Foreign Minister Murray McCully says the Opposition will be offered a formal briefing on Syria before any parliamentary motion is put by the Government.

US President Barack Obama has gained ground in his drive for congressional backing of a military strike against Syria, winning critical support from US House Speaker John Boehner.

'Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me" - so the British Parliament decided that it didn't want to be shamed over Syrian intervention, writes Gwynne Dwyer.

Editorial: Barack Obama said Syria's use of chemical weapons would be a "red line", yet flicking the issue of a US response back to Congress looks a lot like passing the buck.

New Zealand has been asked to pledge moral support for a potential US military strike against Syria but the Government says it is yet to make any commitment.

Edging toward a punitive strike against Syria, President Barack Obama said he was weighing "limited and narrow" action as the Administration bluntly accused Bashar Assad's Government of launching a chemical weapons attack that killed at least 1429 people.

The American and British governments should have seen this coming.

The US administration has bluntly accused Bashar Assad's government of launching a chemical weapons attack that killed at least 1,429 people - far more than previous estimates- including more than 400 children.

President Barack Obama yesterday prepared for the possibility of launching unilateral American military action against Syria within days as Britain opted out in a stunning vote by Parliament.

British PM David Cameron has lost a vote endorsing military action against Syria by 13 votes, a stunning defeat after his government was poised to join the US in strikes.

Al Jazeera correspondent Wayne Hay, formerly a TVNZ reporter, was arrested while covering events in Cairo on Tuesday along with three others, Al Jazeera reported.

Analysts believe Bashar al-Assad's regime is more likely to respond indirectly to any Western strike.

Any international action on the Syrian crisis should be mandated through the United Nations, Foreign Minister Murray McCully has emphasised.

There are two main options. America and its allies could punish President Bashar al-Assad for using chemical weapons and deter their future use.

Almost exactly a year ago US President Barack Obama promised "enormous consequences" if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad crossed a "red line" and used chemical weapons.

United States President Barack Obama has the authority to launch air strikes against Syria.

Over the past few days, American officials have spent a lot of time studying the 1999 Kosovo conflict, with it's parallels to the Syrian conflict readily apparent.

He hasn't been seen for over a year, remaining in the shadows while Bashar al-Assad has been Syria's public face.

If the casualty figures emerging from Syria this week are correct, then Wednesday's massacre on the outskirts of Damascus will be the worst poison gas attack the world has witnessed.

Gwynne Dyer asks, " What, if anything, should the rest of the world do about the tragedy in Egypt?"