Lebanon admitted to regional energy group

A meeting of Arab states and Turkey has approved Lebanon's membership of a regional energy-sharing group.

Jordan's Energy Minister, Wael Sabri -- speaking after a two-day meeting in Amman with ministers from Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Turkey -- also indicated that Libya's request to join the group had been accepted in principle.

Egypt and Jordan linked their power-grids last October -- the cornerstone of a broader scheme to connect the power supplies of the region and provide cheaper and more abundant energy to member states. Lebanon has been suffering chronic electricity shortages because of damage to power plants done in Israeli air attacks and the civil war.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service