Syria

Evidence suggests that some kind of chemical "substance" was used in Syria that may have killed more than 1,000 people, but any military strike in response must first gain U.N. Security Council approval, the U.N.'s special envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi said Wednesday.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has pleaded for a diplomatic solution to the Syrian conflict, even as world powers appear to be moving toward punitive military strikes against President Bashar Assad's regime for what the United States and its allies say was a deadly chemical weapons attack.

The Obama administration tried to bolster its case Tuesday for possible military action against Syria within days, with intelligence agencies preparing to release intercepted communications aimed at proving Bashar Assad perpetrated a large-scale chemical weapons attack on civilians.

Momentum appeared to build Tuesday for Western military action against Syria, with the U.S. and France saying they are in position for a strike, while the government in Damascus vowed to use all possible measures to repel it.

Mounting tensions with Syria sent the stock market sharply lower and pushed the price of crude oil to an 18-month high.

Syria's foreign minister says his country will defend itself using "all means available" in case of a U.S. strike.

Secretary of State John Kerry says chemical weapons were used in Syria and is accusing President Bashar Assad of destroying evidence.

Two top lawmakers are calling for an immediate U.S. military response to the Syria's suspected chemical weapons attack that killed at least a hundred civilians last week.

A senior administration official says there is "very little doubt" that a chemical weapon was used by the Syrian regime against civilians in an incident that killed at least a hundred people last week.

President Barack Obama is calling a possible chemical weapons attack in Syria "big event of grave concern."