U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos said Monday that Syria has approved a visit to the conflict-stricken country this week.

Following widespread U.N. and Security Council complaints about President Bashar al-Assad's refusal to let her in, Amos said she would arrive in Damascus on Wednesday and leave on Friday.

The U.N. atomic agency chief said Monday "activities" were ongoing at Iran's Parchin military complex, making a trip there by inspectors probing suspected weapons work soon all the more important.

"I cannot get into the details but I can tell you that we are aware that there are some activities at Parchin," Yukiya Amano told reporters at International Atomic Energy Agency headquarters in Vienna.

Former U.N. chief Kofi Annan, who has been named special envoy to Syria for the U.N. and Arab League, will head to Damascus on March 10, Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi told reporters on Monday.

Syria swiftly welcomed the visit, state television said, citing an official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Arab League on Monday named Palestinian diplomat Nasser al-Qudwa to serve as former UN chief Kofi Annan's deputy in his role as international envoy to conflict-stricken Syria.

Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi said that Qudwa, a former foreign minister, had agreed to take on "this very difficult mission during a critical time for Syria."

Iraq has completed its preparations for an Arab summit that is to be held in Baghdad at the end of March, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said in a statement on Monday.

"The president of the republic, Jalal Talabani assured today that special preparations for the Arab summit are completed, and Baghdad is now ready to receive the Arab leaders," the statement on the Iraqi presidency's website said.

Syrian forces on Monday bombarded the city of Rastan for a second straight day, monitors said, as former U.N. chief Kofi Annan and other world envoys prepared a diplomatic drive to end the bloodshed in Syria.

U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos, meanwhile, said Syria had finally approved a visit, which she would make from Wednesday to Friday, following widespread complaints about President Bashar al-Assad's refusal to let her in.

Iran's new parliament will be largely dominated by conservatives who support supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to latest results Monday of last week's election.

The parliament, also known as the Majlis, will have about half of its current members replaced by newcomers, many of whom ran on an "independent" ticket.

Air France cancelled its Paris-Damascus flight on Monday because of unrest linked to ongoing protests against Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime.

"Flight AF-570 is cancelled because of the situation in Syria," a spokesman told Agence France Presse, saying no decision had yet been taken on flights later in the week.

A Palestinian student was in critical condition on Monday after being hit in the head when Israeli troops broke up a protest near Ramallah, medical and security sources said.

Palestinian security sources said the student, 20-year-old Mohammed Abu Awad, was hit in the head by a bullet during a demonstration near the Atara checkpoint, five kilometers north of Ramallah.

Russia will meet with foreign ministers of Arab states to discuss the Syria crisis in Cairo on March 10, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday.

"I especially value today's chance to prepare for a meeting of the foreign ministers of Russia and the Arab League states that will be held in Cairo on March 10," news agencies quoted Lavrov as saying after talks with his Jordanian counterpart Nasser Judeh.