Syrian security forces have fired upon people in the village of Baida, near the coastal town of Baniyas in the country’s northeast, injuring at least one person, witnesses tell Al Jazeera.

Army has been deployed in Syria”s coastal city of Baniyas after several people were killed by men loyal to Bashar al-Assad, the president, residents have said.An eyewitness from Baniyas told Al Jazeera on Monday that the army had been deployed inside the city after initially sealing it off.

A controversial ban on face veils has come into force in France, meaning anyone wearing the Muslim niqab or burqa in public will face a fine of up to $216 and a citizenship course.

Yemen’s embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh has accepted a proposal by Persian Gulf Arab states to hand power to his deputy.“The presidency welcomes the efforts of our brothers in the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council ([P]GCC) to solve the current crisis in Yemen,” a statement released by Saleh’s office said on Monday, Reuters reported.

Throwing the ceasefire ball in each other’s court, Gaza Strip’s Hamas rulers said on Sunday they were willing to end the recent round of fighting with Israel after a similar offer by Israel’s Defense Minister.

The first Islamic University in the history of Albania was inaugurated on Thursday in the suburbs of Tirana, the country’s capitol.At the ceremony, the head of Albania’s Muslim community, Haxhi Selim Muca, said that Islam is not a religion of violence and destruction, but a religion of faith and knowledge.

A Syrian rights group accused state security forces on Saturday of committing a crime against humanity, saying they had killed at least 37 people during Friday’s demonstrations across the country.

Sudan’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday it would report Israel to the U.N. Security Council about a missile attack on its east that killed two people.

At least two Palestinians have been killed after Israeli fighter jets pounded near the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, medics say.The Friday morning strike hit Khuza’a, an area near the border that lies ine eastern Khan Younis, a spokesman for the emergency services told AFP.

Security forces and armed men in civilian clothes have opened fire during protests in the city of Taiz in southern Yemen, a day after clashes there killed 15 people, witnesses said.