'No doubt' Syria used chemical arms, says US Vice-President Joe Biden

'No doubt' Syria used
chemical arms, says US
Vice-President Joe
Biden
28 August 2013 Last updated at 07:50
US Vice-President Joe Biden has said
there is "no doubt" that the Syrian
government has used chemical
weapons and that it must be held
accountable.
The US has said its military is ready to
launch strikes should President Barack
Obama order an attack, and allies say
they too are ready to act.
The Syrian government has strongly
denied claims it used chemical weapons.
UN weapons inspectors are set to return
to the site of last week's suspected attack
near Damascus on Wednesday.
Their evidence-gathering visit was
delayed by a day after they were fired
on.
The US says it will release its own
intelligence report into the incident at
Ghouta, a suburb of the capital, in the
coming days.
More than 300 people reportedly died
there.
President Obama is said to have made at
least 88 calls to foreign leaders since
Wednesday's suspected attack, and
spoke to UK Prime Minister David
Cameron for the second time on
Tuesday.
Mr Cameron said the world could "not
stand idly by", and French President
Francois Hollande said France was
"ready to punish" whoever was behind
the attack.
The UK's National Security Council is due
to convene on Wednesday to discuss
possible responses, while Parliament is to
be recalled on Thursday.
On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov warned that "attempts at a
military solution will lead only to the
further destabilisation" in Syria and the
region.
Mr Lavrov emphasised the need for a
political solution in a phone call to the
joint UN-Arab League envoy to Syria,
Lakhdar Brahimi, the foreign ministry in
Moscow said.
Russia, China and Iran have previously
warned against launching an attack on
the war-ravaged country, where more
than 100,000 people are thought to
have died in two years of fighting.
Stocks have fallen on global markets and
oil prices have shot up amid growing
concern about an impending attack.
No 'regime change'
The US has not yet released its
intelligence report into the alleged
chemical attack, but US officials now say
they are certain the Syrian government
was behind the incident.
Mr Biden is the most senior member of
the Obama administration to blame the
Syrian government for the attack.
In a speech to a veterans' group in
Houston, he said there was "no doubt
who was responsible for this heinous use
of chemical weapons in Syria: the Syrian
regime".
He said that "those who use chemical
weapons against defenceless men,
women, and children... must be held
accountable".
White House spokesman Jay Carney
earlier said it would be "fanciful" to think
anyone else could be responsible - saying
the Syrian regime remained in control of
the country's chemical arsenal and used
the type of rocket that carried the
payload used last Wednesday.
But he insisted there were no plans for
"regime change". Any military campaign
is likely to be limited in scope, with
missile strikes targeting military sites and
no ground troops.
US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel told
the BBC on Tuesday the US military had
"moved assets in place" so all options
were available to the president.
The head of the UN chemical inspectors
team, Ake Sellstrom, and the UN's
disarmament chief, Angela Kane, left their
hotel in Damascus on Tuesday.
UN chemical weapons inspectors spent
nearly three hours in the suburb of
Muadhamiya in western Damascus on
Monday.

Politicien goes for trail in china.

Bo Xilai: Disgraced
politician goes on trial
in China
22 August 2013 Last updated at
07:51
Bo Xilai, the disgraced Chinese
politician once tipped for the
highest office, has gone on trial on
charges of bribery, corruption and
abuse of power.
The former Chongqing Communist
Party leader is accused of accepting
money from two businessmen, the
court said. He has so far denied
one charge.
The abuse of power charge relates
to his wife's role in the murder of a
British businessman, the court said.
Mr Bo's trial is China's most
politically-charged in decades.
Two years ago the 64-year-old high-
flier was seen as a candidate for
promotion to the Politburo Standing
Committee, China's seven-member
top decision-making body.
But in February 2012, as China
prepared for its once-in-a-decade
leadership handover, questions
emerged over the death of the
British businessman, Neil Heywood.
Mr Bo's wife, Gu Kailai, has since
been convicted of Mr Heywood's
murder. Mr Bo faces multiple
charges and is widely expected to
be found guilty.
His downfall was seen as the
biggest political shake-up to hit
China's ruling elite in decades.
'Fairly and justly'
The trial - which started at 08:30
(00:30 GMT) - is taking place at the
Intermediate People's Court in
Jinan, which is in Shandong
province. The court is providing an
account of proceedings on its
official microblog .
"I hope the judge will try this case
fairly and justly according to the
law of the country," Mr Bo
reportedly said.
Five of Mr Bo's relatives are said to
be in court, along with 19
journalists and 84 other people.
Foreign journalists have not been
allowed in.
According to the indictment posted
by the court, Mr Bo is accused of
receiving bribes totalling 21.8m
yuan ($3.56m; £2.28m) from two
Dalian-based businessmen.
The court microblog quoted Mr Bo
as saying about one of the cases:
"That Tang Xiaolin gave me three
bribes - that did not happen. He
asked me to help him sort out
something, and these were all done
according to procedure."
Mr Bo said he had admitted this
"against his will" under
questioning, adding: "What I meant
was that I was willing to take the
legal responsibility but I had no
idea of all these details back then."
The abuse of power charge is
connected to his wife's role in Mr
Heywood's murder and his
treatment of Wang Lijun, his now-
jailed former police chief whose
flight to the US consulate brought
the case out into the open, the
court indictment said.
Bo Xilai - once seen as a top leader

Barcelona goalkeeper Victor
Valdes has hailed his side's start
to life under new boss Gerardo
Martino.
The Argentine coach took charge
of his first competitive fixture
since taking the reins from Tito
Vilanova on Sunday, as the
Catalan club began the defence
of their La Liga crown with a 7-0
victory against Levante.
And Valdes has expressed delight
with Barca's performance in the
rout, citing their relentless
pressing as key to the win.
"It has been one of the best
starts. You can see the team is
intense, defending much higher
to recover the ball and moving
quickly to the opposition goal. It
was what the coach wanted," he
said.
The 31-year-old also revealed his
belief that Barca have regained
their identity following a difficult
2012-13 campaign in which
Vilanova's health was a constant
source of worry.
"Last year was unusual with the
illness of the coach and certain
aspects could not work because of
what happened with Tito," he
added.
"To begin in this way is good. We
have recovered aspects of the
past and we hope that it will
continue this way."
Valdes went on to discuss Real
Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti's
decision to omit Iker Casillas from
his starting line-up for the
opening game of the season -
with Diego Lopez starting in his
place.
"It surprises me. In the
Confederations Cup we saw how
good and focused he is," he
continued.
"I have seen him make saves that
I did not think possible. For me,
he is the best, but I cannot say
more because it is not my
squad."