Family moved out of Texas Ebola flat

4 October 2014 Last updated at 04:37

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Alastair Leithead reports that 50 people Thomas Duncan had contact with are being monitored for signs of the virus

The occupants of a flat in Texas where a man lay sick for days with Ebola have been moved from their home.

Thomas Duncan, who caught the virus in his native Liberia, is now in a serious condition in hospital. This is the only Ebola case recorded so far in the US.

The flat in Dallas where he lived before being isolated is being cleaned by hazardous materials specialists.

The four people living there have been moved to a private home offered by a volunteer.

Louise Troh, thought to be Mr Duncan's girlfriend, her 13-year-old son and two nephews have spent days inside the flat under the orders of health officials.

The family was driven away from the home in a police car, after officials failed to find shelter for them.

Hotels, flats and others had refused to offer them accommodation, before a private residence was offered.

"No one wants this family,'' said Sana Syed, a Dallas city spokeswoman.

More than 3,431 people have died in four West African countries in what has become the world's worst ever Ebola outbreak.

Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm John Kirby said the US could deploy as many as 4,000 troops to West Africa to help contain the outbreak.

Although Mr Duncan is the first person to be diagnosed within the US, four Americans have contracted the virus in Liberia.

Three aid workers have recovered after flying back to the US for treatment but a fourth, photojournalist Ashoka Mukpo, 33, is expected to be flown home over the weekend.

Mr Duncan's diagnosis was confirmed on Tuesday, 10 days after he arrived in the US to visit relatives and friends.

As well as the four who shared his flat, another six people who had contact with Mr Duncan have been identified by Texas health officials as higher risk.

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What do people in Dallas think about the Ebola diagnosis in their city?

Mr Duncan, a courier driver, is believed to have taken a sick patient to a clinic in Liberia.

Authorities there have accused him of lying on an Ebola questionnaire prior to leaving the country and say they plan to prosecute him upon his return.

On Friday, Howard University hospital in Washington DC said a patient had come in with symptoms "associated with Ebola".

He was being kept in isolation while he was tested for the disease. He had recently travelled from Nigeria.

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

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US aid worker threatened in IS video

4 October 2014 Last updated at 02:17

An American medical aid worker has been threatened by an Islamic State militant in a video that appears to show the beheading of a UK hostage.

Peter Kassig is shown at the end of a video apparently showing the death of British taxi driver Alan Henning, and a masked man says he will be next.

The 26-year-old from Indiana has worked in Lebanon, Turkey and Syria to help victims of the Syrian conflict.

The BBC understands he was kidnapped when in an ambulance in Syria in 2013.

Mr Kassig's capture at the hands of IS was confirmed by the White House on Friday evening.

"At this point we have no reason to doubt the authenticity of the video released earlier today," said spokesperson Caitlin Hayden.

"We will continue to use every tool at our disposal - military, diplomatic, law enforcement and intelligence - to try to bring Peter home to his family."

A family statement referred to him as Abdul-Rahman Kassig, saying he had converted to Islam while in captivity. And they extended their concern for the family of Alan Henning.

"We have read about his work and his generous character with great respect and admiration.

"We ask everyone around the world to pray for the Henning family, for our son, and for the release of all innocent people being held hostage in the Middle East and around the globe."

A US Army veteran, Mr Kassig was discharged after the Iraq War and he became an emergency medical technician.

He travelled to Lebanon in May 2012 to work as a volunteer helping Palestinian refugees and as time went on, people affected by the war in Syria, setting up a charity called Special Emergency Response and Assistance (Sera).

In an interview before his capture, Mr Kassig described himself as an idealist who had found a sense of purpose in aid work amidst the complexities of the Middle East conflict.

The White House condemned the "brutal murder" of Mr Henning, who it had said "worked to help improve the lives of the Syrian people and his death is a great loss for them, for his family and the people of the United Kingdom".

Mr Henning becomes the fourth Western hostage to be killed by the group.

The beheadings of US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and Scottish aid worker David Haines, have previously been filmed.

The father of another UK hostage, John Cantlie, appealed on Friday for him to be released.

His son, a journalist, was kidnapped in Syria in 2012 and has so far appeared in three videos.

Islamic State (IS) - also known as Isis or Isil - has taken control of large areas of Syria and Iraq and declared a caliphate.

The US has led a campaign of air strikes in Iraq for several weeks and in Syria for almost two weeks.

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Heavy fighting for Ukraine airport

3 October 2014 Last updated at 22:37

There have been more fierce clashes in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists are trying to capture Donetsk airport.

Heavy firing could be heard near the airport - strategically important for both sides in the conflict.

A government spokesman said the rebels had broken into one of the terminals but were later pushed back. The rebels say they have seized the airport.

A truce agreed in eastern Ukraine on 5 September looks increasingly fragile.

On Friday US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke on the phone with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to "express his concern about intensifying violence in eastern Ukraine".

"Russia must use its influence with the separatists and end these attacks immediately", state department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

'Russian drones'

"The situation in the area of Donetsk airport remains difficult," Ukrainian military spokesman Vladyslav Seleznyov told Ukraine's Kanal 5 TV.

"The militants, using smoke bombs as a cover, broke into the ground floor of the old terminal," he said.

Ukrainian soldiers had pushed the rebels from half the building, Mr Seleznyov added.

But leaders of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic claimed that their fighters had seized the whole airport.

Eyewitnesses earlier told local media that a number of rebels had been killed during the clashes.

A correspondent for Associated Press news agency reported seeing three rebel tanks firing at the main terminal, with sniper shots ringing out.

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There are fears the fragile four-week-old truce may break down completely

Fighting for the airport - a vantage point for the Ukrainian army to fire on positions in rebel-held Donetsk - has intensified in recent days. Ukraine says two servicemen have been killed and another nine wounded since Thursday.

Mr Seleznyov also accused Russia of sending drones over the airport to help the rebels' reconnaissance efforts and direct fire.

Russia has denied sending arms to the rebels or soldiers to eastern Ukraine, though it says "volunteers" have crossed into Ukraine.

Earlier, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) condemned indiscriminate shelling in east Ukraine after a Red Cross employee was killed.

Swiss citizen Laurent DuPasquier, 38, died when a shell landed near ICRC offices in Donetsk on Thursday.

At the scene: James Coomarasamy, BBC News

I wasn't sure what I had imagined a rebel base would look like, but it wasn't this - the entrance to an unprepossessing apartment block in a densely populated residential area on the edge of Donetsk.

Passing piles of sand bags and a row of gas masks, we were ushered into the strategy room, where a man with a grey ponytail and a burgundy beret was tapping on a computer, pipe in hand.

A large table dominated the room. On it, a series of maps was spread out, showing rebel-held territory. An X marked the spot where, they assured us, a Ukrainian helicopter had been shot down in the past few weeks.

Inside a Donetsk rebel base

Mr DuPasquier was one of several casualties in the city, ICRC director of operations Dominik Stillhart said in a statement.

The rebels and the government blamed each other for the shelling.

Mortar shells also landed in central Donetsk early on Friday, the BBC's Dina Newman reports from a hotel in the city centre.

The two sides have accused each other of violating the ceasefire.

More than 3,500 people have been killed in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk since the conflict erupted between the heavily armed separatists and the new Kiev government in April.

In March, Russia annexed Ukraine's southern Crimea peninsula - a move condemned around the world.

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Venezuelans lawmaker Serra buried

4 October 2014 Last updated at 01:38

Thousands of Venezuelans have paid their last respects to governing party member of parliament Robert Serra.

Mr Serra and his partner Maria Herrera were found dead at their home on Wednesday night in Caracas.

President Nicolas Maduro and other government officials joined a procession that accompanied the coffins through the streets of Caracas.

Mr Maduro has blamed "ultra-right" opposition groups in the country and in neighbouring Colombia for the murder.

Mr Serra and Ms Herrera were reported to be have been stabbed.

They were buried at a local cemetery after a brief religious ceremony, attended by Mr Maduro.

In tears, Mr Maduro sang the national anthem and songs praising the Bolivarian Revolution - the movement launched in the 1990s by late President Hugo Chavez.

"I know this cemetery very well, because there are Venezuelan martyrs resting in every corner of it," said Mr Maduro at the cemetery.

"The crowds have been calling for justice. Rest assured that we will, sooner rather than later, arrest those who committed this crime. They have been identified.

"But, more importantly, we will identify the masterminds of these murders. They are abroad, in Colombia and in Miami," said Mr Maduro.

'Political murder'

Earlier, thousands of people queued up outside the National Assembly building to pay their respects.

Mr Serra, 27, was the youngest member of the National Assembly and was seen a rising star in the governing United Socialist Party (PSUV).

Venezuela has one of the highest murder rates in the world, but the Venezuelan authorities have said Mr Serra was the victim of a political crime.

"This is a political murder, committed to intimidate other young people and try to keep them away from politics," said Diosdado Cabello, president of the National Assembly.

The Venezuelan government has declared three days of national mourning.

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Hong Kong arrests 'triad' members

4 October 2014 Last updated at 08:42

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Protesters "feel they are under attack from thuggish elements, potentially triads", reports Carrie Gracie

Police in Hong Kong have arrested 19 people, including suspected members of triad gangs accused of attacking pro-democracy protesters.

The scuffles on Friday led to the postponement of talks between the demonstrators and the government.

Police officers deny claims that they have colluded with those who used violence against the demonstrators.

Activists are protesting against plans by China to vet election candidates and have been occupying parts of the city.

Hong Kong's leader earlier this week offered talks to defuse the situation in China's special administrative region.

But the clashes broke out as people apparently angry with the disruption caused by the protests tried to dismantle tents and barricades.

On Saturday morning the atmosphere on the streets was calm despite some tense scenes on the edges of the protests.

'Broken promise'

On Friday, the Hong Kong Federation of Students, which was invited to negotiations with the government, said in a statement it had "shelved" the talks. A time and place for the negotiations had never been confirmed.

"The government allowed the mafia to attack peaceful Occupy participants. It has cut off the path to a dialogue, and should be responsible for the consequences," it said.

It was not clear whether the statement reflected the position of other groups involved in the protest.

Occupy Central leader Benny Tai told the BBC they were still only considering a boycott of the talks. However, he said police were not protecting the demonstrators against attacks by their opponents and this situation could not continue.

"It's very, very difficult to maintain any sense of dialogue if the government does not stop these things happening to peaceful protesters," he said.

There was no immediate response from the government to the postponement.

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Occupy Central leader, Benny Tai: "It is difficult to have dialogue if there is violence against peaceful protesters"

But at a news conference on Friday night, police gave their account of events.

They denied accusations by the protesters that they had acted in concert with forces trying to break up the protest.

They said that among the 19 people arrested eight had "triad backgrounds", referring to local criminal gangs.

Their very presence there is a reminder that not everyone in Hong Kong is on the side of the protesters, the BBC's Martin Patience in Hong Kong says.

At least some of the protesters' opponents appear to be local residents angered by the disruption.

"I don't support Occupy Central. We have to work and make money. Occupy is just a game," said a construction worker who gave his name as Mr Lee, quoted by AFP news agency.

"We Hong Kongers need to eat!" another said.

'Doomed to fail'

At the heart of the row is how Hong Kong elects its next leader. In August, Beijing imposed tight rules on nominations for candidates wanting to stand for election.

The protesters say this move means that the polls will fall short of the free elections they are seeking.

Several days into their week-long demonstrations, the protesters added the demand that Chief Executive CY Leung step down.

The central government in Beijing has thrown its full support behind Mr Leung, calling the protests illegal and "doomed to fail".

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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Top Gear crew 'chased by thousands'

4 October 2014 Last updated at 10:50

Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson has claimed he was thrown out of Argentina by state officials after being pelted with rocks.

He said in a tweet that "thousands" of locals rounded on the Top Gear team in apparent protest at a number plate which appeared to refer to the 1982 Falklands war.

A Porsche used in filming had a registration plate that read H982 FKL.

Clarkson and team had been filming in South America for a Top Gear special.

On his return to the UK Clarkson tweeted: "The number plate WAS a coincidence. When it was pointed out to us, we changed it.

"Thousands chased crew to border. Someone could have been killed."

He added: "This was not a jolly jape that went awry. For once, we did nothing wrong."

Clarkson told the Sun newspaper, for which he writes a regular column: "We knew absolutely nothing about the number plate, it was just an unbelievable coincidence. I swear on my kids' lives.

"When we saw people on Twitter getting upset we took the plate off. But they still attacked us so we made a break for it to our hotel in Ushuaia.

"The mob just descended on the hotel and encircled us. State representatives came and ordered us out of the country."

He added: "I've been to Iraq and Afghanistan but this was the most terrifying thing I've ever been involved in.

"There were hundreds of them. They were hurling rocks and bricks at our cars. They were trying to attack us with pickaxe handles.

"They were shouting. 'Burn their cars, burn them, burn the pirates'. I am convinced the mob was state organised."

In a tweet, he said the programme's crew "abandoned our cars as they thought they might be what was making people angry".

The BBC confirmed the show's decision to leave, but denied the offending car was chosen for its number plate.

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The number plate appeared to make reference to the conflict in 1982

Andy Wilman, executive producer for Top Gear, said on Thursday: "Top Gear production purchased three cars for a forthcoming programme; to suggest that this car was either chosen for its number plate, or that an alternative number plate was substituted for the original is completely untrue."

The team departed three days early after being denied permission to film by local authorities.

Clarkson flew into the country last month to film a special which saw him and co-stars Richard Hammond and James May drive the famous Patagonian highway - Route 40 - to the southern city of Ushuaia.

A BBC spokesman said: "We're pleased the team is safe and would like to thank all of those who have helped. As the executive producer has made clear, the number plate issue is a very unfortunate coincidence."

Final warning

It is not the first time the show has met with controversy. In July Ofcom ruled that Top Gear had breached broadcasting rules after Jeremy Clarkson used a racial slur during a programme in Burma.

A 2011 episode caused a diplomatic incident in Mexico.

Co-host Richard Hammond said Mexican cars reflected national characteristics - saying they were like a "lazy, feckless, flatulent oaf with a moustache, leaning against a fence asleep, looking at a cactus with a blanket with a hole in the middle on as a coat".

In May this year, the BBC faced calls to fire Clarkson after leaked footage showed him mumbling an offensive version of the nursery rhyme Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe in a clip that was not broadcast.

Clarkson revealed he had been given a final warning and would be sacked if he made "one more offensive remark, anywhere, at any time".

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North and South Korea 'agree to talks'

4 October 2014 Last updated at 11:45

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The BBC's Stephen Evans says the "out of the blue" visit suggests a hint of changed attitudes in North Korea

North and South Korea have agreed to resume formal high-level talks that had effectively been suspended since February, reports from South Korea say.

The agreement came during a surprise visit to South Korea by North Korean officials for the closing ceremony of the Asian Games.

The visit was led by two top-ranking North Korean officials seen as close aides to leader Kim Jong-un.

Both sides were said to have agreed to meet again within the next few weeks.

Hwang Pyong-so, seen as the second-most powerful man in North Korea, held talks with Ryoo Kihl-jae, the South's reunification minister, on Saturday after flying to Incheon to attend the sporting event.

Mr Hwang is the top political officer at the Korean People's Army. The other two members of the North's delegation were Choe Ryong-hae and Kim Yang-gon - key members of the ruling Workers' Party.

It is not known what was discussed at the meeting and neither party has commented publicly on the talks.

A change of tack

The BBC's Stephen Evans in Seoul says the talks are something of a breakthrough given the level of insult thrown at the South by the North in recent years.

Relations between the two have been practically non-existent for four years, but the North's economic troubles seem to have forced a change of tack, our correspondent adds.

The two Koreas remain technically at war because the 1950-53 conflict was ended with a truce.

The surprise meeting comes amid ongoing speculation about the health of the North's leader.

Mr Kim has not been seen in public since 3 September. A recent official documentary showed him limping.

Meanwhile, North Korea's ambassador to the UN, So Se Pyong, said on Friday that the country was ready to resume talks on its nuclear programme.

In an interview with Reuters news agency, Mr So also said the North was not planning any missile or nuclear tests.

North Korea pledged to abandon its nuclear programme in 2005, but it has been conducting missile and nuclear tests since the negotiations broke down in 2008.

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First womb-transplant baby born

4 October 2014 Last updated at 12:07 By James Gallagher Health editor, BBC News

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The baby will "give hope" to those wanting children, say the transplant team

A woman in Sweden has given birth to a baby boy using a transplanted womb, in a medical first, doctors report.

The 36-year-old mother, who was born without a uterus, received a donated womb from a friend in her 60s.

The British medical journal The Lancet says the baby was born prematurely in September weighing 1.8kg (3.9lb). The father said his son was "amazing".

Cancer treatment and birth defects are the main reasons women can be left without a functioning womb.

If they want a child of their own, their only option is surrogacy.

Medical marvel

The identity of the couple in Sweden has not been released, but it is known the mother still had functioning ovaries.

Continue reading the main story

He's no different from any other child, but he will have a good story to tell."

End Quote The boy's father

The couple went through IVF to produce 11 embryos, which were frozen. Doctors at the University of Gothenburg then performed the womb transplant.

The donor was a 61-year-old family friend who had gone through the menopause seven years earlier.

Drugs to suppress the immune system were needed to prevent the womb being rejected.

A year after the transplant, doctors decided they were ready to implant one of the frozen embryos and a pregnancy ensued.

The baby was born prematurely, almost 32 weeks into the pregnancy, after the mother developed pre-eclampsia and the baby's heart rate became abnormal.

Both baby and mum are now said to be doing well.

In an anonymous interview with the AP news agency, the father said: "It was a pretty tough journey over the years, but we now have the most amazing baby.

"He's no different from any other child, but he will have a good story to tell.''

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Surgeon Richard Smith on the prospects for British womb transplants

'Step change'

Two other medical teams have attempted womb transplants before.

In one case, the organ became diseased and had to be removed after three months. Another case resulted in miscarriages.

Prof Mats Brannstrom, who led the transplant team, described the birth in Sweden as a joyous moment.

"That was a fantastic happiness for me and the whole team, but it was an unreal sensation also because we really could not believe we had reached this moment.

"Our success is based on more than 10 years of intensive animal research and surgical training by our team and opens up the possibility of treating many young females worldwide that suffer from uterine infertility."

Liza Johannesson, a gynaecological surgeon in the team, said: "It gives hope to those women and men that thought they would never have a child, that thought they were out of hope."

However, there are still doubts about the safety and effectiveness of the invasive procedure.

Dr Brannstrom and his team are working with another eight couples with a similar need. The results of those pregnancy attempts will give a better picture of whether this technique can be used more widely.

Dr Allan Pacey, the chairman of the British Fertility Society, told the BBC News website: "I think it is brilliant and revolutionary and opens the door to many infertile women.

"The scale of it feels a bit like IVF. It feels like a step change. The question is can it be done repeatedly, reliably and safely."

The couple, fresh from celebrating the birth of their child, will soon have to decide if they want a second.

The drugs used to prevent the womb being rejected would be damaging in the long term - so the couple will either try again or have the womb removed.

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Red Cross condemns Donetsk shelling

3 October 2014 Last updated at 09:46

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A fragile four-week old ceasefire between the two sides may soon completely break down

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has condemned indiscriminate shelling in east Ukraine after a Red Cross employee was killed.

Swiss citizen Laurent DuPasquier, 38, was killed when a shell landed near ICRC offices in the rebel-held city of Donetsk on Thursday.

He was one of several casualties in the city, ICRC director of operations Dominik Stillhart said in a statement.

The rebels and the government blamed each other for the shelling.

A rebel push began this week to eject troops holed up at the city's heavily damaged airport.

The two sides have accused each other of violations since a ceasefire was called in the region on 5 September.

More than 3,500 people have been killed in the east Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk since the conflict erupted between pro-Russian separatists and the new Kiev government in April.

Mortar shells landed in central Donetsk early on Friday, the BBC's Dina Newman reports from a hotel in the city centre.

'Deeply distressed'

Mr DuPasquier, who worked as an administrator at the ICRC offices, had been in Ukraine six weeks when he was killed.

Other ICRC staff, including about 20 Ukrainian and international employees based in Donetsk, were "in safety" following the attack, Mr Stillhart said in the statement on Thursday.

"Indiscriminate shelling of residential areas is unacceptable and violates international humanitarian law," he said.

The office is located in a three-storey building less than 1km from the state security headquarters, which has been occupied by the separatists along with other strategic points in the city since April.

It appears Mr DuPasquier was killed by the blast in the street.

ICRC spokesman Ewan Watson told Reuters news agency: "We're deeply distressed by this loss."

According to AFP news agency, rockets also slammed into a 14-storey central shopping centre shortly before 18:00 (15:00 GMT) on Thursday.

The city was long under siege by government troops but recent rebel successes loosened their encirclement.

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 Ukrainian general, Volodymyr Ruban, is in central Donetsk. He told the BBC that he is part of the monitoring group checking on violations of the ceasefire.

Gen Ruban has been negotiating directly with rebel commanders and was involved in arranging prisoner exchanges.

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IS steps up attack on key Syria town

3 October 2014 Last updated at 12:29

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Paul Adams witnessed some of the shelling near Kobane

Heavy fighting is being reported between Kurdish militiamen and Islamic State (IS) militants advancing on the northern Syrian town of Kobane.

A BBC correspondent across the border in Turkey saw explosions and smoke rising from buildings hit by shells.

IS has moved to within a few kilometres of the town despite US-led air strikes seeking to halt its two-week offensive.

On Thursday, Turkey's prime minister promised it would do whatever it could to prevent the fall of Kobane.

Ahmet Davutoglu spoke only hours after the Turkish parliament authorised military operations against militants in Iraq and Syria who threaten Turkey's security, and for foreign troops to use Turkish bases.

More than 160,000 Syrians, mainly Kurds, have fled across the border since IS launched an offensive to capture Kobane on 15 September.

'World remains silent'

Shells fired by IS fighters hit several buildings inside Kobane and Kurdish militia positions on a strategically important hill overlooking the town on Friday morning.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based activist group, reported intense fighting to the east and south-east. Kurdish fighters had destroyed two vehicles belonging to jihadists, it said.

On Friday afternoon, there were unconfirmed reports that IS had reached the outskirts of Kobane. Alan Minbic, a member of the Kurdish Popular Protection Units (YPG), told CNN that the jihadists had taken control of the Tal Shair area, in the south-west corner of the town.

Paul Adams, BBC News, Syrian-Turkish border near Kobane

Turkey's prime minister seemed to give a categorical assurance. The Turkish government, Mr Davutoglu said, did not want Kobane to fall and would do whatever it could to prevent this from happening.

But here on the border, Kobane is still under attack, with shelling by Islamic State militants once again hitting the eastern edge of town, and a strategic hill just above. A few hundred metres away, a squadron of Turkish tanks sits idle. There are no signs of any imminent Turkish move to stop the town falling.

Despite Thursday's parliamentary decision, Turkey is still wary of getting involved. It seems likely the government will once again press members of the US-led coalition to create a no-fly zone before sending troops anywhere across the border.

Capturing the town, also known as Ayn al-Arab, would give IS unbroken control of a long stretch of the Syrian-Turkish border.

Late on Thursday, Mr Davutoglu said: "We wouldn't want Kobane to fall. We'll do whatever we can to prevent this from happening.

"No other country has the capacity to affect the developments in Syria and Iraq. No other country will be affected like us either."

However, Defence Minister Ismet Yilmaz subsequently said any immediate move was unlikely.

Turkish Kurds have expressed anger and disappointment at their government's perceived inaction over IS in recent months, as well as its refusal to allow them to cross into Syria to fight.

"There is a massacre being committed before the eyes of the world. The world remains silent when Kurds are being massacred," Burhan Atmaca, who travelled to the Mursitpinar border crossing to show solidarity with the Kurdish fighters, told the AFP news agency on Friday.

In a separate development on Friday, Australia's cabinet gave its approval for its aircraft to begin flying combat missions in Iraq.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said IS was a "death cult" that had "declared war on the world" and had to be stopped.

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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