US closes embassy in Syria

The United States closed its embassy in Damascus on Monday as President Barack Obama vowed to up the pressure on Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad to step down. Washington said it was pulling all of its remaining diplomats out of Syria just two days after Western countries failed to secure a UN Security Council resolution that would have backed an Arab League call for Assad to leave power. The US decision comes after Russia and China cast a double veto in the Security Council on Saturday effectively blocking UN action against Syria.