Last updated: March 14, 2014



World News Update, what you need to know

WORLD News Update, what you need to know

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World Breaking News

Obama tells Putin of Syria weapons concern

UN leader Ban Ki-moon

The UN chief has urged Syria to stop blocking an inquiry into the alleged use of chemical weapons. Source: AAP





Obama is under pressure because last year he said that the use or movement of chemical weapons by President Bashar al-Assad's embattled forces would cross a US "red line."





Earlier UN leader Ban Ki-moon made a new plea to Syria to stop blocking an international inquiry into the alleged use of chemical weapons in the country's conflict.

Ban met the head of the investigation team, Ake Sellstrom, as international suspicions about the use of the weapons grow and on the day designated to remember the victims of chemical weapons attacks.

Ban told reporters he "takes seriously" US reports about the weapons and said "I again urge the Syrian authorities to allow the investigation to proceed without delay and without any conditions".

Sellstrom and an advanced team now in Cyprus can deploy to Syria "within 24 to 48 hours", the UN secretary-general said on Monday.

Assad's government asked for a UN inquiry but has refused to let investigators into the country, demanding they be limited to its claims that opposition rebels used chemical weapons near Aleppo on March 19.