoured cable.

Snagging that cable could damage the kit, or even cut it free, so the maps help them avoid any obstructions.

The deep sea search vehicles have sonar that can pick out odd lumps, cameras that can double check if that lump is wreckage or just a rock and an electronic nose that can smell aviation fuel in the water, even if it is heavily diluted.

The operation to find flight MH370 is the most complex search in history. They may find clues within months. Or they may never find the aircraft.

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Police end Cyprus migrant stand-off

26 September 2014 Last updated at 09:44

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Refugees have disembarked the cruise ship following a stand-off

Police in Cyprus have persuaded nearly 300 migrants, thought to be Syrian refugees, to disembark from the cruise ship that had rescued them.

Police negotiators coaxed the migrants off the ship in the early hours of Friday, an official said, ending a stand-off that began on Thursday.

The migrants were rescued at sea by cruise ship Salamis Filoxenia.

Although 65 left the ship when it docked at Limassol, the rest reportedly insisted on being taken to Italy.

The Cypriot defence ministry said 52 children were on the small fishing boat that had sent a distress signal. All those rescued are said to be in good health.

Meanwhile, 300 Russian passengers who had been due to continue their cruise to Haifa, Israel, on board the Salamis Filoxenia had their journey cancelled and were put up in Limassol hotels.

Salamis Cruise Lines Managing Director Kikis Vassiliou said the company's losses as a result of the rescue had run into hundreds of thousands of euros.

Aid workers said eight of those rescued had suffered some dehydration, while some others had "minor" problems.

The fishing boat was spotted in rough seas 55 nautical miles (100km) south of the town of Paphos.

"It was quite a difficult operation," Mr Vassiliou was earlier quoted as saying by the Cyprus Mail website.

Cypriot authorities said they had picked up a radio distress signal as the boat was caught in rough seas.

This year has seen a dramatic increase in the number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean in overcrowded boats - particularly people fleeing the conflict in Syria. The majority have headed for Italy and Malta.

Libya, racked by unrest and lawlessness, has become a major people-trafficking hub. However, Cyprus lies closer to Syria.

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Footage showed people being helped onto the cruise ship

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Taliban seize key Afghan district

26 September 2014 Last updated at 09:59

Taliban fighters have seized control of a strategic district in the Afghan province of Ghazni, officials say.

Insurgents killed about 70 villagers after taking Ajrestan district late on Thursday night after a week of battle.

A spokesman for the provincial governor said 15 people suspected of collaborating with authorities were beheaded, including women.

The Taliban is active in many parts of Ghazni, an important gateway to the capital, Kabul, from the south-east.

Fighting is continuing as security forces try to regain the district but officials fear surrounding districts are now vulnerable to attack.

Strategic district

Some analysts say that control of Ajrestan also provides militants with a launching pad for attacks into adjacent provinces in the east of the country.

Ajrestan is a small town surrounded by about 100 villages in a predominantly rural area.

Earlier this month militants killed 10 people when they attacked a government compound in Ghazni.

The fall of the district comes days before Afghanistan's new president Ashraf Ghani is due to be inaugurated.

He secured the position after striking a unity deal in which runner-up Abdullah Abdullah will nominate someone to a post similar to that of prime minister.

The power-sharing deal was announced last week after months of tension following disputed presidential elections.

Foreign combat forces are set to withdraw troops by the end of 2014 with control being transferred to Afghan national forces.

The Afghan army has seen a rise in the number of casualties as it increasingly takes over the battle against Taliban militants from US-led foreign troops.

The US has said that it hopes a key bilateral security agreement with Afghanistan can be signed in the coming weeks.

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Hungary suspends gas flow to Ukraine

26 September 2014 Last updated at 10:28

Hungary's gas pipeline operator, FGSZ, says it has suspended delivery of gas to neighbouring Ukraine "indefinitely".

Ukraine has been receiving gas from Hungary, Poland and Slovakia since Russia cut off supplies to Ukraine in June in a dispute over unpaid bills.

Ukraine's state-owned gas firm, Naftogaz, confirmed the stoppage. It called the move "unexpected and unexplained".

FGSZ said it cut deliveries to Ukraine to raise the flow of gas to Hungary.

With winter approaching fears are mounting that Ukraine will be unable to heat homes and power industry without Russian gas.

On Friday Russian and Ukrainian energy ministers are meeting in Berlin for European Union brokered talks, aimed at heading off such a crisis.

Gazprom meeting

Hungary said the stoppage late on Thursday was for technical reasons and because it expected Hungarian demand for gas imports to increase.

It comes three days after a meeting in Budapest between the head of Russian gas giant, Gazprom and Hungary's prime minister, Viktor Orban.

Prime Minister Orban has been critical of EU sanctions on Russia and has maintained a closer relationship with Moscow than his western European neighbours.

Earlier this year Gazprom and Russian President Vladimir Putin warned of consequences if EU member states went ahead with deliveries to Ukraine.

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Web attacks exploit Shellshock bug

26 September 2014 Last updated at 11:39

A series of attacks on websites and servers using the serious Shellshock bug has been spotted.

Millions of servers use software vulnerable to the bug, which lets attackers run commands on that system.

So far, thousands of servers have been compromised via Shellshock and some have been used to bombard web firms with data, said experts.

The number of attacks and compromises was likely to grow as the code used to exploit the bug was shared.

The Shellshock bug was discovered in a tool known as Bash that is widely used by the Unix operating system and many of its variants, including Linux open source software and Apple's OSX.

Attackers have been spotted creating networks of compromised machines, known as botnets, that were then put to other uses.

Honeypots

One group used their Shellshock botnet to bombard machines run by Akamai with huge amounts of junk data to try to knock them offline. Another group used its botnet to scan for more machines that are vulnerable.

Evidence of the scanning and attacks came from honeypots run by security companies. These are computers that have been set up to look vulnerable but which catch information about attackers.

Jaime Blasco, a researcher at security firm AlienVault, said its honeypot had seen scans and attacks that used Shellshock. The scans simply informed attackers that a server was vulnerable, he wrote, but others attempted to install malware to put that machine under an attacker's control.

The control that Shellshock gave to attackers made it potentially more of a problem than the serious Heartbleed bug discovered in April this year, said security researcher Kasper Lindegaard from Secunia.

Continue reading the main story

"This is going to unfold over the coming weeks and months"

End Quote Marc Maiffret BeyondTrust

"Heartbleed only enabled hackers to extract information," he told tech news site The Register. "Bash enables hackers to execute commands to take over your servers and systems."

The seriousness of the bug has also led governments to act quickly. The UK government said its cybersecurity response team had issued an alert to its agencies and departments giving Shellshock the "highest possible threat ratings".

It had this rating, said the alert, because vulnerable systems would "inevitably" include machines that formed part of the UK's critical national infrastructure.

The US and Canada are believed to have issued similar alerts and told technology staff to patch systems as quickly as possible. Amazon, Google, Akamia and many other tech firms have also issued advisories to customers about the bug.

As well as software patches for vulnerable systems, security firms and researchers are also producing signatures and filter lists to help spot attacks based around it.

Early reports suggest up to 500 million machines could be vulnerable to Shellshock but, wrote Jen Ellis from security firm Rapid7, this figure was now being revised downwards because of the "number of factors that need to be in play for a target to be susceptible".

"This bug is going to affect an unknowable number of products and systems, but the conditions to exploit it are fairly uncommon for remote exploitation," said Ms Ellis.

Marc Maiffret, chief technology officer at security firm BeyondTrust, expressed a similar view.

"There is a lot of speculation out there as to what is vulnerable, but we just don't have the answers," he said. "This is going to unfold over the coming weeks and months."

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Woman 'buried alive by accident'

26 September 2014 Last updated at 12:34

Police in northern Greece say they are investigating reports that a woman woke up to find herself buried in a coffin, only to die before being rescued.

Several people visiting the cemetery, near Thessaloniki, told police they had heard banging and muffled shouting from inside the woman's grave, an hour after her funeral on Thursday.

By the time the coffin was dug up, the woman, 45, was found dead.

She had earlier been declared dead by doctors treating her for cancer.

Her funeral was held at a cemetery in Peraia, a small town 22km (16 miles) south of Thessaloniki, Greece's main city in the north.

'Several tests'

Shortly after the last relatives left the cemetery, residents and a group of children playing outside reportedly heard a female voice shouting for help from inside the grave.

They called the police, and began digging up the grave to save her but she had suffocated to death inside the coffin, Greek media reported.

However, a doctor who was at the scene and examined the woman's body, said she had been dead for hours and could not have been revived.

"I just don't believe it," Chrissi Matsikoudi told the Greek television channel MEGA.

"We did several tests including one for heart failure on the body," she said.

It would have been impossible for "someone in a state of rigor mortis to have been shouting and hitting the coffin like that," she added.

A coroner is expected to examine the body.

Meanwhile, relatives of the dead woman say they are considering filing a complaint against the doctors responsible for her treatment at the cancer clinic.

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US air strikes 'destroy IS tanks'

26 September 2014 Last updated at 13:12

US-led air strikes on Islamic State (IS) militants have destroyed four tanks and damaged another during a fourth night of bombardments in Syria.

The Pentagon said it also carried out seven strikes on IS positions in Iraq, including one on the outskirts of the capital, Baghdad.

The Danish government says it is sending seven F-16 fighter jets to join anti-IS operations - but only in Iraq.

The UK parliament is due to vote on possible air strikes in Iraq on Friday.

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Asterix creator settles long dispute

26 September 2014 Last updated at 13:06

The co-creator of the famous Asterix cartoons, Albert Uderzo, has ended a seven-year legal battle with his daughter amicably, French media report.

The rift began in 2007 when Sylvie Uderzo and her husband Bernard de Choisy were dismissed by Asterix publisher Editions Albert Rene as managers of the Uderzo estate.

Albert Uderzo created the Asterix books with Rene Goscinny, who died in 1977.

Uderzo, 87, and his daughter say they have agreed to drop their lawsuits.

She had opposed his decision to sell his 60% stake in the Asterix publisher in 2008.

Last year, Uderzo sued his daughter and son-in-law for "psychological violence". He accused Mr de Choisy of being behind various legal moves by his daughter against him.

Sylvie Uderzo in turn brought a lawsuit against persons unnamed for abusing her father's "frailty" but the case was thrown out on Friday.

'Rediscovered happiness'

The illustrator and his daughter announced their reconciliation in a joint statement sent to AFP news agency.

"The Uderzo couple and their daughter are again reconciled and are determined to make a clean slate reciprocally, with regard to the reproaches made by both sides," the statement said.

"They wish henceforth to enjoy in full their newly rediscovered happiness."

Contacted by French daily Le Figaro, the Asterix co-creator said he had nothing to add.

More than 352 million copies of the Asterix albums have been sold worldwide and they have been translated into 111 languages.

The latest album, Asterix and the Picts, was published last October in 15 countries and 23 languages by new author Jean-Yves Ferri and illustrator Didier Conrad.

All of the previous stories were created by Uderzo and Goscinny.

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Venezuela beauty queen killers jailed

24 September 2014 Last updated at 10:19

A court in Venezuela has sentenced three men to lengthy jail sentences for the killing of Venezuelan beauty queen Monica Spear in January.

The three had pleaded guilty.

Ms Spear, 29, and her British partner, Thomas Berry, were shot dead in January in front of their five-year-old daughter during a roadside robbery.

UN figures suggest that Venezuela has the second-highest peacetime murder rate in the world, but the brutality of the crime shocked the country.

Deadly journey

Prosecutors said the three men were part of a larger gang which targeted motorists along a highway leading from Valencia to Puerto Cabello.

The court said seven other people were still on trial for the crime but had denied the charges.

The sentences for the three men range between 24 and 26 years in jail.

The family, who lived in the US, was on a visit to Ms Spear's home country when they were targeted.

They were travelling at night from the city of Merida to the capital, Caracas, when their car hit a sharp object, puncturing two tyres.

While they waited for breakdown assistance, they were ambushed by the armed gang.

When the couple and their daughter hid inside the car, they were shot at by the robbers.

Ms Spear and Mr Berry died instantly. Their daughter, Maya, was shot in the leg.

The murder of the popular beauty queen, who was crowned Miss Venezuela in 2004, prompted demonstrations against the country's high crime rate.

President Nicolas Maduro promised to respond with "an iron fist" and said he would make tackling crime one of the government's top priorities.

Last week, he announced his government would invest $47m (£29m) to further expand a plan to disarm civilians.

But opposition activists say impunity and corruption remain rampant and accuse his government of doing too little to tackle insecurity.

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China and US pledge climate action

24 September 2014 Last updated at 08:18

China has pledged for the first time to take firm action on climate change, telling a UN summit that its emissions, the world's highest, would soon peak.

Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli also said China would make its economy much more carbon efficient by 2020.

US President Barack Obama said climate change was moving faster than efforts to address it, and the US and China had a responsibility to lead other nations.

The summit was the largest high-level climate meeting since 2009.

Hosted by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, it aimed to encourage 120 member states to sign up to a comprehensive new global climate agreement at talks in Paris next year.

As he closed the summit, Mr Ban hailed the meeting, saying "never before have so many leaders gathered to commit to action on climate change".

The UN has previously warned that the impacts of global warming are likely to be "severe, pervasive and irreversible", leading to problems such as sea level rises, greater flood risks and changes to crop yields.

Mr Zhang told the summit that by 2020, China would aim to reduce its emissions of carbon per unit of GDP by 45%, compared with levels in 2005.

He said China wanted to have emissions peak "as early as possible".

"As a responsible major country, a major developing country, China will make even greater effort to address climate change," Mr Zhang said.

"All countries need to follow the path of green and low carbon development that suits their national conditions, [and] set forth post-2020 actions in light of actual circumstances."

Correspondents say it is the first time China has said it is willing to take firm action to cut carbon emissions.

However, Chinese President Xi Jinping was not at the summit, held before the formal start of the UN General Assembly session.

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Leonardo DiCaprio: ''I believe that mankind has looked at climate change as if it was a fiction''

Speaking earlier, Mr Obama said that he had spoken to Mr Zhang, with the pair agreeing that the world's two biggest emitters "have a responsibility to lead", but that all nations must play a part.

The "urgent and growing threat of climate change" would ultimately "define the contours of this century more dramatically than any other" issue, he added.

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Jeffrey Sachs: "Our governments do not take care of the future, they're short term, short sighted"

"We recognise our role in creating this problem, we embrace our responsibility to combat it."

An "ambitious" agreement "that reflects economic realities in the next decade and beyond" needed to be reached, because that was what "the scale of this challenge demands", Mr Obama said.

Mr Obama is eager to leave an environmental legacy, but correspondents say he faces numerous obstacles - including a Congress unwilling to curtail greenhouse gas emissions, or ratify an international agreement.

Matt McGrath, BBC Environment correspondent

As well as the hallmark rhetoric, President Obama's speech was notable for the absence of big pledges and for its realistic tone.

Every time the president used the word "carbon", he tagged the word "pollution" on the end.

His goal was to underline that carbon dioxide is damaging to humans in the same way as air pollution, and in the US it should be regulated by executive power rather than by through legislation in a very divided Congress.

The president also acknowledged the scale of opposition to his attempts to cut carbon. The most substantial pledge he made was an announcement that early next year he would publish a post-2020 plan to cut emissions.

He appealed to China, saying that together with the US the two countries had a special responsibility to lead. But everyone had to contribute. "No-one gets a pass," he said.

The president wants to bind in the Chinese with an ambitious, inclusive - and most critically - a flexible deal that he can sign without recourse to the Senate.

'Raising awareness'

Other attendees at the summit included US former Vice-President and climate campaigner Al Gore, Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio, Chinese actress Li Bingbing and Rajendra Pachauri, head of the UN climate panel, which won the Nobel peace prize in 2007.

France's President Francois Hollande promised $1bn (£610m) to help poor nations cope with the effects of rising temperatures, while Norway pledged $147m (£90m) to Liberia to end deforestation by 2020.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, for his part, argued that he had "kept that promise" to run the "greenest government ever".

With so many nations attending the summit at the UN headquarters and so little time at the one-day meeting, three separate sessions ran simultaneously on Tuesday in three different rooms.

The meeting was the largest climate summit since talks at Copenhagen in 2009, when countries failed to agree a timetable to reduce long-term emissions.

Away from the leaders' speeches there remained some scepticism.

Economist Jeffrey Sachs, an adviser to Ban Ki-moon, told the BBC: "This meeting [by itself] will not solve the problems. This meeting is to raise awareness.

"Our governments do not take care of the future, they're short-term, short-sighted," he added.

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Shot Australian 'was terror suspect'

24 September 2014 Last updated at 07:49

A teenager shot dead after he stabbed two police officers was a "known terror suspect" whose passport had been cancelled on security grounds, Australian officials say.

The incident happened at a Melbourne police station late on Tuesday.

The 18-year-old, who had been asked to attend an interview, stabbed two counter-terrorism officers several times. One of them then shot him.

Police would not confirm reports he made threats against PM Tony Abbott.

Media reports also said he had been seen with a flag of Islamic State (IS, also known as Isil), the radical Islamist group that controls areas of Iraq and Syria.

"It is true to say there was a flag involved, whether it was Isil or not is not absolutely clear to me but there are some concerns about that issue," Commissioner Ken Lay of Victoria Police said.

The man, who was named in parliament as Abdul Numan Haider, is of Afghan origin and had been associated with al-Furqan, a radical group, local reports said.

Mr Lay said he stabbed the officers as they greeted him.

"One's extended his hand to shake his hand and the response has been he's been stabbed in the arm," he said.

"The attacker's then turned on the second police member and stabbed him three or four times in the body and in the head.

"The first wounded member has then shot and killed the young man."

Both officers required surgery, but were in a stable condition, police said.

Terror raids

The 18-year-old was described by Justice Minister Michael Keenan as "a known terror suspect who was a person of interest to law enforcement and intelligence agencies".

Police said the meeting at the Endeavour Hills police station was prompted by an escalation of activity that had led to concern.

Mr Abbott, who is overseas, said the incident showed "that there are people in our community who are capable of very extreme acts".

The incident came days after police conducted major anti-terror raids in Sydney and Brisbane in response to an alleged plot by IS followers to publicly behead a randomly-selected Australian.

One man has been charged with serious terrorism offences following that operation.

In recent months, Australian officials have been expressing growing concern over the the impact of Australians fighting with Islamist groups in the Middle East on domestic security.

They are concerned both about returnees and those who sympathise with the causes they advocate.

In response, the government is introducing new legislation to prevent Australians travelling to conflict zones to join militant groups, and to penalise those who do.

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India Mars mission arrives in orbit

24 September 2014 Last updated at 08:16

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Applause broke in the control room out as the probe entered Mars' orbit

India has successfully put a satellite into orbit around Mars, becoming the fourth nation or geo-bloc to do so.

The Mangalyaan robotic probe, one of the cheapest interplanetary missions ever, will soon begin work studying the Red Planet's atmosphere.

A 24-minute engine burn slowed the probe down enough to allow it to be captured by Mars' gravity.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the country had achieved the "near impossible".

Only the US, Russia and Europe have previously sent missions to Mars, and India has succeeded on its first attempt - an achievement that eluded even the Americans and the Soviets.

The latest US satellite, Maven, arrived at Mars on Monday.

US space agency Nasa congratulated its Indian counterpart, the Indian Space and Research Organization (Isro), on Wednesday's success.

"We congratulate @ISRO for its Mars arrival! @MarsOrbiter joins the missions studying the Red Planet," the agency tweeted.

At the scene: Sanjoy Majumder, Bangalore

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Archive video: A closer look at the Mars orbiter

From early in the morning, there was an atmosphere of excitement and tension at the Indian space agency's mission tracking centre in Bangalore.

Scientists, many of them women and several of them young, were seated in front of their computer monitors tracking the progress of Mangalyaan.

Giant screens above their heads fed a steady stream of data, graphics and sequence of operations. The first whoops broke out when Mangalyaan successfully fired up its liquid engine, the first in a series of critical moves to make sure that the spacecraft was able to get into the planet's gravitational pull.

Then there was an agonising 20 minutes, when Mangalyaan disappeared behind Mars and beyond contact.

But there was no mistaking the moment, when the scientists all rose as one, cheered, clapped, hugged each other and exchanged high-fives - ­ confirmation that Mangalyaan was now on an elliptical orbit around Mars.

After PM Modi's congratulations, they poured out into the open and the bright sunlight, beaming as they took in the adulation.

"Thrilled to be a part of history," one young scientist told me. "It's like hitting a golf ball from Bangalore to London and getting it into the hole in one go," deputy operations director, BN Ramkrishna said. "It's got to be that precise."

'Better than cricket'

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PM Narendra Modi: "We have dared to reach out into the unknown"

Mr Modi congratulated the scientists and said: "Today, all of India should celebrate our scientists. Schools, colleges should applaud this."

"If our cricket team wins a tournament, the nation celebrates. Our scientists' achievement is greater," he added.

The total cost of the Indian mission has been put at 4.5bn rupees ($74m; £45m), which makes it one of the cheapest interplanetary space missions ever. Nasa's recent Maven mission cost $671m.

The Mangalyaan probe will now set about taking pictures of the planet and studying its atmosphere.

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Archive: People in India told the BBC what they thought of the mission

One key goal is to try to detect methane in the Martian air, which could be an indicator of biological activity at, or more likely just below, the surface.

Mangalyaan - more formally referred to as Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) - was launched from the Sriharikota spaceport on the coast of the Bay of Bengal on 5 November 2013.

The satellite joins four other missions that are circling the planet: Maven (US), Mars Odyssey (US), Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (US) and Mars Express (Europe).

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