The President of the United States Barack Obama has said that US plans for military strikes on Syria could be put on hold if Bashar al-Assad’s government agrees to a Russian proposal to place its chemical weapons under international control.

"I want to make sure that norm against use of chemical weapons is maintained," Mr Obama told ABC News.

"That's in our national security interest. If we can do that without a military strike, that is overwhelmingly my preference."

Syrian president Bashar al-Assad was probably not behind the order to deploy chemical weapons that killed over a thousand people last month.

German tabloid Bild am Sonntag cited unnamed sources from the German intelligence service.

The European Court of Justice has ruled that the European Union should unfreeze assets held by several Iranian banks and other businesses as there was insufficient evidence that the firms were involved in nuclear proliferation.

See here for the EU’s full statement. Extract reproduced below:

"On 21 August, a large-scale chemical attack was perpetrated in the outskirts of Damascus, killing hundreds of people, including many women and children. That attack constituted a blatant violation of international law, a war crime, and a crime against humanity. We were unanimous in condemning in the strongest terms this horrific attack.

Information from a wide variety of sources confirms the existence of such an attack . It seems to indicate strong evidence that the Syrian regime is responsible for these attacks as it is the only one that possesses chemical weapons agents and means of their delivery in a sufficient quantity.

In the face of this cynical use of chemical weapons, the international community cannot remain idle. A clear and strong response is crucial to make clear that such crimes are unacceptable and that there can be no impunity. We must prevent creating a dreadful precedent for the use of chemical weapons in Syria again, or elsewhere.

The Washington Senate Committee passed a resolution in favour of military action on Syria, whilst President Barack Obama, defied pressure from world leaders to abandon plans for air strikes against Syria, during a discussion over the crisis in the Middle-East at the G20 world summit.

Speaking at the end of the G20 discussions, British Prime Minister David Cameron, also outlined the need to act without the backing of the UN security council.