Israel downs Syrian fighter jet

23 September 2014 Last updated at 11:31

A Syrian fighter jet which apparently strayed into Israeli-controlled airspace over the occupied Golan Heights has been shot down by Israel.

The plane, identified by Israeli sources as a Russian-built Sukhoi, plunged to the ground in flames but the pilot reportedly managed to eject.

Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon said Israel would respond to threats whether or not "they stemmed from a mistake".

A Syrian activist group said the jet had been bombing an area inside Syria.

It is the first time since the 1980s that the Israeli military is known to have shot down a Syrian plane although Syria's civil war has threatened to spill over the border, and Israel has carried out air strikes inside Syria in response to cross-border attacks.

Brigadier General Ram Shmueli, former head of the Israeli air force's intelligence unit, said the likely cause of the incident was pilot error.

"We believe [the pilot's] mission was to attack enemy forces - not ours - in the Syrian Golan Heights," he was quoted as saying by AFP news agency.

Syria said the downing of the plane was an act of aggression, Reuters news agency reported.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the civil war, said the jet had been bombing areas outside Quneitra, a Syrian town near the Israeli-held side of the frontier.

The Sukhoi-24 had penetrated 800m (2,600 ft) into Israeli airspace, and tried to turn around after Israel launched a Patriot missile, an Israeli defence source told the Associated Press news agency.

Israel occupied the Syrian Golan Heights in the 1967 Middle East war. It unilaterally annexed the area in 1981, in a move not recognised internationally.

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Liberia in 'trees for cash' deal

23 September 2014 Last updated at 09:11 By Matt McGrath Environment correspondent, BBC News

Liberia is to become the first nation in Africa to completely stop cutting down its trees in return for development aid.

Norway will pay the impoverished West African country $150m (£91.4m) to stop deforestation by 2020.

There have been fears that the Ebola crisis would see increased logging in a country desperate for cash.

Norwegian officials confirmed details of the deal to the BBC at the UN climate summit in New York.

Liberia's forests are not as big as other countries but the country is home to a significant part of West Africa's remaining rainforest, with about 43% of the Upper Guinean forest.

Continue reading the main story

This partnership holds promise not only for the forest and climate; but for forest communities that have been marginalised for generations"

End Quote Silas Siakor Liberian environmental campaigner

It is also a global diversity hotspot, home to the last remaining viable populations of species including western chimpanzees, forest elephants and leopards.

But since the civil war ended in 2003, illegal logging has become rife.

In 2012, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf attracted international criticism when she handed out licences to companies to cut down 58% of all the primary rainforest left in the country. After protests many of those permits were cancelled.

Some researchers have connected the current outbreak of Ebola with the widespread destruction of the forests, bringing people into contact with natural reservoirs of the virus.

Now the Norwegians and the Liberian government have signed a deal that they both believe will protect the forests into the future.

"We hope Liberia will be able to cut emissions and reduce poverty at the same time," said Jens Frolich Holte, a political adviser to the Norwegian government, speaking to the BBC on the sidelines of the UN climate summit in New York.

"We have funded efforts in Indonesia and Brazil, but I think this is the first time we have entered a deal on a country level."

Under the terms of the agreement, Norway will help Liberia to initially build up the capacity to monitor and police the forests.

Liberia will refrain from issuing any new logging concessions until all existing ones have been reviewed by an independent body.

The country agrees to place 30% or more of its forest estate under protected area status by 2020. It will also pilot direct payments to communities for protecting the forest.

Ultimately the Norwegians will pay for results, with independent verification that trees remain standing.

'Cautiously confident'

The development has been welcomed by environmental campaigners in Liberia.

"This partnership holds promise not only for the forest and climate; but for forest communities that have been marginalised for generations," said Silas Siakor, a Liberian environmental campaigner and Goldman Environmental Prize laureate.

"The partnership's commitment to respecting and protecting community's rights with respect to forests is laudable."

Experts believe that Liberia has turned to logging as a way of raising cash in difficult times. With the current Ebola outbreak having a significant economic impact on the country, the Norwegian deal is timely.

"Our hope is that the situation there now will be contained and resolved," said Mr Frolich Holte.

"But we also need to give Liberia a long term hope for development and that is what this rainforest money will provide for them, a long term vision for a country with reduced poverty and reduced deforestation."

With widespread corruption and a government struggling to impose its authority, campaigners recognise that stopping all the logging in Liberia will not be easy.

"There is the potential for this to go wrong, both Norway and Liberia will have to make sure that this deal does not get affected by corruption, but I am cautiously confident it can be done," said Patrick Alley, the director of campaign group Global Witness.

"It's really good news, it's transformational for Liberia when all the news coming out of there is bad - I think this will be a real boost."

Follow Matt on Twitter.

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China jails Uighur academic for life

23 September 2014 Last updated at 10:40

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Damien Grammaticas says the severity of the sentence has shocked many

A court in China has found a prominent Uighur scholar guilty of separatism and jailed him for life, his lawyer says.

Ilham Tohti had spoken out on China's policies towards the Muslim Uighur minority in the restive Xinjiang region, but had denied being a separatist.

Correspondents say China is taking a tougher line amid rising Xinjiang-linked violence.

Amnesty International has called the verdict "deplorable".

The EU, US and the United Nations have all previously called for his release.

The Urumqi People's Intermediate Court found Tohti guilty after a two-day trial that ended last week. It also ordered all of Tohti's money and property seized.

His lawyer, Li Fangping, told BBC Chinese that he would be filing an appeal.

"He told us that no matter the verdict, he will not be angry nor seek revenge. No matter whether he is in jail or if he is freed in the future, he will still advocate for dialogue between Uighurs and Han Chinese," he said.

Carrie Gracie, China Editor, BBC News

"I won't give in." The last words Ilham Tohti uttered before police dragged him from a courtroom to start a life sentence for attempting to divide China.

Calling for independence is illegal and always punished severely when the offender belongs to China's minority Uighur community. But what is so extraordinary about the sentence is that Ilham Tohti was not an independence activist, far less a terrorist, but an outspoken advocate of building bridges between the two communities.

Until his arrest in January he was an academic at a university in the capital and a member of the Communist Party. In his academic essays and on the website he ran, he insisted that Xinjiang should remain part of China and frequently expressed revulsion against growing violence employed by Uighurs against the state.

But he likewise criticised the mounting police crackdown in Xinjiang, complaining that punitive policies were radicalising young Uighurs and convincing them that the battle was not between China and terrorists, but between China and Islam.

Today's life sentence is a message that amid the battle to contain Xinjiang's surging violence, there is no longer room in China for an outspoken moderate.

'Deplorable'

In recent years Xinjiang has seen rising tensions between Uighurs and Han Chinese migrants, and observers say the sentence could further stoke tensions.

Tohti was detained in January after he criticised Beijing's heavy response to a suicide car attack near Tiananmen Square carried out by Uighurs from Xinjiang.

Prosecutors at the trial alleged he was engaging in separatist activities including promoting independence on his website, according to his lawyers.

A spokesman for the exiled World Uyghur Congress said Tohti was being persecuted.

"China has sent a clear message...thoroughly disappointing all those who hope to use the legal process or reasonable proposals to change the status quo of Uighurs," said Dilxat Raxit in an emailed statement to Reuters news agency.

Uighurs and Xinjiang

• Uighurs are ethnically Turkic Muslims
• They make up about 45% of the region's population; 40% are Han Chinese
• China re-established control in 1949 after crushing short-lived state of East Turkestan
• Since then, there has been large-scale immigration of Han Chinese
• Uighurs fear erosion of traditional culture

Who are the Uighurs?

Human rights group Amnesty International said the verdict was an "affront to justice" and full of legal shortcomings.

"His legal team were refused access to evidence and they were unable to meet Tohti for six months. One of Tohti's lawyers was also forced to quit the case following political pressure," the group said.

Liu Xiaoyuan, a lawyer for Tohti, told the BBC that several foreign embassies were not allowed into the court to witness the proceedings.

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Israel murder suspects shot dead

23 September 2014 Last updated at 10:46

Two Palestinians suspected of the abduction and murder of three Israeli teenagers in June have been killed by Israeli forces, Israel's military says.

A spokesman said troops searching for Marwan Qawasmeh and Amer Abu Aisha surrounded a building in the West Bank city of Hebron where they were hiding.

"We opened fire, they returned fire and they were killed in the exchange," Lt Col Peter Lerner added.

The abduction of the teenagers was a trigger of the recent conflict in Gaza.

'Slight comfort'

Col Lerner said the search for Mr Qawasmeh and Mr Abu Aisha had led a special police counter-terrorism unit, Yamam, to a hideout in the Hebron area about a week ago, according to the Associated Press.

Early on Tuesday, Israeli forces entered the ground floor of the two-storey building and killed the two men after coming under fire, he added.

Initial reports said a rocket and a bulldozer were used in the assault.

The Israeli military initially said it had only confirmed that one of the suspects was killed. The other was also believed to be dead, it added, although confirmation would have to wait until his body was recovered.

Chief of Staff Lt Gen Benny Gantz said: "We promised the [teenagers'] families that we would find the murderers. This morning, we did just that."

"This isn't a consolation for the grieving families," he reiterated, "but I hope that knowing we reached their children's murderers may slightly comfort them."

One of Mr Qawasmeh's relatives has already been charged with planning the teenagers' abduction.

The militant Islamist group Hamas initially denied being behind the killings but later on its political leader Khaled Meshaal said members had carried them out.

"Hamas praises the role martyrs Abu Aisha and Qawasmeh played in chasing down Israeli settlers and we stress that their assassination will not weaken the resistance," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said.

Israel identified Mr Qawasmeh and Mr Abu Aisha as key suspects in the abduction of Naftali Frenkel and Gilad Shaar, both aged 16, and 19-year-old Eyal Yifrach shortly after the went missing at a road junction between Jerusalem and Hebron as they hitchhiked home on 12 June.

But for the all the sophistication of Israel's extensive intelligence operations on the West Bank they managed to evade capture for several months, says the BBC's Kevin Connolly in Jerusalem.

While they were on the run a tragic pattern of consequences flowed from the abduction, our correspondent adds.

Israel launched a crackdown on Hamas in the West Bank following the abduction, detaining hundreds of members.

Then on 2 July, a Palestinian teenager from East Jerusalem was abducted and burned alive in an apparent revenge attack two days after the bodies of the Israeli teenagers were found. One Jewish man and two youths have been charged with the murder of Mohammed Abu Khdair, 16.

The killings set off an escalating cycle of violence, leading to a 50-day conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Hamas-dominated Gaza Strip that claimed more than 2,000 lives.

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Tiger kills student at Delhi zoo

23 September 2014 Last updated at 11:51

A white tiger has attacked and killed an Indian student at Delhi zoo, officials and witnesses say.

Zoo manager Riaz Khan said the young man "leapt over the railing into the tiger enclosure". Initial reports described him as a schoolboy.

Television pictures showed the student crouching against a wall while the tiger stood near him.

An eyewitness said he was leaning over the barricade which was "very low" and may have fallen inside the enclosure.

"Around 1.30 pm, we were in the reptiles area when we heard loud screams," eyewitness Himanshu told CNN-IBN news channel.

"I ran to the tiger enclosure where we saw that a white tiger had caught the student by his neck and he was writhing in pain. Some children threw small sticks and stones at the tiger.

"He suffered for the next 10-15 minutes but nobody helped him."

Himanshu said the police "came very quickly", but could not save him.

White tigers are a rare variant of the customary orange Bengal sub-species and and owe their colour to a recessive gene.

Considered an endangered species, they are found in south and east Asia, particularly India.

Today, they are found exclusively in captive programmes where the limited numbers are interbred to maintain the distinctive fur colour.

A number of the white tigers found in zoos have health issues, such as eyesight problems and some deformities.

The last known free-ranging white tiger is known to have been shot in 1958, before which sporadic sightings in the wild were made in India.

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Algeria militants seize Frenchman

23 September 2014 Last updated at 12:45

A French tourist has been kidnapped in Algeria by a militant group linked to Islamic State (IS), French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has confirmed.

Herve Gourdel, 55, was seized on Sunday in the unsettled north-east Kabylie area.

Algerian militant group Jund al-Khilafa threatened to kill him if France did not halt air strikes on Iraq.

Mr Fabius said an online video that showed Mr Gourdel flanked by armed men was authentic.

He said France would do everything it could to liberate Mr Gourdel, but that the situation was "extremely critical."

Islamic State militants warned on Sunday they would target Americans and other Western citizens, "especially the spiteful and filthy French", after French jets joined the US in carrying out strikes in Iraq on IS targets.

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Laurent Fabius: "The situation is extremely critical"

France on Monday raised the threat level for 30 of its embassies throughout the Middle East and Africa in response to what Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve called "yet another demonstration of the barbarism of these terrorists".

IS jihadists have seized large swathes of territory in eastern Syria and across northern and western Iraq, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes this year.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said there would be "no discussion, no negotiation" with the kidnappers. "If you give in, if you go back one inch... you give [terrorism] this victory," he told French radio while on a visit to Germany on Tuesday.

'Extreme cruelty'

France's foreign ministry said in a statement: "We confirm the authenticity of the video showing images of French hostage Herve Gourdel, kidnapped in Algeria in the region of Tizi Ozou on Sunday."

"The threats made by this terrorist group show once again the extreme cruelty of [Islamic State] and those who say they are affiliated to it."

Speaking in New York, where he is attending the UN General Assembly, Mr Fabius told reporters: "We will do everything we can to liberate hostages... but a terrorist group cannot change France's position."

In the video, Mr Gourdel, flanked by two masked men, identifies himself as a 55-year-old from Nice, southern France.

Apparently speaking under duress, he said: "This armed group is asking me to ask you [French President Francois Hollande] to not intervene in Iraq."

French media say he is an experienced mountain guide and photographer with a taste for exploring, who set up a hiking centre in the Mercantour national park north of Nice.

The Algerian interior ministry said he and two Algerian companions had been driving through mountains near the village of Ait Ouabane, when they were stopped by armed men.

The gunmen let the Algerians go but seized the Frenchman.

Algerian group Jund al-Khilafa (Soldiers of the Caliphate) pledged allegiance to IS on 14 September.

Until then it had been known as part of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which grew out of an Algerian militant group and is now active across North and parts of West Africa.

The group claimed Toulouse gunman Mohamed Merah, a French citizen of Algerian origin, as a member after he murdered seven people in south-western France in March 2012, French radio reported.

The militants said that they were responding to the IS call to attack citizens involved in strikes on Iraq and would kill Mr Gourdel unless France ended its military operation.

France's public position is that it does not negotiate with militant groups but there have been reports of French citizens being released in West Africa after ransoms have been paid.

Four Frenchmen kidnapped in Niger were freed in October 2013 amid reports of a 20m-euro (£16m; £$25m) ransom being paid. The government in Paris denied that was the case.

'Everything being done'

President Francois Hollande's office said he had spoken to Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal by phone and that there was "total co-operation" to try to find Mr Gourdel.

"Authorities are mobilised and no hypothesis is being discarded," the French government added.

Kabylie is a rugged, mountainous region which has seen several kidnappings of Algerian businessmen for extortion. AQIM has carried out deadly attacks in Kabylie this year.

Most of those who were abducted were later freed by security forces.

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Eurozone growth 'slows in September'

23 September 2014 Last updated at 11:57

Eurozone business growth cooled in September for a second consecutive month, dropping to its slowest pace since December, a survey suggests.

The latest Markit Composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 52.3 from August's 52.5.

A reading above 50 indicates growth.

Modest growth in Europe's biggest economy, Germany, provided some cheer, but the eurozone was brought down by stagnation elsewhere, particularly in France, where PMI fell to 49.1.

Manufacturing across the eurozone fared worse than the service sector, with the PMI reading falling to 50.5, the lowest measure since July of last year.

"The survey paints a picture of ongoing malaise in the eurozone economy," said Chris Williamson, Markit's chief economist.

"With growth of output and demand slowing, employment once again failed to show any meaningful increase. Such torpor meant prices continued to fall as firms fought for customers, which will inevitably heighten concerns that the region is facing deflation."

He added that the European Central Bank (ECB), which is faced with the task of warding off deflation, would be "disappointed" by the PMI numbers.

'Anaemic demand'

On Monday, ECB president Mario Draghi said the bank was ready to use "additional unconventional instruments" to help boost the flagging eurozone economy, "should it become necessary to further address risks of a too prolonged period of low inflation".

Earlier this month, the European Central Bank introduced new measures to stimulate the area's flagging economy.

As well as launching an asset purchase programme, through which it will buy debt products from banks, the ECB cut its benchmark interest rate to 0.05%.

Business growth in France slumped to a three-year low, with both the manufacturing and service sectors suffering.

"Anaemic demand continues to hold back the private sector," said Jack Kennedy, a senior economist at Markit, "with further price cutting insufficient to prevent new orders from falling".

In Germany, service sector growth rebounded to a two-month high, but manufacturing growth recorded its slowest growth for 15 months.

Markit economists also raised concerns about the crisis in Ukraine, and related Russian sanctions, which they warned could have further adverse effects on business in Europe.

"The danger is that the ECB's efforts to stimulate the economy will prove ineffective in the face of such headwinds, which are exacerbating already-weak demand," said Mr Williamson.

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US strikes Islamic State in Syria

23 September 2014 Last updated at 12:46

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Footage appears to show the aftermath of strikes, as Richard Lister reports

The US and five Arab allies have launched the first strikes against Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria.

The Pentagon said warplanes, drones and Tomahawk missiles were used in the attacks, which targeted several areas including IS stronghold Raqqa.

Syria's foreign ministry said its UN envoy was informed about the strikes against IS, which controls large swathes of Syria and Iraq.

The US has already launched about 190 air strikes in Iraq since August.

However, Monday's action expands the campaign against the militant group across the border into Syria.

Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm John Kirby confirmed the operation, saying "US military and partner nation forces" had undertaken military action in Syria.

US Central Command (Centcom) said Sunni Arab countries Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates "participated in or supported" the strikes.

It said a total of 14 strikes destroyed or damaged IS training compounds, command and control facilities, vehicles and storage sites.

The US military will continue to conduct air strikes against IS targets in Iraq and Syria, it added.

US Gen Martin Dempsey, America's highest-ranking uniformed military officer, said the strikes were conducted to show IS militants they had no safe haven. "We certainly achieved that," he told reporters.

Separately, Centcom said US forces also attacked a network of al-Qaeda veterans named Khorasan who had established a safe haven west of Aleppo and were plotting imminent attacks against the West.

Analysis: Frank Gardner, BBC Security correspondent

These air strikes mark a major shift in operations against IS for two reasons.

Firstly, they now expand the fight across the border into the group's heartland in Syria.

IS knew they were coming and had already dispersed some of their key assets. But it will still be a shock to many that their de facto capital of Raqqa is no longer a safe haven.

Secondly, the participation of Arab states spreads the responsibility to some extent away from just the US.

Islamic State will be enraged by this - it has no effective military answers to US air power - so those Arab countries that supported or took part in the action may well now be bracing themselves for possible reprisals.

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Footage shows Tomahawk cruise missiles being launched by the US Navy

The strikes targeted Raqqa, an IS stronghold in eastern Syria the group captured in 2013, and the cities of Deir al-Zour, Hassakeh and Abu Kamal.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of activists on the ground, said more than 20 militants were killed in two strikes on IS positions in Raqqa.

Earlier, it said 30 al-Qaeda-linked fighters were also killed in strikes west of Aleppo, but it later raised the figure to 50. Eight civilians, including three children, were reported to have died.

'Bombing without consent'

Jordan said its "air force jets destroyed a number of targets that belong to some terrorist groups that sought to commit terror acts inside Jordan."

Analysts say it is significant that countries with a Sunni majority, like Jordan and Saudi Arabia, are among those supporting US efforts against IS.

IS members are jihadists who adhere to an extreme interpretation of Sunni Islam and consider themselves the only true believers.

Syria did not formally consent to the strikes on its territory, but its foreign minister said he was passed a letter from US Secretary of State John Kerry via his Iraqi counterpart hours before the raids started.

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Analysis from BBC correspondents in Washington, Amman and Baghdad

In other developments:

• IS militants release a second video showing the British hostage John Cantlie
• Israel shoots down a Syrian fighter jet in its airspace above the Golan Heights
• Algerian troops are searching for a Frenchman kidnapped by a group linked to IS
• UK Parliament expected to be recalled in "next few days" to discuss military action against IS

The US and allies including the UK have ruled out co-operating against IS with Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, whom they accuse of responsibility for huge numbers of civilian deaths during Syria's civil war.

Hadi al-Bahra, president of the National Coalition, Syria's main opposition alliance, welcomed the military action but said "strikes alone cannot defeat extremism for good."

"The long-term solution is moderate, inclusive Syrian governance that prevents the resurgence of extremism," he said in a statement.

Refugee crisis

The IS advance in northern Syria has created a refugee crisis in neighbouring Turkey, with about 130,000 Kurdish refugees crossing the border at the weekend.

Most refugees are from Kobane, a Syrian town close to the Turkish border that is under siege by IS militants.

The UN refugee agency said it was making contingency plans to deal with the rest of Kobane's 400,000 inhabitants fleeing into Turkey.

Before the latest influx, there were already more than one million Syrian refugees in Turkey.

Who are Islamic State (IS)?

• 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
• The US has been launching air strikes on IS targets in north-eastern Iraq since mid-August

Have you been affected by the issues raised in this story? You can email 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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Thousands of HK students at boycott

22 September 2014 Last updated at 10:47

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The BBC's Juliana Liu: "All the action is happening here at the Chinese University of Hong Kong"

Thousands of students in Hong Kong have converged on a university campus to begin a week-long boycott of classes.

They are protesting against China's stance on electoral reform in the territory. Students from more than two dozen institutions are taking part.

It is a prelude to a larger protest on 1 October planned by pro-democracy group Occupy Central.

Beijing has rejected open nominations for the city's leadership poll, dashing hopes of those seeking full democracy.

The boycott saw thousands of students gathering at 14:00 local time (07:00 BST) for a sit-in at the Chinese University of Hong Kong campus in Sha Tin, several kilometres north of the city centre.

Most are wearing white T-shirts with yellow ribbons - a colour adopted by pro-democracy activists.

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A guide to the Occupy Central movement

The boycott is being organised by groups such as the Hong Kong Federation of Students and Scholarism.

Student activists are also organising a series of rallies and public lectures in a park near government offices later in the week.

RTHK reported that teenage activists were standing outside secondary schools early on Monday morning distributing yellow ribbons to students arriving for class and urging them to join the boycott.

About 400 academics and non-teaching staff are also taking part in support of the students, according to the South China Morning Post.

Campaign ahead

A larger pro-democracy protest is due to take place next month. Occupy Central has pledged to stage a sit-in at Hong Kong's financial district, which critics have said may shut down the area.

The issue of how Hong Kong can choose its leader gripped the city in recent months, sparking protests from both the pro-democracy and pro-Beijing camps.

The Chinese government has promised direct elections for Hong Kong's leader, the chief executive, by 2017.

But in August, it ruled that voters would only have a choice from a list of two or three candidates selected by a nominating committee.

Democracy activists say China will use this committee to screen out candidates it disapproves of.

Pro-Beijing activists, meanwhile, believe the other camp is disrupting Hong Kong's peace and stability.

The protesting students say Beijing's decision does not amount to the greater democracy Hong Kong was promised when it was handed back from Britain to China in 1997.

But the BBC's China editor Carrie Gracie says the communist leadership in Beijing is turning firmly against ideas of political reform at home and has no interest in encouraging noisy critics.

Are you in Hong Kong? What is your reaction to the student boycott? Email your experience to 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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Turkey clamps down on Syria border

22 September 2014 Last updated at 13:07

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On Sunday, Turkish troops fired tear gas at the Syrian border, as Mark Lowen reports

Turkey has begun to close some of its border crossings with Syria after about 130,000 Kurdish refugees entered the country over the weekend.

On Sunday Turkish security forces clashed with Kurds protesting in solidarity with the refugees. Some protesters were reportedly trying to go to Syria to fight Islamic State (IS).

Most refugees are from Kobane, a town threatened by the advancing militants.

IS has taken over large swathes of Iraq and Syria in recent months.

Before the latest influx, there were already more than one million Syrian refugees in Turkey. They have fled since the start of the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad three years ago.

Some of the new arrivals are being sheltered in overcrowded schools, as Turkey struggles to cope with the influx.

'Huge numbers'

On Friday Turkey opened a 30km (19-mile) section of the border to Syrians fleeing the town of Kobane, also known as Ayn al-Arab.

But on Monday only two out of nine border posts in the area remained open, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said.

Mark Lowen, BBC News, southern Turkey

Turkey was already struggling to cope with over a million Syrian refugees - that was before 130,000 more fled across the border at the weekend. The sheer numbers would overwhelm any country.

Added to that, they are Kurds from Syria, many of them deeply hostile to Turkey. For 30 years, Turkish forces fought Kurdish rebels in a civil war that killed 40,000 people.

The fact that Turkey is accepting tens of thousands of Kurds is a sign of how allegiances are being forced to change with the onslaught of Islamic State. But deep-seated tension between Kurds and Turks have again come to the surface, leading to Sunday's border clashes.

Turkey fears that Kurds will cross into Syria to join the Kurdish militia. The worry is that, renewed by fresh recruits, it could ally with the outlawed PKK and launch attacks on Turkish soil. All the regional complexities, added to the refugee influx, make for a precarious situation here.

Clashes broke out on Sunday after a demonstration by Kurds on the Turkish side of the border.

Some protesters threw stones at security forces, who responded with tear gas and water cannon. There were no reports of serious injuries.

Turkish security forces were trying to stop Kurdish fighters from entering Syria to take part in the defence of Kobane, says the BBC's Mark Lowen at the scene.

The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a banned militant group that fought a civil war for autonomy within Turkey for decades, has called on Kurds to join the fight against IS.

Our correspondent says the Syrian conflict has reawakened old hostilities and shaken a fragile peace between Kurds and Turkish authorities.

PKK-affiliated forces have been battling IS in northern Iraq for months.

Carol Batchelor, a spokeswoman for the UN refugee agency in Turkey, told the BBC that the country needed urgent aid to cope with the influx - including food, blankets and winter clothing, "particularly for children".

In other developments:

• A Syrian government air strike killed at least 42 civilians in rebel-held territory in the north-western province of Idlib on Sunday, activists said
• IS issued a statement urging its supporters to kill "disbelievers" from the countries that have joined a international coalition against the group
• US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif discussed the threat posed by IS during a meeting in New York on Sunday, a US official said

IS is closing in on the predominantly Kurdish town of Kobane, having seized dozens of villages in the area in recent days.

It began the assault on Tuesday, and by Sunday militants were about 10km (six miles) away, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Reports suggest that IS has used heavy weaponry, including tanks, in the attack.

The US has said it will attack the group in Syria as part of a strategy to destroy it, though so far it has carried out air strikes against IS only in Iraq.

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Tony Blair: " Isis... kill without mercy and they're prepared to die without regret"

Attacking IS in Syria is considered more complicated, partly because of the strength of the country's air defence system and because foreign strikes do not have the approval of President Assad.

Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair told the BBC on Sunday that air strikes alone might not be enough to contain the group.

"If necessary, we shouldn't rule out the use of, particularly, special force capabilities," he said.

President Obama has previously ruled out the involvement of US ground troops, and has instead promised to provide arms and training to local forces fighting against IS.

Who are Islamic State (IS)?

• 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
• The US has been launching air strikes on IS targets in north-eastern Iraq since mid-August

Have you been affected by closing borders? If you are in the region, send us your experiences to haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk

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