Delhi Gang Rape: Court To Deliver Verdict

By Neville Lazarus, Sky News Producer in New Delhi

A court in New Delhi is expected to announce its verdict on a juvenile suspect accused of the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a bus last year.

The juvenile justice board in New Delhi has postponed its verdict four times in the past but is now likely to pass judgement on the teenager whose court case ended in July.

If convicted, the maximum sentence that he can receive is three years at a correction facility, which will include the time he spent in custody during the case that stirred the nation's soul.

Sky News spoke to the friend of the victim who was with the physiotherapy student on that fateful night of the attack.

He criticised what he sees as the leniency of India's juvenile justice system, which seeks to reform rather than punish criminals under 18.

He said: "As a survivor, I am angry. Where is the justice to the victim's family and friends? People blame circumstances for making a juvenile a criminal but I see a failure of the judicial and social system."

The family of the victim campaigned for the juvenile be treated as an adult, alongside five other adults who were also charged with the rape of murder of the woman.

Earlier this year, the victim's father Badri Singh told Sky News that all the accused must be given the death penalty. Only then, he said, would his daughter get justice.

A protester at the Government Secretariat and Presidential Palace in Delhi

Her parents intend to appeal to the higher courts on the matter, but lawyers say the juvenile laws will have to be amended if any change is expected in the case.

The Supreme Court is hearing a plea for a change in the juvenile age, and to consider the mental and intellectual level of a minor offender.

The juvenile, who was 17 years old when he committed the crime, pleaded not guilty during his court case.

He refuted in court the police charge sheet that he was the "most brutal" of all the six accused men. His lawyers submitted there was no medical evidence to connect him to the charges and no fingerprints could be detected within the bus to show complicity.

A native of Uttar Pradesh, the suspect came to Delhi when he was 11.

He worked at a number of road side restaurants before taking up a cleaner's job on the bus. He told the court he was a victim of the alleged ringleader of the group, Ram Singh, for whom he worked and "as not paid by for months".

The crime, which saw the woman die of internal injuries inflicted during the savage attack on a moving bus in December last year, generated a wave of protests against sex crimes against women in India.

It pressurised the government into enacting new laws and fast-track courts to try cases of crimes against women.

The five other suspects are being tried in Saket, New Delhi

In March, the Indian parliament passed the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013, or anti-rape law. The law has called for stringent punishments for offences of rape, stalking, voyeurism and acid attacks.

A parliamentary committee on empowering women has recommended a reduction in the age of male juveniles from 18 to 16 years.

The committee had noted a 10.5% increase in crimes against women by juveniles in 2011, but the government decided against lowering the age.

The trial of the other accused - Mukesh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Thakur - is taking place at a fast-track court in New Delhi.

They have been charged with gang rape, murder, criminal conspiracy, unnatural sex and robbery. The trial is expected to wrap up in the next few weeks, with the men facing a possible death sentence if convicted.

Over 800 pages of evidence were presented to the court and 82 witnesses examined.

A fifth man, Ram Singh, allegedly committed suicide in jail in March.

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UN Chemical Weapons Inspectors Leave Syria

Syria: US Report On Gas Attack

Updated: 8:13pm UK, Friday 30 August 2013

The US released its assessment of the Syrian government's alleged involvement in the August 21 chemical weapons attack in Damascus. Here is the text.

The United States Government assesses with high confidence that the Syrian government carried out a chemical weapons attack in the Damascus suburbs on August 21, 2013. We further assess that the regime used a nerve agent in the attack.

These all-source assessments are based on human, signals, and geospatial intelligence as well as a significant body of open source reporting. Our classified assessments have been shared with the US Congress and key international partners. To protect sources and methods, we cannot publicly release all available intelligence - but what follows is an unclassified summary of the US Intelligence Community's analysis of what took place.

Syrian Government Use of Chemical Weapons on August 21

A large body of independent sources indicates that a chemical weapons attack took place in the Damascus suburbs on August 21.

In addition to US intelligence information, there are accounts from international and Syrian medical personnel; videos; witness accounts; thousands of social media reports from at least 12 different locations in the Damascus area; journalist accounts; and reports from highly credible nongovernmental organisations.

A preliminary US government assessment determined that 1,429 people were killed in the chemical weapons attack, including at least 426 children, though this assessment will certainly evolve as we obtain more information.

We assess with high confidence that the Syrian government carried out the chemical weapons attack against opposition elements in the Damascus suburbs on August 21. We assess that the scenario in which the opposition executed the attack on August 21 is highly unlikely.

The body of information used to make this assessment includes intelligence pertaining to the regime's preparations for this attack and its means of delivery, multiple streams of intelligence about the attack itself and its effect, our post-attack observations, and the differences between the capabilities of the regime and the opposition.

Our high confidence assessment is the strongest position that the US Intelligence Community can take short of confirmation. We will continue to seek additional information to close gaps in our understanding of what took place.

Background:

The Syrian regime maintains a stockpile of numerous chemical agents, including mustard, sarin, and VX and has thousands of munitions that can be used to deliver chemical warfare agents.

Syrian President Bashar al Assad is the ultimate decision maker for the chemical weapons program and members of the program are carefully vetted to ensure security and loyalty. The Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Centre (SSRC) - which is subordinate to the Syrian Ministry of Defence - manages Syria's chemical weapons program.

We assess with high confidence that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale against the opposition multiple times in the last year, including in the Damascus suburbs.

This assessment is based on multiple streams of information including reporting of Syrian officials planning and executing chemical weapons attacks and laboratory analysis of physiological samples obtained from a number of individuals, which revealed exposure to sarin. We assess that the opposition has not used chemical weapons.

The Syrian regime has the types of munitions that we assess were used to carry out the attack on August 21, and has the ability to strike simultaneously in multiple locations. We have seen no indication that the opposition has carried out a large-scale, coordinated rocket and artillery attack like the one that occurred on August 21.

We assess that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons over the last year primarily to gain the upper hand or break a stalemate in areas where it has struggled to seize and hold strategically valuable territory. In this regard, we continue to judge that the Syrian regime views chemical weapons as one of many tools in its arsenal, including air power and ballistic missiles, which they indiscriminately use against the opposition.

The Syrian regime has initiated an effort to rid the Damascus suburbs of opposition forces using the area as a base to stage attacks against regime targets in the capital. The regime has failed to clear dozens of Damascus neighbourhoods of opposition elements, including neighbourhoods targeted on August 21, despite employing nearly all of its conventional weapons systems.

We assess that the regime's frustration with its inability to secure large portions of Damascus may have contributed to its decision to use chemical weapons on August 21.

Preparation:

We have intelligence that leads us to assess that Syrian chemical weapons personnel - including personnel assessed to be associated with the SSRC - were preparing chemical munitions prior to the attack. In the three days prior to the attack, we collected streams of human, signals and geospatial intelligence that reveal regime activities that we assess were associated with preparations for a chemical weapons attack.

Syrian chemical weapons personnel were operating in the Damascus suburb of 'Adra from Sunday, August 18 until early in the morning on Wednesday, August 21 near an area that the regime uses to mix chemical weapons, including sarin. On August 21, a Syrian regime element prepared for a chemical weapons attack in the Damascus area, including through the utilisation of gas masks.

Our intelligence sources in the Damascus area did not detect any indications in the days prior to the attack that opposition affiliates were planning to use chemical weapons.

The Attack:

Multiple streams of intelligence indicate that the regime executed a rocket and artillery attack against the Damascus suburbs in the early hours of August 21.

Satellite detections corroborate that attacks from a regime-controlled area struck neighbourhoods where the chemical attacks reportedly occurred - including Kafr Batna, Jawbar, 'Ayn Tarma, Darayya, and Mu'addamiyah. This includes the detection of rocket launches from regime controlled territory early in the morning, approximately 90 minutes before the first report of a chemical attack appeared in social media. The lack of flight activity or missile launches also leads us to conclude that the regime used rockets in the attack.

Local social media reports of a chemical attack in the Damascus suburbs began at 2:30 a.m. local time on August 21. Within the next four hours there were thousands of social media reports on this attack from at least 12 different locations in the Damascus area. Multiple accounts described chemical-filled rockets impacting opposition-controlled areas.

Three hospitals in the Damascus area received approximately 3,600 patients displaying symptoms consistent with nerve agent exposure in less than three hours on the morning of August 21, according to a highly credible international humanitarian organisation.

The reported symptoms, and the epidemiological pattern of events - characterised by the massive influx of patients in a short period of time, the origin of the patients, and the contamination of medical and first aid workers - were consistent with mass exposure to a nerve agent. We also received reports from international and Syrian medical personnel on the ground.

We have identified one hundred videos attributed to the attack, many of which show large numbers of bodies exhibiting physical signs consistent with, but not unique to, nerve agent exposure. The reported symptoms of victims included unconsciousness, foaming from the nose and mouth, constricted pupils, rapid heartbeat, and difficulty breathing.

Several of the videos show what appear to be numerous fatalities with no visible injuries, which is consistent with death from chemical weapons, and inconsistent with death from small-arms, high-explosive munitions or blister agents. At least 12 locations are portrayed in the publicly available videos, and a sampling of those videos confirmed that some were shot at the general times and locations described in the footage.

We assess the Syrian opposition does not have the capability to fabricate all of the videos, physical symptoms verified by medical personnel and NGOs, and other information associated with this chemical attack.

We have a body of information, including past Syrian practice, that leads us to conclude that regime officials were witting of and directed the attack on August 21. We intercepted communications involving a senior official intimately familiar with the offensive who confirmed that chemical weapons were used by the regime on August 21 and was concerned with the UN inspectors obtaining evidence.

On the afternoon of August 21, we have intelligence that Syrian chemical weapons personnel were directed to cease operations. At the same time, the regime intensified the artillery barrage targeting many of the neighbourhoods where chemical attacks occurred. In the 24 hour period after the attack, we detected indications of artillery and rocket fire at a rate approximately four times higher than the ten preceding days.

We continued to see indications of sustained shelling in the neighbourhoods up until the morning of August 26.

To conclude, there is a substantial body of information that implicates the Syrian government's responsibility in the chemical weapons attack that took place on August 21. As indicated, there is additional intelligence that remains classified because of sources and methods concerns that is being provided to Congress and international partners.

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Syria Gas Attack: 'My Eyes Were On Fire'

Survivors have described the horrific aftermath of the "gas attack" in Syria in a series of chilling interviews from Damascus.

Victims told how a gas with "a faint green colour" stung their eyes "like needles", causing their legs to buckle and making their bodies convulse in pain.

One told how he regained consciousness after succumbing to the gas, seeing wild hallucinations "like Alice in Wonderland" with his "eyes on fire".

Others described how they saw hundreds of suffocating, twitching victims in the streets and in hospitals following a barrage of "whistling" rockets.

Girls who survived rest in a mosque in Damascus

In several interviews, released by the Associated Press news agency, witnesses told how the rockets made a "strange noise", never heard before.

The rocket assaults came around the same time on two suburbs on opposite sides of the capital: Moadamiyeh to the west and several districts to the east.

Ammar, a resident who said he miraculously survived the barrage on Moadamiyeh, where 80 people were killed, said he was awakened by shelling around 5am. 

He said he heard a screeching sound, followed by the sound of people screaming on Rawda street below his apartment - and saw the green gas.

A boy who survived and took cover in a Damascus mosque

"I ran out to see what was going on and saw people in various stages of suffocation and convulsions. I tried to help, but then my legs buckled and I fell to the ground," he said.

Ammar woke up at a makeshift hospital, where he said he spent five days getting oxygen and injections of atropine, which counteracts the effects of nerve gases.

A week later, Ammar said he has not fully recovered. He suffers bouts of cold sweats, exhaustion, hallucinations and a runny nose.

Worst of all, he said, were the nightmares.

"I can't sleep anymore. I keep seeing the people who died, the scenes from the hospital of people twitching and foaming. I can never forget that," said Ammar, 30.

A child victim of the attack

His father, who identified himself by his nickname, Abu Ammar, was at the nearby al-Rawda mosque waiting for dawn prayers when the first rockets hit.

He said some people ran outside and then came back in immediately, shouting: "Chemicals! Chemicals!"

He put water on a tissue and covered his mouth and nose, and then went out.

"I saw at least seven people lying on their backs, completely still," he said.

Qusai Zakarya said the rockets crashed with a strange whistle "like a siren".

Friends took him to the hospital, where he saw dozens of people crowding the rooms and corridors, many of them in their underwear.

Nurses and doctors doused them with water. That was when he fainted. When he came to, doctors were injecting him with atropine and he started vomiting.

"Strange colours came out of my stomach," the man said. He fainted again and later woke up in the street outside in his underwear, apparently moved out to make room for others.

Later, he felt well enough to go home and said he slept for 13 hours.

Many children fell ill after the assault

"When I woke up I felt like Alice in Wonderland," he said.

"Everything looked distorted and I couldn't remember anything.

"My eyes felt as if they were on fire, and every time I tried to smell something I felt terrible pain. My chest also ached," he said, his speech interrupted by a hacking cough.

To the east of Damascus, some 600 patients poured into a makeshift hospital in the district of Arbeen. Of those, 125 died, including 35 children.

Abu Akram said he was told by several medics that some people were found in their homes, with wet towels on their faces or hiding with their children in bathrooms.

"People didn't die in their sleep; they tried to save themselves," he said.

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Syria Crisis: US May Act Without Allied Support

Syria: Russia 'To Send Ships To Mediterranean'

Updated: 9:08pm UK, Thursday 29 August 2013

Russia and the US have sent further warships to boost their military capacity in the Mediterannean as expectations grow of an imminent strike on Syria.

Syria's ally Russia is sending an anti-submarine ship and a missile cruiser to the Mediterranean, according to Russian news agency Interfax.

An armed forces source reportedly said the planned deployment was in response to the "well-known situation" - a clear reference to the conflict in Syria.

The navy has denied the deployment is linked to events in Syria, saying it is part of a planned rotation of its ships in the Mediterranean.

In the US, a defence official has said a fifth destroyer, the USS Stout,  has been deployed to the Mediterranean and is "heading and moving east".

The guided missile destroyer is due to relieve the Mahan, but both ships might remain in place for the time being, the official said.

Other destroyers in the region - the Ramage, the Barry and the Gravely - criss-cross the Mediterranean and could launch their Tomahawk missiles toward Syria if so directed by US President Barack Obama.

As military action inched closer, Syrian President Bashar al Assad's forces removed several Scud missiles and dozens of launchers from a base north of Damascus, possibly to protect them from bombardment, opposition sources claimed.

The White House said it is on track to release an unclassified intelligence report on Syria this week, although the information is not a "slam-dunk" that will make an open and shut case for military action.

A spokesman added that what the US is contemplating in terms of its response is "very discrete and limited".

Russia and the US have taken part in an "urgent" meeting of the five permanent UN Security Council members in New York - the second such meeting in two days.

Russia is strongly against any military intervention in Syria, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov believing it would seriously destabilise the region.

Mr Lavrov has said any attack without UN Security Council approval would be a "crude violation" of international law.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin has spoken to German leader Angela Merkel by phone, with the pair agreeing the Syrian conflict can be solved politically, the chancellor's spokesman said.

"The chancellor called on the Russian president to use negotiations in the UN Security Council for a quick, unanimous international reaction," he added.

Public opinion in Germany is overwhelmingly against military action in Syria, less than four weeks before an election in which Mrs Merkel hopes to win a third term.

The warship reports come after US President Barack Obama said the US had studied evidence and concluded that the Syrian government was behind the alleged attack.

Mr Obama said any strike would be to "send a shot across the bow" and give a "pretty strong signal that [Syria] better not do it again".

He added the US had not yet made a firm decision about how to respond, but that it could take action even without the backing of allies or the United Nations.

The president's national security adviser Susan Rice, intelligence director James Clapper, defence secretary Chuck Hagel and secretary of state John Kerry are to brief Congress on Syria later, according to Reuters.

Questions are said to remain about who actually controls some of Syria's chemical weapons and whether President Assad himself explicitly ordered the alleged attack.

Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta told state radio that his country condemned the Assad regime but would not join any military operation without UN Security Council authorisation.

The Syrian leader was shown meeting Yemeni politicians on state television on Thursday.

It quoted President Assad as saying the country would defend itself in the face of any aggression.

A draft resolution by the UK on authorising a strike failed to win the approval of the UN Security Council on Wednesday as Russia reiterated its objections.

China has also entered the discussion and warned the West against any military action. 

"China calls on all parties to exercise restraint and remain calm and to remain committed to the correct track of political solutions," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.

British involvement in any strike will be debated today by politicians in the House of Commons.

Meanwhile, United Nations weapons inspectors set out on Thursday morning for the Damascus suburbs in a third day of investigations.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has pleaded for all sides to hold off on any military strikes.

He said his inspection team would soon finish its investigation, leaving Syria on Friday and reporting their findings to him the following day.

Samples they have collected will go to labs around Europe for testing, AP reported.

Last week's alleged chemical attack is claimed to have killed 1,300 people.

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Syria: Obama Accuses Assad Over Gas Attack

Barack Obama has said any strike against Syria would be to "send a shot across the bow" to deter future chemical weapons attacks.

President Obama said the US had concluded that the Syrian government carried out the large-scale chemical weapons attack against civilians last week.

He said the US had examined evidence and did not believe the rebels possessed chemical weapons or the means to deliver them. 

But he added that the US had not yet made a firm decision about how to respond.

"If we are saying in a clear and decisive but very limited way, we send a shot across the bow saying, stop doing this, this can have a positive impact on our national security over the long term," the President said in a televised interview.

Mr Obama says he is convinced the Assad regime is behind the gas attack

President Obama was asked what would be the strategic rationale behind a US attack, given its potentially limited scope.

He replied that by the end of the engagement, the Syrian government "will have received a pretty strong signal that it better not do it again".

Earlier, the Obama administration said it would take action against the Syrian government even without the backing of allies or the United Nations.

It said diplomatic paralysis - because of "Russia's intransigence" - must not prevent a response to the alleged attack outside the Syrian capital Damascus last week.

"The situation is so serious that it demands a response," the spokeswoman said.

The UN says it needs extra time to analyse tests taken in Damascus

The US says intelligence services had intercepted lower-level Syrian military commanders' communications discussing the chemical attack.

However, the communications don't specifically link the attack to an official senior enough to tie the killings to Assad himself, according to three intelligence officials.

Britain added a hurdle to deliberations when it went to the UN Security Council with a draft resolution that would authorise the use of military force against Syria.

The draft seemed doomed before it was proposed.

As expected, the five permanent members of the security council failed to reach an agreement as Russia reiterated its objections to international intervention.

Russia, along with China, has blocked past attempts to sanction the Assad government.

Russia's Sergei Lavrov has warned against action without UN sanction

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that the use of force without a sanction of the UN Security Council would be a "crude violation" of international law.

David Cameron has called an emergency meeting of the British Parliament on Thursday to vote on whether to endorse international action against Syria.

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Syria Gas Attack: 'My Eyes Were On Fire'

Survivors have described the horrific aftermath of the 'gas attack' in Syria in a series of chilling interviews from Damascus.

Victims told how a gas with "a faint green colour" stung their eyes "like needles", causing their legs to buckle and making their bodies convulse in pain.

One told how he regained consciousness after succumbing to the gas, seeing wild hallucinations "like Alice in Wonderland" with his "eyes on fire".

Others described how they saw hundreds of suffocating, twitching victims in the streets and in hospitals following a barrage of "whistling" rockets.

In several interviews, released by the Associated Press news agency, witnesses told how the rockets made a "strange noise", never heard before.

Girls who survived the attack rest in a mosque in Damascus

The rocket assaults came around the same time on two suburbs on opposite sides of the capital: Moadamiyeh to the west and several districts to the east.

Ammar, a resident who said he miraculously survived the barrage on Moadamiyeh, where 80 people were killed, said he was awakened by shelling around 5am. 

He said he heard a screeching sound, followed by the sound of people screaming on Rawda street below his apartment - and saw the green gas.

"I ran out to see what was going on and saw people in various stages of suffocation and convulsions. I tried to help, but then my legs buckled and I fell to the ground," he said.

Ammar woke up at a makeshift hospital, where he said he spent five days getting oxygen and injections of atropine, which counteracts the effects of nerve gases.

A child victim of the attack which killed more than 300 people

A week later, Ammar said he has not fully recovered. He suffers bouts of cold sweats, exhaustion, hallucinations and a runny nose.

Worst of all, he said, were the nightmares.

"I can't sleep anymore. I keep seeing the people who died, the scenes from the hospital of people twitching and foaming. I can never forget that," said Ammar, 30.

His father, who identified himself by his nickname, Abu Ammar, was at the nearby al-Rawda mosque waiting for dawn prayers when the first rockets hit.

He said some people ran outside and then came back in immediately, shouting: "Chemicals! Chemicals!"

He put water on a tissue and covered his mouth and nose, and then went out.

"I saw at least seven people lying on their backs, completely still," he said.

Many children fell ill after the rocket attack

Qusai Zakarya said the rockets crashed with a strange whistle "like a siren".

Friends took him to the hospital, where he saw dozens of people crowding the rooms and corridors, many of them in their underwear.

Nurses and doctors doused them with water. That was when he fainted. When he came to, doctors were injecting him with atropine and he started vomiting.

"Strange colours came out of my stomach," the man said. He fainted again and later woke up in the street outside in his underwear, apparently moved out to make room for others.

Later, he felt well enough to go home and said he slept for 13 hours.

"When I woke up I felt like Alice in Wonderland," he said. "Everything looked distorted and I couldn't remember anything.

"My eyes felt as if they were on fire, and every time I tried to smell something I felt terrible pain. My chest also ached," he said, his speech interrupted by a hacking cough.

To the east of Damascus, some 600 patients poured into a makeshift hospital in the district of Arbeen. Of those, 125 died, including 35 children.

Abu Akram said he was told by several medics that some people were found in their homes, with wet towels on their faces or hiding with their children in bathrooms.

"People didn't die in their sleep; they tried to save themselves," he said.

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Syria: UN Inspectors Find 'Valuable Evidence'

Chemical weapons experts have gathered "valuable" evidence on a suspected chemical weapons attack near Damascus despite coming under sniper fire, UN officials said.

The attack came as David Cameron spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin amid increasing calls for international action over the alleged massacre. The Prime Minister has cut short his holiday and is expected to make a decision about recalling Parliament tomorrow.

The UN inspection team's lead vehicle was "deliberately shot at multiple times" as they left a government checkpoint during a visit to part of the Syrian capital where hundreds of people were reportedly killed, Martin Nesirky told Sky News.

None of the UN inspectors, who were dressed in body armour, was injured in the attack, which came after two mortar bombs landed close to their hotel. The vehicle's tyres and front window were damaged.

After the shooting, the UN inspectors were able to change vehicles and meet victims of the alleged chemical attack, taking samples for testing before returning to their hotel in Damascus.

The UN's Angela Kane leaves the inspectors' hotel in Damascus

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon did not blame either side for the convoy attack but said he had told his disarmament chief Angela Kane to make a "strong complaint" to the Syrian government.

His spokesman Farhan Haq said in New York: "It was a very productive day and once (the team) has made its evaluations it does intend to continue its work tomorrow."

The team, led by Swedish expert Ake Sellstrom, is "already gathering valuable evidence," he added.

The Assad regime said the inspections in Zamalka and Ein Tarma districts will prove allegations that chemical weapons were used against civilians, including children, were "lies".

But US Secretary Of State John Kerry said chemical weapons had been used and accused President Assad of destroying evidence.

Mr Kerry said the use of chemical weapons was "real and compelling" and that the US and its allies were compiling "additional information" on the suspected attacks.

UN inspectors speak to medics shortly after their convoy was attacked

He said: "For five days the Syrian regime refused to allow the UN investigators access to the site of the attack that would allegedly exonerate them."

"Instead it attacked the area further, shelling it and systematically destroying evidence. That is not the behaviour of a government that has nothing to hide."

White House spokesman Jay Carney added that there was "very little doubt" in the Obama administration's mind that the Syrian government was responsible for using chemical weapons.

The Syrian opposition claims up to 1,300 people were killed, while Doctors Without Borders said 355 people died in hospital from "neurotoxic" symptoms.

Mr Ban said the people of Syria deserved to know the truth, adding: "We cannot allow impunity in what appears to be a grave crime against humanity."

The international community continues to consider its response to the crisis, with Foreign Secretary William Hague warning military action may be the only remaining option.

Doctors Without Borders said 355 people died in the alleged attack

Mr Cameron will chair of a meeting of the UK's National Security Committee on Wednesday after discussing the crisis with President Putin by telephone, Downing Street confirmed.

Mr Putin disagreed with Mr Cameron's assertion that there was "little doubt" the attack was carried out by the Syrian regime, according to a spokesman.

Meanwhile, French politicians are preparing to meet "in the coming days" to decide whether to respond with force, according to the country's foreign minister Laurent Fabius.

There is mounting speculation that France, together with Britain and the US, could back limited airstrikes to demonstrate that deployment of chemical weapons will not be tolerated.

However, Mr Assad said military intervention by the US would fail.

"Failure awaits the United States as in all previous wars it has unleashed," the Syrian president said in an interview with Russian newspaper Izvestia.

Bashar al Assad denied his regime had used chemical weapons

Describing the chemical weapons accusations as "nonsense", Mr Assad added: "Would any state use chemical or any other weapons of mass destruction in a place where its own forces are concentrated? That would go against elementary logic.

"Accusations of this kind are entirely political and the reason for them is the government forces' series of victories over the terrorists."

Mr Assad received backing from two of his main allies, with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warning that the use of force without a UN mandate would violate international law.

Urging the West not to go down a "dangerous path", he said: "If anybody thinks that bombing and destroying the Syrian military infrastructure, and leaving the battlefield for the opponents of the regime to win, would end everything - that is an illusion."

Meanwhile, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed countries outside the Middle East for the turmoil and said states in the region backing the Syrian opposition would be damaged by the conflict.

"The main reason behind the status quo in the region is interference from outside the region," the state news agency Fars quoted Khamenei as saying in a meeting with Oman's Sultan Qaboos.

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Gaddafi's Son Seeks UK Help Over 'Show Trial'

By Lisa Holland, Foreign Affairs Correspondent

The lawyer representing Colonel Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, is urging the British Government to do all it can to prevent him facing trial in Libya and deliver him to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.

John Jones QC told Sky News he fears his client, who faces charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, will be subjected to a 'show trial' and sentenced to death.

He said: "Executing Saif Gaddafi would be a complete violation of the ICC orders so it's logical and right, and a moral and legal obligation on the UK, to intervene."

It follows a Libyan court's decision to sentence to death Colonel Gaddafi's former education minister Ahmed Ibrahim.

The ICC has also raised concerns about the ability of the Libyan authorities to hold the trial and the charges they plan to present against Saif al-Islam.

Saif al-Islam pictured after his capture

Fadi El-Abdallah, a spokesman for the court, told Sky News: "There is no legal representation for him on a national level and the operation of gathering the evidence and protecting the witnesses is not secured."

But the process of transferring Saif al-Islam from Libya to The Hague is proving to be a complex one.

He was captured by rebel fighters from the Libyan city of Zintan in November 2011 and has been held there, in solitary confinement, ever since.

The Libyan Government is struggling to exert its influence over large parts of the country and can't transfer him without the permission of Zintan's militia leaders.

John Jones, QC, says it's further evidence that Mr Gaddafi must be handed over to the ICC.

He was once tipped to lead Libya towards democracy

He said: "Libya's central authorities don't have control of his custody. That proves the point that if there's no control of is custody, if there's no rule of law in Libya, he should be tried in The Hague".

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was once tipped by western governments to lead Libya towards democracy.

Educated at the London School of Economics and considered by many to be the country's de-facto prime minister, he refused to abandon his father when protests sprung in several Libyan cities in early 2011.

He was found by fighters from the Zintan brigade trying to cross into Niger just a month after his father Colonel Gaddafi was captured and killed.

His last public appearance was in May when he briefly appeared in court to answer separate charges of endangering national security after he was accused of providing an ICC lawyer with 'sensitive' documents.

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Mubarak Back In Court After Prison Release

Egypt's former president Hosni Mubarak has appeared in court to answer charges in connection with the killing of protesters in 2011.

It was the 85-year-old's first court appearance since he was released from prison last week and transferred to a military hospital.

Mubarak appeared at a heavily fortified courtroom in eastern Cairo in a wheelchair, wearing sunglasses and dressed in white.

He sat next to his two sons, Gamal and Alaa, and his former security chief Habib al Adly, who are being tried in a separate corruption-related case.

Around a dozen of the ousted leader's supporters gathered outside the court holding placards and chanting: "Hosni Mubarak is the most honourable Arab, Hosni Mubarak is close to our hearts".

Supporters of Mubarak outside court

Mubarak has been in detention since April 2011.

He was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison last year for failing to stop the killing of around 900 protesters in the 18-day uprising, but his sentence was overturned on appeal.

In April, his retrial opened along with those of his security chief and six top police commanders.

His next hearing has been scheduled for September 14.

Defence lawyer Magdy Hafez said: "The court is moving in its natural course, the court does not have to go into reasons for its primary decisions. The court adjourned to September 14th to listen to the rest of the demands of the defence team regardless of whether they have looked at the documents or not."

A judge announces the adjournment of the Muslim Brotherhood trial

In another courtroom across the city, three leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood faced a separate trial on similar charges of involvement in the killing of protesters.

With Egypt now under an army-installed government after last month's overthrow of president Mohamed Morsi, local media seized on the symbolism of scheduling both sessions on the same day.

The al Shorouk daily newspaper ran with the headline: "Trial of two regimes".

Mohamed Badie, the Brotherhood's supreme leader, and his deputies did not appear at the opening of their trial for security reasons, a judicial source said. 

The court postponed proceedings until October 29.

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Syria: Cameron Urged To Recall MPs Over Crisis

David Cameron is under pressure to recall Parliament amid signs the UK and US are preparing to mount missile strikes against the Syrian regime.

MPs have insisted that the Prime Minister must debate the crisis in the Commons before intervening in the wake of alleged chemical weapon use by Bashar al Assad's regime.

Downing Street said summoning the Commons from its summer break had not been ruled out, but stressed Mr Cameron "reserved the ability to take action very swiftly if needed".

Shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander said: "In light of ongoing international developments, it is right that the UK works with the international community to try and find an agreed way forward in Syria.

"If, in reality, the Prime Minister is now considering military options involving UK personnel then of course I would expect him to seek a recall of Parliament and to come to the House of Commons and make his case in advance of a decision being made."

A Downing Street spokesman stressed no decisions had been taken on military action and there was no clear timetable.

A boy recovers after the alleged toxic gas attack last week

However, there is mounting speculation that the US, Britain and France could back limited airstrikes to demonstrate that deployment of chemical weapons will not be tolerated.

Mr Assad has said any attack by the US would "fail", and Russia has warned of "extremely dangerous consequences" if military strikes are launched.

The Syrian government has attempted to take the edge off international criticism by agreeing to let UN inspectors visit the scene where chemical weapons were apparently used last week in the Damascus suburbs of Zamalka and Ein Tarma.

The regime said the visit would prove that claims by the opposition that chemical weapons were used against civilians, including children, were "lies".

The opposition says 1,300 people were killed. Doctors Without Borders has said 355 people died in hospital alone from "neurotoxic" symptoms.

Doctors Without Borders said 355 people died in the attack

As the team of experts prepares to start its investigation today, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said the people of Syria deserved to know the truth.

He said: "We cannot allow impunity in what appears to be a grave crime against humanity."

An intense round of diplomacy has also been continuing, with Mr Cameron and French President Francois Hollande warning that the "crime must not be swept under the carpet".

A Number 10 spokesman said the Prime Minister had agreed with German chancellor Angela Merkel that there was "little doubt" Assad's forces were behind the incident.

Over the weekend Mr Cameron and Barack Obama spent 40 minutes discussing the situation, ordering officials to examine "all options".

Mr Obama previously suggested that the use of chemical weapons in Syria would be a "game changer", but he has stopped short of committing to military intervention - a step that would risk a confrontation with Russia.

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China's Bo Xilai Admits 'Some Responsibility'

The disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai has admitted "some responsibility" for 5m yuan (£514,000) of embezzled public funds.

Bo denies embezzling the money, intended for a local government construction project, but said: "I feel I should take some responsibility" for the money ending up in his wife Gu Kailai's bank account and for failing to investigate.

"I feel ashamed. I was too careless, because these are state funds," he said, according to transcripts that the Intermediate People's Court in Jinan, in eastern China, is providing on its account on Sina Weibo, China's equivalent of Twitter.

The courtroom scenes come after a lurid scandal triggered by the death of British businessman Neil Heywood - for which Bo's wife Gu was convicted of murder - that rocked the ruling Communist Party.

The trial has gripped millions.

Until the admission Bo's performance had been defiant, denying charges of bribe-taking and embezzlement totalling 26.8m yuan (£2.8m).

He also faces accusations of abuse of power in connection with the investigation into Mr Heywood's death, and Wang Lijun, his police chief and right-hand man in Chongqing, appeared in court to testify against him.

Earlier, Bo launched a scathing attack on a key witness, saying even the most stupid official knew not to discuss bribery where they could be overheard.

Wang Zhenggang, a former planning official in Dalian, where Bo was the mayor in the 1990s, told the court the politician had telephoned Gu in front of him in connection with the 5m yuan.

The claim did not make sense, Bo argued.

"It is not even what the most stupid corruption offender would do. Corrupt offenders with even the lowest IQ would ask who else in Dalian was aware of the money," he said.

He added: "All those who know me know that I ask them to switch off their mobile phones before I speak. I am quite cautious."

The court is posting regular but delayed transcripts of the hearings, and no live audio or video is available, nor are any foreign media or independent observers present in the room.

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Syria: Cameron And Obama Condemn 'Attack'

Prime Minister David Cameron and President Barack Obama have said they are both "gravely concerned" over "increasing signs" that an alleged chemical weapons attack took place in Syria.

The two leaders spoke with Canada Prime Minister Stephen Harper by telephone last night as calls increase for UN investigators already in the country to be allowed access to the site of the alleged attack.

A Downing Street spokesperson stressed that any significant use of chemical weapons would merit a "serious response".

The spokesperson added: "The fact that President Assad has failed to cooperate with the UN suggests that the regime has something to hide.

Medecins Sans Frontieres has said 355 people died in the attack

"They reiterated that significant use of chemical weapons would merit a serious response from the international community and both have tasked officials to examine all the options.

"They agreed that it is vital that the world upholds the prohibition on the use of chemical weapons and deters further outrages."

US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said the military is ready to exercise "options" on Syria should force be called for, but he declined to say what that action might be.

The attacks took place in the Damascus suburbs of Zamalka and Ein Tarma

He is under mounting pressure to act over the alleged use of chemical weapons, which humanitarian organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said had killed 355 people due to "neurotoxic" symptoms.

The group said victims flooded three Syrian hospitals after a "chemical massacre" on Wednesday.

MSF director of operations Bart Janssens said the reported symptoms "strongly indicate mass exposure to neurotoxic agent".

He said: "Medical staff working in these facilities provided detailed information to MSF doctors regarding large numbers of patients arriving with symptoms including convulsions, excess saliva, pinpoint pupils, blurred vision and respiratory distress.

A boy recovers after the alleged toxic gas attack on Wednesday

"The reported symptoms of the patients, in addition to the epidemiological pattern of the events - characterised by the massive influx of patients in a short period of time, the origin of the patients, and the contamination of medical and first aid workers - strongly indicate mass exposure to a neurotoxic agent."

Rebel groups have claimed the attack was carried out by Assad's forces and that more than 1,000 people had died. The Syrian regime has denied the allegations.

On Saturday, Iran warned the West against military intervention in Syria and claimed the alleged gas attack was carried out by rebels.

UN disarmament chief Angela Kane has arrived in the capital to press the Assad regime to allow weapon inspectors to assess whether a chemical attack has taken place.

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