BBC News with Sue Montgomery

There are reports of fierce clashes in the Syrian capital Damascus around the airport and in eastern districts after most communications in the country went down. Sebestian Usher reports.

It’s been difficult to get information out of Syria since the internet and phone lines went down at midday, but activists say a major battle is taking place in the east of Damascus, towards and around the airport. They said the airport road has been closed and flights have stopped. The government denies this, but the BBC has managed to speak to several people in the central of the city. They say they can hear what they call an unprecedented clash in eastern districts held by the rebels. It’s not clear yet if the clashes were initiated by the army of offensive or a rebel attack on the airport.

The United Nations General Assembly is considering a resolution to upgrade the Palestinian’s status of UN and will vote it shortly. Member States will decide whether the Palestinians should become an observer state rather than simply an observer. The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he had come to the General Assembly because his people were in desperate need of peace.

Palestine comes today to the General Assembly because it believes in peace and because its people, as proven in past days, are in desperate need of it. Palestine comes today to this prestigious international forum, representative and protector of international legitimacy, reaffirming our conviction that the international community now stands before the last chance to save the two-state solution.