The US Congress is holding its first public hearing about plans for military intervention in Syria as Barack Obama tries to convince the country of the need to respond to the chemical weapons attack.

The Syrian regime spent days carefully preparing to launch a chemical weapons attack, US Secretary of State John Kerry has disclosed.

The Pentagon is moving naval forces closer to Syria in case President Barack Obama decides to order military strikes, US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel has suggested.

World leaders have come under pressure to take concrete action after hundreds of people were killed in a chemical weapons attack in Syria.

US president Barack Obama today promised to work closely with Israel and do whatever is necessary to keep Iran from obtaining nuclear arms, “the world’s worst weapons”.

The Syrian military has bombarded the outskirts of Damascus and other areas around the country, according to activists.

European nations dropped an explicit threat of sanctions against the Syrian regime of President Bashar Assad to try to win Russian support for what would be the first UN resolution condemning his military crackdown on civilian protesters.

Syrian security forces killed seven people as they opened fire to disperse thousands of protesters rallying against the country's regime on the first day of a Muslim holiday that marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, activists said.

A besieged Syrian city came under fresh artillery fire early today as a deadly military assault left President Bashar Assad’s regime increasingly isolated, with Arab nations forcefully joining the international chorus of condemnation for the first time.

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met Syrian government officials today for talks criticised by the White House as undermining American efforts to isolate the hard-line Arab country.