Western Asia

BELGRADE - Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are interested in signing long-term agreements on cooperation in tourism with Serbia, Serbia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications Rasim Ljajic told Tanjug on Thursday.

Nikolic met with Mohammed Nabhan, the ambassador of Palestine in Belgrade, and discussed the forthcoming visit of the President of Palestine to Serbia and the strengthening of economic cooperation.

The date of the Abbas visit has yet to be set. According to the Serbian President's office, Nikolic said that relations with Palestine are "on an upward trend in all segments".

The European Court of Human Rights ordered Turkey to pay EUR 90 M over the invasion of Cyrpus in 1974.

Monday's judgment also says the damages ascribed to Ankara were a compensation for losses the island's population suffered during the invasion, according to the Wall Street Journal.

BELGRADE - Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic met with Palestinian Ambassador Mohammed Nabhan on Monday and stressed that the relations between the two countries were improving and that particular focus should be put on economy and investments in the future.

Cyprus relaxes banking restrictions

Cypriots can now cash cheques and have higher limits on transactions. Also in business news: Switzerland will grant 500 Croatian workers access to the country's labour market.

Banking regulations were imposed last year as part of the austerity measures in Cyprus. [AFP]

A delegation from the troika of international lenders on Tuesday began its fourth assessment of Cyprus’s economy and troubled banking system to see whether Nicosia is meeting its obligations under the bailout.

 Chinese premier will also arrive in the coming weeks and discuss further cooperation with local companies

By Dimitra Manifava

Officials from the United Arab Emirates are set to announce in Athens on Tuesday the UAE’s participation in the share capital of a major Greek construction company active in the sectors of energy and real estate.

Bank of Cyprus will release some of the 933 million euros of deposits still frozen under a recapitalization of the bank last year, it said on Wednesday. [Reuters]

Girls are 'cannon fodder' for Islamic extremists fighting in Syria, experts say

Analysts say extremists are targeting young women when looking for new recruits to join the fighting in Syria.

CAPTION

DUBAI - Businesspeople from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will be paying a visit to Serbia from May 19 through 22 to assess possibilities for cooperation with Serbian colleagues.