BBC News with Iain Purdon
President Obama has said he's horrified at what he called the Syrian government's "
brutality
against its own people". His comments came at the end of one of the bloodiest days since the uprising began in mid-March. At least 100 people have been killed across Syria in government
offensive
s against opposition protesters. Marcus George reports from Washington.
In a strongly-worded statement, President Obama said he was
appall
ed by the violence in Hama, which he said demonstrated the true character of the Syrian regime. He accused President Bashar al-Assad of using torture and terror against his own people, and such actions would ensure he'd be left on the wrong side of history. But he had praise for the Syrian people; they were courageous, and the United States, he said, would continue to stand with them. In recent weeks, Washington has hardened its tone against President Assad, but so far it's avoided any
explicit
call for him to hand over power.
The leader of the Republicans in the United States Senate says agreement is very close on a deal to raise the limit on US borrowing to
avert
an unprecedented default on America's debt. Mark Mardell reports from Washington.
The crisis has been caused because the Republicans, who control the House of Representatives, insist that the debt ceiling should not be raised without dealing with the national debt.