Erstellt am: 26. 8. 2013 - 14:18 Uhr

Crossing the red line?

Reality Check: Syria, chemical weapons and the international response; the illegality of spying on the United Nations.

Syria

A team of United Nations weapons inspectors is investigating an alleged chemical attack near the Syrian capital Damascus.

EPA

The United States and Britain have made it clear they believe access to the site was granted too late and that the Syrian government was behind the attack. So is this the “red line” that was drawn a year ago by President Obama and if it triggers military action, what then? Analysis and comment from Rosemary Hollis, Professor of Middle East Policy Studies and director of the Olive Tree Programme at City University in London:

NSA & UN

The Guardian newspaper first reported in June that the National Security Agency in the US was collecting the telephone records of millions of American customers of Verizon under a secret court order. There followed more stories in the Guardian and The Washington Post exposing further surveillance operations. Now der Spiegel says the NSA bugged the United Nations' New York headquarters and that the secret documents obtained by Edward Snowden show how the United States systematically spied on other states and institutions, like the European Union and the Vienna-based nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency. We hear from journalist and international law expert, Andreas Zumach, about the legality of such activities and the possible repercussions of these latest revelations: