Iranian lawmakers on Sunday delayed taking action on a proposed bill to immediately cut oil exports to Europe in retaliation for an EU oil embargo, the parliament's energy commission said.

"No bill has been designed nor has it come to the parliament," commission spokesman Emad Hosseini told Mehr news agency.

Jordanian police in the southern city of Tafileh fired tear gas on Sunday to disperse angry stone-throwing demonstrators who called on authorities to make good on their promise of jobs, the governor said.

"Scores of unemployed men blocked the main road in the city, throwing stones at government buildings as well as police," Hashem Sehiem told the state-run Petra news agency.

Candidates contesting a general election in Kuwait this week are calling for sweeping reforms including a new constitution that would turn the oil-rich Gulf state into a full democracy.

Their demands range from the establishment of a Western-style, multi-party system, an elected government and a constitutional monarchy, effectively limiting powers enjoyed by the ruling al-Sabah family.

Israel laid out a vision for an "impossible" border during exploratory talks with the Palestinians in Amman this month, a Palestinian official told Agence France Presse on Sunday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Israeli officials presented principles for their policy on future borders during the final round of the discussions organized by Jordan and the peacemaking Quartet.

Fierce clashes approached the Syrian capital on Sunday as fresh violence across the country killed at least 59 civilians, 31 regime troops and nine army deserters, according to activists.

Regime forces fired heavy artillery and mortar rounds against the Damascus suburbs of Douma, Saqba, Irbin and Hamouriyeh and were locked in close battle with rebel fighters emboldened by a fresh wave of desertions, activists said.

Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi said on Sunday he hopes Russia and China will change their stance on Syria and allow the U.N. Security Council to issue a resolution backing a League plan to end the crisis.

"I hope these two countries will alter their position concerning the draft U.N. Security Council resolution which would adopt the Arab plan," Arabi said before leaving Cairo for the United Nations in New York.

Russia on Sunday slammed a decision to suspend the Arab League's observer mission in Syria after a deadly crackdown on anti-government protesters.

"We would like to know why they are treating such a useful instrument in this way," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on a visit to Brunei, cited by the Russian ITAR-TASS news agency.

Egyptians headed to the polls on Sunday for the election of the upper house of parliament, with Islamists looking to build on their triumph in the People's Assembly.

Polling stations opened at 8:00 am (0600 GMT) with only a handful of voters in several stations, an Agence France Presse reporter said, in sharp contrast to the long lines and enthusiasm around the elections for the lower house of parliament.

Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is due to step down next month, arrived Saturday in the United States on a politically sensitive visit to seek medical treatment for wounds inflicted in a bombing.

The embattled leader flew from Oman to the United States with a brief refueling stop at Stansted Airport outside London, ending days of speculation about whether or when he would make the trip.

European and Arab U.N. members on Saturday started rewriting a proposed Security Council resolution condemning Syria's deadly crackdown on dissent after the Arab League suspended its monitoring mission in Syria.

European countries said the withdrawal highlighted the need for U.N. action. France's foreign minister contacted his Russia counterpart in a bid to overcome Moscow's resistance to the draft resolution officially presented on Friday, diplomats said.