BREAKING NEWS

China believes arms firm did not violate rules in Syria

China's foreign ministry said on Friday that it did not believe that the country's biggest arms maker had violated any international conventions, after a canister bearing its name was shown in footage believed to document a gas attack in Syria.

Attacks this month in several areas in Syria share characteristics that have led analysts to believe that there is a coordinated chlorine bomb campaign, with growing evidence that it is the government side using chemical weapons.

In the rebel-held village of Kfar Zeita in the central province of Hama, 125 miles (200 km) north of Damascus, opposition activists uploaded video of people choking and being fed oxygen following what they said were bombs dropped from helicopters on April 11 and 12.

Further footage showed a partially exploded canister with the chemical symbol for chlorine along with the name of Chinese arms manufacturer Norinco.