In a few days the Arab summit will be held in Doha, and the campaign for Lebanon’s parliamentary election, on the 7th of June begins. It will be a decisive vote in Lebanese history, caught as the country is in a vortex of regional and international variables.

The African Union on Tuesday maintained sanctions against Mauritania's junta, in defiance of the pan-African body's chairman Moamer Kadhafi, an official told AFP.

Libya will invest $10 billion to $12 billion in its oil industry this year, exceeding its total investment from last year, chairman of Libyan National Oil Co. Shukri Ghanem said last week.

The Rezidor Hotel Group has opened the Middle East's first Park Inn hotels in Saudi Arabia and the Sultanate of Oman, with the 148 room Park Inn Al Khobar and the 175 room Park Inn Muscat already welcoming the first guests.