WORLD IN BRIEF : PERSIAN GULF : Arab Summit Puts Focus on Iran, Oil

Persian Gulf Arab leaders began a four-day summit in Muscat, Oman, to debate how to deal with Iran after its war with Iraq and to discuss the possibility of starting an Arab Common Market to exploit higher oil prices. Omani leader Sultan Kaboos ibn Said, host of the 10th meeting of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council, called for changes in the gulf states to better meet popular demands at a time of democratic changes in Eastern Europe. Other items on the agenda are expected to include the Palestinian uprising in the Israeli-occupied territories and the continuing crisis in Lebanon.