Syria and Russia slam US over weapons charge

Syria and Russia have both slammed US allegations that Syrian government forces have used chemical weapons against opposition fighters in the country's civil war, with the Syrian government terming the charge "full of lies".
The commander of the main rebel umbrella group has welcomed the US move, saying that it would lift his fighters' morale.
President Barack Obama's deputy national security adviser, Ben Rhodes, said the US president was planning to step up military assistance to Syrian rebels, as a response to intelligence estimates indicating the use of chemical weapons in the conflict.

Al Jazeera's Jonah Hull reports from London.