China throws weight behind HK leader

2 October 2014 Last updated at 11:56

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Carrie Gracie: Protesters light up the streets in the main financial district

China's state media have strongly backed Hong Kong Chief Executive CY Leung, praising his performance while condemning protests as "chaos".

The support in Communist Party paper People's Daily comes as student activists threaten to occupy government buildings if Mr Leung does not resign.

Police and government have again called on protesters to disperse.

The protesters are angry at China's plan to vet candidates for polls in 2017, saying they want full democracy.

On Wednesday China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi also warned against "illegal" protests and foreign interference.

'Disrespecting the law'

The People's Daily is the Chinese Communist Party's official newspaper. In a front-page editorial on Thursday, it praised Mr Leung's handling of the situation so far.

"The central government is full of confidence in Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying [CY Leung], and is completely satisfied with his performance," it said.

Beijing "will thus continue to strongly support Mr Leung's leadership of Hong Kong's legal administration as well as the police's handling of illegal activities", it added.

People's Daily also carried on its website a comment piece from another newspaper which stated: "Hong Kong has for many years enjoyed peace and harmony. It now sees the emergence of this embarrassing chaos, and the root cause lies with a few people who are disrespecting the law."

"Chaos denies Hong Kong residents their prosperity, goes against their wishes, and is not what all Chinese people wish to see or what we can tolerate."

Beijing's support of Mr Leung follows repeated calls by protesters for his resignation.

Juliana Liu, BBC News, Hong Kong

The senior Chinese leadership has set out clear limits on who can run for the position of chief executive, Hong Kong's top leader, in 2017.

The rules make it virtually impossible for anyone not trusted by the Chinese government to stand for election.

As a result, the protesters accuse Beijing of reneging on decades of vows to give Hong Kong people genuine democracy.

But although there is widespread anger that Beijing may have violated the spirit of the agreements it has made, there is intense debate over whether it has violated the letter of the law.

Read more: Did China go back on its promises?

Overnight, several thousand protesters massed outside his office, where there was a significant police presence.

Large numbers of protesters came out on to the streets on Sunday, when supporters of the Occupy Central pro-democracy movement joined student demonstrations. More people joined after police used tear gas on protesters.

Since then, protesters have been occupying at least three sites in the territory, in the Central business district, Causeway Bay and Mong Kok. A fourth site opened up at Canton Road on Wednesday.

Lester Shum, the vice-secretary of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, has called on Mr Leung to resign by Thursday night.

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Ali Moore: Have Hong Kong protests hit the shopping industry?

"Otherwise, we will announce an escalation of our movement, including occupying or surrounding different government buildings," he said.

Both the Hong Kong government and the police on Thursday reiterated their call to protesters to disperse.

Police spokesman Steve Hui told reporters that if protesters surrounded and occupied Mr Leung's office building in Central, this would cause public safety problems. "The police will not stand by and watch. We will decisively uphold the law," he said.

When asked if tear gas would be used, Mr Hui said the police would monitor the situation and would use "appropriate force if necessary", reported RTHK.

The South China Morning Post is reporting confrontations between the police and protesters outside the building.

The Hong Kong government said the protesters were conducting a "siege" and if it continued, government and police operations would "be seriously affected".

"This will eventually affect social order and the provision of government services to the public and society," it said, adding that 3,000 government officials were due to return to work on Friday.

Chan Kin-man of Occupy Central has urged the students to be peaceful, but also called on Mr Leung to quit.

Speaking in Washington on Wednesday, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the protests were an "internal affair" for China. Hong Kong authorities had "the capability to properly handle the current situation", he said.

In other developments:

• Mainland authorities have suspended bookings for tour groups to Hong Kong, the South China Morning Post reported
• On Wednesday, several rallies supporting the protests took place around the world, including in Taiwan, London and Macau
• Rights groups say some mainland-based activists have been detained

Several reports, citing unidentified Hong Kong sources, suggest the authorities plan to wait, hoping the protest campaign will lose momentum.

Hong Kong democracy timeline

• 1997: UK gives Hong Kong back to China under a 1984 agreement giving it "a high degree of autonomy" for 50 years
• 2004: China says it must approve any changes to Hong Kong's election laws
• June-July 2014: Pro-democracy activists hold an unofficial referendum on political reform. Both sides hold large rallies
• 31 August 2014: China says it will allow direct elections in 2017 but will pre-approve candidates
• 22 September 2014: Student groups launch a week-long boycott of classes
• 28 September 2014: Occupy Central and student protests join forces and take over central Hong Kong
• 2017: Direct elections for chief executive due to take place
• 2047: Expiry of current agreements

Q&A: Hong Kong's democracy controversy

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Japan in $617bn 'fat finger' error

2 October 2014 Last updated at 04:48

Japan's stock markets were rattled after a trading error caused more than $600bn (£370bn) worth of orders to be made and then cancelled.

An anonymous broker entered an over-the-counter trade for 42 stocks before swiftly cancelling it on Wednesday.

The transaction affected huge volumes of shares in blue-chip stocks such as Toyota Motors, Honda and Nomura.

Japan's Securities Dealers Association (JSDA) confirmed the mistake.

"A member company traded 42 issues at the off-exchange transaction at 09:25 on 1 Oct, 2014," JSDA said in an emailed statement. "This was, however, their error."

"After all of these reports were cancelled at 09:43, the revised correct report was made at 13:44".

The so-called "fat finger" mistake, which refers to a human error made by mis-typing a trade, was for an order worth more than the size of Sweden's economy.

The biggest order was for 1.96 billion shares of Toyota Motors for 12.68 trillion yen.

Some previous incidents of computer errors have resulted in severe consequences.

In 2012, US market-maker Knight Capital Group almost went bankrupt after it lost more than $450m when its computers made erroneous orders that couldn't be undone. The firm was later sold.

Japan is the world's second-biggest equities market and has seen an exponential increase in the amount of trading done electronically.

A lot of electronic trading takes place off its exchanges, or over-the-counter, and orders to buy or sell stocks are submitted and withdrawn regularly.

Brokers are required to file a report within five minutes if there is an error. However, the size of Tuesday's cancellation was unusual and took traders by surprise.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell by 0.6% on Tuesday, but its decline has been attributed to poor economic data.

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Turkey debates joining war on IS

2 October 2014 Last updated at 10:35

The Turkish parliament is to vote on a motion to allow its military to enter Iraq and Syria and foreign troops to use its territory for the operation.

Turkey had been unwilling to fight Islamic State (IS) militants because they were holding 46 Turkish hostages but they were released last month.

Parliament is expected to back the motion.

However, Turkey is wary of IS retaliation and fears helping the Kurds who are fighting the militants.

It has a porous and vulnerable border with Syria, more than 900km (560 miles) long.

Turkey has long been accused of permitting the flow of jihadists and resources into Syria as well as allowing IS to traffic oil from oilfields it has captured. The government in Ankara denies the allegations.

If MPs back the motion, it could mean the US using its large airbase at Incirlik in southern Turkey for air strikes.

Speaking in parliament on Wednesday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged the West to find a long-term solution to the crises in Syria and Iraq, pointing out that dropping "tonnes of bombs" on IS militants would only provide a temporary respite.

While he said "an effective struggle" against IS would be a priority for Turkey, "the immediate removal of the administration in Damascus" would also continue to be its priority.

He has repeatedly called for a buffer zone on the Turkish border inside Syria - enforced by a no-fly zone - to ensure security.

The BBC's Mark Lowen in Istanbul

What a difference a fortnight makes. Turkey has gone from refusing to take part in the US-led coalition to its parliament voting on a motion that could lead this country into battle in Iraq and Syria - and allow foreign troops to use its territory for that purpose.

The reason? The release of 46 Turkish citizens held hostage by Islamic State and plenty of pressure from Washington on its Nato ally.

President Obama even called his Turkish counterpart from Air Force One to twist arms.

But few expect Turkey to go in guns blazing. It shares a long, vulnerable border with both countries and fears retaliation, not least against Turkish troops protecting an Ottoman tomb in Syria, which IS militants have approached.

It is anxious not to embolden the Kurds - Turkey's long-standing enemy - in their fight against IS.

And it wants more: intervention against President Bashar al-Assad's regime and a buffer zone in northern Syria to help cope with the refugee influx, both of which seem some way off. Turkey is a vital player in this coalition - but how far it is willing to go is still unclear.

IS militants have advanced to within a few kilometres of the Kurdish town of Kobane, on the Syrian border with Turkey.

Imprisoned Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan was reported by Reuters on Thursday to have warned that peace talks between his group and the Turkish state would end if IS militants were allowed to carry out "a massacre" in Kobane.

The Islamic State advance close to the border has prompted thousands of Kurdish refugees fleeing the fighting in Syria to enter Turkey, which is already hosting more than a million Syrian refugees.

The IS campaign has also raised fears for the safety of Turkish special forces troops in Syria guarding the mausoleum of Suleyman Shah, the grandfather of Osman I, who founded the Ottoman Empire. The tomb is in a small enclave some 30km (18 miles) south of the Turkish border.

Mr Erdogan denied reports on Wednesday that the tomb had been surrounded by militants.

What is 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 parts 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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NFL rocked by fresh assault probe

2 October 2014 Last updated at 11:18

American football player CJ Spillman is being investigated over an alleged sexual assault, police say.

The 28-year-old, who plays for NFL side Dallas Cowboys, has not been arrested or charged.

The attack allegedly took place at a Texas hotel in the early hours of 20 September, according to Grapevine police spokesman, Sgt Robert Eberling.

The case adds to a recent spate of high-profile incidents involving American football players.

Earlier this month Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice was suspended indefinitely after a video emerged of him punching his then-fiancee.

After Rice was suspended, Minnesota Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson was indicted on child-abuse charges.

And Arizona Cardinals running back Jonathan Dwyer has been charged over accusations he broke his wife's nose during a domestic dispute in July.

The latest incident allegedly took place at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center, where the Dallas Cowboys stay.

Spillman, a defensive back, played against the St Louis Rams the next day.

Sgt Eberling said no other details were being released because the investigation was ongoing.

There has been no immediate response from the Cowboys. Spillman's agent and lawyer declined to comment, the Associated Press said.

On Tuesday, Cowboys coach Jason Garrett told staff that the club would not allow players accused of domestic violence to play.

Critics have been calling on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to step down after Ray Rice initially received just a two-game ban for his assault.

In a public statement earlier this month, Mr Goodell said he "got it wrong" in his handling of the Rice case, and pledged to implement new personal conduct policies.

The league has announced it is hiring four women as advisers on domestic violence.

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Rebel push to take Donetsk airport

2 October 2014 Last updated at 11:36

Rebel forces in eastern Ukraine are conducting an offensive to capture the government-held airport in Donetsk, officials say.

Pro-Russian rebels have tried several times in recent weeks to take the airport, which lies to the north-west of the city.

The insurgents continued an offensive - begun on Wednesday - on "a broad front", the Ukrainian military says.

An official truce in place in eastern Ukraine has often been violated.

The ceasefire was called on 5 September, but on Wednesday four people were killed by a shell which landed on a school in Donetsk, and six died when a minibus was hit.

A spokesman for what the Ukrainian government calls its anti-terrorist operation said Ukrainian forces repelled four attacks on the airport on Wednesday evening.

A T-64 tank was destroyed and seven rebels were killed, Vladyslav Seleznyov told Kanal 5 TV.

The rebels used tanks, multiple-launch rocket systems, artillery and mortars, he said, resuming their attacks on Thursday morning with small-arms fire.

The airport is strategically important, lying just outside Donetsk, the largest city held by the rebels. Its capture by the separatists would help them to resupply.

Government forces have been using it to shell separatist positions inside the city.

A reporter for Associated Press in Donetsk said on Wednesday there were indications the government may already have lost control of the airport.

Rebel-leader Alexander Zakharchenko, speaking on Thursday, said it was now "95%" under separatist control.

Officials insist the airport is still under government control.

Economy shrinks

More than 3,500 people have been killed in Ukraine in the conflict between pro-Russia separatists and the Kiev government since it began in April.

In a further sign of the economic cost, the World Bank said on Thursday that Ukraine's economy was now likely to contract by 8% this year.

World Bank representative in Ukraine, Qimiao Fan, blamed reduced economic activity in the east. The bank had previously forecast a decline of 5%.

The fighting arose from deep divisions in Ukraine over whether the country should take a more pro-Western or pro-Moscow direction.

Russia seized the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in March and separatists later declared independence in the two eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Russia denies Western accusations that it is sending heavy weaponry to the rebels or Russian soldiers to back them. But the Kremlin concedes that "volunteers" have travelled to eastern Ukraine.

Newly appointed Nato Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, called on Wednesday for Russia to change its behaviour and return "to compliance with international law and its obligations."

Meanwhile, a senior official in the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic, Boris Litvinov, says a parliamentary commission has been established to investigate what he termed "Kiev's war crimes".

The commission was currently gathering information on "mass burials", he said, and would also look into allegations of "torture".

Human rights groups have highlighted allegations of abuses committed by both sides in the conflict.

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UN accuses IS of 'gross abuses'

2 October 2014 Last updated at 12:37

A "staggering array" of human rights abuses has been committed by Islamic State (IS) militants and associated armed groups over a nine-week period in Iraq, the UN says.

It says that abuses committed between 6 July to 10 September may amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity.

Iraqi leaders must unite to restore control over IS areas, the UN says.

It says that a number of violations have also been committed by Iraqi security forces and their associates.

The UN report, produced jointly by the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (Unami) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, is based on almost 500 interviews.

It says that abuses perpetrated by IS and associated armed groups have an "apparent systematic and widespread character".

"These include attacks directly targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure, executions and other targeted killings of civilians, abductions, rape and other forms of sexual and physical violence," the report says.

"[They are] perpetrated against women and children, forced recruitment of children, destruction or desecration of places of religious or cultural significance, wanton destruction and looting of property, and denial of fundamental freedoms."

It says that the victims of the abuses are police officers, soldiers, and journalists and members of Iraq's diverse ethnic and religious communities, who have been subjected to "gross human rights abuses, at times aimed at destroying, suppressing or cleansing them from areas under their control".

"This report is terrifying," Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Iraq Nickolay Mladenov said.

He said that hundreds of other allegations concerning the killing of civilians were not included because they had not yet been properly verified.

"Iraqi leaders must act in unity to restore control over areas that have been taken over by IS and implement inclusive social, political and economic reforms," Mr Mladenov said.

The report also details rights violations committed by the Iraqi security forces and affiliated armed groups during the same period.

"These included air strikes and shelling as well as the conduct of particular military operations or attacks that may have violated the principles of distinction and proportionality under international humanitarian law," the report says.

On Wednesday, Unami announced that overall a total of at least 9,347 civilians had been killed so far in 2014 and 17,386 wounded - well over half of them since IS began over-running large parts of the north in early June.

What is Islamic State (IS)?

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

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 parts 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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Five Ebola cases per hour in S Leone

2 October 2014 Last updated at 12:02

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Mark Buttle from Save the Children says cultural practices may be putting some people at even greater risk

A leading charity has warned that a rate of five new Ebola cases an hour in Sierra Leone means healthcare demands are far outstripping supply.

Save the Children said there were 765 new cases of Ebola reported in the West African state last week, while there are only 327 beds in the country.

Experts and politicians are set to meet in London to debate a global response to the crisis.

It is the world's worst outbreak of the virus, killing 3,338 people so far.

There have been 7,178 confirmed cases, with Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea suffering the most.

Save the Children says Ebola is spreading across Sierra Leone at a "terrifying rate", with the number of new cases being recorded doubling every few weeks.

It said that even as health authorities got on top of the outbreak in one area, it spread to another.

The scale of the disease is also "massively unreported" according to the charity, because "untold numbers of children are dying anonymously at home or in the streets".

Continue reading the main story

• 1,998 Liberia

• 710 Guinea

• 622 Sierra Leone

• 8 Nigeria

Getty

"We're in a race against time," said Justin Forsyth, the organisation's chief executive.

Speaking on the BBC's Today programme he said that the figure for Sierra Leone could rise to 10 people every hour before the end of the month if urgent action were not taken.

Meanwhile the head of the UN's mission to combat Ebola warned that the disease was spreading "very rapidly" and that a "massive international response" was required to deal with the crisis.

Anthony Banbury, who is in Liberia, said more needed to be done to educate remote communities about how to protect themselves from infection.

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Watch this short video explaining how the virus attacks human cells

"Cases are doubling every 20 days," he said. "The disease has now reached every county in Liberia."

Earlier this month, Britain said it would build facilities for 700 new beds in Sierra Leone but the first of these will not be ready for weeks, and the rest may take months.

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Anthony Banbury comments on the challenges in tackling Ebola

Safety trials for two experimental vaccines are under way in the UK and US, the WHO said on Wednesday, and will be expanded to 10 sites in Africa, Europe and North America in the coming weeks.

It said it expected to begin small-scale use of the experimental vaccines in West Africa early next year.

The Ebola Donors Conference in London on Thursday is being hosted by the UK and Sierra Leone governments. Its main agenda is to discuss what the global community can do to provide an effective international response.

Ministers, diplomats and health chiefs were due to arrive from about 20 different countries, including the US, France, Japan, Australia and all of the West African nations hit by the disease.

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The current outbreak is the deadliest since Ebola was discovered in 1976

The president of Sierra Leone, Ernest Bai Koroma, cancelled his attendance at the last minute.

The UK Foreign Office said this was due to his presidential jet breaking down before take-off.

An FCO spokesman said that delegates were hoping Mr Koroma would instead participate via video link.

The event has been billed as a "pledging conference" designed to raise millions of pounds for a UN fighting fund.

It will also discuss how the global community can co-ordinate a strategy to improve training of medical staff and help educate local communities.

In other developments:

• A man who became the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola in the US was accidentally released from hospital and allowed to return to the community for several days. Officials are now trying to track down anybody who came into contact with Thomas Eric Duncan, who flew to the US from Liberia on 19 September to visit family in Dallas, Texas

• Comic Relief is due to pledge £1m to help fight Ebola

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

Are you in the region? Are you affected by Ebola?

Get in contact by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk

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Chirac backs Sarkozy rival Juppe

2 October 2014 Last updated at 13:05

Former French President Jacques Chirac has endorsed a rival to Nicolas Sarkozy for the post in 2017, in a move likely to sharpen centre-right divisions.

Mr Chirac, who makes no secret of his distaste for his fellow ex-president, lavished praise on Alain Juppe, his prime minister from 1995 to 1997.

"Few things would please me more," he told French daily Le Figaro about the prospect of Mr Juppe winning.

Only last week, Mr Sarkozy launched his political comeback.

At a rally in the northern city of Lille, he opened his campaign for the leadership of his centre-right party, the UMP, seen as a step towards winning the party's eventual primaries for 2017.

Mr Sarkozy, 59, narrowly lost the 2012 presidential election to his Socialist rival, but Francois Hollande has since become the most unpopular French president in modern times.

Mr Juppe is not standing for the UMP leadership but has declared his ambition to stand for the party's presidential ticket, arguing that he has broader appeal than Mr Sarkozy.

Correspondents say Mr Juppe, 69, is one of the few UMP politicians capable of mounting a serious challenge to Mr Sarkozy after the party's well-publicised internal battles since 2012.

'Call of destiny'

Speaking to Le Figaro, Mr Chirac, 81, said: "I have always known that Alain Juppe would answer the call of his destiny and that of France. Few things would please me more, for me, for him and especially for our country.

"If I had the energy, I would already have booked my place, even a minor one, in the headquarters [of the Juppe campaign]."

It was already clear from Mr Chirac's memoirs a few years ago that he cared little for Mr Sarkozy, despite having him as a minister during his time at the Elysee (1995-2007).

"Irritable, rash, overconfident and allowing for no doubt, least of all regarding himself," was how he described his successor as president.

Sarkozy allies, however, have pointed out that Mr Chirac's wife Bernadette is against Mr Juppe standing in 2017.

She told French radio station Europe 1 that he was "very, very cold and does not attract people".

The accusation was fended off by Mr Juppe, who said later it was a "stereotype from another time".

Meanwhile, Mr Sarkozy's long-running legal battles have also made a comeback with the first charges pressed this week in the Bygmalion affair, which concerns invoices for events staged by PR company Bygmalion during Mr Sarkozy's 2012 re-election campaign.

Judges are investigating claims that the party faked invoices worth 10m euros (£8m; $13.6m) to cover increasing costs.

A YouGov/Huffington Post poll published on Thursday suggests that 56% of voters are opposed to Mr Sarkozy's return, with only 32% in favour.

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Fresh strikes around key Syrian town

1 October 2014 Last updated at 12:28

US-led forces have carried out air strikes on Islamic State (IS) militants battling Kurdish fighters around the northern Syrian border town of Kobane.

A BBC correspondent saw explosions outside the town in the morning.

At least 10 people were killed overnight, Syrian activists said, as the jihadists moved to within 2 to 3km (1.2-1.9 miles) of Kobane.

Tens of thousands of people have fled across the border into Turkey since IS launched an offensive two weeks ago.

The jihadists' advance has put pressure on the Turkish government to take a more significant role in the US-led coalition formed to combat IS.

Ministers submitted a proposal to parliament late on Tuesday to allow Turkish troops to conduct operations in Syria and Iraq, and to allow foreign forces to use Turkish military bases.

Parliament is expected to debate the proposal on Thursday, and the ruling AK Party's majority means it is likely to be approved.

In a separate development in Syria on Wednesday, at least 17 people, including several children, were killed and dozens wounded in a double bomb attack in the central city of Homs, officials and activists said.

The blasts took place as children left a school in the Akrama al-Jadida district, which is dominated by President Bashar al-Assad's Alawite sect.

Desperate civilians

The BBC's Paul Adams, who is on the Turkish side of the border near Kobane, reported sporadic fighting between Syrian Kurdish and IS fighters on Wednesday morning. Several mortars were fired by the jihadists at houses on the besieged town's outskirts.

There were reports of several air strikes overnight and our correspondent says he saw at least two more on positions in the distance, each one sending a huge column of black smoke high into the sky. Jets are continuing to circle overhead, he adds.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based activist group that monitors casualties from the three-year-old conflict in Syria, reported that there had been at least five air strikes south and south-east of Kobane.

It said nine Kurdish militiamen from the Popular Protection Units (YPG) and an IS militant had been killed in clashes overnight.

The Syrian Observatory also reported that IS had beheaded five Kurdish fighters, including three women, as well as four Arab rebels and a Kurdish civilian who had been captured during clashes 14km (8 miles) west of Kobane on Tuesday.

Images have been posted online purportedly showing the women's heads placed on a cement block in the town of Jarablus, which is held by IS, according to the Associated Press.

At the border fence itself, desperate civilians are huddled with their vehicles and livestock, our correspondent says.

They are clearly terrified at the advance of the militants but also angry at what they say is the refusal of the Turkish authorities to let them cross, he adds.

At the moment, the only official crossing point is several kilometres away, on the other side of Kobane, and the civilians say that minefields make it too dangerous to move.

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Clive Myrie reports from northern Iraq where the Peshmerga say they are fighting with weapons that are not up to the job

Capturing Kobane, also known as Ayn al-Arab, would give IS unbroken control of a long stretch of the Syrian-Turkish border. The group has already seized large swathes of territory to the south in the provinces of Aleppo, Raqqa and Deir al-Zour, as well as in neighbouring Iraq.

Overnight, British warplanes fired four missiles at IS vehicles in Iraq. The Ministry of Defence said the two Tornados had fired Brimstone missiles at an armed pick-up truck and a transport vehicle west of the capital, Baghdad, adding that the strikes were "successful".

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott meanwhile announced that Royal Australian Air Force jets would begin supporting the US-led coalition operations against IS in Iraq, but would not yet carry out air strikes.

What is Islamic State (IS)?

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

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 parts 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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Afghan troops killed in Kabul attack

1 October 2014 Last updated at 06:01

At least seven Afghan soldiers have died and many were injured after a suicide bomber targeted a bus carrying troops in the Afghan capital Kabul.

A second bus was hit by a suicide bomber elsewhere in the city, injuring two soldiers and two civilians.

The Taliban said they had carried out the attacks.

The blasts come a day after Afghan and US officials signed a deal letting US troops stay in Afghanistan after the end of 2014.

The agreement was authorised by new Afghan president Ashraf Ghani, who was sworn in on Monday.

On that same day, two bombs killed at least 15 people in Kabul and Paktia provinces.

Mr Ghani's predecessor, Hamid Karzai, had refused to sign the deal because of a disagreement with the US.

'Huge explosion'

The attack on the army bus took place in western Kabul, and largely destroyed the bus.

"I was walking down the road when a huge explosion occurred," shopkeeper Sanaullah Khan told Reuters.

"Right after the blast, I saw dust and smoke rising from the area and then I escaped."

The second attack took place in northeast Kabul.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for both attacks on Twitter, saying they were a continuation of an offensive which started in the summer.

Under a US-brokered unity deal Mr Ghani shares power with runner-up Abdullah Abdullah who becomes chief executive. The Taliban has called the deal a "US-orchestrated sham".

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