At least two Palestinians have been killed and 200 wounded in the West Bank during protests against Israel's campaign in Gaza, officials say.

About 10,000 protesters marched from Ramallah towards East Jerusalem, where they were met by Israeli forces.
At least 15 people died and scores were injured when a UN-run shelter came under fire in Gaza on Thursday.
More than 800 Palestinians and 35 Israelis have died since the Israel-Hamas conflict began on 8 July.
Palestinian leaders in the West Bank have called for a "day of anger" on Friday, one of the last days of Ramadan.
The protest at Qalandia, outside Ramallah, saw Israeli border police use "riot control measures" and live fire. Protesters also used live ammunition, Israel said.
Large protests were also reported in Jerusalem on Thursday evening, after Israeli police prevented men under 50 from visiting the al-Aqsa mosque.
At least 20 protesters were arrested after they threw rocks at police, Israeli police said.
Israel launched its military offensive with the declared objective of stopping Hamas firing rockets into Israel.
It has since discovered a network of tunnels used by militants to infiltrate Israeli territory, and has vowed to destroy them to restore security.
Efforts to broker a ceasefire have been continuing despite the continued violence.
Reports suggest a deal under discussion could allow Israeli forces to remain in Gaza to destroy tunnels.
Palestinian leaders say this is the start of the "uprising of freedom and independence". Thousands marched from the outskirts of Ramallah towards the Qalandia checkpoint calling for an end to the Israeli occupation.
Youths threw stones and petrol bombs towards the checkpoint and tried to destroy the barrier. I heard the sound of rubber bullets and occasional live fire. Israeli police say they used sound bombs and tear gas.
The demonstration was called for by a group of youths on Facebook, among them the son of the popular imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has urged Palestinians to expand the protests, and leaders in the West Bank have called for a "day of anger" on Friday.
Palestinian families were in the school in Beit Hanoun, fleeing Israel's offensive against Hamas militants when they came under attack on Thursday.
It was the fourth time in as many days that a UN facility has been hit.
Correspondents say pools of blood lay on the ground in the courtyard of the school in Beit Hanoun, and there was a large scorch mark where it appeared a shell had hit.
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned the strike, and UN officials said that during the course of the day they had been trying to negotiate a window of time with the Israeli army for civilians to leave the area because of the heavy fighting.
Chris Gunness, a spokesman for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees (Unrwa), said the Israeli army had been formally given the co-ordinates of the shelter in Beit Hanoun.
According to the UN, more than 118,000 people are now sheltering in UN schools and people are running out of food.
Lt Col Peter Lerner, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), did not admit responsibility for the attack on the school.
"We do not target the UN. We do not target civilians. There was no target in the school. Gunmen were attacking soldiers near the facility. The school was not a target in any way."
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday he regretted each Palestinian civilian death, but said they were "the responsibility of Hamas".
Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal told the BBC he wants a ceasefire and end to Israel's blockade as soon as possible.
"We don't want to be controlled by a border crossing that makes Gaza the biggest prison in the world," Mr Meshaal, who lives in exile in Qatar, told BBC Hardtalk.
"People cannot go for medical treatment or to work. Why are the people of Gaza being punished by a slow death in the world biggest prison? This is a crime."
The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) says a 3km (1.9 mile) wide strip, encompassing 44% of Gaza, has been designated as a no-go zone by the Israeli military since the current conflict began.
Israel imposed restrictions on the Gaza Strip in 2006, after Hamas abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
The measures were tightened by Israel and Egypt in 2007, after Hamas ousted rival Fatah and forcibly took control in Gaza after winning elections the year before.
Hamas and Fatah announced a reconciliation deal in April, but the move was condemned by Israel - which regards Hamas as a terrorist group.


Wales full-back Leigh Halfpenny says he will consider all his options before making a decision on his future.

The 27-year-old's contract with French club Toulon expires in the summer.
Halfpenny, who scored 16 points in Toulon's European Champions Cup win over Scarlets on Sunday said his international career was a major consideration.
"I'm weighing up everything. Hopefully I can make a decision very shortly," he said.
Should he decide to remain in France, Halfpenny would rely on a wildcard pick to play for Wales under terms of the Welsh Rugby Union's senior player selection policy.
"I want to be playing top-flight rugby but the biggest consideration is obviously the wildcard," Halfpenny said.
"International rugby is hugely important for me and I have to consider that."
Halfpenny said in late October he would decide whether to stay with Toulon or return to Wales "in the next month or so" following the autumn Test series.
Former Toulon head coach Diego Dominguez said earlier in October he was confident Halfpenny would stay with the former European champions, whom he joined in 2014
"I know I said I was going to focus on the internationals and then think and that's what I'm doing now, going through that process of making a decision," Halfpenny added.
"My agent's looking at the options and hopefully he can get them on the table and I'll have a look at my options and make a decision then."
Halfpenny said it was "good fun" facing a number of his Wales team-mates in Toulon's 31-20 win over Scarlets.
The former Cardiff Blues player scored 16 points in a victory which lifted the three-times champions to nine points in the pool, five behind defending champions Saracens.
"We'll enjoy this win and then look to prepare heading to Wales next week," Halfpenny added.
"The Scarlets will look to come out fighting and it's going to be tough there. They've got quality across the park.
"All we can do is take each game as it comes. We know the task ahead of us is a huge challenge.
"We're trying to build, week on week, game on game.
"If we continue to improve then hopefully we can achieve what we set out to do and that's to advance in this competition and challenge for the title."


A man from Inverness who admitted stabbing a former friend six times in a frenzied attack at a flat in the city's Diriebught Court has been jailed.

Sean Boyle, 20, repeatedly knifed 25-year-old Sean Pierce on 13 August.
The men had been arguing about Boyle's absence from a job that Mr Pierce had secured for him.
During the assault, Boyle stripped to his waist and pursued his victim down a street before police arrived. He has been sentenced to 40 months in prison.
Boyle, who was jailed at the High Court in Aberdeen, had earlier admitted assaulting Mr Pierce to his severe injury, permanent disfigurement and to the danger of his life.
He was on bail at the time of the offence and has a previous conviction for assault.


Kenya's veteran politician Raila Odinga has been confirmed as the main opposition coalition's presidential candidate for August's election.

Mr Odinga, 72, is set to face incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta, the man who beat him in 2013.
This will be the fourth time Mr Odinga runs for president.
He also ran in the disputed 2007 poll. The violence that followed led to the creation of a unity government in which Mr Odinga served as prime minister.
Mr Odinga will represent the National Super Alliance (Nasa), which is a coalition of the country's main opposition parties including the candidate's Orange Democratic Movement.
Raila Odinga's nomination is not a surprise.
He has performed better than his rivals in opinion polls and has shown that he has wide support beyond his ethnic base in western Kenya.
Going into his fourth election, Mr Odinga is rehashing a strategy used in the 2002 campaign when opposition parties united to defeat Kanu, the party that brought Kenya independence.
The coalition that won that vote did not however survive as former President Mwai Kibaki reneged on a pre-election deal.
To try and avoid this, the Nasa coalition has unveiled a power-sharing structure involving the party leaders.
During Thursday's rally Mr Odinga called himself "first among equals".
What chaotic primaries tell us about August poll
The announcement was made at a rally at Uhuru Park in the capital, Nairobi.
Thousands of opposition supporters turned up and live video footage from the rally showed them breaking out into wild cheers as Mr Odinga's name was read out.
His running mate will be former Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka.
In a statement, President Kenyatta described the Nasa nominations as "about giving jobs [to the politicians] instead of the millions of Kenyans who need jobs".
Mr Odinga is trying to run on an anti-corruption message and is also emphasising that he is the candidate of national unity, says the BBC's Dickens Olewe.
President Kenyatta says that Kenya has achieved a lot of economic development under his government and he has managed to increase opportunities for the country's large youthful population.


A criminal probe into the involvement of Greater Manchester's chief constable in an investigation into a suspected child sex offender has been dropped.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission has withdrawn criminal and gross misconduct notices on Sir Peter Fahy.
They have also been dropped against ex-Assistant Chief Constable Terry Sweeney
The IPCC has been carrying out three investigations based on allegations made by a whistleblower.
Mr Sweeney, who retired during the investigation, was also investigated over his role in the child sex offender case.
An IPCC spokesman said a retired officer had also been told he was no longer being investigated for his role in the investigation into the suspected sex offender.
But a detective inspector and a detective superintendent remained under criminal and gross misconduct notice over their roles in the investigation into an alleged sex offender.
The spokesman said a detective chief inspector had been told he was no longer under criminal investigation but remained under gross misconduct notice.
The IPCC also said an investigation was continuing into GMP's disposal of victim's body parts in the case of serial killer Harold Shipman, without the families' knowledge.
The spokesman added: "The third investigation into whether the actions of a detective chief inspector put public safety at risk is continuing.
"Following enquiries made to date the IPCC is no longer investigating the deployment of a covert listening device having been satisfied that an investigation conducted into this by GMP was appropriate."
Tony Lloyd, Greater Manchester Police and Crime Commissioner, welcomed the decision on Sir Peter, adding: "This vindicates the decision I made to ask the chief constable to continue to lead Greater Manchester Police while the Independent Police Complaints Commission investigation took place.
"I am grateful to Sir Peter for his professionalism, which did not falter during what must have been a difficult period."


Rubik's cubes have been confusing, frustrating and most of all bringing a lot of people a fun challenge since the 1980s!

20 July 2017 Last updated at 06:54 BST
There are even international competitions where people compete to complete a cube as fast as possible.
Henry here is a British competitor who has got some nimble fingers and can complete a 3x3 cube in around 20 seconds. Wow!
Check out the video to find out more.


Dangerous animals, including crocodiles, snakes and hippos, have found their way into homes and communities in central Nigeria after devastating flooding, residents say.

The creatures were carried along flood-swollen rivers, say the authorities.
"There is now a hippopotamus in [my] house," Benue state resident Wuese Jirake told the BBC. "I hope that when it is tired, it may leave my home."
Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced by the flooding.
Hundreds also died in the worst flooding in decades.
Vast tracts of farmland have been completely destroyed.
Mr Jirake told the BBC he had returned to his home to find it occupied by the hippo.
"This morning I visited my house. It is still inundated with the flood waters above my waist. There is now a hippopotamus in the house," he said.
He said he had reported the situation to the authorities.
"I hope that when it is tired, it may leave my home. If there is any other way of dealing with the problem, the authorities need to pursue that because it is beyond my abilities."
Similar situations have been reported in the towns of Makurdi, Agatu, Logo and Adoka, says the BBC's Is'haq Khalid.
Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency says it is working hand in hand with the Benue state government and other relevant agencies to ensure the flood victims return to their homes.
The co-ordinator of the agency in north-central Nigeria, Abdussalam Muhammad, told the BBC that it was not safe for people to go back to their houses because of the presence of the dangerous animals.
"Presently there are crocodiles and snakes as well as other dangerous animals brought in by the floodwaters that are living in those houses, so, if the people return, it will be harmful to them and they will put their lives at risk," he said.
He said people should wait for instructions after the floodwaters have subsided.


"We decided to open the railway early because of the drought, the worst in decades," says Getachew Betru, chief executive of the Ethiopian Railways Corporation (ERC).

It is a Saturday, but this thoughtful, intelligent man is busy working. Except for the guards at the gate, nobody else is at the office.
Across the road, a white and green train whisks up to a station platform. It is part of Addis Ababa's newly opened light rail (or tram) system, the first in sub-Saharan Africa.
Mr Getachew shows me diagrams of a vast planned railway network, snaking its way across landlocked Ethiopia, linking Africa's second most populous country to Djibouti, Sudan, South Sudan and Kenya.
The railway is his baby. Like many Ethiopians, he left the country during the harsh years of dictatorship, but returned with a doctorate in engineering and a vision.
It all started when he took a trip with his family.
"We were driving through the countryside when we came across a railway track. Like so many boys, my sons loved trains and insisted we wait for one. It never came. I asked somebody when it might arrive. He told me it had been 10 years since the last train. I decided to try to do something about it. Now they call me Ethiopia's Brunel, after the famous British civil engineer."
The dream is that one day, the railway will extend from the Red Sea in Djibouti all the way across Africa to the Atlantic Ocean. A few wars will have to end first.
Due to the urgent need to feed the 8.2 million people Ethiopia says are suffering from the drought, the Addis Ababa-Djibouti line has just opened to some emergency deliveries this month.
The first train to travel along the nearly 800km track delivered more than 3,000 tonnes of grain from Djibouti port to drought-affected areas. The United Nations says more than 15 million people will be in need of emergency food aid by the beginning of 2016.
The ERC says the railway will completely transform the way humanitarian assistance is delivered, in a country regularly affected by drought. "The trains will deliver bulk quantities of food aid very close to drought-affected people. It will do this in a matter of a few hours," says ERC technical adviser, Muluken Mesfin.
"One thousand five hundred trucks a day leave Djibouti port for Ethiopia," says the chairman of the Djibouti Port Authority, Abubaker Hadi. "It is projected there will be 8,000 a day by 2020. This is not feasible. That is why the railway is so desperately needed."
Mr Getachew agrees: "It can take trucks two to three weeks to reach Addis from Djibouti. They break down all the time and the road gets congested. Once it is fully operational the railway will cut the journey to about five hours, as the trains will travel at 120 km/h. This will save money as well as time."
The Chinese-built track runs parallel to the abandoned Ethio-Djibouti railway, built more than 100 years ago by France for Emperor Menelik. Costing some $3bn (£2bn), it starts at sea level in Djibouti. It then makes its way through Ethiopia's dramatic, challenging terrain until it reaches Addis Ababa, about 2,500m above sea level.
Mr Getachew expresses bewilderment at the World Bank and Western donors such as the European Union, who, he says, were reluctant to fund the railway project. "I think the road lobby was too strong. We ended up with the Chinese, who are not only constructing the railway, but providing most of the funding too."
The economic potential of Ethiopia's planned 5,000km rail network is obvious. But the railway might do a whole lot more, both in terms of regional integration and maybe even peacemaking.
Railways are being constructed all over Africa. The East African Railway Master Plan hopes to revive existing lines in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, eventually extending them to Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and Ethiopia.
Mr Getachew hints at another potential role. He shows me how the Addis-Djibouti line lies close to Ethiopia's border with Somaliland, which declared independence in 1991 but has not been recognised internationally.
There has long been talk of linking Ethiopia with Somaliland's underused and underdeveloped Berbera port, which is 854km by road from Addis Ababa.
Ethiopia would then have an alternative to Djibouti, which is one of the world's most expensive ports and is becoming ever-more congested due to the increased demands of Africa's fast-growing economies.
A railway could also bring wealth to Somalis, suggests Mr Getachew. Somalia has the longest coastline in Africa, and has rich fish stocks. But Somalis are not keen on eating fish.
"Ethiopians have two fasting days a week when we only eat fish. As a landlocked country, we only have Nile perch and tilapia. As our economy grows, at about 10% a year, demand increases for more variety. This could be a win-win situation."
Constructing a rail link to Berbera would be a major challenge. This is mainly because Somaliland's ambiguous status means it would be difficult to secure vital international funding. But the territory is relatively stable, and, unlike in conflict-ridden southern and central Somalia, a railway line is unlikely to face threats of sabotage.
Somalia has several ports, and the potential for many more. It is possible to envisage rail lines linking Ethiopia and the Somali interior with ports all the way down the country, from Zeila in the north-east to Kismayo in the south.
This prospect for economic growth might serve as an incentive for the weak, sometimes directionless Somali government, and indeed foreign donors who have poured billions into the country since it fell apart nearly 30 years ago, often to little effect.
Perhaps the idea of a railway would spur on Somalis and their allies to drive out violent groups, including the al-Qaeda linked movement al-Shabab, which controls much of the country.
As one Ethiopian rail enthusiast put it: "Maybe Mr Getachew will be remembered not only as Ethiopia's Brunel but as a peacemaker for the entire region."
In April, China Railway Construction Corp signed a $3.5bn (£2.3bn) contract to build an intercity rail line in Nigeria.
That followed a $12bn contract for another Nigerian rail line last year, which at the time was the biggest foreign contract won by a Chinese state-owned firm. The line is planned to run 1,400km along the Nigerian coast.
China is also building major rail projects in Angola (under an infrastructure-for-oil deal), DR Congo, Kenya and Tanzania.
Chinese infrastructure investments overseas are commonly underpinned by finance from Beijing-backed lenders such as China Development Bank. The rail projects are expected to generate billions of dollars in export orders for Chinese trainmakers.
Big Chinese investments in Africa have been controversial for several reasons, including use of imported Chinese labour, alleged poor treatment of workers and lack of transparency at the state-owned companies involved.
Many African countries have a compelling need for new or upgraded rail links, to boost trade, investment and development, but they have lacked finance.
Much of the existing network was built by mining companies in the colonial era to link industrial sites to ports. Passenger services account for less than 20% of African rail traffic, according to the African Development Bank.


Two teenage boys were arrested after trouble broke out in the Galliagh estate in Londonderry.

Up to 40 youths poured petrol on the street and set it on fire to create a barricade in Leafair Gardens and Glencaw Park on Friday evening.
When police arrived they were attacked by youths throwing bricks and bottles at their vehicles.
The youths, aged 14 and 16, were later released on police bail pending further inquiries.
Ch Insp Tony Callaghan said: "Residents in this area have suffered again due to the reckless actions of these youths.
"Two males, aged 14 and 16, were arrested last night on suspicion of riotous behaviour.
"I will again reiterate the message to youths involved in this kind of activity - you run the very real risk of being arrested and getting a criminal record which could affect your life for a very long time.
"Police will continue to work closely with community representatives, local elected representatives and other statutory bodies to address the problem of anti-social behaviour in the area."
SDLP councillor Brian Tierney lives in Glencaw Park and witnessed the trouble.
"It was very bad," he said.
"Young people had filled empty washing up liquid bottles with petrol.
"The verbal abuse given to residents was totally uncalled for and totally unacceptable."
Mr Tierney said the majority of the young people who were involved in the trouble were not from the area.
"I would appeal to parents right across the city to know where their children are and what type of activities they are involved in," he said.
"The residents have had to put up with high levels of anti-social behaviour over a number of years, but I feel it has reached an all-time high."


The Burmese government will use force if necessary to stop "political opportunists and religious extremists" from fomenting hatred between faiths, President Thein Sein has warned.

It was his first public comment on the violence, which began last week.
At least 40 people have been killed as a result of discord between Buddhists and Muslims since 20 March.
Curfews have been imposed in a number of areas, as crowds of Buddhists attacked Muslim buildings.
The police were reported on Wednesday to have opened fire in one town on a crowd of about 500 people.
Last Friday a state of emergency was enforced in the central town of Meiktila in Mandalay region - where the communal violence began after a reported argument at a gold shop.
"I would like to warn all political opportunists and religious extremists who try to exploit the noble teachings of these religions and have tried to plant hatred among people of different faiths for their own self-interest. Their efforts will not be tolerated," the president said in a national televised address.
"In general, I do not endorse the use of force to solve problems. However, I will not hesitate to use force as a last resort to protect the lives and safeguard the property of the general public," he said.
"All perpetrators of violence will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of  the law."
The president said that "conflicts and difficulties" would inevitably arise during Burma's transition to a democracy.
He called on police to "perform their duties decisively, bravely and within the constraints of the constitution and by-laws".
Correspondents say that police in Meiktila have been criticised for failing to act quickly enough to stop the rioting, in which houses, shops and mosques were burned down.
At least 12,000 Muslims are thought to have fled their homes because of the unrest.
In similar violence in Rakhine state last year, nearly 200 people were killed and tens of thousands forced from their homes.
The conflict that erupted in Rakhine involved Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims, who are not recognised as Burmese citizens and have complained of frequent persecution.
Those affected by the latest violence insist that in contrast to the allegations made against the Rohingyas they are legitimate Burmese citizens.
Correspondents say that isolated violence involving Burma's majority Buddhist population and its minority Muslim community has occurred for decades, even under  military governments that ruled the country from 1962 to 2011.


US-backed Syrian forces have advanced into the western part of so-called Islamic State's "capital" of Raqqa, they and a monitor report.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said the move had opened up a second front inside the Syrian city. They entered the eastern part earlier this week.
Its fighters were engaged in fierce clashes with the jihadists, it said.
The SDF, supported by US-led coalition air strikes, has spent months encircling the city.
"The SDF captured the western half of the Al-Sabahiya neighbourhood and are reinforcing their positions there," the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group, Rami Abdel Rahman, told AFP news agency on Saturday.
"They then advanced north to the adjacent district of Al-Romaniya and are fighting IS there."
Inside 'Islamic State': A Raqqa diary
Islamic State group: The full story
A statement from the SDF's Operation Wrath of the Euphrates said its fighters had stormed Al-Romaniya and were locked "in fierce fighting inside the district".
Raqqa, which has been held by IS since 2014, is an important hub for the jihadist group's operations and is reportedly defended by up to 4,000 fighters.
The SDF is an Arab-Kurdish alliance that was formed in 2015.
As well as holding part of Al-Sabahiya in the west, the alliance also has a foothold in Al-Meshleb in the east. But it has struggled to advance from the city's north, which is heavily defended.
"IS has reinforced the northern approach to Raqqa much more, thinking that's how the SDF would try to advance on the city," Mr Abdel Rahman said.
"The western and eastern entrances to the city were much less fortified."


The Afghan president has paid tribute to UK soldiers who died fighting in the country, ahead of services to mark the end of British involvement in the war.

Ashraf Ghani said the 453 UK troops had "paid the ultimate sacrifice to enable us to live in freedom, in hope for peace, prosperity and dignity".
The Queen and many veterans will attend a service at St Paul's Cathedral later to commemorate the end of the war.
A simultaneous service will be held in Afghanistan for troops still there.
The Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prime Minister David Cameron are all expected to attend the St Paul's ceremony, which will be followed by a procession through London.
UK forces were part of a US-led coalition which invaded Afghanistan and toppled the ruling Taliban in 2001, following the 9/11 attacks in the US.
Anne Linley's son, Staff Sgt Brett Linley, was 29 when he was killed as he worked to clear improvised explosive devices in Afghanistan in 2010.
He defused more than 100 bombs and posthumously received the George Medal for "great bravery".
Mrs Linley said it would be a "great honour" to be at St Paul's along with members of the Royal Family and other soldiers' parents.
"I'm looking forward to it but dreading it at the same time because you don't know what kind of emotions it will bring forward," she said.
Speaking about her son, she said: "I miss him all day long... we carry him in our hearts and always will."
A new interim government was set up in December 2001 - but the Taliban kept fighting and has killed thousands of foreign and Afghan government troops over the years since the invasion.
The Taliban remains a powerful force in the country, and declared the "defeat" of the US and its allies when Nato formally ended its combat mission in December.
At the peak of the campaign the UK military, which faced regular Taliban attacks, had 9,500 troops and 137 bases in Helmand Province.
Former soldier Craig Gadd, now of Help for Heroes, lost his left leg after stepping on an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan.
He said: "Things happen. I feel very lucky that I only lost one leg. Some of my colleagues have injuries far worse than mine. I've done some amazing things since that day."
Pte James Prosser was killed in Afghanistan in 2009. His mother Sarah Adams told the Today programme that the country had not been left as safe as was intended.
"James believed in what he was doing, and I have to try to accept that, that he wanted to do that and believed he should be there. But as a mum, it's very difficult.
"It's just very hard to take that we didn't leave it as we were supposed to leave it. We did achieve a lot but we didn't make it the safest place and it's still ongoing. Afghan people are still losing their lives because of the Taliban."
L/Cpl James Ashworth was killed in 2012 and posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.
His father Duane Ashworth said he believed the situation in Afghanistan had improved, adding: "I do believe that the country is in a better position than it was when we first arrived 13 years ago. It's now for the forces that are there to continue that training with the Afghan forces and police, to make sure what our lads did does continue."
The last British combat troops left in October last year, though some still remain in training, advisory and support roles.
As well as paying tribute to Britain's war dead, President Ghani spoke of the enduring legacy of the UK's commitment at the British-run officer training academy near Kabul.
BBC Afghanistan correspondent David Loyn said: "President Ghani's tribute contrasts strongly with complaints by his predecessor President Karzai, who said that the British presence had made things worse in Helmand and frequently clashed with British diplomats and soldiers about their role.
"The new government in Afghanistan sees things very differently."


Dan Aykroyd, who played Ray Stantz in the original Ghostbusters film, has praised the upcoming reboot.

Aykroyd is listed as an executive producer on the movie, which features a female-led cast including Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig.
He commended the "brilliant, genuine performances from the cast both female and male".
The actor made the comments after seeing a test screening of Paul Feig's new film.
"It has more laughs and more scares than the first two films, plus Bill Murray is in it!" Aykroyd wrote on Facebook.
The first trailer became the most disliked movie trailer in YouTube history when it was released in March.
A second trailer was released last week on social media, which was more warmly received.
Referring to the character he played in the 1984 original, Aykroyd said: "As one of millions of man-fans and Ray Stantz, I'm paying to see that and bringing all my friends."
Almost all surviving members of the original Ghostbusters cast are set to make appearances in the reboot, including Aykroyd.
Rick Moranis declined an offer to be in the film.
Murray, Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson played the original ghost-busting quartet.
Directed by Ivan Reitman, the film made almost $300m (Â£198m) at the global box office. A sequel, Ghostbusters II, followed five years later.
McCarthy and Wiig are joined by Saturday Night Live comediennes Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon in the reboot.
Ghostbusters is released in the US on 15 July, and will be screened in the UK soon after.


National League side Welling United have parted company with manager Dean Frost with Mark Goldberg replacing him until the end of the season.

The 39-year-old was appointed in January when the Wings were 22nd in the table but they were relegated on Saturday after the 4-0 loss to Chester.
His assistants Barry Ashby and Jamie Turner have also left the club.
Former Bromley boss Goldberg was dismissed from his third spell at the Ravens in February.
A statement on the Welling website said Goldberg coming into the club was with a view to taking on ownership of the club in the near future.


A newly promoted train station cat has become a media sensation after her career advancements were followed from around the globe.

Felix has been the resident pet at Huddersfield railway station in West Yorkshire since 2011, when she was brought in to catch mice.
She has now been given a high-vis vest and made Senior Pest Controller.
A cat flap has also been built at the ticket barrier to allow her platform access.
Felix's success has been covered by newspapers in Taiwan, the Netherlands and Hong Kong.
The story saw a surge in popularity after the Huddersfield Examiner pounced on Felix's "purr-motion".
At the time of writing, a page for Felix has amassed over 20,000 'likes' on Facebook.
A First TransPennine Express spokesman said: "Felix came to the station when she was nine weeks old five years ago.
"We haven't kept a mice tally, but we think she's caught three recently."
The station said the cat was also a "natural" at chasing off pigeons on the station's platforms.
Felix is not the first "station cat" to find global fame - Tama, a stray which was made a station master in western Japan, was credited with turning a loss-making railway company around thanks to the number of tourists it attracted.
After Tama's death last June, thousands of people attended a Shinto-style funeral where the cat was elevated to the status of a goddess.


Money allocated to schools for poorer pupils is yet to make an impact, the spending watchdog has said in a report.

The National Audit Office (NAO) said although the pupil premium had "potential", there was still "more to do" by schools and government.
The government says it wants every child to benefit from a good education, regardless of their background.
Funding in some of the poorest schools had fallen by 5% in the past three years, the NAO estimated.
About Â£2.5bn was given to schools in 2014-15 as pupil-premium funding - money allocated for children from poorer backgrounds.
Two million children between the ages of five and 16 qualify for extra funding, out of seven million school-aged children.
The aim of the pupil premium is to "close the gap" between richer and poorer children by improving academic performance.
The NAO report says although school leaders are now focusing on improving outcomes for poorer children, the educational gap between poorer and wealthier children has changed only marginally.
"While the attainment gap has narrowed since 2011, it remains wide and, at this stage, the significance of the improvements is unclear," the report says.
The NAO is calling for a review of the way money is calculated for disadvantaged children, because not all of them are being identified for extra funding.
The introduction of universal credit and free school meals for all infants, it says, make it more difficult to identify disadvantaged pupils.
And some schools in the most disadvantaged areas are actually worse off because of cuts in other areas of the schools budget.
"Some schools with very disadvantaged intakes have less money per pupil now, in real terms, than in 2010, despite the extra funding provided by the pupil premium," the report says.
"We estimate that the per-pupil funding of 16% of the most disadvantaged secondary schools fell by more than 5% in real terms between 2010-11 and 2014-15."
Meanwhile, the NAO says, the impact of the pupil premium is reduced because it is often not being spent effectively.
Ofsted, it says, following school visits between September and December 2014, found "poor provision" for disadvantaged pupils in 8% of primary schools and 21% of secondary schools.
And the NAO estimates schools have spent an extra Â£430m on teaching assistants since the introduction of the fund, calling this a "high-cost approach".
The report says: "Research suggests that the typical deployment and use of teaching assistants, under everyday conditions, is not leading to improvements in academic outcomes.
"Schools could waste money on ineffective activities for many years without challenge."
Sir Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office, said: "The high degree of local discretion has benefits and costs.
"Some schools don't appropriately focus funding on disadvantaged pupils, and some spend funds on activities which are not demonstrably effective."
A government official said: "The NAO's report recognises the important role which the pupil premium has had in improving educational outcomes, and ultimately life chances of some of the most disadvantaged young people.
"However, we know there is more to be done to tackle educational inequality and we will consider the findings of the NAO report carefully."


Forecasters have issued a yellow "be aware" warning for rain over the weekend.

The Met Office has warned motorists to expect "difficult driving conditions" but said the heaviest and most persistent rain is expected to fall on high ground.
The warning has been issued from 12:00 GMT on Saturday to 23:55 on Sunday.
It follows a warning of icy conditions on Friday morning.
The conditions led to a number of accidents on the roads, including on the A467 in Newbridge, Caerphilly county.
The weekend rain warning covers Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd, Powys, Wrexham and Ceredigion.


Geoffrey Boycott is "out of touch" and his attempt to rejoin the Yorkshire board will not be backed by the members or committee, says members' committee chairman Stephen Mann.

Former Yorkshire and England opener Boycott is seeking election at the annual general meeting on 26 March.
The 75-year-old has described the current county champions' financial situation as a "recipe for disaster".
But Mann said the feedback suggested "members aren't in favour of Geoffrey".
Mann told the Yorkshire Post: "The general view is that what's happening isn't constructive, and that the club is doing well and needs support."
He continued: "There is a general view that Boycs is out of touch with what's happening, partly because he's away with his media commitments, and partly because he spends a lot of time in South Africa."
BBC Test Match Special pundit Boycott has insisted he only wants to help the county for whom he played from 1962-1986 and where he was club president for two years from 2012.
But despite recently posting a post-tax profit of £368,000 for 2015 - their first profit since 2009 - Yorkshire are still more than £20m in debt, and Boycott is concerned about the way the club is being run.
"I'm not trying to cause any problems, create any trouble," he told BBC Radio 5 live this month.
"The debt has gone from £5m in 2002 to £24m in 12 years. So the businessmen on the board haven't done a very good job, have they?
"We can't go on borrowing money - £24m is huge... that's a recipe for disaster."
Meanwhile, former England captain Michael Vaughan has reiterated his concerns about Boycott returning, urging his fellow ex-Yorkshire batsman to spend more time on the golf course.
"I like it when he says he's not trying to cause any trouble," Vaughan said on Monday. "Well, he is. He's certainly done that.
"He's passionate, I love him to bits, but he's 75 years of age. Come on Geoffrey, go and have a game of golf!"
Vaughan added: "One thing's that sad at the club is that Geoffrey has nothing named after him at that ground.
"Dickie Bird has a clock named after him and Dickie was an umpire. Geoffrey should have a stand named after him - the members' stand should be named after Geoffrey Boycott, global ambassador, I don't see what he's going to do on the board that's going to improve that £24m debt."


Two bus company bosses have been jailed after falsely claiming £800,000 by lying about the number of concessionary fare passengers they carried.

Padarn Bus's John Hulme, 55, and Darren Price, 46, falsely claimed the money from Gwynedd council.
Hulme, found guilty of fraud and false accounting was sentenced to six years at Caernarfon Crown Court on Thursday.
Price had previously pleaded guilty to false accounting and was given two years and three months.
During his trial, the court heard that the firm's managing director Hulme, falsely claimed £495,857 from Gwynedd Council between July 2011 and December 2012.
When he was suspended on an unrelated matter, operations director Price carried on the fraud, falsely claiming £318,798.
Hulme's defence barrister Matthew Curtis said that the offences were not committed for personal gain, but to keep the company going.
Judge Merfyn Hughes QC said: "Any fraud of this magnitude is serious, not just because it was continued over a sustained period of time, but because it was against scarce public funds."
The court heard that Padarn Bus went into liquidation after the offences were uncovered, with debts of £2.379m and the loss of 84 jobs.
Following the sentencing, senior investigating officer supt Iestyn Davies said the fraud had a "substantial impact" on the community in Llanberis, where Padarn was based.
As well as the jobs, he said the Welsh government lost £800,000 that was handed to the company through its concessionary fare scheme.


Kenya's government has suspended five officials from the wildlife service, amid growing concern over the poaching of endangered elephants and rhinos.

The officials were suspended as part of an investigation into mismanagement.
The government will directly oversee the running of the wildlife service, responsible for Kenya's national parks, for three months, a spokesman said.
Kenya has been facing growing condemnation over its failure to tackle an apparent rise in poaching.
Veteran conservationist Richard Leakey, a former boss of the Kenyan wildlife service, said last month that the country had become a global hub for ivory smuggling.
Dozens of poaching bosses had been allowed to act with "outrageous impunity", he said, in "a national disaster" that could result in the extinction of elephants and rhinos in the country.
According to officials, at least 18 rhinos and more than 50 elephants have been killed so far this year - a similar rate to that recorded last year.
However, some conservationists argue that the true figure is much higher.
The wildlife service recently denied that it was losing the battle against poachers.
On Friday, a senior environment ministry official, Richard Lesiyampe, said it had "become necessary" for the government to assume direct control of the wildlife service.
Mr Lesiyampe said the five officials had been placed on leave so as to pave the way for an investigation into the management of the service.
The AFP news agency quoted him as saying that the investigation would ask why sophisticated equipment - such as night-vision goggles and weapons - had yet to be deployed against the poachers, despite having been paid for.
"The poaching and trafficking in wildlife... has increased in sophistication and scope," he said. "We want to understand why our efforts are not working."
He also told reporters that the service would be restructured and equipped with 50 new vehicles and hundreds of new recruits.
The demand for ivory and rhino horn is being driven by China and south-east Asia, where these products are marketed as ornaments or so-called medicines.


A cybersecurity researcher living in Austria who was scammed out of $500 (£375) says his money was returned after he tracked down the scammer's family and contacted them on Facebook.

Christian Haschek's blog post about how he caught the thief has been viewed more than 100,000 times in five days.
The scammer was using the same usernames elsewhere on the net, which made him easier to track down.
Mr Haschek says he has "mixed feelings" about his victory.
"On the one hand, this is someone who stole $500 from me and deleted all the accounts that I used to get back to him, he never answered my messages," he told the BBC.
"I found out he had tried to scam loads of people and always with gift cards."
However, the con artist appeared remorseful and said he was afraid. He seemed to come from a poor background and said he was a full-time student.
"He is also just a kid who took a wrong turn," added Mr Haschek, who has not reported the man to the authorities.
Mr Haschek advertised some Apple gift vouchers, which he had won in a competition, on various online message boards as he was unable to use them himself.
The fake buyer who duped him agreed to pay for the vouchers in Bitcoin.
He had decided to accept payment in the digital currency as he thought it would be less of an incentive for a scammer.
The buyer told him he would pay once he had the gift voucher codes as proof that they were genuine.
"The problem for the buyer is you never know if the cards are still valid after you pay - even if I had sold them I could have used the cards straight afterwards," he said.
"He said I could be a scammer and he wasn't going to pay me until he got them… I could see that."
Mr Haschek added that he had been unsuccessfully trying to sell the vouchers for four years.
However, once the swindler had received the digital codes he used the vouchers straightaway, while trying to claim that the physical cards themselves had not been delivered.
"I started sweating a lot because I had trusted him - I gave him the benefit of the doubt," Mr Haschek continued.
"I realised he was a scammer when he started to delete his accounts."
However, Mr Haschek said it took him four days to find his culprit.
He discovered the scammer was using the same usernames on other sites, including recruitment websites, and was able to track down additional information about him, including the names of his friends and family.
The fraudster stopped replying to his messages so eventually he sent a message to his mother and brother on Facebook explaining what he had done.
"Ten minutes after Facebook said his brother read the message, the scammer was contacting me on Reddit again," Mr Haschek said.
Mr Haschek added that the con artist sent a new gift card and apologised, saying he had acted because he had no money.
Mr Haschek's advice to online traders is to use a traditional escrow service - where both the money and goods are exchanged via a third party.
"I took the risk knowingly - but paying before you get something is always risky," he said.


Online grocer Ocado has announced a rise in annual profits, but a long-awaited overseas deal has not yet materialised.

The company reported a 21.8% increase in pre-tax profits to Â£14.5m for the year to 27 November.
Ocado chief executive Tim Steiner said it had achieved "robust trading" in a challenging environment.
However, the average order size fell 2.7% to Â£108.10 against the backdrop of continuing supermarket price wars.
The rise of German competitors Aldi and Lidl has shaken up the sector, putting pressure on the big four supermarkets, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons.
But investors welcomed Ocado's latest results, sending its share price up by more than 7% to 262p in morning trading.
Annual revenues rose 14.8% to Â£1.27bn, and the retailer's customer base grew by almost 14% over the year to 580,000.
However, Ocado said it was still in continued talks with several international retailers in regards to a partnership using the Ocado Smart Platform.
When it released its full-year results in February last year, Ocado said it was in "advanced discussions with multiple potential international partners" for the platform, adding it expected to sign "multiple deals" in the medium term.
Analysts believe agreements with retailers in the US and western Europe are important in driving Ocado's share price.
George Salmon, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown said: "The group has long said it's making progress on deals with third parties, but there hasn't been much in the way of tangible progress recently.
"The appointment of Luke Jensen [from Sainsbury's] as head of Ocado's Smart Platform will raise hopes that the group can finally get someone to sign on the dotted line."
However, Mr Salmon warned that "following Amazon's entry into the market, competitive pressures are rising in its core business".
"In this context, it's arguably more important than ever for the group to get something over the line."
Last year, Morrisons agreed to supply groceries to Amazon customers in the UK under a new deal with the US online giant.
Amazon's entry into the market was seen as escalating competition in the sector.
In August 2016, Morrisons also built on its existing relationship with Ocado expanding its home delivery service nationwide in a new deal with the online grocer.
Ocado said it had "provided the capability and execution for strong growth" in regard to its partnership with Morrisons.


The new Consumer Rights Act provides shoppers with much greater protection than they had previously.

The Act stretches to over a hundred pages and includes many additional areas, such as unfair terms and conditions - in other words, surprises in the small print.
But claiming for a refund under the new Act is an untested area, particularly through the new Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) providers, and it may not prove quite as easy as the government hoped.
However the Act does establish several new principles.
If the goods are faulty, and you bought them from a UK-based retailer, you are entitled to ask for them to be repaired - or to get a full refund. The Act says you can now get that refund up to 30 days from purchase. The money must be returned to you within 14 days.
Even if you bought the product more than 30 days ago, you are still entitled to a repair or a replacement. The retailer has one chance to make the repair. If you are still unhappy, you have a right to a refund.
This right extends to 6 months after the purchase.
If you bought a pair of walking boots five months ago, for example, and found they were leaking, you can ask for them to be repaired or replaced. If they are still leaking, you can ask for a full refund.
Even after six months, you still have a right to ask for a repair or a replacement. But the retailer now has a right to deduct some money for the use you have had out of the goods. If the product is a car, the retailer can deduct money after just a month.
In the longer term there are still protections, but they depend on the kind of product, and the price paid. These protections extend for up to 6 years in England and Wales, and 5 years in Scotland.
No. The goods have to be faulty. Many retailers do allow you to change your mind, and will exchange goods if they are in good condition. But this is down to individual shops, and they are not forced to do so by the law.
In most cases, buying goods on line is covered by the Distance Selling Regulations, which provide further protections over and above the Consumer Rights Act. But for the first time, digital goods like downloads, films, games, music and ebooks are covered by the legislation.
However, if the downloads will not play on your computer or mobile device, you will be entitled to a replacement, but not a refund. This is because of the difficulty of proving that a download does not work. However, the retailer may, in some circumstances, offer a partial refund. They may also stipulate that you need to have certain software to play the film or music.
The Act covers second-hand goods, where they are bought from a retailer, not an individual. On a site like Ebay, it would be the individual business that would be liable, rather than the website itself.
Second-hand goods bought on the High Street are also covered, but refunds would reflect the lower value of the product.
If you download something which carries a virus, and you need to get your computer repaired as a result, you are entitled to compensation.
The Act covers all services - from washing machine repairs to facial treatments. The Act says that such services must be delivered "with reasonable care", after consultation with the consumer.  If you are unhappy with the service you have received, you can ask the provider to put it right, or give you a refund if you prefer.
You can take them to a small claims court, but that is an expensive process. New Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) providers have been set up, which can handle additional products like energy contracts.
These services are free to consumers, but are paid for by the retailers. Many retailers have not yet signed up to these schemes, so it may prove difficult to use them.
Help for businesses is available here
Or business owners can speak to an adviser via the Business Support helpline, on 0300 456 3565
Advice for consumers is available from Citizens Advice here
A list of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) providers is available here
Help with unfair contract terms is available from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) here


Wales' top-earning locum doctor was paid £183,000 in 2015-16, according to new figures.

Aneurin Bevan University Health Board had the highest and second highest-paid locum - at £159,000, BBC Wales learned via a Freedom of Information request.
The total spend on non-permanent workers by the trusts and health boards that responded rose from £64m to £137m (a 113% increase) since 2013-14.
British Medical Association Cymru said better planning was "urgently needed".
NHS Wales Employers said there was "always a requirement" for locums agency staff to provide cover and flexibility in the health service.
The request for information asked all health boards to list their five highest-paid locums and their total spend on non-permanent doctors and agency workers in each of the last three years.
In 2015-16, Betsi Cadwaladr's highest paid locum received more than £137,000, Powys Teaching Health Board's received £116,000, while Velindre NHS Trust paid one locum £70,000 for the year.
Hywel Dda University Health Board refused to disclose how much its highest-earning locum received.
Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board, Cwm Taf and Cardiff and the Vale said they did not hold the information.
The percentage of each health boards' labour spend that went on non-permanent staff last year ranged from 3.69% (Powys Teaching Health Board) to 6.31% (Betsi Cadwaladr).
BMA Cymru Wales Council chairman Dr Phil Banfield said while problems recruiting doctors contributed to the rise in locum spending, some of it stemmed from "bad workforce practices and poor planning".
"The attractiveness of a career as a locum could be seen as a response to the unattractiveness of a permanent position in the NHS currently, where doctors are dealing with excessive workloads and a lack of flexibility over their working patterns," he said.
Dr Banfield said Wales must not move away from using temporary staff to cover for staff illness and peaks in demand, to an "over-reliance on locums covering posts".
"We urgently need improved workforce planning by health boards to ensure that clinical care is not affected by doctor shortages that could be foreseen and therefore allowed for," he added.
BMA Cymru Wales GP chairwoman Dr Charlotte Jones said the figures showed practices were "struggling to find cover to plug the staffing gaps they face".
"Increasingly, GP practices are facing longer-term vacancies because of the recruitment problems gripping general practice," she added.
She said a recent BMA survey showed that 82.1% of GPs were worried about the sustainability of their surgeries.
"We want to work with the Welsh Government to begin addressing these issues so that patients have equitable access to high-quality services across Wales."
The spending on agency staff is a symptom of the problems the NHS is facing in hiring, training and retaining its workforce.
Only last week, the Royal College of Physicians warned of a "looming crisis" over recruitment and workload.
It also means financial pressures.
The Health Foundation think tank recently highlighted how this could also have a negative impact on the NHS in trying to keep its finances in order.
The Welsh Government has a campaign to make Wales an attractive place to live and work for both GPs and hospital staff.
Not solving the recruitment issue leaves health boards in a Catch 22 position.
If they restrict or control services on the grounds of cost they will be criticised by patients who value these services close to their homes.
But if they spend on locums to fill the gaps in rotas they will equally be criticised by those who might ask if it is public money being well spent.
But Richard Tompkins, director of NHS Wales Employers, said there is "always a requirement" for locums to work in the health service.
"They are used to cover longer-term gaps, when staff may be off for maternity leave or long-term sickness, or to make sure that we can maintain safe services when cover is needed at short notice.
"Maintaining the quality of patient care is our priority and agency and locum staff can provide an essential means of increasing staffing levels to help manage short-term peaks in demand."
£183,000
Aneurin Bevan Uni Health Board
£159,000 Aneurin Bevan
£144,000 Aneurin Bevan
£137,000 Betsi Cadwaladr
£133,000 Aneurin Bevan
A spokesman for Aneurin Bevan University Health Board: "We have an active recruitment programme in place to fill vacancies in the health board.
"We also have a number of medical training initiative schemes with the Academy of Royal Medical Colleges, which are designed to allow a small number of doctors to enter the UK from overseas for a maximum of 24 months before they return to their home countries.
"The figures provided in response to the Freedom of Information request included doctors on fixed term contracts used to replace substantive posts, or to cover a pressing senior vacancy for periods of up to one year. As often as possible these individuals are actively recruited into permanent contracts.
"Wales-wide factors such as unfilled training posts in some specialties are currently resulting in an increased demand for short term ad hoc locum cover, which is action we need to take in order to continue providing safe services of the highest quality."
The Welsh Government said it recognised there were "real challenges" around the recruitment and retention of some medical staff, but this was not "unique to Wales".
A spokeswoman added: "We know the use of agency and locum staff has increased across Wales, however they continue to represent a small proportion of our frontline health staff."
The Welsh Government is investing more in the health service now than ever before - including an extra £300m, in 2016-17, with a further £265m of revenue funding planned for 2017-18, she added.
"We are working with the NHS to address the use and cost of using agency staff across NHS Wales and reduce overall demand for agency staff across all health boards and trusts," she said.


The PSNI has issued a warning over an email scam which aims to obtain sensitive data from victims, such as banking details and passwords.

They said fraudsters have been sending phishing emails to addresses in Northern Ireland and have asked people to be "on their guard".
They said the emails contain a malicious computer programme known as a 'Banking Trojan,' in an attachment.
The stolen data is then used by criminals.
Police said the subject line contains the recipient's name and they have revealed what the email looks like.
"Hi, [name]!
I am disturbing you for a very serious reason. Although we are not familiar, but I have significant amount of individual info concerning you. The thing is that, most likely mistakenly, the data of your account has been emailed to me.
For instance, your address is: [real home address]
I am a law-abiding citizen, so I decided to personal data may have been hacked. I attached the file - [surname].dot that I received, that you could explore what info has become obtainable for scammers. File password is - 2811
Best Wishes,"
Det Chf Insp Ian Wilson said: "The PSNI has been made aware of this scam by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau and we want to warn local people to be on their guard.
"The emails include an attachment - a '.dot' file usually titled with the recipient's name. This attachment is thought to contain the Banking Trojan Ursniff/Gozi, hidden within an image in the document.
"The Ursniff Banking Trojan attempts to obtain sensitive data from victims, such as banking credentials and passwords. The data is then sold on by the criminals involved to make money."
The advice to avoid becoming a victim of the scam is:


Former London Irish chairman David Fitzgerald has passed away, aged 55, following a battle with cancer.

Fitzgerald, who also played for the club in the pre-professional era, was later instrumental in the negotiations which led to its takeover in 2012.
He served as executive director of the professional club until last year.
As a mark of respect, London Irish will hold a minute's silence before their match against Exeter Chiefs at the Madejski Stadium on Sunday.


Jess Clarke struck twice as Notts County Ladies earned a draw against Reading Women at Meadow Lane.

Helen Ward's long-range shot evaded keeper Carly Telford and nestled in the top left corner to give the visitors the lead after only seven minutes.
The hosts equalised through Clarke's penalty after Fern Whelan handled in the box, but Kirsty McGee's header restored Reading's lead.
Clarke's deft lob on 64 minutes meant both side's settled for a point.
The result means both teams are still looking for their first league win of the season.


As David and Goliath stories go, Brad Katsuyama's is a pretty good one.

The 38-year-old has taken on billions of dollars of vested interest on Wall Street, and won for the little guy.
His successes were detailed in the best-selling book Flash Boys by Michael Lewis, and apt for a tale that could read like a Hollywood movie script, Sony Pictures bought the film rights.
Brad's story started in 2002 when he began working as a stockbroker in New York for the Royal Bank of Canada, aged 24.
Buying shares for his clients, Brad kept running into the same problem.
It went something like this - his team would go to purchase a bundle of stocks at a certain price. But once they pressed "buy", only part of the order was available, and the price for the rest had gone up.
After some investigation he found that the problem was caused by something called "high frequency trading" (HFT).
But what is HFT? And why should we care?
HFT is a system that uses complex computer programs to execute millions of trades per second.
Using information generated at speeds many times faster than the blink of an eye, super-fast computers installed with HFT software can estimate the rising value of a stock before the increase takes place.
Utilising HFT since 1999 has enabled some large investment banks, hedge funds, and other institutional investors to buy stocks microseconds before everyone else. They then make a profit - billions of dollars over the years - by selling the shares on at a higher price.
Brad, who was trading for the likes of pension funds, and didn't have access to HFT, thought it was completely unfair. And he was determined to do something to prevent it.
So with a team of colleagues Brad started work on a way to disable HFT.
Leaving Royal Bank of Canada with its blessing, in 2012 Brad established a stock brokerage called IEX that would utilise a method to remove the advantage of HFT.
What they devised was a "speed bump", a system whereby trades are slowed down by 350 microseconds by using 38 miles of fibre optic cable stored in a compartment the size of a shoe box.
This doesn't sound like much of a time lapse - but it was enough of a delay to even the playing field by stalling HFT.
So anyone buying shares via IEX would not be at risk of an HFT rushing ahead of them. And IEX - like any other stock brokerage - would make its money by taking a small commission.
But while Brad and his colleagues thought they had come up with a great idea, not many people were initially interested.
Starting out in a 200 sq ft (18.5 sq m) windowless office space in downtown Manhattan, the company could barely afford to pay salaries, and struggled to attract start-up funding.
"I think the idea sounded a bit crazier [to other people] than we first thought," Brad admits.
But Brad's competitive nature - honed over years of playing hockey and the Canadian version of American football, wouldn't let him quit.
And IEX eventually began to make headway among traders looking to escape a market that seemed rigged against them.
But the biggest boost for IEX was the March 2014 release of the book Flash Boys by financial journalist Michael Lewis.
Brad says it changed his life but more importantly, it helped the public understand the issue.
Before Flash Boys was released the company struggled to attract new talent. "We had to find people who really believed in what we were doing," he says.
But after Flash Boys became a best-seller, IEX started to receive hundreds of application letters, and it was able to raise $75m (Â£53m) from investors.
Yet the company's higher profile, and then Brad's application for it to become a bona fide stock market, sparked a furious response from many in the Wall Street establishment who defended HFT and attacked IEX.
IEX's opponents said its speed bump was unfair and wrong because it distorted prices.
Jeff Sprecher, the chief executive of Intercontinental Exchange, the company that owns the New York Stock Exchange, even went as far as calling IEX's approach "un-American".
Bill Hart, boss of Modern Markets Initiative, a group that advocates HFT, says: "Investors should always know the right price for their stock, by slowing that down we think investors won't see the best price."
Yet despite all the criticism of IEX, earlier this month the US regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission, approved it becoming the 13th stock exchange in the US.
IEX, which is profitable but currently handles only 1.6% of US stock trades, expects business to now grow extensively.
One of the numerous benefits of becoming an official stock exchange is that traders are legally bound to send orders to it if the stock prices listed there are better than other markets.
"Brad and his team have done a great job," says share trader Joseph Saluzzi of Themis Trading, and co-author of a book on HFT.
"They have taken some hits from major players who threw everything at them to stop them, and had the money and lobbyists to do it, and after all that IEX hasn't changed its general philosophy."
Now with a team of 70 people, IEX has upgraded its office to the 44th floor of 4 World Trade Center, one of the new skyscrapers built on the site of the former World Trade Center at the southern tip of Manhattan.
Brad's David has certainly beaten Goliath so far.


Seven-year-old Fatima lies on her own in a big white tent, crying inconsolably and calling for her father who was killed by Boko Haram militants in Nigeria.

She escaped with the rest of her family across Lake Chad after the attack on the town of Baga by the Islamist group earlier this month.
A field officer from the UN children's agency, Unicef, helps us find her mother, Hadija Umar, 30, a bit further in the camp.
She is queuing among hundreds for a bucket, some soap and a mosquito net.
"I am on my own with my three girls; my husband was killed," she says, carrying a three-month-old on her back.
"He had gone to buy fish when Boko Haram fighters launched their attack.
"Women told me that they found his body floating in the lake, his hands tied and his throat cut."
Ms Umar could not even go to see the body for herself and mourn her husband. She ran with their small girls.
It has been difficult to piece together what exactly happened during the assault on Baga and surrounding villages.
To find out more from witnesses who escaped involved a 15-hour journey into the desert from the Chadian capital, N'Djamena.
We set off early on sandy tracks, drove through rivers, and were carried across others on rafts made of oil drums and wooden planks.
Finally, we climbed into a dug-out canoe for the last leg of the journey to Ngouboua, a quasi-island in Lake Chad, where some of the thousands who fled Baga have sought refuge.
Most of the women, children and men here have lost relatives in the attack. They say Boko Haram fighters hunted them down as they ran into the bush.
There have been claims that as many as 2,000 people were massacred in and around Baga. This count was certainly an overestimate but there is no doubt that hundreds lost their lives in this brutal assault.
Whatever happened on the day of the attack, it is clear that there was absolute panic.
People fled in all directions; families scattered and many are now separated with no means of finding each other again.
More than 100 children arrived on Ngouboua unaccompanied, according to the UN.
Haroun Mohamed, 31, was among the adults who made it here, alone. In the terrifying confusion, he lost sight of his wife and their baby.
He has not heard from the rest of his family either.
"I don't know if they are all alive or if some of them have died," he says.
"I am angry, so angry and sad. I cannot sleep at night, I am just thinking about them."
Mr Mohamed has to spend his sleepless nights in the cold.
3 January: Social media reports of Baga attack first emerge
4 January: Boko Haram claims to have captured Baga
8 January: Reports emerge of bodies strewn on the streets in Baga, with some saying 2,000 people killed
12 January: The government says that the number of people who lost their lives in Baga was no more than 150, including militants
15 January:  Satellite images released by Amnesty International suggest the number of dead is far higher than officially admitted
Why it is hard to know the truth in Nigeria
Everyone on this island arrived with nothing. Not an extra pair of trousers, not even a blanket.
At this time of year, the sun is high and warm during the day but the temperature drops dramatically at night and the wind picks up.
Aid agencies are slowly starting to distribute essential supplies but access to this remote area is a problem.
The Lake Chad region is the poorest in a country ranked at the bottom of the UN Human Development Index.
"This sudden influx of refugees poses a risk of epidemic outbreak," says Dr Bobo Makoso from the International Medical Corps.
"Agencies are trying to guarantee that everybody is vaccinated against measles and meningitis upon arrival."
People are continuing to arrive here every day, usually in groups of 15 to 20.
The UNHCR says it cannot predict how many more will cross the lake to Chad but it is preparing for the possibility of another 20,000 arriving within the next three months.
In the meantime, it has started to relocate refugees to a site in Baga-Sola, a two-and-a-half-hour journey from the islands in the lake, where they have landed.
Unlike neighbouring Cameroon, where Boko Haram militants are attacking army positions and have kidnapped dozens, including Westerners, Chad has not suffered any attacks yet.
But Chadian President Idriss Deby decided last week to send a column of armoured vehicles across the border to help the Cameroonian army.
"The government is nervous," a diplomatic source says.
N'Djamena is the closest major city to what Boko Haram calls their "caliphate". It is only 270km (170 miles) from Maiduguri, the main city in Borno state in Nigeria.
Who are Boko Haram?
Why Nigeria has not defeated Boko Haram
President Deby has also vowed to retake Baga in an operation involving the countries of the Lake Chad basin - Chad, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon and Benin.
But regional powers have so far failed to work alongside their Nigerian counterpart.
Mistrust prevails and some have criticised the Nigerian authorities for not doing more to confront Boko Haram themselves.
However, Boko Haram has taken its fight across borders. Its Islamist insurrection is no longer just a Nigerian problem.
Could the militants be forcing Nigeria's neighbours into war?
In Ngouboua, Fatima does not stop crying while we talk to her mother.
Ms Umar is now alone, forced to beg in a nearby village to feed her three small girls.


Facebook says it is investigating a mother's complaints about a post that misused photos showing her child with a severe case of chickenpox.

The message claimed the boy instead had cancer and that the social network would donate money for surgery if users "liked" it or wrote comments.
Several hours after the BBC reported the matter, Facebook removed the post but left its creator's account active.
More than a million people had engaged with the message since 1 February.
One security expert warned these users might now be targeted by scammers.
Sarah Allen, from St Neots, Cambridgeshire, gave media interviews in August 2016, after her then two-year-old son Jasper was covered head-to-feet in sores after contracting the virus.
She believes that images posted within articles about his illness were then stolen to create the fake post.
"We were warned people might take his pictures...  because if you Google chickenpox his pictures are there," Mrs Allen told the BBC.
"So, we were well aware that might happen, but not in this respect, to say he had cancer."
Mrs Allen said she repeatedly messaged Facebook to complain about copyright infringement and was told on 10 February that the account in question had been removed for breaching the site's rules.
However, she said, it was back online within 24 hours, without explanation.
The profile continues to feature posts with identical text that show images of other children, and in one case a bearded youth - despite the words referring to a "little baby [that] has cancer".
Other posts from the account -  which claims to belong to Pooran Singh - show images of children in hospital claiming the viewer will experience years of bad luck if they scroll down without liking and sharing.
"What's so disgusting [is] it's not just Jasper's pictures but [about] 100 of other people's families as well," Mrs Allen explained.
"Facebook needs to take action."
The owner of the account did not respond to a request to explain his or her actions.
But one security blogger said this appeared to be a case of "like farming", in which scammers seek to make people interact with a Facebook post so they can either direct further messages to them or sell on the profile and all its contacts.
"There are a lot of scams that use these kind of emotional images - oftentimes it's done to make money," Graham Cluley explained.
"They may later post something that claims you've won a prize and try and get you to enter your mobile phone number and then sign you up for a premium rate service, or ask for other personal information.
"The problem is that people just believe things that are posted online, and they need to be a lot more careful about what they like and share."
Facebook says it is still reviewing the case with its complaints team and declined to comment further until this process had been completed.


Bristol Rovers boss Darrell Clarke says he understands why assistant Marcus Stewart is being linked with the vacant managerial position at Yeovil Town.

Paul Sturrock left Yeovil on Tuesday after eight months in charge.
Stewart, 43, who previously played for the Glovers, is the bookmakers favourite for the job at Huish Park.
"Marcus has aspirations be a manager," Clarke told BBC Radio Bristol. "I understand why Marcus has been linked to it as it is his old club."
Speaking to BBC Somerset, former Yeovil boss Gary Johnson ruled himself out of the running.
Clarke says Stewart has not spoken to him about the role at League Two's bottom side but does not doubt his desire to a manager one day.
"I have not has a conversation with him," he said.
"I have a really good backroom staff, we have a really good team and good physio. I don't know how to comment on it, he does want to be a manager no doubt."
Yeovil, without a league win in 12 games, have placed Darren Way in temporary charge. He called for unity at the club as they attempt to avoid a third successive relegation.
"I want a group of players that are going to pull together as a team, I don't want a team of individuals," Way told the club website. "This will not make us win every game but will certainly make us better in the long run.
"I think that working for Yeovil Town Football Club should be a privilege. It is now up to myself and the players we have here to prove to the fans that they are privileged to be at Huish Park as football can change quickly.
"I would love for the players and staff to bring the supporters closer together with the club as I feel for a long time now that the togetherness has not been there. I know the only way we can do that is by winning games."


Toyota is recalling 6.4 million vehicles globally, including 35,124 in the UK, over five separate issues.

Some 3.5 million vehicles are being recalled to replace a spiral cable attached to the driver's side airbag.
It may be damaged when the steering wheel is turned and result in the airbag not being deployed in a crash.
Other issues include problems with seat rails, steering columns, windscreen wipers and a glitch with the engine starters that poses a fire risk.
Toyota said it was not aware of any vehicle crashes, injuries or fatalities caused by these conditions.
However, it said it had received two reports of fires in connection with the engine starter problem.
The carmaker said that "due to inefficiencies in the design of the starter motor relays, metallic particles might accumulate on the contacts within the relay".
It said that if the relays continued to be used, the particles could come off and enter the relay's circuitry and in the "worst case, this could lead to the starter relays catching fire".
Approximately 20,000 vehicles involving six Toyota models and the Subaru Trezia are being recalled to replace both engine starter relays and the engine starter motor.
Other recalls include:
The latest recall, which affects 27 different models, is the fifth major one that the company has issued in recent months.
By Puneet Pal SinghBusiness reporter
Recalls are not uncommon in the industry. General Motors has recalled millions of vehicles in recent weeks as well.
And while it is an inconvenience, customers have also started to realise that it is something that is in their best interest.
It is now seen as a way of the carmakers saying, "We will try and get it right, but if sometimes we don't we will fix it for you."
But in the case of Toyota, the latest recall comes as it has been trying to rebuild its reputation as a maker of reliable and high-quality vehicles - which was key to its success over the past decades.
These recalls are likely to make that task more difficult. It has recalled more than 25 million vehicles over two-and-half years. To put that in context, it has sold just over 21 million during the same period.
In February, it called back 1.9 million of its top-selling Prius hybrid cars because of a software fault that might cause the vehicle to slow down suddenly.
In the latter half of last year, it issued separate recalls affecting more than 2.2 million vehicles.
Overall, the company has recalled more than 25 million vehicles over the past two-and-a-half years.
That is far more than the number it called back in 2009 and 2010 - widely seen as the worst years in terms of damage to its reputation.
Toyota's sales had suffered in the aftermath of those recalls, which were prompted by problems with accelerator pedals becoming trapped under floor mats.
The recalls had also triggered a criminal investigation against the carmaker in the US.
Earlier this year, the firm agreed a $1.2bn (Â£720m) settlement with US regulators after a four-year inquiry into its reporting of safety issues.
Recalls are not uncommon in the industry. For example, General Motors is in the middle of recalling millions of vehicles as well.
However, there are concerns that Toyota's current troubles may hurt its efforts to rebuild its reputation, which was damaged by the 2010 recall fiasco.


The European Union's bank could be asked to fund major transport projects in Northern Ireland.

Officials from the European Investment Bank have held meetings in Belfast, including talks with Stormont's finance and transport ministers.
The Luxembourg-based bank lends money on low-interest, long-term deals for big infrastructure projects.
More cash could follow the £150m it has already provided towards the University of Ulster's new Belfast campus.
One scheme that could potentially benefit from the talks is the Belfast Rapid Transit System, a proposed £100m bus network.
Another is the Belfast Transport Hub, a major redevelopment of the city's Great Victoria Street railway station.
Northern Ireland's Finance Minister Simon Hamilton is due to travel to Luxembourg next month, where he will meet bank officials to explore investment possibilities.
He said he thinks that councils in Northern Ireland should also look into funding opportunities.
"I will ensure all available avenues for accessing finance are fully explored and exploited," Mr Hamilton said.
The bank's University of Ulster loan is its first direct investment scheme in Northern Ireland in ten years.
The vice president of the European Investment Bank, Jonathan Taylor, said: "We are committed to supporting similar quality investment in key infrastructure in Northern Ireland in the future."


New Fifa president Gianni Infantino has denied that promises to the United States over who will host the 2026 World Cup secured his election win.

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US Soccer Federation head Sunil Gulati switched his vote to Infantino in the second round of Friday's voting.
"I spoke with many delegates... trying to tell them that they should vote for football and for me," Infantino said.
Asked if he made promises to Gulati about the 2026 tournament, he added: "No, certainly not."
In the second round of voting, Uefa general secretary Infantino picked up 27 extra votes.
The other frontrunner, Asian confederation chief Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa, managed just three more.
Gulati initially backed Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan.
Following the election at Fifa's extraordinary congress in Zurich on Friday, Gulati said: "We told Gianni that we would support Prince Ali but also gave him the assurance that when it mattered we would be with him."
Bidding processes for the 2026 World Cup were postponed in the summer amid a corruption crisis that has engulfed Fifa since last May.
That decision was taken after the way the 2018 and 2022 tournaments were awarded, to Russia and Qatar, became part of an ongoing Swiss criminal investigation.
Outgoing president Sepp Blatter has suggested there was an agreement in place for Russia to host the 2018 event before the vote took place.
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Blatter's resignation last year, amid corruption allegations that led to a six-year ban from football, prompted Friday's extraordinary congress and election.
Speaking to the BBC, Infantino also insisted that overhauling the structure and running of Fifa following the crisis must be "implemented from day one, immediately".
The Swiss begins his role on Monday and says key reforms passed in Zurich to make Fifa more transparent and accountable are his priority.
"Seriously, first is the reforms," Infantino said. "So I will go up to the office and start looking at how to implement these reforms so that we can hopefully very soon concentrate on football.
"We have to look forward. You have to start as of now to live the reforms. Already, as of now, and for the future, so there'll be no issues anymore.
"As for the past we have to make sure we co-operate fully with the authorities to ensure everything comes out if something has happened."
The reforms include limiting the president to three terms in office, the disclosure of salaries, and replacing Fifa's current executive committee with a new council featuring a female representative from each confederation.


A Russian billionaire has been ordered to pay his estranged wife £453m in a divorce settlement at a British court.

The payment from the 61-year-old, a former oil and gas trader, to his ex-wife, 41, has been described as one of the biggest awards made by a UK court.
During a High Court hearing, a judge said the couple met and married in Moscow before moving to Surrey.
Mr Justice Haddon-Cave said he had awarded the woman 41.5% of the "total marital assets".
The judge made a ruling preventing the man, from the Caucasus, and the woman, who was born in Eastern Europe, from being identified.
Both were given indefinite leave to remain in the UK, where they have lived for a number of years.
Nearly five years ago, the court was told, the husband sold shares in a Russian company for $1.3 billion (£1bn).
He then bought both the couple's sons flats in a luxury London development - one for £29 million and the other for £7 million.
Mr Justice Haddon-Cave said the woman had been a housewife and mother to the couple's children.
The husband argued he had made a "special contribution" to the generation of wealth, but the judge concluded the man and woman had made "equal contributions to the welfare of the family".
His ex-wife claimed the "total net marital wealth" was just over £1 billion which had been built up during their marriage.
Mr Justice Haddon-Cave said the reasons for the man's "sudden decision" to no longer contest the case were "unclear", but it seemed that he had previously argued that he was wealthy before they married.
Neither party was in court for the final ruling.
In 2014, Jamie Cooper-Hohn, wife of financier Sir Chris Hohn, was awarded more than £330 million.
Legal experts said the Cooper-Hohn award was "certainly" one of the biggest made in the UK, although divorce proceedings are often conducted in private hearings.


An owner's "inappropriate extension" to his home could be demolished after the communities secretary declined to back planning permission.

Eric Pickles told Central Bedfordshire Council he would not oppose a challenge to a decision to allow the extension to Random House in Barton-Le-Clay.
The council challenged an inspector's decision to grant planning permission.
The inspector was mistaken, the council claimed, and the High Court is expected to nullify his approval decision.
Syed Raza Shah was granted permission to increase the floor space of the house by about 45% in 2011.
But the council said the work done equated to more like a 200% increase and refused retrospective planning permission last August, telling Mr Shah to demolish the property.
Mr Shah's alterations amounted to a "new dwelling" and was "inappropriate development" in an area of outstanding natural beauty.
Mr Shah said he had made "some minor adjustments" but had "kept within the parameters".
Mr Pickles said the inspector was "insufficiently clear in his reasoning" and alterations were "disproportionate additions" to the original building.
The development was also inappropriate in the green belt, he said.
The case will now be passed back for reconsideration by the Planning Inspectorate and a judge is expected to issue a Consent Order nullifying the planning inspector's decision.
Nigel Young, executive member for regeneration at Central Bedfordshire Council, said: "The planning inspector's decision totally disregarded local residents and was completely at odds with concerns to protect the environment and to defend the countryside from inappropriate development."
Mr Shah is expected to comment later.


A man from the Scottish Borders has been jailed for five years for the abuse and rape of young girls.

Stephen Charters, 51, formerly of Galashiels, began his crimes as a boy and continued into adulthood.
He had denied the offences but was found guilty of five charges of indecent behaviour and two of rape between 1977 and 1997.
A judge told him they were "very serious charges" before jailing him at the High Court in Edinburgh.
Lady Clark of Calton said it was plain that the victims had been very seriously affected by the abuse for many years.
She said she accepted that most of the early offending was committed when Charters was a child himself and the first rape of an 11-year-old happened when he was aged 13 or 14.
However, she said the further rape he carried out on a girl aged between six and eight took place when he was "a young adult".
Lady Clark told him: "I take into account that you are a first offender, that you led a useful and productive life and there has been no offending for many years."
Charters was convicted of sex crimes between 1977 and 1997 in the Borders, Midlothian and South Lanarkshire.
He was convicted of sexual offending from the age of 12 - the youngest age for prosecution in Scotland.
He began by molesting a younger girl at a house in the Borders, exposing himself and carrying out sex acts from when she was nine. He raped her when she was 11 years old.
Charters later abused a second girl at a house in Midlothian and at the Royal Commonwealth Pool in Edinburgh before raping her.
He later made inappropriate sexual remarks to a third girl in East Kilbride and during a car journey.
Lady Clark said: "He is in complete denial about all of this."
She said he did not appear to have "any understanding or recognition" about the effect on his victims.
Defence counsel Shelagh McCall QC told the court that Charters continued to deny involvement in the sex offending.
She said there was a 20-year gap since the last of the offences during which time he had worked for a bus firm and driven children to school.
She said other people had been interviewed and no further allegations were made against him.
Ms McCall added that Charters was prepared to co-operate with offence-related programmes offered in prison.


The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a legal challenge to US President Donald Trump's directive banning transgender service personnel.

The case was filed on behalf of six serving transgender members of the armed forces.
Mr Trump signed a memo to reinstate a ban on transgender people serving on Friday, after announcing it on Twitter last month.
The policy was lifted by Barack Obama's administration last year.
The ACLU argues that the ban is discriminatory and violates constitutional guarantees of equal protection.
It described the ban as "cruel" and being based on "myths and stereotypes" and a "desire to harm transgender people".
End of Twitter post  by @ACLU
It was the second lawsuit announced on Monday, after a separate complaint was filed on behalf of LGBT groups and three other transgender individuals. Two sought to join the armed forces, and a third is already a serving member.
Between 4,000 and 10,000 US active-duty and reserve service members are believed to be transgender.
End of Twitter post  by @realDonaldTrump
End of Twitter post 2 by @realDonaldTrump
End of Twitter post 3 by @realDonaldTrump
On a statement on the ACLU website, Joe Block, a senior staff lawyer for the ACLU's LGBT & HIV Project said:  "Each and every claim made by President Trump to justify this ban can be easily debunked by the conclusions drawn from the Department of Defence's own review process.
"Allowing men and women who are transgender to serve openly and providing them with necessary health care does nothing to harm military readiness or unit cohesion."
One of the listed plaintiffs in the case has served in the US navy for 11 years, including a stint in Afghanistan.
She, like thousands of others, has been left in limbo after President Trump left Defence Secretary Jim Mattis to decide whether to retain existing transgender recruits.
The recruitment ban was justified on grounds of cost and the memo halts the use of government funds for sex-reassignment surgery for active personnel.
The justification was heavily criticised when it was revealed the US military spent ten times as much on erectile dysfunction medication as it does on transgender healthcare.


The SDLP executive has backed its party leader Alasdair McDonnell after holding a meeting in Belfast on Saturday.

He has faced criticism since saying he would be standing down from the assembly but would continue to lead the party from Westminster as an MP.
Deputy leader, Dolores Kelly, said voters had expressed concerns about Dr McDonnell during the Westminster election campaign trail.
But the SDLP executive said they would "support" Dr McDonnell.
"The party executive met today to discuss the result of the Westminster election," a statement said.
"We're delighted that the party has defended its three seats.
"The executive endorses the strategic direction and development of the party under the leadership of Alasdair McDonnell and will continue to support him in that regard."
Alasdair McDonnell has made it clear he does not intend to stand down.
Earlier this week, former SDLP leader Mark Durkan said the party leadership needs to change in time for next year's assembly election.
Speaking on BBC One programme The View, Mr Durkan, who stepped down as leader in 2010, said Dr McDonnell's leadership was "a real issue" posed by voters on the doorstep during general election canvassing.
"If Alasdair thinks that just resigning from the assembly deals with the questions, well it won't because these questions will all surface again once he resigns from the assembly," he said.
"As we move towards an assembly election, the questions won't go away and therefore I think if we're going to be in a better position to fight the election, then the leadership needs to change."
Dr McDonnell earlier rejected criticism by party grandees Seamus Mallon and Brid Rodgers that he should step down, telling the programme: "I'm not going to run away from a task half done."


Ospreys earned their first win in Glasgow since 2009 by easing aside the 14-man Warriors at Scotstoun.

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Tom Habberfield's counter-attack try was the only score of the first half.
Warriors lock Brian Alainu'uese was sent off for a charge to the head of Rory Thornton six minutes after the break.
Tom O'Flaherty and Dan Baker touched down soon after, with Ashley Beck grabbing the bonus-point try before Junior Bulumakau's consolation.
Ospreys move into second place in the Pro12 behind Leinster, while Glasgow drop out of the play-off spots behind Munster and Scarlets.
The autumn internationals deprived these sides of a combined 26 players, with other Test regulars still injured.
Neither the patchwork nature of both line-ups, nor the polar temperatures and slick ball, did much for the fluency of the contest.
There were fleeting glimpses of first-half flair and dynamism, Ospreys fly-half Josh Matavesi puncturing the home midfield, while Alainu'uese was an industrious and effective battering ram before his evening was curtailed.
Far more precision, though, is expected from a Warriors line-out spearheaded by an ex-All Black and World Cup-winning hooker in the shape of Corey Flynn - his first four throws failed to hit their target.
Meanwhile, at scrum-half, Grayson Hart was too desperate, and too impatient, to be the fulcrum in his first start of the season, flinging several ambitious offloads that were never likely to come off.
Habberfield's try, on 37 minutes, was what is known in modern sporting parlance as a "coach-killer", a sting in the tail at the end of a turgid first half.
Lewis Wynne, the Warriors eight, lost possession in contact and neither Flynn nor Rory Clegg booted the loose ball off the pitch, nor fell to secure it.
Instead, the Ospreys scooped it up, Daf Howells punted downfield into yards of unguarded turf, captain Habberfield hacked on and plunged to touch down ahead of the desperately back-tracking Nick Grigg.
Prior to that, Ospreys had more than 60% possession and territory - and though Matavesi's conversion struck the post, Steve Tandy's side held a 5-0 half-time lead for their toil.
World Rugby has recently ordered its referees to police high tackles, charges and contacts to the head with greater stringency, given the prevalence and peril of head injuries in the game.
Six minutes after the break, Alainu'uese stooped to clear Thornton, his opposite number, from a ruck, his shoulder and cocked upper arm connecting with the head of the Osprey, sending him sprawling.
George Clancy studied the television replays before dismissing the towering lock and incensing Scotstoun.
Some may deem the sanction an affront to good, hard rucking, but under the World Rugby directive, Clancy had cause to show red.
The Ospreys duly capitalised, replacement O'Flaherty gathering Matavesi's arrowed crosskick to stretch the lead and number eight Baker powering over before the hour.
Beck swerved and slalomed home from five yards to notch the bonus-point try, Matavesi finally slotting a conversion.
Patient Glasgow phase play culminated in Bulumakau scampering in from Clegg's looping pass in the final two minutes to at least prevent a whitewash.
Glasgow Warriors coach Gregor Townsend: "I'm obviously disappointed we didn't win at home and disappointed for the crowd that turned up in big numbers.
"I was really proud of the effort. I'm proud of the way we defended in that first half, when Ospreys had a lot of possession, and proud of the way we finished the game.
"That last 15-20 minutes, when we were a man down and had a lot of young players, they did really well and it was great to see them score a try.
"We obviously have a bit of improving to do and you're not going to beat a team like Ospreys when they're playing so well when you're down to 14 men for such a long time."
Glasgow Warriors: Murchie, Lamont, Grigg, Johnson, L. Jones, Clegg, Hart, Reid, Flynn, Rae, Swinson, Alainu-uese, Wynne, Fusaro, Strauss.
Replacements: Bulumakau for L. Jones (69), Grant for Reid (55), MacArthur for Flynn (55), Nicol for Rae (59), Haupeakui for Fusaro (59), McAlpine for Strauss (74). Not Used: G. Horne, Kelly.
Sin Bin: Alainu-uese (47).
Ospreys: D. Evans, Howells, Fonotia, Beck, Grabham, J. Matavesi, Habberfield, James, Parry, Fia, Ashley, Thornton, Cracknell, Underhill, D. Baker.
Replacements: Price for Beck (74), O'Flaherty for Grabham (44), Leonard for Habberfield (67), Otten for Parry (59), R. Jones for Fia (55), Beard for Ashley (70), McCusker for Underhill (67). Not Used: G. Thomas.
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland).