The Lebanese economy is at risk from internal political uncertainty, spiraling violence in neighboring Syria and the Eurozone crisis, the International Monetary Fund has warned.

These and other vulnerabilities including high government debt and an ongoing current account deficit saw gross domestic product (GDP) growth sink to an estimated 1.5 percent last year from 7.0 percent in 2010, said the IMF.

The European Central Bank held its key interest rates steady, as expected on Thursday, leaving Eurozone borrowing costs at historic low levels after cutting rates twice in recent months.

The ECB's policy-setting governing council voted to leave the rate for its main refinancing operations unchanged at 1.0 percent at its regular monthly meeting here.

Economic weakness in Europe and the United States and higher oil prices led OPEC to cut its 2012 forecast for growth in global oil demand on Thursday.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries now expects daily demand this year of 88.76 million barrels per day, down from its forecast a month ago of 88.90 million bpd.

Renault stressed on Thursday that the opening of a giant factory in Morocco to build low-cost cars is not a sign that it is abandoning production at home in France.

"It isn't something that is being done to the detriment of France," chief executive Carlos Ghosn said on French RTL radio ahead of an official opening ceremony later on Thursday for the plant outside Tangiers.

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways on Thursday posted a net profit of $14 million for 2011, exceeding its goal of breaking even for the first time ever, a statement said.

The national carrier of the United Arab Emirates said its revenues were up 36 percent in 2011 to $4.1 billion, with net profit touching $14 million.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's party is at its most popular since her government was elected in 2009 despite the crisis, which a majority of Germans believe can be overcome, polls showed Wednesday.

Merkel's center-right Christian Democrats (CDU) are polling at 38 percent, a Forsa survey for Stern magazine showed, the highest level since August 2009, a month before the election which swept her to a second term in power.

Greece reached the hour of decision on Wednesday over more budget cuts demanded by the EU and IMF and a debt deal to obtain a second rescue and close a key chapter in the Eurozone crisis.

Saudi Arabia has pledged to ensure a stable supply of oil to South Korea, which is under pressure from the United States to reduce purchases from Iran, a report said on Wednesday.

The assurances came as South Korea's President Lee Myung-Bak held talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday with Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi and the head of Saudi state oil giant Aramco, Khalid al-Faleh.

Half a million Israeli public and private sector workers began a general strike on Wednesday, shutting down government offices, banks and airport traffic over the rights of contract workers.

Trade union umbrella group Histadrut announced the general strike would go into effect early on Wednesday morning, after late-night talks between the powerful association and the finance ministry broke down.

Commercial traffic has resumed on the strategic Shatt al-Arab waterway after 31 years, with the official opening of a port for oil giant Shell, an Iraqi official said on Tuesday.

Part of the 200 kilometer (120 mile) long waterway forms a section of the border with Iran. An unresolved boundary dispute was a major reason cited by now-executed dictator Saddam Hussein for the 1980-88 war with Iran, which resulted in the waterway's closing.