BEIRUT: Syrian President Bashar Assad announced Sunday the scrapping of military field courts where thousands are thought to have been sentenced to death without due process, but activists remained cautious about the move’s impact.
Assad issued a legislative decree “ending the work” of the original 1968 proclamation that created the courts, the presidency said in a statement.

TEHRAN: Two female Iranian journalists will spend around a month behind bars as part of a three-year partly suspended prison sentence for “conspiracy” and “collusion,” local media reported on Sunday.
Under the sentence, Negin Bagheri and Elnaz Mohammadi will serve one-fortieth of the term, or less than a month, in prison, their lawyer Amir Raisian told the reformist Ham Mihan daily newspaper, where Mohammadi works.

ALGIERS: Algeria said Sunday its security forces had opened fire this week after a group of jet skiers from Morocco ignored warning shots and refused to comply with orders to stop.

BEIRUT: The US Embassy in Syria said on Sunday that senior officials had met Kurdish-led forces and community leaders in eastern Syria, discussing the need for de-escalation after days of deadly violence.

AMMAN: Fayez Basbous, chairman of the Palestine Committee in Jordan’s Lower House, reaffirmed King Abdullah’s commitment to reviving solidarity with the Palestinian cause, Jordan News Agency reported.

The statement was made during the committee’s meeting on Sunday with Dr. Ahmed Bakr, secretary-general of the Union of Arab Academics. 

Basbous stressed the need to support the Palestinian people in securing their rights, and urged the union to continue its role in raising awareness of the Palestinian cause.