Syria's President Bashar Assad has decreed to hold a referendum for a new constitution on February 26, the official SANA state news agency reported on Wednesday.

"President Bashar Assad issued today a decree setting Sunday, February 26, as the date for the referendum on the draft constitution," SANA reported.

Jordan has given assurances to Britain that Islamist cleric Abu Qatada, once dubbed an aide to Osama bin Laden, will get a "fair" trial if London extradites him to the kingdom, a government official said on Wednesday.

"Jordan has reassured British Home Office Minister James Brokenshire that it is committed to protecting the legal rights of Jordanian citizen Abu Qatada," the official told Agence France Presse.

Egypt's first presidential elections since a popular uprising ousted veteran leader Hosni Mubarak a year ago will be held at the end of May, the state-owned al-Ahram daily reported on Wednesday.

The report comes amid mounting pressure against the military rulers who took power after Mubarak's overthrow to cede power to civilian rule.

The United Nations should consider setting up "humanitarian corridors" to get aid to Syrians caught in the brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Wednesday.

"The idea of humanitarian corridors to allow NGOs (non-governmental organizations) to reach zones where there are absolutely scandalous massacres should be discussed at the Security Council," he told France Info radio.

An explosion struck an oil pipeline in the Syrian protest city of Homs on Wednesday, with activists saying government forces bombed it from the air and the regime blaming "terrorists."

"Around 6:00 am (0400 GMT), two military planes bombed a pipeline located on the edge of Baba Amr neighborhood," Hadi Abdullah, of the opposition General Commission of the Syrian Revolution, told Agence France Presse, citing witnesses.

The international community must rule out military intervention as a solution to the Syrian crisis, the leader of a global Islamic group said Wednesday.

Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, secretary general of the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation, said he remained involved in "quiet diplomacy activities" with Syrian President Bashar Assad over the power struggle that has cost around 6,000 lives over the last 11 months. The violence has led to the country's most severe international isolation in more than four decades of Assad family rule.

The Syrian National Council, the main opposition group against President Bashar al-Assad's regime, said it will meet Wednesday in Doha to choose a new leader or extend the term of current head Burhan Ghalioun.

"We are meeting tomorrow in Doha to choose a president. There will be several candidates and we want to take an independent decision, without external interference," SNC spokeswoman Basma Kodmani told Agence France Presse by telephone from Doha.

France is reviewing a range of options proposed by the 22-member Arab League at the United Nations to deal with Syria's deadly clampdown on protesters, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.

"France is examining with its partners in New York all the options put on the table by the Arab League," foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said.

Iranian police and security forces deployed in several areas of Tehran on Tuesday, residents said, to head off any demonstration marking the anniversary of an opposition protest that resulted in two deaths and many arrests.

The forces transported by car, bus and motorbike, many in riot gear, took up positions on key squares and streets in the city, the residents said on condition of anonymity.

Egypt has quashed death sentences against three men convicted of involvement in attacks in the Sinai Peninsula after their trials were deemed unfair, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights said on Tuesday.

The three men -- Mohammed Gayez Sabbah, Usama al-Nakhlawi and Younis Abu-Gareer -- had been sentenced to death in connection with 2004 bombings in the Red Sea resorts of Taba and Nuweiba and 2005 bombings in Sharm el-Sheikh.