Syria ‘spinning out of control’

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says Syria is “rapidly spinning out of control” and warned Syria to protect its stockpile of chemical weapons.  Jordan’s King Abdullah II warns his northern neighbor was on the brink of civil war and that its large stash of chemical weapons could fall into al-Qaeda hands.  The battle for the capital reaches its fourth straight day with a bomb killing President Bashar al-Assad’s key security aides, close to Assad’s own residence.  The defense minister, a key al-Assad ally, the head of the crisis team on the uprising and al-Assad’s brother-in-law were killed with others seriously wounded.  The government said the attack was the work of a suicide bomber, but an officer from the Free Syrian Army said it was a remotely detonated explosive.  Will anyone intervene?  UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged the Security Council to “shoulder its responsibility” as the UN Security Council prepares to vote Thursday on possible sanctions against the Syrian regime.

Read more about the bombing, Jordan’s fears and the UN vote Thursday – all on Rappler.