MOD DEFENDS DECISION TO PUT DOWN 'PRINCE WILLIAM' GUARD DOGS...

The Ministry of Defence has defended a decision to put down two guard dogs used to protect the Duke of Cambridge, days after he left his military base.

The Sun reported the dogs were put down following Prince William's final shift as a search and rescue pilot at RAF Valley, in Anglesey, last week.

The MoD said it always tried to re-home dogs and the timing was a coincidence.

Belgian Shepherd Brus was at the end of his working life and Blade, a German Shepherd, had "behavioural issues".

The patrol dogs were said to have been part of a unit providing extra security at RAF Valley and were not providing sole protection for the duke.

'Last resort'

The duke started his training at RAF Valley in January 2009 and graduated as a search and rescue pilot in September 2010.

He announced he was to leave the military to focus on royal duties and charity work after carrying out his final operational shift on 10 September this year.

An MoD spokesman said: "It is true two dogs have been put down, a couple of days after. It was entirely coincidental."

He added that Blade, who also "had a record of veterinary issues", could not be reassigned to other duties.

The spokesman said: "The department's policy is to re-home all military working dogs at the end of their service life wherever practicable.

"Regrettably, however, there are occasions when they have to be put down. This action is only ever taken as a last resort.

"Unfortunately in this case the dogs were unsuitable for re-homing or alternative duties and so sadly, for the animal's welfare, they had to be put down."

SYRIA CRISIS: DESTROYING CHEMICAL WEAPONS 'IS DOABLE'

The chief UN weapons inspector says it will be difficult to find and destroy all of Syria's chemical weapons, but he believes it is achievable.

Ake Sellstrom told the BBC much depended on whether Damascus and the opposition were willing to negotiate.

He said his team concluded after a visit to Syria that the nerve agent sarin was used in an attack in a Damascus area on 21 August.

The UN Security Council is now trying to agree a resolution on the issue.

Western nations blame government forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for the deadly attack in the Ghouta area.

Damascus - backed by Russia - says the opposition forces are to blame.

UN disagreements

Mr Sellstrom told the BBC's Newsday programme that dealing with Syria's chemical arsenal was "doable". "But of course, it will be a stressful work," he added.

"Depending on the position of the Syrian government and the position of the opposition, depending on how much they could negotiate, it could be done.

"It will be a difficult job." Mr Sellstrom also said his team's report may have contributed to Syria saying it was prepared to give up its chemical weapons.

The report, however, did not apportion blame for the attack.

On Tuesday, the five permanent UN Security Council members - France, the UK, the US, Russia and China - met in New York to discuss a resolution on making safe Syria's chemical weapons.

Such a document is seen as a key step in a US-Russia brokered plan under which Syria will disclose its arsenal within a week and eliminate it by mid-2014.

However, there have already been key disagreements over the wording.

France, the UK and US want a resolution carrying the threat of military action but Russia opposes this.

The US and Russia hammered out their plan last weekend after Washington had threatened the Syrian government with military action over a chemical weapons attack in the Ghouta area of Damascus on 21 August.

Sophie Balmer 'ecstasy' death: Man arrested...

An 18-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the death of a teenage girl who was believed to have taken ecstasy.

Sophie Leigh Balmer, 18, from Walton, Merseyside, died in hospital in the early hours of Sunday.

Police believe she had taken a green-coloured ecstasy tablet known as Rockstar shortly before her death.

The man from Litherland was arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of controlled drugs.

Police a the post-mortem examination on Miss Balmer would take place later.

Merseyside Police warned people not to take the green-coloured pill as a "precautionary measure" following her death.

COUNCIL STAFF SUSPENDED OVER DEATH OF 81-YEAR-OLD WOMAN LEFT TO STARVE...

Two council workers have been suspended and face further disciplinary action following a report which found that officials had failed to care for an 81-year-old woman who died after being left without food or medication for nine days.

The serious case review into the death of Gloria Foster, published on Monday by Surrey Safeguarding Adults, says council officials neglected to call her to make alternative care arrangements when the care company looking after her was raided and closed down by immigration officials.

An official subsequently attempted to cover up the oversight, noting in the official log that a phone call had been made to Foster's home. Police records show that there were no calls made to her by the council over the relevant period, according to the serious case review.

Surrey county council apologised for its failures and said disciplinary action would be taken against two members of staff who had already been suspended.

Carefirst24, the care company responsible for visiting Foster four times a day to feed and care for her, was raided by the UK Border Agency on 15 January this year after allegations that the firm was employing illegal immigrants.

The UKBA liaised with officials from both Surrey county council and Sutton council before the raid in order to pass on details of all the clients on the care company's lists and give them time to arrange alternative care.

Care was put in place for everyone except for Foster, a frail widow with dementia, who was entirely dependent on the visits from carers. A note placed in the log book after the discovery of Foster's body stated that a call was made to her home, noting that there was no response, but police records showed that no calls were made.

The review states: "Further inquiries have since established that Surrey county council's telephone systems (landline and mobile) do not contain a record of a call being made to Mrs Foster across a three-week period including 14-16 January 2013. Yet on 25 January it was recorded in the Surrey ASC adults integrated solution (AISS) that there was no reply to a telephone call made to Mrs Foster on 16 January 2013. Mrs Foster's phone did not have an answerphone facility but the police have confirmed there were no incoming calls from any relevant party."

The serious case review panel has concluded that this discrepancy about phone calls "should be the subject of further Surrey county council investigations".

The formal note of the disputed phone call was made in the log books the day after details of Foster's abandonment by social services became headline news.

The senior Surrey council official responsible for setting up alternative care noted on the records on 25 January: "T/C [telephone call] was made to Mrs Foster on 16.1.13, no reply. Unfortunately I did not put this note … at the time I rang as I was busy setting up emergency care for other service users who had the same care agency.

"I did ring this lady but there was no reply. I assumed, which I probably should not have done, that as a self-funder she was able to arrange her own care, in hindsight this lady should have been visited, this was an error on my part."

The report does not name the individual, nor does it call for disciplinary action. However, Andrew Povey, a former leader of Surrey county council who has been campaigning to get more detail about the circumstances leading up to Foster's death, said: "I think that someone must be held responsible; ultimately it is the leader who is responsible."

Foster was discovered by a district nurse, who was making a routine visit to her home, on 24 January. The review states that the nurse found Foster in a "very poor physical state".

"She was cold, lying partially off her bed, which was sodden with urine and faeces, and she appeared dehydrated with cracked lips. The ambulance crew were unable to record a blood pressure or find a radial [wrist] pulse, indicating that her blood pressure was extremely low," it reads.

Surrey county council's strategic director for adult social care, Sarah Mitchell, apologised for what had happened to Foster and promised changes were being made.

"We are very sorry for our failure to help Gloria Foster to get the support she needed. This report points out we should have done more and we completely accept that," she said.

"While we have already made changes following this dreadful case, we'll now act on these findings to do all we can to prevent anything like this happening again. Two members of staff have been suspended and we'll be taking disciplinary action in light of these findings."

Foster died in Epsom hospital 11 days after being admitted.

Friends paid tribute to her in the report. Ann Penston, her closest friend, described Foster as a "gregarious person who would sit down and chat with anybody". She was also described as fiercely independent.

FIVE JAILED OVER THEFT OF 40 ANTI-TANK MINES IN WARRINGTON...

Five men have been jailed over the theft of 40 anti-tank mines from a Ministry of Defence freight train.

The mines were stolen when a goods train stopped at a red light just outside Warrington in October, Liverpool Crown Court heard.

The court was told the gang could have sold the mines, which each contained more than 8kg (17lb) of explosives, to terrorists or serious criminals.

A sixth member of the gang is yet to be sentenced.

The theft of the anti-tank mines led to a major investigation by anti-terror police and the army.

The court heard the thieves intended target had been a nearby Asda depot, and the theft of the mines was "opportunistic".

The prosecution said the gang had cut up the explosives with a saw, causing considerable risk to public safety.

They intended to sell the mines for profit, but the court heard from the defence for one of them that there was "an atmosphere of panic" when they realised what they had.

Most of the mines were recovered from undergrowth near the railway but others were found in woods in Wirral and one was found in a garage in a built-up area in Birkenhead.

The freight train was on its way from a munitions store in Cumbria to Oxfordshire. The mines were then due to be sent overseas.

The court heard the mines can be used to blow up enemy compounds in Afghanistan.

COMEDIAN AND ACTOR BILLY CONNOLLY HAS HAD SURGERY FOR PROSTATE CANCER AND HAS BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH PARKINSON’S DISEASE.

“The operation was a total success, and Billy is fully recovered,” his spokeswoman said.

The 70-year-old Scot began working as a welder in the Glasgow shipyards but quit in the late 1960s to become a folk singer before turning to stand-up.

He has also starred in films including the Oscar-nominated Mrs Brown.

“Billy Connolly recently underwent minor surgery in America after being diagnosed with the very early stages of prostate cancer,” his spokeswoman said.

“In addition, Billy has been assessed as having the initial symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, for which he is receiving the appropriate treatment.”

She added the star would continue to work as normal.

“Billy has been assured by experts that the findings will in no way inhibit or affect his ability to work, and he will start filming a TV series in the near future, as well as undertaking an extensive theatrical tour of New Zealand in the new year,” she said.

Steve Ford, chief executive at Parkinson’s UK, said: “Many people, with the right medication, continue to live a full and active life with Parkinson’s, but for some, it can be life-changing and it is vital that Billy gets the support he needs to live with this complex condition.

“We salute Billy’s bravery in speaking out about his condition at this difficult time.”

Other recent films in which Connolly has starred include the Oscar-winning animated film Brave where he voiced the lead male character and Quartet, which saw him play a womanising former opera star.

In an interview with the BBC earlier this year, he said he wanted to stay young at heart: “Stay young. Me? I’m 37! I haven’t changed my attitude to things since I was 37.”

He also played a dwarf warrior in the second part of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit franchise and finished filming the third instalment at the end of last year.

In December 2012, the star was given the Bafta Scotland award for outstanding contribution.

Connolly began his stand-up career touring clubs known as the bearded Big Yin.

His Great Northern Welly Boot Show eventually reached the London Palladium.

An appearance on Parkinson in the 1970s helped introduce him to a wider audience, and he later said his appearance on the show changed his life. By 2007 he had appeared on the chat show 12 or 13 times.

He completed his first world tour in 1987, including six nights at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

In June 1992, Connolly performed his 25th anniversary concert in Glasgow. It was the subject of an episode of The South Bank Show later that year.

In early January 1994, Connolly began a 40-date “world tour of Scotland” which was broadcast by the BBC, and two years later he did a similar tour in Australia which was also broadcast.

His acting career began to take off in the 1990s as he played a Glaswegian hard man in Down Among the Big Boys and then an 18th Century Scottish inventor of the trap-door gallows in Deacon Brodie, both for the BBC.

Connolly has been married twice, and has five children. His second wife is writer, actress, broadcaster and psychotherapist Pamela Stevenson.

BBC

SYRIA CONFLICT: US ISSUES WARNING ON CHEMICALS PLAN....

The US has said it will wait for details of a Russian proposal on Syrian chemical weapons but warned it would not permit "delays and avoidance".

US Secretary of State John Kerry said the plan must be "swift and verifiable" and warned its implementation would be "exceedingly difficult".

Russia's plan would see the chemical weapons put under international control, with the aim of destruction.

Syria has said it accepts the Russian proposal, though details are sketchy.

France earlier said it would put a strong resolution to the UN Security Council on the control and subsequent destruction of the chemical weapons.

Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said the resolution would threaten "extremely serious" consequences if Syria breached its conditions.

The US claims that Syrian government forces carried out a chemical weapons attack in Damascus on 21 August, killing 1,429 people.

Mr Assad's government blames the attack on rebels fighting to overthrow him, in a conflict that the UN says has claimed some 100,000 lives.

'Hard look'

Mr Kerry said that if the UN were used as the vehicle for pursuing the Russian plan, it must not become a debating society.He told a hearing of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee the US was waiting for details of the Russian proposal, "but we're not waiting for long".

He said: "President Obama will take a hard look at it. But it has to be swift, it has to be real, it has to be verifiable.

"We have to show Syria, Russia and the world we are not going to fall for stalling tactics."

Mr Kerry urged Congress to stand by Mr Obama, saying the president was not asking for a declaration of war, simply for the power to show that the US "means what we say".

There have been few details so far of Russia's plan, but Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier in Moscow that it was "preparing a concrete proposal which will be presented to all interested sides, including the US... a workable, specific, concrete plan".

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, who is in Moscow, was quoted by Russian news agency Interfax as saying: "We held a very fruitful round of talks with [Mr Lavrov] yesterday and he proposed an initiative relating to chemical weapons. And in the evening, we agreed to the Russian initiative."

This would "remove the grounds for American aggression", he said.

The US Senate had been expected to vote this week on a resolution authorising military force, but the Russian plan has led to a postponement.

src BBC

NORTHUMBRIAN WATER SAYS REDCAR FLOOD SCHEMES 'OVERWHELMED'.....

Multimillion-pound flood protection schemes on Teesside were "overwhelmed" during torrential rain on Friday, Northumbrian Water said.

Homeowners in Redcar criticised a water storage system, completed last year, after 60 homes were flooded.

Alistair Baker from Northumbrian Water said the "ferocity" of some storms was "well in excess of the design capabilities" of defence schemes.

Cleveland Fire Brigade received 240 calls for help during the downpours.

Families living at St Joseph's Court in Redcar were among those worse affected.

'Not complacent'

Simon Welch, whose home was flooded, said a storage tank was supposed to relieve the main sewer.

Mr Baker said: "I can say that in that area had it not been for work that was completed, even more homes would have been flooded.

"We are not complacent, we are doing all we can but there is only so much you can do and that work has to be prioritised so that money is spent appropriately and invested in the best way to benefit the most people in as many areas as possible."

Saltburn, Skelton and Skinningrove were also badly hit during Friday's flooding.

GOOD NEWS...!!! US OFFERS DRONES TO COMBAT POACHING...

The Tanzanian Ambassador to the United States, Ms Liberata Mulamula, told the ‘Daily News on Saturday’ in an exclusive interview that these proposals are in reaction to President Barack Obama’s speech when he visited Tanzania in July, this year.

“I have held talks with drone experts and they have helped clear the negative perception I had about them. I have received theproposals and the talks are ongoing,” she said.

On his visit to Tanzania in July, President Obama discussed the possibility of using unarmed, unmanned aircraft to help overstretched park rangers combat the growing problem of elephant poaching in the country’s vast wildlife reserves andnational parks.

Amb. Mulamula said that the speech by President Obama had generated a lot of interest among American conservationists and that they are ready to continue the global campaign against wildlife poaching.

The White House announced that up to 10 million US Dollars in new financial support has been set aside to help tackle poaching for ivory and rhino horn.

This funding includes approximately three million US Dollars in bilateral assistance to South Africa, three million US Dollarsin bilateral assistance to Kenya and four million US Dollars in regional assistance throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

According to a report in the Global Travel Industry News, a global organisation, Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE), an estimated 17,000 elephants were illegally killed in 2011 – a figure likely to be over 25,000 in the continent.

For many of the range states in Central and Western Africa, the extent of the killings now far exceeds the natural population growth rates, forcing their elephants into widespread decline and putting them at risk of extinction in those countries.

The total African elephant populations remain stable owing to effective protection in parts of Southern and Eastern Africa, where there is the majority of the elephant population. Rhino poaching is rampant in Tanzania, but, most of these animals have disappeared, while few remained in highly-protected parks.

About three years ago, wildlife conservationists blamed Tanzania after one of 5 Eastern Black Rhinos from South Africa was gunned down inside the Serengeti National Park.

Amb. Mulamula said that in the one month that she had taken office as the new Tanzanian Ambassador to the United States, she has seen for herself the level of interest among Americans to partner and invest with Tanzania.

These interests include ‘Kilimo Kwanza’ and health where towards the end of the month, ten top notch journalists will be visiting the country on a fact finding mission, while journalists under the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation sponsorship will be coming.

“When the John Hopkins University advertised for the opportunity to visit Tanzania, they had ten slots but believe it or not, over 400 applications were received. It goes without saying that Tanzania is under the spotlight and we will do all we can to positively stay there,” she said.

Ms Mulamula said that it was unfortunate that many Tanzanians have the notion that foreign investors are coming to rip us off, but stressed that without properly using the private sector and our friends, it was next to impossible to meet and achieve out intended goals.

She said it was high time that Tanzanians who have been sitting on potential wealth for too long woke up from slumber and start playing their part in the development of the nation. “We now have the structures, the frameworks, priorities and policies.

The US has everything and so people have to do away with this notion that foreigners are coming to steal from us.

However, if we continue to sleep like it was the case of the royalties in the mining sector, it is possible we will lose more than we gain, a lot of times we are the causes of our problems,” she said.

Source Tanzania Daily News

POLICE REMOVE NINE NAMES FROM SOCA LIST BEFORE PUBLICATION.....

Keith Vaz, chair of the home affairs select committee. (SOCA CHIEF)

Nine names have been removed from a controversial list of clients of rogue private detectives just days before it is expected to be published, Scotland Yard has said.

Trevor Pearce, director general of the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca), refused to release the document despite an ultimatum from MPs earlier this week.

His rejection paved the way for the Home Affairs select committee to publish the names on the list – featuring law firms, insurance companies, financial services groups and celebrities – on Monday, following threats from its chairman, Keith Vaz.

But a Scotland Yard spokesman confirmed that nine names had been withdrawn from the file as they are subject of live investigations.

"In all, nine names have been removed from the Soca Operation Millipede list at the request of the Metropolitan Police Service as they are subject to live and an ongoing investigations," he said.

Five of the names related to Operation Tuleta, the force's investigation into computer hacking and other alleged privacy breaches, he said while four related to other investigations.

The names of about 100 firms and individuals who allegedly used corrupt private investigators was handed from Soca to the committee earlier this year on condition it was not published – sparking a row over transparency.

In his letter to Vaz, Pearce said: "I remain firmly of the view that publishing the list of clients would affect ongoing investigations and inquiries."

Following a heated evidence session on Tuesday, Vaz told Pearce and Stephen Rimmer, Soca's interim chairman, the committee would publish the list on Monday if Soca did not do so first.

The so-called "blue-chip hacking" list was drawn up earlier this year at the request of the committee and relates to Soca's Operation Millipede, which led to the conviction of four private detectives for fraud last year.

In the letter, Pearce said Soca provided the client list to the committee in accordance with Cabinet Office guidelines on the handling of sensitive information in confidence to select committees.

Vaz confirmed on 15 July that the committee would treat the list as confidential, Pearce said.

The director-general said the information commissioner and the Metropolitan Police did not want the names on the list published.

Pearce said: "I note the points raised by the committee in respect of individuals and companies wanting to know whether they are on the list, as this would inform their engagement with private investigators.

"All businesses should take proactive measures to ensure that where they use private investigators they do so in a lawful manner, irrespective of whether they are concerned as to whether or not they are on the list.

"I am clear, as is the Soca chairman, that Soca's responsibility in ensuring the integrity of an investigative process in the interests of justice has not changed and that therefore the confidential material as presented to and agreed with you should remain confidential."

Up to 100 individuals may have had their details accessed by the private investigators, Pearce previously revealed.

The information commissioner's office last week announced its own investigation into nearly 100 of the private eyes' clients.

Commenting on the row, prime minister David Cameron said: "There is the specific issue of an agreement between Soca and the Home Affairs select committee, and I think that is a matter for them.

"Select committees are quite correctly independent of government. If they reach an agreement with an independent agency about confidentiality that is a matter for them, that is not a matter for me.

"More generally, let me make two points. Hacking is wrong. It is against the law, and people who do it should be punished. As I've said on many occasions, the law should follow where the evidence leads.

"Secondly, we do have in our country – and I think it's right – an open system of justice. That's the way it should be. And that applies, as far as I'm concerned unless there are specific exemptions as there are in some very specific cases, the open system of justice should be just that."

-the guardian

SYRIA CRISIS: OBAMA SAYS WORLD'S CREDIBILITY ON THE LINE....

President Barack Obama has said the credibility of the US Congress and the international community is on the line over their response to Syria's alleged use of chemical weapons.

Mr Obama, who was speaking in Sweden, is trying to build support in the US for military action against Syria.

He said the world should stick to its own red line against the use of "abhorrent" chemical weapons.

Congress will vote next week on whether to support the proposed action.

On Tuesday evening, members of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations agreed on a draft resolution to go before the house.

According to the draft resolution, the operation would be restricted to a "limited and tailored use of the United States Armed Forces against Syria", and prohibit the use of any ground forces.

Mr Obama was asked in Stockholm whether the decision to ask Congress to vote before taking military action - which he was not constitutionally obliged to do - had put his credibility at stake.

"My credibility is not on the line. The international community's credibility is on the line," he replied.

President Obama said he believed Congress would give its backing to military action against Syria

"America and Congress's credibility is on the line, because we give lip service to the notion that these international norms are important."

He said he believed Congress would give its backing, because America "recognises that if the international community fails to maintain certain norms and standards that govern how countries interact and people are treated that over time this world becomes less safe".

Mr Obama had previously said that the use of chemical weapons would cross a red line.

But he insisted that it was not he who set this line but the international community, by signing a treaty saying their use was "abhorrent", and Congress by ratifying it.

The US has put the death toll from the alleged chemical attack on the outskirts of Damascus on 21 August at 1,429, though other countries and organisations have given lower figures.

Joachim LOEW BEMUSED BY "REAL SELLING OZIL TO ARSENAL..."

Mesut Ozil's move to Arsenal is good for the German national side, coach Joachim Loew believes, but he is bemused by Real Madrid's decision to sell their midfield star.

Ozil, 24, joined Premier League side Arsenal for 50 million euros on Monday's transfer deadline day after Real completed the signing of Gareth Bale from Tottenham Hotspur.

Loew said he was happy to see Ozil move to the Gunners to work under coach Arsene Wenger, but bemused as to why Real let him go.

"The transfer is good for the national team, he will have a top coach at Arsenal and will be playing at a very high level, that'll suit him well," said Loew with Germany hosting Austria in a World Cup qualifier in Munich on Friday.

"I have heard a few players like Cristiano Ronaldo or Sami Khedira are sad to lose a class player.

"And for me it's hard to understand why Real let one of their top scorers go, but that's business."

Ozil netted 10 goals for Real last season, setting up a further 24 as Cristiano Ronaldo finished as Real's top scorer with 55.

Loew said he has already noticed Ozil is clearly "happy and satisfied" with the move during his training sessions with the Germany squad in Munich.

"He's a sensitive player who needs a lot of confidence in him from his club and coach," said Loew.

"I phoned him in the days before the transfer, because you could feel that this trust was not quite 100 percent there."

Ozil has made 47 appearances for Germany, scoring 14 goals.

SYRIA CRISIS: OBAMA WINS BACKING FOR MILITARY STRIKE...

President Barack Obama has won backing from key US political figures on his plans for a military strike on Syria.

Mr Obama said a "limited" strike was needed to degrade President Bashar al-Assad's capabilities in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack.

Key Republican leaders John Boehner and Eric Cantor both signalled their support for military action. Congress is expected to vote next week.

The UN earlier confirmed that more than two million Syrians were now refugees.

More than 100,000 people are thought to have died since the uprising against President Assad began in March 2011.

'Broader strategy'

President Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden met House Speaker John Boehner, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and the chairmen and ranking members from the national security committees in Washington on Tuesday.

Mr Boehner signalled his support for Mr Obama's call for action, saying that only the US had the capacity to stop President Assad. Mr Boehner urged his colleagues in Congress to follow suit.

Mr Cantor, the House of Representatives majority leader, said he also backed Mr Obama.

Mr Cantor said: "Assad's Syria, a state sponsor of terrorism, is the epitome of a rogue state, and it has long posed a direct threat to American interests and to our partners."

Ms Pelosi said she did not believe Congress would reject a resolution calling for force.

Mr Obama said that Mr Assad had to be held accountable for the chemical attack and that he was confident Congress would back him.

He said he was proposing military action that would degrade President Assad's capacity to use chemical weapons "now and in the future".

"What we are envisioning is something limited. It is something proportional," the president said.

"At the same time we have a broader strategy that will allow us to upgrade the capabilities of the opposition."

Secretary of State John Kerry, Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel and the top US military officer, Gen Martin Dempsey, are to appear later on Tuesday before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

There will also be a classified briefing for all members of Congress.

Mr Obama will head to Sweden late on Tuesday for a G20 meeting sure to be dominated by Syria.

France has strongly backed the US plan for military action.

President Francois Hollande said on Tuesday: "When a chemical massacre takes place, when the world is informed of it, when the evidence is delivered, when the guilty parties are known, then there must be an answer."

He called for Europe to unite on the issue, but said he would wait for the Congress vote.

If Congress did not support military action France "would not act alone", he said.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron had also backed Mr Obama, but Parliament rejected a resolution on military action.

On Tuesday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that the organisation's charter permitted military action only in self defence or with the agreement of the Security Council.

Mr Ban said a US military response could create more turmoil, but that if chemical weapons had been used in Syria then the Security Council should unite and take action against what would be "an outrageous war crime".

The US has put the death toll from the attack on the outskirts of Damascus on 21 August at 1,429, including 426 children, though other countries and organisations have given lower figures.

The Syrian government denies any involvement.

In an interview with French newspaper Le Figaro on Monday, President Assad said such an action would have been "illogical".

He warned that foreign military action could ignite a wider regional conflict.

As tensions rose on Tuesday, a senior Israeli defence official confirmed to the BBC that a missile had been fired to test its defence systems.

The BBC's Richard Galpin in Jerusalem says it is a sign that Israel is taking very seriously the possibility that any US air strikes could lead to retaliatory attacks on Israel - either by Syria itself or by its ally, the Shia militia Hezbollah in Lebanon.

'Overwhelming burden'

Earlier, the UN refugee agency said that more than two million Syrians were now registered as refugees, after the total went up by a million in the past six months.

It said in a statement: "Syria is haemorrhaging women, children and men who cross borders often with little more than the clothes on their backs."

Around half of those forced to leave are children, UN agencies estimate, with about three-quarters of them under 11.

As well as those who have left the country, a further 4.25 million have been displaced within Syria, the UNHCR says, meaning that more people from Syria are now forcibly displaced than from other country.

Pointing out that more than 97% of Syria's refugees are being hosted by countries in the surrounding region, the UNHCR said the influx was "placing an overwhelming burden on their infrastructures, economies and societies".

It appealed again for "massive international support".

On Tuesday, Sweden announced it would become the first European country to grant asylum to all Syrian refugees who apply. They will get permanent resident status.

Sweden has taken in 14,700 asylum seekers from Syria since 2012.

The UN says this is the worst refugee crisis for 20 years, with numbers not seen since the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.