Abu Dhabi - A high level meeting of a gathering dubbed "Friends of Pakistan" that aims to support Pakistani's stability and developmental process is to convene in Abu Dhabi on Monday, the Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.

The gathering will be under joint chairmanship of the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan.

"The Friends of Pakistan" is comprised of 16-nations which include among others Britain, France, Germany, the United States and China plus the United Nations and the European Union. It also includes multilateral financial agencies and world bodies.

Damascus - Arab League chief Amr Mussa arrived in Damascus Saturday, where he is expected to discuss with Syrian officials a recent broadcast on Syrian TV where prisoners alleged terrorist ties to Lebanon, Lebanese media reported.

The November 6 broadcast showed prisoners confessing to a September bomb blast in Damascus and claiming links exist between the Lebanese parliamentary majority leader and Fatah al-Islam, a militant, Lebanon-based group with ties to al-Qaeda.

The Arab League agreed Thursday to review the circumstances surrounding those confessions.

Amman - Arab stock markets suffered heavy losses this week as gloom engulfed the region amid fears of a global recession.

Thursday's suspension of trading on the Kuwait stock exchange appeared to send a negative message to other markets in the region, financial analysts said Friday.

"I believe the halting of trading in Kuwait by a judicial decision could aggravate the situation not only in Kuwait but also at other Gulf and Arab stock markets," a portfolio manager told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

Amman - Arab stock markets plummeted across the board on Tuesday as global recession fears and falling oil prices helped to fuel already dwindling confidence and panic selling, financial analysts said.

The plunge was led by the Saudi and the United Arab Emirates stock exchanges where lack of cash and departure of foreign investors reportedly put enormous pressures on the psychology of investors, they added.

The Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) of the Saudi stock exchange tumbled 5.21 per cent led by the petrochemical conglomerate, the Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC), as well as the banking and construction sectors.

Cairo - The Palestinian-Israeli peace process will be the main topic of a meeting on Saturday of Arab foreign ministers with representatives of the Middle East diplomatic Quartet in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Shiekh.

"This meeting is important as it can lead to deeper understanding between the Arab countries and the Quartet on how to proceed regionally and internationally to support negotiations between the two sides," said the spokesman of Egyptian Foreign Ministry, Hussam Zaki.

Dubai - The Ruler of the Gulf Arab Emirate of Dubai urged the new US government in a speech on Friday to focus on fixing its economy rather than wars.

"The financial crisis cannot be solved by going to war," said Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid al-Maktoum in a the World Economic Forum in Dubai. "We advise the US administration to focus on their economy rather than wars."

Dubai, part of the United Arab of Emirates, and other states in the Gulf Arab region, have opposed any military action against Iran.