"You cannot say that Gaelic football is just a game - it's part of my life."

While that may be a common sentiment across the island of Ireland, it would be considered more unusual coming from a Muslim woman from Iran.
Mansoreh Abolhassani moved to Northern Ireland from London in 2011 when her youngest son decided to study at Queen's University, Belfast.
Later, Mansoreh decided that she would study law at Queen's.
In 2015, she received an email about the university's international ladies Gaelic football team.
"I was so curious - it's football, I know football, but what about Gaelic football?
"It's a local game and maybe it's interesting, because it's local and I really love to know about culture and people around the world," she said.
"I told myself 'let's go and see, maybe it's interesting just watching the game and you can realise the meaning of Gaelic football'.
"It was amazing, because there were girls from around the world - from Canada, from America, from Malaysia, China - and it was the diversity of people and I really wanted to meet those people.
"The first lesson that I learned from Gaelic football is that this game pushes you to meet many nice and many different faces and it was so nice for me, because I really wanted to know about different people and other cultures around the world."
Mansoreh's story is featured in a new two-part series for BBC Two Northern Ireland, NÃos MÃ³ NÃ¡ Cluiche (More Than a Game).
Jarlath Burns, former Armagh captain and GAA commentator, explores the history of Gaelic games in Ulster and the grassroots commitment in clubs and counties.
Mansoreh had played volleyball in her younger days, and while she initially found aspects of Gaelic football baffling, she also saw some similarities to other sports.
"It was so strange for me, because I saw that sometimes the ball is in their hands and sometimes it touches their fists," she said.
"I told myself it's such an interesting game, because it's not just football, it's like basketball as well, it's got the technique of even tennis, it's mixing volleyball as well - mixing all of the sports together.
"Gaelic football was a trigger for me to understand this island and people from Northern Ireland and the south of Ireland. It means so much to me."
As well as allowing her to meet many new friends, the game has taken Mansoreh to places like Shanghai for an international tournament.
She says even as a busy single mother in her 40s - her husband is currently living in Iran - she still makes time to play the game.
However, as she is soon due to graduate, she won't be eligible to play for the university's international team next year.
"My plan is maybe to go to my nearest club," she said.
Her love for the game has even seen her email authorities in her native Iran to ask them if she could introduce the sport to the country.
She has yet to receive a reply.
While Mansoreh says she is not an overly religious person, she said the hijab or head scarf is part of her identity as a Muslim and she was initially nervous that she would not be allowed to wear hers while playing Gaelic.
"To be honest I was really, really scared from the beginning, even watching and playing Gaelic football, that maybe they would say 'with your scarf, it's not possible'," she said.
"They gave me lots of confidence, because they welcomed me, they didn't look at my scarf as unusual and didn't ask me to remove it or why I was wearing it.
"If they didn't accept me with my scarf, definitely it would have stopped me playing, but it was amazing for me.
"It's a nice message to other women around the world that your hijab, your identification, will not limit you in anything that you want to do.
"Now, when I meet my Muslim friends I encourage them to play, to cycle, to do whatever you want."


Blackpool Illuminations are alight again - after comedian Peter Kay hosted the big switch-on.

The Bolton comic turned on the famous lights at 21:30 BST on Friday after a concert by X Factor winners Little Mix.
The event marks the start of a three-day programme of entertainment on the Tower Festival Headland, including a Thriller Live show and a concert headlined by Rebecca Ferguson.
The comedian said turning on the lights was a "massive big deal to me".
Kay said Blackpool was a huge part of his life.
"I did my first live stand up show there. We filmed Phoenix Nights there. We filmed Max and Paddy there," he said.
Little Mix headlined the Illuminations Switch-On concert. There were also performances from Texas, Pixie Lott, Union J, George Ezra and Matt Cardle.
The promenade lights will shine nightly until 9 November.
Stretching for six miles, the Blackpool Illuminations attracted 3.5m visitors to the town last year.


British Cycling has started work on the development of a code of conduct as part of its response to an independent review into the culture of the organisation.

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An investigation began following accusations of bullying and sexism towards top-level cyclists.
A report on its findings is due in May.
The head of British Cycling, Jonathan Browning, said checks were being added to protect against "behaviours that are inappropriate" to individual riders.
"The combination of new leadership team and structure, and the introduction of professional processes will ensure that we deliver on this promise," Browning added.
British Cycling published a 39-point action plan last month to address the draft findings of the independent review, commissioned in April 2016 by British Cycling alongside UK Sport, which provides elite funding to the organisation.
It came after former technical director Shane Sutton, who was was later cleared of eight of nine allegations, was found to have used sexist language towards cyclist Jess Varnish.
UK Sport chief executive Liz Nicholl says the independent review has "identified valuable lessons" for both British Cycling and other sports it funds.
Initially, key findings were meant to have been published in November. But the process has been delayed by legal wrangling, as those criticised have rejected the panel's findings. The process has also been criticised for not seeking a wider range of views.
Last month, British Cycling was warned it needed to do more to ease "concerns" over the way it is run before it can receive £17m. Grassroots sport funding agency Sport England said it wanted cycling's governing body to "meet the highest standards of governance" first. British Cycling will hold an extraordinary general meeting in July in a bid to vote through reforms.
Meanwhile, athletes are no longer being charged to lodge an appeal should they wish to contest their removal from the sport's World Class Performance programme.
Browning, who was elected chairman in February, is part of an overhaul of the leadership at the governing body, with the new performance director Stephen Park at this week's World Track Cycling Championships in Hong Kong, and new chief executive, Julie Harrington, starting in May. The organisation has also appointed its first 'people director', Michael Chivers.


Nico Rosberg edged Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton in second practice at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Rosberg set his time in the seven minutes of running at the beginning of the session before a heavy downpour.
Hamilton recorded his lap in the final 10 minutes after the rain had abated and the sun returned.
There was just 0.019 seconds between them, with Force India's Nico Hulkenberg third from Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel.
Sunday's race is live on the BBC Sport website and radio 5 live, with Saturday's qualifying text and audio commentary online.
Four-time world champion Vettel ended his session in the gravel trap at Turn Two with three minutes to go.
Vettel, who also has a five-place grid penalty this weekend for an unauthorised gearbox change, told his team over the radio: "I don't know what happened there. I just lost the car completely when I touched the brakes."
The car snapped suddenly sideways as soon as Vettel braked for the tricky uphill entry for a slow hairpin for which drivers are braking from more than 180mph.
After the session, Vettel said: "We had an issue with the brake distribution. It caught me by surprise. It didn't matter too much. Fortunately nothing happened."
Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo was fifth fastest, ahead of Toro Rosso's Carlos Sainz, Red Bull's Max Verstappen, Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, Williams' Valtteri Bottas and the McLarens of Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso.
Englishman Jolyon Palmer was 16th for Renault, one place and half a second behind team-mate Kevin Magnussen.
It was a fractured session, with no running at all for a little more than half an hour after the rain - a torrential downpour - soaked the track in the Styrian mountains.
"It was a tricky day getting up to speed and getting laps out on track," said Hamilton. "It started coming together this morning but then the rain in the second session meant we had to adapt our programme.
"We didn't have any problems today, which is definitely a positive, and there's definitely more to come."
Although there were a few spins, including for Force India's Sergio Perez and Button, all drivers managed to tip-toe back to the pits on untreated slick tyres on the treacherous track.
But once the rain stopped, drivers did begin to venture out on the treaded intermediate tyres to learn about the new asphalt that has been laid on this track since last year.
Intermittent rain showers are predicted across the weekend.
Austrian Grand Prix practice results
Austrian Grand Prix coverage details


Japanese pop band SMAP are in China for a long-awaited concert seen as a rare chance to ease strained ties.

The five-member group are performing before a crowd of 40,000 at Beijing's Workers' Stadium.
They had been due to visit Shanghai last year but their tour was cancelled after a territorial row flared.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said she hoped the concert - SMAP's first overseas performance - would boost bilateral friendship.
It is the first visit to China by a top Japanese band for almost a decade, the Mainichi newspaper reported.
SMAP - a boy band that launched its debut single just over 20 years ago - is one of Japan's best-known groups.
Its members, who are now in their late 30s, host a weekly cookery and music show.
They have also appeared in numerous television dramas, building fan bases in both South Korea and China.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao issued an invitation to the band in May, after previous plans were shelved.
Concerts scheduled to take place in Shanghai in September 2010 were cancelled by the Chinese organisers after Japanese coast guards arrested a Chinese trawler captain following a collision off islands that both countries claim.
SMAP had also been due to perform at the Shanghai Expo earlier that year but the concert was cancelled because of fears of over-crowding.
But this time the group have made it to China, and on Thursday they were welcomed by senior politician Tang Jiaxuan.
Band member Takuya Kimura said SMAP hoped the concert would celebrate friendship between the two sides.
And Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said Beijing held "a supportive and positive attitude" towards this kind of cultural exchange.
"We hope this will help improve national sentiment between China and Japan," she said.
The theme of the concert - which is also intended to thank China for its assistance in the wake of the 11 March earthquake and tsunami - is "Do Your Best Japan, Thank You China, Asia is One".
SMAP are said to be planning to sing at least one song in Chinese.
According to one posting on Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo, the concert had attracted fans from across China.
"I am watching the concert right now. The atmosphere is lively, the fans are almost hysterical," the blogger wrote.
Ties between China and Japan remain strained by territorial rows and unresolved historical issues.
The dispute last year over the uninhabited Senkaku islands (called Diaoyu by China) led to small anti-Japanese demonstrations in several Chinese cities.


A man in his 40s is in hospital after he was reportedly assaulted following a hit-and-run incident in Dublin.

The incident happened on Parnell Street, at its junction with Hill Street, shortly after midnight.
Gardaí (Irish police) believe that the man was struck by a green or blue Audi saloon car which left the scene in the direction of Summerhill.
Witnesses also allege that a number of men got out from this car and assaulted the man.
The man was taken by ambulance to the Mater Hospital.


Scotland must beat Slovenia if they are to resurrect their chances of reaching the World Cup finals, Gordon Strachan has acknowledged.

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The Scotland head coach's side sit second bottom of Group F ahead of the game at Hampden Park on 26 March.
"We must win that game," he said. "There is no getting away from that."
But Strachan did not wish to consider what a defeat would mean for his own future and said: "Whatever happens after that, we will look at that."
The 60-year-old, who has been in charge since 2013, signed a new two-year contract in October 2015.
Following successive 3-0 defeats away to Slovakia and England, he took time to consider his position but decided in November to carry on after receiving the backing of the Scottish Football Association board.
As he announced his squad for the 22 March warm-up friendly against Canada, followed by the qualifier against Slovenia, Strachan underlined his belief that the Scots could still reach the 2018 finals in Russia.
"If we win that game, we will only be one point behind Slovenia, who are in second at the moment," he said.
Strachan, whose side lie fifth with four points from four matches, insisted he had "no idea" how many points they might require from their final six matches to qualify, while admitting that the Scots could not afford further setbacks.
"But we are looking forward to that challenge and I think the fans will be looking forward to that challenge of going to a game that you must win," he said.
"So, together, we can make it a right good night for us.
"The fans have always given us support, but we really need it on that night.
"The guys will be prepared, the fans will be prepared and we are looking to put in a right good performance."
Strachan will again field questions about his future should Scotland fall short.
"I think fans, players, anybody who really wants us to do well, will be wishing us luck and dealing with anything after the game," he added.
"Everyone who wants to see us go to the World Cup will be backing us to win this game.
"The most important thing is three points and enjoying the build-up, which we will be doing.
"The best part of my job is coaching and I am looking forward to that and then looking forward to the challenge of the game."


A large fire that spread "thick acrid smoke" across Oxfordshire and Berkshire has been extinguished.

The blaze took hold in agricultural buildings at Mount Pleasant Farm in Goring Heath on Saturday morning.
Oxfordshire County Council's Fire and Rescue Service and Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue drenched the fire using eight fire engines.
They said the smoke had settled in residential areas and breathing had not been "pleasant".
Residents were advised to remain inside and shut windows and doors.
Crews from Goring, Didcot and Reading remained at the site throughout the day. No people or animals were hurt as a result of the fire.
An investigation into the cause is under way, but it is thought to have started in a barn and originated from an industrial generator, which then set fire to a forklift.
Group manager Jason Crapper, from Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, attended the blaze and called it "very severe".
"Although it has caused considerable damage, the nearby buildings were protected which has saved both the buildings and the valuable plant and machinery they house," he said.
A spokesman added: "The first firefighters on the scene were met with a rapidly spreading fire which included a large tank of heating oil, and further fire engines were therefore sent along with water carriers from as far as Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service to try to stop the fire from spreading further.
"Firefighters used a number of water jets from around the buildings to stop the fire spreading whilst also putting in place measures to protect local watercourses from the water run off which included oils from the fire."


Building work will start on a new £100m automotive business park in Ebbw Vale by the end of the financial year, the economy secretary has pledged.

Ken Skates also rejected the suggestion the idea had been "written on the back of a fag packet".
He said it was being designed with investors, the local enterprise zone board and skills providers.
Mr Skates wants plans to go forward for a first building in the cluster in the autumn.
The automotive park project, which has an ambition to create 1,500 jobs, was announced when Mr Skates rejected support for the £433m Circuit of Wales last month.
Land is currently being identified for the park, which would develop automotive businesses with £10m a year over 10 years.
Mr Skates expects "shovels in the ground" by next March.
A cluster of automotive businesses had already been part of the Circuit of Wales plans.
"This is based on extensive research and expertise," Mr Skates told BBC Wales.
"It's being designed with stake-holders. This isn't just a case of 'build units and they'll come'.
"It's been informed by the likes of the enterprise zone board, by skills providers in the area, by existing companies and by investors into Wales.
"There is already a strong automotive manufacturing base within the region but what we want to do is make sure that is built upon and in a way that meets the demands of emerging technology and greener growth."
The first meeting was held to discuss the development last week. Business figures attending included TVR - which has already announced 150 jobs - Ford, IQE and General Dynamics.
CASE STUDY: SKILLS OF THE FUTURE
Riversimple is developing hydrogen cell cars in Llandrindod Wells.
It will be producing an initial run of 20 cars to try out with the public before eventually looking at full scale production with 5,000 cars in 2019.
That might make Ebbw Vale - 45 miles (72km) away- an attractive location, especially with the better road infrastructure to link up with suppliers.
Riversimple plans to rent its vehicles out, with all the maintenance and fuel provided by the firm, which it says will be an "innovative business model alongside an innovative car".
Programme manager Robert Cumming said the car industry is already adapting to new technologies and the development of electric cars but hydrogen cars are something different again.
"There are other elements of these vehicles in their construction which require different skills, so not all the skill sets will necessarily be there," he said.
"But it's an opportunity for us to train and teach people and bring new skills to the area - composites and materials technology.
"Being at the forefront of that can only be a good thing. Wales can be at the driving seat rather than waiting for the technology to come to it."
18,000  people directly employed
40 international components firms including Ford and Toyota
100+  other business in the supply chain, many small and medium-sized
£3.2bn  sales generated annually
£500m paid in staff salaries a year
On the idea of an automotive technology park in Ebbw Vale, Mr Cumming said: "There's a great history of motoring in Wales - so this would be a dedicated park bringing these different skill sets in.
"It's difficult finding specialist companies we need, they're dotted around the UK. Having them on our doorstep would be absolutely fantastic."
The Welsh Government is being urged to tackle a shortage of skills in order to attract companies to the new development.
A separate business case is also being worked on for a skills academy.
Blaenau Gwent Learning Zone in Ebbw Vale is running courses to train people for the skills required for the automotive industry but it raises concerns that there is already a skills shortage with local companies, which will need to be improved to attract more businesses.
Ebbw Vale's enterprise zone has only created 179 jobs in seven years.
But Mr Skates said the automotive park would "meet head-on" the challenge of providing space, which would make a massive different to the enterprise zone.


A facial reconstruction based on the skull of Richard III has revealed how the English king may have looked.

The king's skeleton was found under a car park in Leicester during an archaeological dig.
The reconstructed face has a slightly arched nose and prominent chin, similar to features shown in portraits of Richard III painted after his death.
Historian and author John Ashdown-Hill said seeing it was "almost like being face to face with a real person".
The development comes after archaeologists from the University of Leicester confirmed the skeleton found last year was the 15th Century king's, with DNA from the bones having matched that of descendants of the monarch's family.
Richard was killed in the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, at the age of 32 and after just two years on the throne, having been challenged by the forces of Henry Tudor, the future Henry VII.
Interactive: Twisted bones reveal a king
Dr Ashdown-Hill, who wrote The Last Days of Richard III, said: "The most obvious features in portraits are the shape of the nose and the chin and both of those are visible in the facial reconstruction."
Richard III Society member Philippa Langley, originator of the search, said on a Channel 4 documentary earlier: "It doesn't look like the face of a tyrant. I'm sorry but it doesn't.
"He's very handsome. It's like you could just talk to him, have a conversation with him right now."
Layers of muscle and skin were added by computer to a scan of the skull and the result was made into a three-dimensional plastic model.
Dr Ashdown-Hill said: "I had said previously that when I stood by the grave in Leicester that I felt closer to Richard III than I had ever been, but when I saw the facial reconstruction I realised I had been close to a dead Richard III.
"It was just bones, just a body, whereas confronting a facial reconstruction, I felt almost in the presence of a living Richard III."
The reconstruction is particularly important because there are no surviving contemporary portraits of Richard III.
Dr Ashdown-Hill said: "All the surviving portraits of him - even the very later ones with humped backs and things which were obviously later additions - facially are quite similar [to each other] so it has always been assumed that they were based on a contemporary portrait painted in his lifetime or possibly several portraits painted in his lifetime."
The Richard III Society officially unveiled the reconstruction on Tuesday morning, at the Society of Antiquaries in London.
It is expected the reconstruction will be put on public display in future.
Experts from the University of Leicester said DNA from the skeleton matches that of a descendant of Richard III's family.
Dr Ashdown-Hill said: "We weren't certain whether the body was Richard III so the facial reconstruction - particularly if it hadn't been possible to get DNA from the bones - might have been an additional piece of evidence, and still is."
Caroline Wilkinson, professor of craniofacial identification at the University of Dundee, said: "It was a great privilege to be able to analyse a skull thought to be Richard III.
"The facial reconstruction was produced on the assumption that the remains were unknown and portraits of Richard III were not used as reference.
"When the 3D digital bust was complete it was replicated in plastic using a rapid prototyping system and this was painted, prosthetic eyes added and dressed with a wig, hat and clothing."
Prof Wilkinson said the Dundee team artist, Janice Aitken, only used the portraits of Richard III at this stage as reference for hair style and colour, eye colour, skin colour and clothing.
The team estimated the end result was as accurate as possible.
"Our facial reconstruction methods have been blind tested many times using living subjects and we know that we can expect that approximately 70% of the facial surface should have less than 2mm of error," said Prof Wilkinson.


The Pentagon has invited external experts to hack into its systems in the first such test of its cybersecurity measures.

The method is often used by private companies that want to use the expertise of "friendly" hackers to find holes in their systems.
It came after the US defence secretary backed strong encryption amid the FBI's phone unlocking row with Apple.
Ash Carter called on tech firms and the US government to work together.
The US Department of Defense launched its Hack the Pentagon project on Wednesday, inviting vetted outside hackers to test the security of some of its public websites.
According to the Reuters news agency, the programme will be modelled on the hacking bounties often run by firms, in which experts are offered incentives to identify and report security issues. The Pentagon said it was also considering offering financial rewards.
"I am confident that this innovative initiative will strengthen our digital defences and ultimately enhance our national security," Mr Carter said.
The Pentagon has long tested its own networks using internal so-called "red teams" but this initiative - the first such scheme to be run by the US federal government - would open at least some of its vast network of computer systems to cyberchallenges from across industry and academia.
However, the Pentagon said that other more sensitive networks or key weapons programs would not be included in the scheme, at least initially. "The goal is not to comprise any aspect of our critical systems, but to still challenge our cybersecurity in a new and innovative way," one senior defence official told Reuters.
The official said they expected thousands of qualified participants to sign up ahead of the pilot scheme's opening in April.
During a visit to Silicon Valley on Tuesday, Mr Carter underscored the US military's support for data security and strong encryption. Speaking on the day that both Apple and the FBI appeared before the US congress over the former's refusal to help the latter overcome an iPhone's encryption protection, he said that the Pentagon viewed strong encryption as critical.
Reuters reported that Mr Carter declined to address a live case directly and said that no one case should drive policy decisions. But he did call for greater co-operation between Silicon Valley and Washington on data security.
He said that a failure to work together would allow China, Russia and others who he said did not favour a free internet to set new global standards, according to the news agency.
"We shouldn't let the solutions to this larger issue of how to handle data security as a society be driven by any one particular case," Mr Carter told reporters after a speech to the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco. "It would be unreasonable."
In his speech, Mr Carter said: "It is easy to see wrong ways to do this. One would be a law hastily written in anger or grief. Another would be to have the rules be written by Russia or China."
On the same day, it was announced that the Turing Award had been given to a pair of cryptographers whose ideas helped make the internet possible.
According to the Associated Press, the recipients - Whitfield Diffie, a former chief security officer of Sun Microsystems, and Martin Hellman, a professor emeritus of electrical engineering at Stanford University - said that giving governments control over encrypted communications would put everyone at risk.
The pair were chosen for the $1m (£700,000) award for contributions to computing for the ideas of public-key cryptography and digital signatures, which they introduced in 1976.
The concepts now secure all kinds of data, from online communications and financial transactions to internet-connected infrastructure like power plants, the AP agency reported.


Thousands of spectators are expected to descend on Royal Deeside this weekend for a landmark Braemar Gathering.

Saturday's event will mark the 200th anniversary of the society which runs it.
The Queen is expected to attend, just days before she officially becomes the nation's longest reigning monarch.
The Braemar Gathering is seen as the biggest event in the Highland Games calendar, and is always on the first Saturday in September.
More than 100 men are retracing the steps of their ancestors as they march from Donside to Royal Deeside, to help mark the bicentenary of the Braemar Royal Highland Society which was formed in 1815.
Made up of members of the Lonach Highlanders and the Lonach Pipe Band, the group will march 14 miles to Braemar Castle and camp overnight before attending on Saturday.


A killer has been put to death in the American state of Texas amid controversy about where the state got supplies of its lethal injection drug.

Tommy Lynn Sells, 49, was the first inmate to be injected with a dose of recently replenished stocks of the powerful sedative pentobarbital.
US states are facing a shortage of execution drugs as a growing number of firms have refused to sell them.
Sells' lawyers tried unsuccessfully to find out the names of the suppliers.
Debate about the source of execution drugs has recently become contentious in several states as numerous drug makers have refused to sell their products if they are used in executions.
Opposition is especially strong among European drug makers, where concern over capital punishment is fiercest.
A lower court earlier stopped Sells' execution, ordering the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to reveal more information about the drug supplier, but its ruling was overturned on appeal.
The convicted man's attorneys argued that they needed to know the name of the pharmacy supplying the pentobarbital in order to verify the drug's quality and protect him from unconstitutional pain and suffering.
"Without transparency about lethal injections, particularly the source and purity of drugs to be used, it is impossible to ensure that executions are humane and constitutional," lawyers Maurie Levin and Jonathan Ross said in a statement.
Recent pentobarbital executions in the US:
Source: BBC reporting
But the Supreme Court agreed with Texas prison officials, who argued that information about the drug supplier must be kept secret to protect the pharmacy from threats of violence.
The justices did not elaborate on the reasoning behind their ruling, which was issued about an hour before Sells' execution.
Last month a pharmacy in the state of Oklahoma said that it would not supply pentobarbital to neighbouring Missouri for use in an execution.
Sells was convicted of murder in 2000 for stabbing Kaylene Harris, 13, to death and slashing her 10-year-old friend, Krystal Surles, who survived and helped police find him.
US media reports said Sells had confessed to as many as 70 killings across the US.
He declined to give a statement prior to his execution.
Sells was pronounced dead 13 minutes after being given the pentobarbital.
His execution was the fifth lethal injection this year in Texas, the busiest state in the US for enforcing the death penalty.
Nearly 1,400 men have been put to death since the US Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976.


There was "no fair basis" for the "draconian step" of forcing a South Yorkshire Police chief constable out of office, the High Court has heard.

David Crompton was suspended in April after he appeared to justify police questioning of fans' behaviour in the wake of the Hillsborough disaster.
His comments came after an inquest jury concluded force conduct contributed to or caused the deaths of 96 fans.
It later led to a resignation call by Dr Alan Billings.
The court heard the police and crime commissioner (PCC) felt Mr Crompton's statement had "damaged trust" in the force.
But Hugh Bailey QC said the decision requiring his client to leave the force should be quashed, describing it as "fundamentally wrong".
He added: "The claimant submits that the defendant had no fair or reasonable basis for taking the draconian step of forcing him out of office, and that the decision was unlawful."
Mr Davies said Mr Crompton was not involved in the force's underlying failures at Hillsborough or its response to the disaster, nor was he implicated in any of the jury's findings.
He told Lady Justice Sharp and Mr Justice Garnham the PCC called for his resignation not because of any alleged wrongdoing associated with underlying events, but because of the press release he had issued.
Jonathan Swift QC, for the PCC, argued the claim should be dismissed.
He said although the decision was controversial, Dr Billings was entitled to conclude that public trust and confidence in the force had been damaged by the chief constable's actions.
The hearing continues.


Army chief General Sir Nick Carter says the level of sexual harassment being faced by female soldiers is "totally unacceptable".

In a survey commissioned by the Army, almost 40% of servicewomen said they had received unwanted comments of a sexual nature in the past year.
The report, based on a survey of 7,000 soldiers, found 13% of women had had "a particularly upsetting experience".
About 3% of those who were very upset made a formal written complaint.
Nearly half did not make a formal complaint because they were concerned about the consequences, such as being labelled a troublemaker and the effect it might have on their career.
Sir Nick said he was "disappointed" by the figures.
"But they do provide me with a baseline from which I can move forward and change the Army's culture," he told the BBC.
He said he wanted the Army to be a "modern, inclusive" employer and the change would come from the top down, with the launch of a new code of leadership in September.
He also said he would ensure the complaints process was "good and sound", so "all people feel they can complain if it is necessary to complain".
According to government statistics, over the past few years the proportion of women in the UK forces has been rising across all three services; the Royal Navy, the Army and the Royal Air Force.
In July 2014, there were 15,780 women serving across the armed forces - or 10% of the total number of personnel.
The fact the head of the Army commissioned this survey suggests he knows he has a problem. One that he wants to tackle to change the Army's culture and make it more inclusive.
General Sir Nick Carter has already made clear he needs to attract more women, as well as people from the ethnic minorities. To meet his recruitment targets the British army must be seen as an attractive career, open to all.
Later this year he'll bring together the Army's leadership to set out a new code of conduct and to modernise the Army's values to better reflect society.
The culture change won't be easy. Women currently make up about 10% of the Army's ranks. Muslims account for less than 1% of the Army's strength.
But barriers are slowly being broken down.  Last week the Army appointed its first female two star general.
Next year it'll decide whether to lift the ban on women serving in the infantry.
The Army-commissioned report found servicewomen were more likely to experience a range of "unwanted, targeted sexualised behaviours" than servicemen, with the exception of being sent sexually explicit material.
Junior soldiers were, in some cases, four times more likely than senior officers to experience the behaviours, the report said, and the most at-risk group was junior-ranking women.
Among the report's findings:
It also found that 44% of respondents believed sexual harassment was a problem in some parts of the Army, but the majority were positive about how well the Army tried to prevent it and manage it when it did happen.
Service personnel asked for a more effective complaints system and stronger sanctions against those who sexually harassed others.
The report recommended introducing more transparency into the complaints and discipline process, and better training for senior staff.
"The Army may wish to consider introducing training to give individuals the skills, knowledge and confidence to managed unwanted behaviours themselves," it added.
The report found "generalised sexualised behaviours", such as the use of sexual swear words and sexual jokes, was a "common part of workplace culture and the Army is no exception" but the majority of personnel were unlikely to be offended.
Researchers posted 24,000 anonymous surveys to regular and reserve servicemen and women, and more than 7,000 were sent back - a response rate of 30%.
Focus groups were also conducted with 48 randomly-selected non-commissioned officers from different units.


A French Olympic swimming champion has caused fury among the sport's authorities after claiming that his colleagues on the national side regularly take cocaine.

Amaury Leveaux, who won gold in the 100m relay at the 2012 London Olympics, makes his allegation in an autobiography published on Wednesday.
Entitled Sex, Drugs and Swimming, it purports to offer an unsavoury behind-the-scenes glimpse at the world of competitive swimming.
In a chapter dealing with drug use, Leveaux says that top French swimming stars regularly snort cocaine, mainly - but not only - for fun.
"Some of us wouldn't spit at a little line of coke from time to time. For others it's not just a little line, it's a complete motorway covered in white powder which they zoom down at top speed," he writes.
"And then let's not be coy - cocaine is a doping agent.  It is the kind of happy drug which gives you the feeling of being invincible and never tired - pushing back your limits and transforming you into a warrior ready for anything."
He says on one occasion during the Olympics a trainer came to their rooms and warned them that an anti-doping test would take place the next day.
"He specifically mentioned cocaine as one to avoid.  I found that strange."
Leveaux also describes an incident at the London Games, where one of the French swimmers - he does not give the name - left a nightclub in the company of the establishment's female press officer.
"Later that night he sent me a text saying I should come round to the girl's flat - and that's where I found him lying on top of her and sniffing a line of coke from between her breasts," he writes.
The French Swimming Federation (FNF) has reacted with outrage to Leveaux's claims, with vice-president Lucien Gastaldello saying the swimmer had "shot himself in the foot" and should now repay his debts to the federation.
"Everyone is disgusted by his attitude," said Gastaldello. "He was going to do television commentaries on some forthcoming events. He can forget that. Who would speak to him now?"
Leveaux - who comes from a modest background in the eastern city of Belfort - reserves some of his strongest criticism for members of the elite Marseille Swimming Club, who have dominated the sport in France in recent years . They are, he writes, "pretty boys with big heads".
He also lays into the sport's governing body, describing the FNF as "dinosaurs" who have brought "Nothing with a capital N" to swimming.
"They squeeze swimmers like lemons and then chuck them into the rubbish bin when they are through."
Le Monde's sports correspondent Henri Seckel said the book's sensational title was a bit of an oversell and that he wanted more on what really would have "broken the code of silence in swimming" - i.e. the facts on performance-enhancing drug use.
Leveaux makes some allusions to this, but never directly.
He mentions a Russian female swimmer who he says "went back home from time to time to get testosterone injections."
He says this Russian swimmer explained to him how her team escaped anti-doping inspections.
"Every swimmer had a 'double' who had the same name on his or her passport. It was this double, who was based in the same hotel roomâ€¦. that was tested after the event - without the officials ever noticing," he writes.
Leveaux, who retired in 2013, has four Olympic medals in all, and still holds the world record for 100m freestyle (short course). In the 2008 Olympics he was pipped to gold in the 50m freestyle by Brazil's Cesar Cielo, who in 2011 failed a doping test.
In the book he compares Cielo to Lance Armstrong, and in a pre-launch interview with L'Equipe magazine adds: "For cheats and paedophiles, it's the same: a bullet in the head."
While on the national team, Leveaux enjoyed a mildly 'bad boy' reputation, but he denied the book is motivated by jealousy of his more glamorous team-mates, such as Alain Bernard or Yannick Agnel.


Defending champions Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams cruised into the Australian Open third round, but sixth seed Petra Kvitova was knocked out.

Women's number one Williams thrashed Taiwan's Hsieh Su-Wei 6-1 6-2 while men's top seed Djokovic beat France's Quentin Halys 6-1 6-2 7-6 (7-3).
Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova also made it through safely.
But two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova lost 6-4 6-4 to 21-year-old Australian Daria Gavrilova.
British number ones Andy Murray and Johanna Konta resume their campaigns in the second round on Thursday.
Giant-killing Gavrilova, the world number 39, said she was "just really happy" after her win over Kvitova.
"It was unreal. I was so nervous in the end, you probably could tell," said the Russian-born Australian, who only switched nationality in December.
She now plays France's Kristina Mladenovic on Friday for a place in the fourth round.
Kvitova made 35 unforced errors and was broken five times in the 89-minute contest on Margaret Court Arena.
The Czech joined second seed Simona Halep and eighth seed Venus Williams in suffering a shock early exit.
Federer was rarely troubled by Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov, hitting 39 winners and wrapping up a 6-3 7-5 6-1 victory in an hour and 33 minutes.
The result sets up an intriguing third-round clash with Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, who was once considered a potential successor to Federer but has struggled to fulfil his potential.
"It's a tough draw," the Swiss said. "He's got the game to be really dangerous."
Agnieszka Radwanska said her confidence was soaring after she overcame Canada's Eugenie Bouchard 6-4 6-2 to reach the third round.
Bouchard, rebuilding her career after a head injury at last year's US Open, showed glimpses of her old form but could not match the Pole's consistency.
Radwanska, who will play Monica Puig of Puerto Rico in the third round, said: "I'm very happy with my game today because getting Genie in the second round was not an easy match."
Japanese seventh seed Kei Nishikori was another early winner on day three as he beat American Austin Krajicek 6-3 7-6 (7-5) 6-3, and Czech sixth seed Tomas Berdych beat Bosnia and Herzegovina's Mirza Basic 6-4 6-0 6-3.
Australian Nick Kyrgios reached the third round with a 6-4 7-5 7-6 (7-2) win over Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas, after overcoming wardrobe trouble.
The 20-year-old needed to change his shorts midway because his first pair apparently did not have pockets deep enough to hold balls while he was serving.
"Just a bit of a mix-up before the game. I guess it will be fixed by the next round," shrugged the 29th seed, whose next opponent Berdych has reached the last two semi-finals at Melbourne Park.
Kyrgios learnt before his match that he had been fined $3,000 (£2,100) for uttering an obscenity in his first-round win over Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta.
Czech Kristyna Pliskova - twin sister of Karolina Pliskova - served 31 aces, the most aces in a single match in WTA history (the previous record was 27) but still went out in the second round.
The left-hander ended up losing 4-6 7-6(6) 9-7 to Puerto Rico's Monica Puig, who saved five match points before progressing.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga came to the aid of a ball girl in distress during his 7-5 6-1 6-4 win over Omar Jasika of Australia.
The ninth seed said he noticed the ball girl was unwell during the third set of his match so he walked over to see what was wrong.
He put his hand on her back, and she passed Tsonga a ball she was holding. He then looped his arm through hers and escorted her off the court.
"I saw she was in trouble," the Frenchman said. "It was normal to help her out of the stadium. I hope she's OK."
The ball girl was fine, just feeling under the weather, according to tournament organisers.
World number 10 and seven-times Grand Slam champion Venus Williams was given a $5,000 (£3,532) fine for failing to appear at a news conference on Tuesday.
The American, 35, did not fulfil her post-match media commitments after losing in straight sets to Britain's Konta.
Asked whether her elder sister would return to Melbourne in 2017, defending champion Serena Williams said: "I would assume. She's never mentioned anything about not being here."
"I'd say it was pretty mediocre today. It's actually something that I had to add, because I was getting really frustrated losing to my hitting partner all the time." Maria Sharapova reveals the motivation behind her new willingness to play the drop shot after beating Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus 6-2, 6-1.
"They don't get so excited watching me play yet." Roger Federer on why his twin daughters were reading books rather than watching dad.
"Oh, I don't do those. I'm not good at those. I did when I was younger, and I was terrible at it. I know what I'm good at, and I know things I'm not going to excel at. I'm definitely not going to excel at that shot." Serena Williams will not be attempting a between-the-legs shot any time soon.
Eugenie Bouchard described her lightweight tank dress for the Australian Open as having "red and white stripes like an American flag or something." The Canadian then paused, before saying: "Actually, red and white like Canada, I should say. Whoops!".
"Quentin is new on the tour but definitely today he hasn't been playing like he's been just on the tour for under a year," Novak Djokovic said after beating French 19-year-old Quentin Halys. "He played some great tennis and I want to congratulate him for fighting and especially in the third set."


A Syrian jihadist group affiliated with al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility for a twin bombing on Friday in the capital Damascus that killed at least 40.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham said the attack was "a message to Iran" over the country's support for Syrian president Bashar al Assad.
The majority of dead were Iraqi pilgrims, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The Observatory put the death toll at 74, but the figure was not confirmed.
The blast wounded 120, according to Iraq's government. According to the Observatory, the attack consisted of a roadside bomb detonated as a bus passed, and a suicide bombing.
It took place near the Bab al-Saghir cemetery, which houses Shia mausoleums. Sunni militants often target Shias but attacks in the capital are uncommon.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (Liberation of the Levant Organisation) is a new group formed from Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (previously al-Nusra Front) and four smaller factions.
A nationwide truce in Syria, brokered by Russia, Turkey and Iran, took effect on 30 December after talks in Kazakhstan, but sporadic attacks continue.
There have been two rounds of talks, with another planned next week.
Damascus is mostly under the control of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but rebel groups are present in outlying districts of the city.
In January, a double suicide bombing in the Kafr Sousa district of the capital killed at least 10 people. The then-named Jabhat Fateh al-Sham said it was behind that attack.
The group is excluded from the peace talks and its mainly north-western bases have been regularly targeted by the Syrian army and its Russian allies.
So-called Islamic State is another Sunni extremist group that controls significant areas of Syria. Its Iraqi stronghold of Mosul is currently under attack from Iraqi government forces and their allies.
More than 300,000 people have been killed and 11 million others displaced since the uprising against President Assad began in March 2011.


The SNP will take control of East Dunbartonshire Council.

The party formed a minority administration after a council meeting following local elections earlier this month.
Before the poll, Labour and the Conservatives ran a minority administration between them.
While the SNP are now the biggest single party, they fall well short of an overall majority with just seven of the council's 22 seats.
The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have six councillors each, Labour has two and there is one independent.
Most of Scotland's 32 local authorities have now formed administrations, but a few are still to reach decisions.
Stirling Council voted on Wednesday evening to back an SNP-Labour coalition.
Christine Simpson (Labour) was named as the new provost and Graham Houston (SNP) as depute convener.
West Lothian and Edinburgh councils are due to hold meetings on Thursday, after both adjourned meetings last week.
In West Lothian, a proposed coalition between Labour and the Conservatives was blocked by Labour's Scottish Executive Committee. Labour has indicated that it hopes to find a way of governing as a minority.
There has been no sign yet of a deal to run Edinburgh Council. The SNP is the largest party with the Conservatives in second place. The SNP and Labour have each made it clear they will not do formal deals with the Conservatives in Edinburgh.
Inverclyde Council will also hold a meeting on Thursday.
Generally, councils now have either minority administrations led by the biggest local party or coalitions which include the biggest local party, but there are a number of significant exceptions.
In Aberdeen, the Labour group and the Conservatives have formed a coalition which keeps the SNP out - the Labour councillors have been suspended from the party for going ahead with the deal which was not supported by the party's Scottish Executive Committee.
The SNP has also been kept out of control in Argyll and Bute, Angus, Moray and North Lanarkshire.
The Conservatives are not part of the administration in Dumfries and Galloway and East Renfrewshire.
Aberdeen - Labour suspended nine councillors after they agreed a coalition deal with the Conservatives.
Aberdeenshire - A coalition of Conservative, Liberal Democrats and independent councillors will run the council.
Angus - Conservatives, Independents and Liberal Democrats form the administration.
Argyll and Bute - Independent, Lib Dem and Conservative coalition
Clackmannanshire - The first meeting of the new council could not agree an administration. They will meet again on 1 June.
Dumfries and Galloway - A coalition between Labour and the SNP has taken control, meaning the Conservative group, which won most seats, is kept out of the administration.
Dundee City - SNP to form administration with Independent.
East Ayrshire Council - SNP minority administration
East Dunbartonshire - SNP minority administration
East Lothian- Labour minority administration
East Renfrewshire - The SNP and Labour are set to run the council despite the Conservatives winning the most seats.
Edinburgh - No agreement reached. A new administration will not now be formed for at least another week.
Falkirk - SNP minority takes control of the council
Fife - Joint leadership, with power shared equally between SNP and Labour.
Glasgow - The SNP has formed a minority administration, ending almost 40 years of Labour dominance.
Highland - 28 independents along with 10 Lib Dems and three Labour have formed an administration, keeping out the SNP and Tories.
Inverclyde - Meeting Thursday 25 May at 16:00
Midlothian - Labour will run a minority administration
Moray - The Conservative group of eight councillors is to join forces with six of the independent members.
North Ayrshire - Labour will continue to run the council despite a surge from the Scottish Conservatives in the local elections. The SNP has the same number of seats as Labour.
North Lanarkshire - Labour has formed a minority administration. There will be no formal coalition agreement with the Tories.
Perth and Kinross - A Conservative-led coalition with the Lib Dems and independents.
Renfrewshire Council - will operate as an SNP minority administration.
South Ayrshire - A coalition of SNP, Labour and independent councillors has been formed to run the council.
Scottish Borders - A new Conservative-independent coalition has taken formal control. It was previously an SNP/Lib Dem/independent administration.
South Lanarkshire - Labour members abstained in a vote on forming an alliance with the Tories. The SNP took control of the council, with a minority administration. They are seven seats short of a majority but the other parties could agree to work together.
Stirling - The SNP and Labour agree a coaltion to run the council.
West Dunbartonshire - It will be an SNP-independent administration. The 10 SNP councillors have joined with one of the two independents to form an administration.
West Lothian - No deal agreed after Scottish Labour's ruling body told councillors not to enter a coalition with the Conservatives. They will meet again on Thursday.
Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland - All administrations dominated by independents.


Fast bowler Shaun Tait has been recalled by Australia after an absence of almost five years for the three-match Twenty20 series against India.

Tait, 32, last played for Australia at the World Cup in India in 2011, but has been in good form for the Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League.
All-rounder Shane Watson and off-spinner Nathan Lyon have also been named in the squad for the three games.
They will seek to stake their case for the World Twenty20, starting in March.
"Shaun Tait returns on the basis that he is the quickest bowler in Australia at the moment and he offers us that explosive option,'' chairman of selectors Rod Marsh said.
"Shane Watson has earned his recall through a combination of his experience, especially in short-form cricket, the all-round package he offers and the fact he is bang in form."
Lyon joins leg-spinner Cameron Boyce and spin-bowling all-rounder Glenn Maxwell among the slow bowling options.
But former T20 skipper George Bailey and Mitchell Marsh have been omitted from the squad.
Test skipper Steve Smith and batsman David Warner will only play the opening match on 26 January, so they can prepare for the tour of New Zealand starting in February.
Australia also made two changes to their one-day squad for the remaining two matches against India after taking an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series.
Lyon has been named in place of paceman Joel Paris, with Warner recalled at the expense of Usman Khawaja after missing matches for the birth of his second child.
ODI squad: Steve Smith (capt), David Warner, George Bailey, Scott Boland, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, John Hastings, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Matthew Wade.
T20 squad: Aaron Finch (capt), Scott Boland, Cameron Boyce, James Faulkner, John Hastings, Travis Head, Nathan Lyon, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Shaun Tait, Andrew Tye, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Shane Watson.


Newcastle produced one of their best displays of the season as they beat West Brom to move out of the Premier League bottom three.

Aleksandar Mitrovic scored the only goal in the 32nd minute, when he slotted in from inside the area.
Newcastle also went close through Andros Townsend, whose shot hit the post, while Ben Foster denied Mitrovic.
West Brom's best chance fell to James McClean, whose goal-bound shot was brilliantly blocked by Steven Taylor.
Victory moved the Magpies up to 17th - one point above Norwich in 18th.
Re-live the action from St James' Park
Reaction from the Saturday's other Premier League matches
It was no surprise that the former Tottenham player came off the St James' Park pitch to a standing ovation in the 88th minute.
The England midfielder produced the sort of effervescent display on his home debut that Magpies fans never saw from £12m fellow winger Florian Thauvin.
He had four shots and produced four key passes - more than any of his team-mates - with his dummy and effort that hit the post the highlight of his afternoon. As a claim for a place in England's Euro 2016 squad, this was the perfect audition.
The slight disappointment for the Magpies was that they scored only once from 19 chances created, after enjoying 69% of possession.
Against a side less lackadaisical than West Brom, they would have been punished.
We have seen it before - team sits comfortable in mid-table at the turn of the year, eases off the gas and, before you know it, gets dragged into the relegation fight.
Newcastle have first-hand experience of this apocalyptic scenario, but could it befall the Baggies?
They were atrocious today. Had it not been for Foster, who made a brilliant save from Mitrovic, Cheick Tiote having a wonder-goal questionably disallowed and Newcastle's profligacy then the scoreline would have been at least 4-0.
Or perhaps that should be 4-1. What is almost guaranteed when playing Newcastle is that they have defensive lapses.
Aside from Taylor's great block to deny McClean, West Brom did not seriously threaten Rob Elliot's goal until stoppage time when Saido Berahino would have surely scored had fellow substitute Salomon Rondon found him with a simple square ball.
As it is, the Baggies have now failed to win in five games and are six points above the drop-zone.
Newcastle head coach Steve McClaren:
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"The first five minutes today, you could see we were really up for this game. For 95 minutes we were relentless in attack, and we should have scored more.
"As a manager you do worry as the game goes on, but you just have to sit down and pray it's just your day.
"Townsend will get better and better, the fitter he gets. When he picks up the ball he's so dangerous. He is so positive and deserved a goal. That was good, and we had a number of heroes today.
"We knew that if we won today we'd be out of the bottom three. Now we'll get players fit over the next few weeks, and I hope we'll get better, stronger, as the season concludes.
"The players have been great - good, attacking football. We've shown what this team is capable of doing, and it's all about doing that consistently."
West Brom boss Tony Pulis:
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"Since I have been here, that's our worst performance playing away from home. It could have been more than 1-0. But they are a great group of lads - we'll have to take this on the chin and work this out.
"Only in the last 15 minutes did we have a couple of opportunities to score. The goal was a poor one to concede, and it pushed them on. But we weren't at the races from the beginning.
"Newcastle have got good players, and look at what they have recruited. But like all teams in this league you need a little luck. Today they didn't need luck though - they were better than us, full-stop.
"We know the number of points we have to get, and we need a couple of players back. But every game is tough and there are no easy games in the Premier League."
The Magpies are at Chelsea next Saturday, and the Baggies have an FA Cup replay against Peterborough on Wednesday before they travel to Everton next weekend.


A UK pavilion built for the World Expo in Shanghai has won a prestigious international architecture award.

The six-storey, cube-like structure beat buildings in Ireland and Alaska to win the Royal Institute of British Architects' Lubetkin Prize.
Designed by Thomas Heatherwick, the so-called "Seed Cathedral" is pierced by 60,000 transparent acrylic rods that each contain a seed.
RIBA president Ruth Reed called it "an outstanding emblem for Britain".
In Pictures: RIBA awards 2010
The prize is named after world-renowned architect Berthold Lubetkin, designer of the Penguin Pool at London Zoo.
The winner was presented with a concrete plaque based on that design at a ceremony at RIBA's London offices.
Almost 250 countries and international organisations are showcasing their culture at the World Expo.
Some 70 million visitors are expected to visit the event, built this year around the theme of sustainable development.


The two men vying to replace the late Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, have addressed tens of thousands of people on the first official day of campaigning for this month's election.

The acting president, Nicolas Maduro, began his campaign in Mr Chavez's hometown, Sabaneta de Barinas.
He vowed to continue his programme of social reforms.
Opposition candidate Henrique Capriles said in Monagas state the government would do anything to hold on to power.
He called on his supporters to go to the polls on 14 April.
"All I have is the power of the people. I don't have the support of the courts," he told tens of thousands of his supporters in Maturin, capital of the eastern state of Monagas.
"Each one of you should take the campaign to your homes, to your neighbourhoods," said Mr Capriles, who was defeated by Mr Chavez in last year's presidential election.
The official campaign has just begun, but the two main candidates have already been holding events since Mr Chavez died of cancer on 5 March after 14 years in office.
Mr Maduro explained why he decided to begin the campaign in Mr Chavez's home state of Barinas.
"We are here to make a commitment to the land where he was born: we will not let the people down and we will go to the very end to build socialism."
He reminded voters he had been chosen by the late president to continue his programme of social reforms.
"We can say out loud that our people have never betrayed Hugo Chavez. We never let him down. The people are ready to continue the revolution, the historic legacy he has left us," Mr Maduro said to a crowd of supporters in Sabaneta de Barinas' main square.
After the first events in Barinas state, Mr Maduro will follow the route Mr Chavez travelled during the previous presidential campaign six months ago, hoping that he, too, will end it in the presidential palace.
The BBC's Irene Caselli in Caracas says even though these are the first elections without the presence of Mr Chavez for almost two decades, he continues to dominate the campaign.
Mr Maduro has continually invoked the memory of Mr Chavez and called himself his son and apostle, while Mr Capriles has told his supporters that Mr Maduro is not as competent as the late president.
Mr Capriles has also focused on insecurity in the country, saying that the government has failed to put forward "a single proposal to defeat violence and give peace to Venezuela".
According to interior minister Nestor Reverol, 3,400 murders were recorded in Venezuela in the first three months of 2013.
Polls suggest Mr Maduro has a lead of 14 points over Mr Capriles, with the remaining five candidates for the presidency trailing far behind.


Firefighters are working to contain wildfires that have set large parts of the western US ablaze.

The wildfires, which began late last week, were still being fought on Monday.
Blazes have ruined homes, shut down power, charred buildings and spurred many to evacuate.
In Washington state, the fires have charred 155 square miles (401 square km) and caused 1,500 to flee their homes.
Crews used air tankers, helicopters and bulldozers to attack the fires, which are made worse by high temperatures, reaching record levels this season and making fires harder to maintain.
More than 50 structures were destroyed in Washington. That the number is likely to increase.
Thirty homes and 75 other buildings were consumed in a blaze in Idaho, already struggling with major drought.
Firefighters are still battling the flames that began in the last few days.
A 70-year-old woman, Cheryl Lee Wissler, died in Idaho during the blazes. She was on her way out of her house when she fell, later dying of a head injury, local authorities said.
Sunbathers in Chelan, a Washington beach town, saw helicopters dipping into Lake Chelan to get water for fighting blazes north of the lake.
Air tankers made lines to keep the flames from reaching downtown Chelan.
In Oregon, wildfires have destroyed six homes and caused hundreds of residents living along the Warm Springs Indian Reservation to flee.
In southern California, a wildfire ruined two and a half square miles (6.5 sq km) of forest near Los Angeles. No one was hurt.
A wildfire 100 miles (160 km) from San Francisco in northern California caused evacuations and sent haze from smoke down to the Bay Area.
Another blaze in the area destroyed 43 homes days earlier.
In Montana, the biggest fire burned 21 square miles (54 sq km), with flames blaming in Glacier National Park and on the Flathead Indian Reservation.
Lighting storms ignited several fires in Colorado, but no injuries and only one home evacuation were reported.


The FA Cup third round is famous for shocks and surprises - but who will provide them this year?

BBC Sport's football expert Mark Lawrenson has taken a look at all 32 of this weekend's ties and given his verdict on who will make it into round four.
This week Lawro is up against a trio of YouTubers - Manchester City fan Alex from Blue Moon Rising TV, Tottenham supporter Barnaby from Spurred On and Arsenal fan Reev.
Alex and Barnaby have both got involved in BBC Sport's No Guts, No Glory campaign to share their tales of the magic of the FA Cup while Reev will be behind the scenes of the BBC's coverage of West Ham v Man City on Friday, and posting material on his social media platforms telling his story of the FA Cup on behalf of the Football Association.
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All kick-offs 15:00 GMT unless otherwise stated.
Gap = how many league positions separate each team
This will be a great trip for Plymouth fans and will earn some money for the club too, but I cannot see them causing Liverpool many problems at Anfield.
Liverpool will make a lot of changes and I am expecting to see quite a few young players start for them, but Reds boss Jurgen Klopp will put some experience in there too. Argyle are going well at the top of League Two and he will know he cannot take too many chances.
Liverpool obviously do not want a defeat but they will want to avoid a replay too because that would mean another road trip in what is already an extremely busy month for his side because of both legs of their EFL Cup semi-final.
* Away team to win at home in the replay
Crystal Palace boss Sam Allardyce will shuffle his team and use some fringe players but he will not want the indignity of being beaten at his former club Bolton, where he did so well between 1999 and 2007.
Wanderers are playing really well but they have got other things on their mind - they are second in League One and promotion is their priority.
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Bournemouth will be too strong for Millwall and I am expecting Chelsea versus Peterborough to be pretty one sided in favour of the Premier League leaders.
* Away team to win at home in the replay
Reading are third in the Championship and flying. They have showed real resolve at times too, like they did when they came from 2-0 down to beat Bristol City last time out.
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It will be interesting to see how Royals boss Jaap Stam's return to Old Trafford goes but, even if Manchester United pick some of their fringe players, I would expect the holders to go through.
Stoke and Tottenham should also make pretty comfortable progress but I can see Norwich, Burton and Sheffield Wednesday causing some upsets.
Norwich boss Alex Neil had been under serious pressure but his side beat Derby last time out and he could go from zero to hero if they beat Southampton.
Burton are struggling in the Championship but they fight all the way and I can see them getting past Watford via a replay, as one of my shocks.
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I have not been convinced by Middlesbrough at home and Sheffield Wednesday are an attacking team who will cause them plenty of problems.
As for Preston against Arsenal, can I just pick my own team to win? I would just be happy if we give the Gunners a good game and got a replay. I think we will, because we are extremely competitive.
* Away team to win at home in the replay
I have no idea what kind of teams Manchester City and West Ham will put out but, if both managers field weakened line-ups, I would fancy City to get through. It is the same with Everton against Leicester.
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Sunderland will be weakened for a different reason, because they have a shortage of fit players but I can see Burnley resting a few, so the Black Cats might just squeak through.
After their recent change of managers, it is a different situation for Hull and Swansea, who will both see the importance of winning their tie.
It will be Tigers boss Marco Silva's first game in charge while Paul Clement will want to build on Swansea's excellent win over Crystal Palace.
* Away team to win at home in the replay
Eastleigh had a cracking win over Swindon in round one but, since then, Ronnie Moore has left and Martin Allen has taken charge.
I don't see Allen helping them cause another upset because his old side Brentford play some nice football and score some good goals on their day.
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Ipswich have not won back-to-back games all season and are not having a great time of things but Mick McCarthy's side never give up the ghost. It might be difficult for them against Lincoln, the National League leaders, but I still think they will get through.
* Away team to win at home in the replay
Brighton are top of the Championship and promotion is the priority for them but I still think they will have too much for MK Dons.
I don't see Huddersfield or Bristol City having too many problems either, but Rotherham are rock bottom of the Championship and Oxford will fancy their chances.
* Away team to win at home in the replay
Birmingham have taken only one point from four league games since Gianfranco Zola took over as manager and I think their poor form will continue against Newcastle in the pick of the all-Championship ties.
* Away team to win at home in the replay
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I am at Holker Street with Football Focus on Saturday (at 12:00 GMT on BBC One and the BBC Sport website) before Barrow take on Rochdale.
I just wonder if this game comes at the wrong time for Barrow, who had not lost for 23 games since August until they were battered by Gateshead on New Year's Eve, but maybe they had one eye on this tie.
There will be a fantastic atmosphere because the game is a 4,400 sell-out - Barrow's biggest crowd in 27 years - to see them try to get to the fourth round for the first time in their 116-year history.
It will not be easy for them, because Rochdale are going well at the top end of League One so even a draw would be a fantastic result for the National League side.
That would also mean Barrow earn more money from the replay, something I like to see the little clubs get out of the FA Cup.
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Sutton and AFC Wimbledon are only five miles apart and, as well as it being a derby, Sutton play on a 3G pitch which will be a bit different for the League One side too.
But, having seen them in their amazing comeback to beat Curzon Ashton in round two, I am backing Wimbledon. They have got some very quick attackers and I think they will have too much for Sutton.
* Away team to win at home in the replay
Stourbridge are the lowest ranked team left in the competition, are unbeaten since October and are in the third round for the first time in their 141-year history.
The Evo-Stik Northern Premier Division side have had a great run but, sadly for them, I think it will end here against a Wycombe side who are in decent form themselves, and have won 10 out of their last 11 games in all competitions.
At least one League Two team will be in round four which is a good thing.
Accrington lost narrowly when they went to Kenilworth Road in November but their form has slumped in the last few weeks.
The pressure will be off Stanley on Saturday, however, and I have a feeling they will nick a win, leaving Luton to focus on trying to get promoted.
Lawro was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.
A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns 40 points.
Last time out, Lawro got six correct results, including one perfect score from 10 Premier League games, giving him a total of 90 points.
That was enough to beat comedian Arron Crascall, who managed four correct results with one perfect score for 70 points.
We are also keeping a record of the totals for Lawro and his guests (below), and showing a table of how the Premier League would look if all of Lawro's predictions were correct.
Lawro's best score: 160 points (week thirteen v Tim Vine)
Lawro's worst score: 30 points (week four v Dave Bautista)


Overall UK album sales fell by 11.2% in 2012, according to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

Figures showed CD album sales declined nearly 20% to 69.4m copies, although digital album sales rose by 14.8% to 30.5m.
The three best-selling albums last year were all by UK artists.
Emeli Sande's debut record Our Version of Events was the most successful with 1.4m copies sold, followed by Adele's 21 and Ed Sheeran's +.
Lana Del Rey's Born To Die came in fourth and One Direction's Take Me Home was at five.
With 786,000 copies sold in 2012, lifetime sales of 21 - which was originally released in 2011, are currently at 4.6m, making it the UK's fourth best selling album of all time.
"British artists continue to resonate strongly with music fans in their home territory," BPI chairman, Tony Wadsworth, said.
"The domestic success of albums from Mumford and Sons and One Direction has been replicated abroad - both British acts have achieved massive success in the US."
1. Emeli Sande - Our Version of Events
2. Adele - 21
3. Ed Sheeran - +
4. Lana Del Rey - Born To Die
5. One Direction - Up All Night
Source: BPI
It was also a fifth successive record year for British singles sales, which was up 6% to 188.6m with the vast majority - 99.6% - accounted for by digital downloads.
According to the Official Charts Company, music fans streamed audio tracks more than 3.7bn times, with Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye featuring Kimbra and Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepson the most streamed tracks of 2012.
BPI chief executive Geoff Taylor said despite a drop in overall album sales, it had been an encouraging year.
"Digital albums grew strongly and singles sales hit a new record. Music fans are now streaming billions of songs from new services enabled by record labels," he said.
"The Jubilee celebrations and the London 2012 Olympics provided a great showcase for British music internationally, but market conditions at home remained difficult."
"However, the quality of our music and digital innovation by UK labels means we have excellent potential for domestic growth and to increase our share of the global music market."


England's progress - when measured by results alone - has been smooth since they made an embarrassing retreat from Brazil last summer after going out of the World Cup at the group stage.

Before Tuesday's 1-1 draw with Italy in a friendly in Turin, Roy Hodgson's side had undergone a comfortable rehabilitation with seven straight wins, including five from five in the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign.
It all points to a period of improvement after that debacle in South America.
So, have England really improved since they concluded the World Cup campaign with a goalless dead rubber against Costa Rica in Belo Horizonte on 24 June last year?
Hodgson has been gifted a talented generation of young players to mould for the future, with Euro 2016 in France the first serious test.
In Turin, 21-year-old Ross Barkley was described by Hodgson as "a game changer", while the manager gave a first full England start to Tottenham's prolific striker Harry Kane, who is the same age as the Everton prodigy.
Barkley may still have questions over his decision-making but his bold, strong running offered England an extra dimension.
Kane was up against some tough opponents in the likes of Giorgio Chiellini, who unceremoniously flattened the striker in the game's opening passage of play, but he showed maturity and strength of character that will have impressed Hodgson.
Liverpool's Raheem Sterling may be the brightest star of all at just 20 if he can put his contract wrangles behind him and settle his future.
Manchester United's Luke Shaw will also come into consideration, while Everton youngster John Stones already has four caps and possesses the composure to usurp Manchester United pair Chris Smalling and Phil Jones (both still relatively young) in central defence.
Hodgson may also look to harness members of England's promising under-21 squad who had such a fine victory over Germany in Middlesbrough on Monday, players such as Burnley striker Danny Ings and Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse.
The manager, sometimes criticised as over-cautious and too much of a member of the old guard to relate to youngsters, must show he can work successfully with them.
When England went out of the World Cup, they were accompanied by confirmation that defensively they were simply not good enough against high-class opponents. It was a flaw ruthlessly exposed by Uruguay's Luis Suarez in what proved to be a defining defeat in Sao Paulo.
Have things improved since? Despite those perfect results in qualifying, the suspicion lingers that it is still England's Achilles heel.
Chelsea's Gary Cahill is a mainstay, but the jockeying for position alongside him continues between the likes of Everton captain Phil Jagielka, Jones and Smalling. Everton's elegant Stones looks the best long-term answer but there is still no convincing first-choice partnership.
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At left-back, Leighton Baines was found wanting in Brazil, while injuries have held Shaw back. Arsenal's Kieran Gibbs, Danny Rose of Tottenham and Southampton's Ryan Bertrand are in contention but have yet to make any firm case for selection.
An outside bet, might be Baines' understudy at Everton, Luke Garbutt. The 21-year-old is confident, accomplished and key to England's under-21 plans. He is out of contract in the summer and although manager Roberto Martinez insists he will sign a new deal, there will be a scramble if he does not.
Southampton's Nathaniel Clyne and Tottenham's Kyle Walker are the main contenders at right-back - we can forget Liverpool's Glen Johnson - but they are way short of proving themselves at the highest level.
Joe Hart is a given in goal, but it remains to be seen how it shakes out in front of him.
Hodgson has the players to allow him to adopt various systems. Sterling can play wide, centrally and at the tip of a midfield diamond, while captain Wayne Rooney and Kane can drop deep as well as playing as the main striker.
Rooney, as ever, is the centrepiece of England's plans and evidence this season has shown he must play as a striker. He is his country's most reliable goalscorer and no other nation would move a player of such stature and statistics around to accommodate others.
Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck, such a success with six goals in Euro 2016 qualifying, can play up front or wide, while the lingering hope that Liverpool's Daniel Sturridge can offer another attacking weapon continues to be frustrated by his fragile fitness record.
One thing can now surely be consigned to the tactical dustbin - using Jones in a defensive midfield role as, to use Hodgson's word, a "destroyer." It did not work against Italy and will never be successful against quality opposition.
Michael Carrick showed his enduring composure and ability to dictate tempo in his substitute appearance, so maybe he will now get a run of games. When the Manchester United midfielder was on the pitch, England looked far more controlled and in total they completed 530 passes, 191 more than Italy.
Hodgson used Sterling at the point of the midfield diamond in the opening Euro 2016 qualification win in Switzerland - with Arsenal's Jack Wilshere at the base - so there are plenty of formats for him to work with.
He must now assemble the pieces correctly, which was not the case in Turin. Jones should never been seen again in that holding role, while Arsenal's Theo Walcott was utterly miscast as a forward attempting to dovetail with Kane. That is Rooney's job.
England's stroll towards Euro 2016 in the most favourable of qualifying groups may offer a false impression of well-being. They have recorded victories against Switzerland,San Marino,Estonia,Slovenia and Lithuania. But so they should.
The group serves as the perfect device to allow Hodgson's side to regroup, recover and rebuild confidence but it is not a serious gauge of whether they have recovered from that traumatic World Cup.
Italy did not provide a true test because their side was makeshift, but other proposed friendlies against Spain, Germany and the Netherlands could be just the job - or the sort of cold shower that reminds England of their real place in the world order.
The notion of Hodgson receiving a new deal to take him through to the World Cup in 2018 has been floated but, as both the manager and the Football Association have said, there is no rush.
Remember how Fabio Capello signed a new, amended contract committing him to the job until Euro 2012 while almost on the steps of the plane to South Africa for the World Cup in 2010?
Cue a thoroughly miserable farce of a campaign based at the austere "Camp Capello" in Rustenburg and a loveless marriage with the FA until he resigned over the decision to strip John Terry of the captaincy in February 2012.
So, no rush. Why commit to Hodgson (or indeed why should he commit to the FA?) until judgement can be made on the Euro 2016 campaign.
@aidanwilliams44 Should Rooney be accommodated in midfield again?
In my opinion never, Aidan. He is England's main striker, most reliable goalscorer and wasted in midfield. Just look at Manchester United this season. He is a striker and an outstanding one. Play him there.
@loudeani Did Ross Barkley show enough to prove he has what it takes to lead England in years to come?
He is not captaincy material but Barkley is a massive talent and can make a big contribution. The slight problem he has is that his best position is the number 10 and there could be various contenders for that role, such as Sterling and Rooney. What I am certain about, though, is that he has a massive England future.
@olliemetcalfe Does Daniel Sturridge walk back into the side?
Absolutely not, Ollie. In fact, his fitness is so unreliable I would not count on him at all. He now has to compete with the likes of Welbeck and Kane so he is not an automatic choice and has got a real fight on his hands.
@_WrightJosh Where does "The Jones Experiment" rank among England's biggest blunders?
I'm sure there must have been worse, but let's hope we never see its like again. It has been tried, failed and let's quietly put it away.
@LiamS28 Will Walcott ever come good at this level?
It's been a long time, Liam, and he still has not fulfilled his potential so there must be doubts. In his defence, I believe he was totally misused in Turin. He is a wide player for England so that was 55 minutes of his international career he will never get back.
@JohnHoolan Is Wayne Rooney undroppable?
No-one is - or should never be - undroppable, John, but no-one has ever come anywhere near an argument that makes me think England would be a better team without Wayne Rooney in it.


There are two main political parties in the US - the Republicans and the Democrats

3 November 2016 Last updated at 15:01 GMT
Donald Trump is representing the Republicans in his battle to become the next president.
Hillary Clinton is representing the Democrats - the same party that the current president Barack Obama belongs to.
Generally, people in the same political party have similar hopes and goals for how the country should be run.
But what do these parties both want and how are they different?
To find out more about the US election, click here.


The former BBC journalist and News Letter editor Austin Hunter has been killed in a traffic accident in Bahrain.

NI First Minister Arlene Foster said she was shocked and deeply saddened to hear of Mr Hunter's death.
He was well-known to the public as a television and radio reporter with the BBC in Northern Ireland.
He later was appointed as director of media and public relations with the Royal Ulster Constabulary.
Mr Hunter, 64, had also served in a senior role in the BBC Northern Ireland press office.
In a statement, the Hunter family said they were "absolutely devastated at the loss of a loving husband, father and grandfather".
Mrs Foster said Mr Hunter was "held in the highest regard by all who knew him".
"As a highly respected journalist for many years, Austin's professionalism and exemplary journalistic skills put him at the forefront of his profession," she said.
"Austin was a man of deep integrity and objectivity who was respected by all who knew him or came in contact with him."
Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness described him as a "very good journalist and nice man".
"Austin was a man with a wide range of communication and interpersonal skills and made a considerable contribution to the media and public relations industry here for over 40 years," he said.
Ulster Unionist Party leader Mike Nesbitt, who worked as a journalist with the BBC and UTV, said Mr Hunter was a "great journalist" and "superb human being".
Mr Nesbitt said Mr Hunter had been "very encouraging" when he began his career at the BBC.
Peter Johnston, director of BBC Northern Ireland, said Mr Hunter was "a true professional".
"He demonstrated his great skill as a journalist on the frontline of reporting of some of the toughest times in Northern Ireland and throughout his BBC career he also gave generously of his time and knowledge to encourage others," he said.
Former colleagues of Mr Hunter at BBC Northern Ireland and across the media have also paid tribute.
Kathleen Carragher, Head of BBC News NI, said her former colleague was "passionate about Northern Ireland, the people and the politics and it informed all his work".
"He helped many young journalists in Northern Ireland develop their careers and he will be deeply missed by all who knew him."
Former Controller BBC Northern Ireland Anna Carragher said Mr Hunter was "a very sensitive man who was also fantastic fun to work with".
Andrew Colman, former head of news and current affairs at BBC NI, said Mr Hunter had reported on "many of the most difficult and challenging circumstances" of the Troubles "with great compassion and integrity and won the respect of all".
Former head of news and current affairs and chief editorial adviser BBC NI, Keith Baker, said Mr Hunter was "always calm and measured and was trusted by audiences and by those he had to work with on stories, particularly those who were recently bereaved".
"He will be remembered for his honesty, for being a great colleague and mentor and for that impish sense of mischief that was never far away."
News Letter editor Alistair Bushe said Mr Hunter's leadership skills had helped "lead it out of a difficult period", adding that he had maintained an affinity for the newspaper.
Head of the Police Service of Northern Ireland's corporate communications department, Liz Young, said Mr Hunter had "brought a wealth of skill, professionalism and experience to the organisation".
In recent years, Mr Hunter had travelled around the world sharing his expertise with other countries.
He was in Bahrain working for the not-for-profit organisation Northern Ireland Co-operation Overseas (NI-Co) when he died.
NI-Co chief executive, Graeme McCammon, said Mr Hunter was a "highly-valued member of the team".
"We will remember him for his outstanding talent, principles, compassion and his commitment to change," he said.
"Austin was recognised and respected worldwide as an expert in his field and his knowledge and opinions were greatly valued by all who knew and worked with him."
Mr McCammon said Mr Hunter had been in Bahrain advising on the implementation of youth justice reforms.
Mr Hunter also worked as a consultant with the Orange Order from 2006 to 2012, advising it on media relations.
Grand Master Edward Stevenson said: "As well as being an absolute gentleman and an individual of the utmost integrity, Austin was a colossus in the field of journalism and public relations."


Syrian rebels have produced footage of a man they claim is the captured pilot of a fighter jet that went down in the east of the country.

The rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) say they shot a military aircraft down near the Iraqi border.
But state media say the plane crashed because of "technical problems" and a search is under way to find the pilot.
Syria is facing suspension from the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation because of its handling of the crisis.
On the eve of an emergency summit called by Saudi Arabia, foreign ministers meeting for preparatory talks in Jeddah backed a resolution despite objections from President Assad's ally, Iran.
Confirmation of Syria's suspension is expected later this week.
According to Syria's state-run news agency Sana, the plane that went down had suffered a fault with its "control mechanisms" during a routine training mission, forcing the pilot to abandon the aircraft.
By Jonathan MarcusBBC Defence Correspondent
The aircraft shown in the video is a MiG-23BN ground attack aircraft, a type first delivered to Syria by the Soviet Union in 1973. In the current fighting, the jets are reported to have been used in July in the bombing of targets in and around Aleppo. It is not clear from the video exactly what brought the aircraft down.
However, if it was lost due to hostile action, this would be a first, indicating that the rebels do have a basic anti-aircraft capability. The government's air power has not been a decisive factor in this conflict so far. But the loss of the aircraft gives the rebels an important propaganda victory.
The aircraft was shot down near the town of al-Muhassan, around 120km (75 miles) from the Iraqi border in Deir al-Zour province, the rebels say.
A group calling itself the "Revolutionary Youth of the Land of the Euphrates" uploaded a video to YouTube purporting to show the captured pilot surrounded by three armed rebels, saying that his mission was to "bomb the town of al-Muhassan".
In the video, which cannot be independently verified, the seemingly middle-aged man identifies himself as a pilot, Col Fareer Mohammad Suleiman. He appears to have minor bruising to his face which he attributes to the plane crash.
In other footage provided by the rebels, what appears to be a Russian-built MiG-23BN fighter jet is shown carrying two under-wing weapons pods thought to be loaded with air-to-ground missiles.
Anti-aircraft fire can be heard before the jet bursts into flames.
Rebel gunners are then heard on the footage celebrating.
The BBC's Kevin Connolly, in neighbouring Lebanon, says that if the rebels have succeeded in downing a MiG-23BN, it would be a significant moment in the conflict.
Reports have emerged recently of anti-aircraft weapons reaching the rebels, and warplanes have been seen in recent weeks strafing and bombing targets in Aleppo.
Earlier this week, the rebels posted photos online showing them with a full surface-to-air missile system. This represents a potential threat to the regime's air power, correspondents say.
In the purported pilot video, a rebel commander is heard saying that the captive will be treated according to the Geneva Convention for prisoners of war.
But further videos have appeared online that appear to show rebel killings in and around Syria's second city, Aleppo.
Bodies are thrown from the roof of a post office and are then kicked by a crowd as they land on the ground. Another video shows a blindfolded man having his throat cut, although activists have denied rebel involvement.
According to activists, government forces have begun a new advance against rebels in Aleppo, which has seen fierce clashes between the two sides in recent weeks.
Troops entered the Saif al-Dawla neighbourhood in the west of the city with tanks and armoured vehicles, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The strategic south-western district of Salah al-Din had been coming under bombardment since the morning, the Observatory said.
State media also said Syrian armed forces in central Homs province had killed a large number of "mercenary terrorists".
But the activist Local Co-ordination Committees said the heaviest loss of life was in the capital Damascus and its suburbs, where it reported 64 people killed.
Casualty numbers in Syria are almost impossible to verify because of the heavy restrictions placed on international journalists.


Work is to get under way in a matter of weeks on a £34m schools campus serving part of Dumfries.

It will be constructed on a site between Alloway Road and Lochside Road in the north west of the town.
The project forms part of the wider Dumfries learning town project and should be completed by spring 2018.
Dumfries and Galloway Council's education committee chairman Jeff Leaver said it would become a real focal point for the community.
The complex will accommodate secondary, primary and nursery pupils as well as children with additional support needs.
Community facilities including a library will also be built at the site.
"This is not just a school we are building, it is a campus," said Mr Leaver.
"It is a massive complex and we are committed to spending about £34m on this - it is a very, very major investment in north west Dumfries."
Mr Leaver said the development would tackle issues with current provision in the area.
"One of the problems with the current Maxwelltown High School is it is on the very periphery of Lochside," he said.
"This will be much more central and it is estimated something like 80% of pupils will be located within a kilometre of the school.
"It will be very, very central - not only for the pupils but for the community in general."


A County Down GP has come up with a novel, if strenuous, way to get healthy and beat the January blues.

Dr Henry McLaughlin believes that physical and mental wellbeing can be improved by a daily mountain climb.
The idea is that people climb to the top of Slievemartin outside Rostrevor - known locally as the Cairn - take a selfie and then post the picture on the 'Cairnuary' Facebook page.
The mountain is 485m high, so Dr McLaughlin said if you climb it 31 times in a month, you've climbed higher than Everest.
He said he could see how his patients have benefitted.
"January's a time when I see a lot of depression and this challenge is pretty good for mental health and physical health," Dr McLaughlin said.
"A lot of people buy exercise bikes and then they gather dust. So this is something that's free, they get to climb up the mountain every day for a month.
"It's a  good hard exercise, it takes them about an hour.
"They don't need exercise bikes and they don't need to join gyms and pay money for stuff, it's out there and they can discover the mountains."
Those climbing the mountain can chose their own route - which could involve anything up to a 10km hike - or they can use a bike if they want.
Dr McLaughlin said between 30 to 50 people were now climbing the mountain daily and all sorts of people are taking part.
"There's one lady who's a patient of mine who's been very ill in the past and has had surgeries to her feet and really shouldn't be able to do it, but she's going from the car park half way up the mountain and she's doing it every day," he said.
"There's people with depression doing it - I know it's good for them - people who are overweight doing it, there are people who are very healthy doing it as well.
"People are all very encouraging of each other."
Dr McLaughlin said he climbed the mountain at about 06:00 GMT on Thursday and had eight other people for company.
"Normally you'd climb the mountain at six o'clock in the morning and you wouldn't see a soul," he said.
The final climb will be a communal one on Sunday, but Dr McLaughlin said he hoped to come up with something else to keep his patients exercising.
"I'm hoping to follow it on with some sort of challenge for the rest of the year that will keep them doing stuff," he said.
"As far as I'm concerned, it's probably doing my work good in that maybe some people are going to get fit that I won't see.
"I'd recommend it to anybody. There could be a cairn near you, it doesn't have to be my cairn, it could be a hill or a mountain near you."