The world's political and business elite gather in the snow-covered resort of Davos from Wednesday, aiming to instill some confidence in the global economy amid tentative signs of recovery.

Some 45 world leaders will rub shoulders with around 2,500 lobbyists, journalists, captains of industry and economists in the picture-postcard Swiss ski resort for the five-day annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Europe's financial chiefs tried Friday to soothe the fears of global chief executives and other political leaders, insisting they have a handle on the eurozone's troubles.

European Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said Friday he hopes a Greek debt restructuring deal would be reached "if not today maybe by the weekend."

New leaders from the countries of the Arab Spring sought to reassure their Western counterparts at the Davos forum that the rise of Islamist parties poses no threat to democracy.

Last year, when a wave of popular revolt swept the Middle East and North Africa, many in the West hoped it might herald a victory for liberalism.

Leaders of the war against hunger said Thursday the financial crisis must not be used as an excuse by the richer world to renege on commitments, warning a failure to act would fuel unrest and immigration.

Ministers, business leaders and U.N. officials gathered at the annual Davos forum said that while the world was now producing more food than ever, there were also more mouths to feed and that a billion people were afflicted by hunger.

The beleaguered Eurozone has put the worst of its debt crisis behind it, France's finance minister told global elites at Davos Saturday, as Germany vowed to defend the stability of the euro.

Christine Lagarde said the success of Tuesday's landmark five-year bond auction worth five billion Euros ($6.8 billion) to raise funds for Ireland and help calm financial markets had boosted confidence in the 17-member bloc.

A small blast shattered two windows but caused no injuries at a hotel near where top business and political leaders are attending the World Economic Forum, Swiss police said Thursday.

The explosion happened in a storage room of the Posthotel Morosani shortly after 9 a.m. local time (0800 GMT) Thursday, regional police spokesman Thomas Hobi told the Associated Press.

The head of the Arab League said Wednesday that Arabs were angry and frustrated and "the name of the game is reform" — a call lent urgency by turmoil of recent days, when a corrupt regime was overthrown in Tunisia and several people died in anti-government riots in Egypt.

Arab League's Secretary-General Amr Moussa, who is Egyptian, spoke to reporters at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, where a panel of Mideast economic experts convened separately to tackle the same question — and generally agreed the region needs better education, more transparent regimes, and cleverer business strategies.