Asia

A wave of attacks in Iraq, including a suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque in Baghdad, killed 27 people Tuesday, the latest in a protracted surge in bloodshed.
      
In the deadliest attack, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance to a Shiite mosque in central Baghdad's Shorja neighbourhood as worshippers were performing ablutions ahead of mid-day prayers.
      

"Europe needs Turkey more than Turkey needs EU"

ANKARA -- Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan says European Parliament elections that saw right-wing parties strengthen indicate "the threat of growing racism in Europe."

A European Commission report on the quality of bathing waters in the bloc in 2013 published on Tuesday showed that 93 percent of Greek beaches have excellent water quality, ranking the Mediterranean destination fifth behind Cyprus and Luxembourg (100 percent), Malta (99 percent excellent) and Croatia (95 percent).

BELGRADE – Serbian Finance Minister Lazar Krstic said Tuesday that Serbia has taken a USD 1 billion loan from the Abu Dhabi government under favorable conditions, and he believes it will have a positive effect on investors.

The world's chemical watchdog on Tuesday denied a report by the Syrian government that investigators and their drivers on a fact-finding mission were kidnapped, saying the group was "safe" and returning to base after an attack.
      

Greece’s largest toy seller, Jumbo, on Monday reported a 44 percent rise in net profit for the nine months to March, helped by the absence of a one-off impairment in Cyprus that affected the comparable figure from the year before.

By Aoife White

Cyprus bank depositors sued the European Central Bank and the European Commission for putting them in the firing line as part of last year’s rescue package for the crisis-hit Mediterranean nation.

The savers filed four lawsuits demanding compensation after they were hit by forced losses on deposits at Bank of Cyprus Pcl and Cyprus Popular Bank Pcl.

Bulgaria's Refugee Agency threatened the Syrian refugees of stripping them off their status, if they vote in the Syrian presidential elections on May 28, reports Sega daily.

China has opened its first environmental court, as the country is struggling to cope with the impact its rapid industrialization has had on nature.

The court in the southern province of Fujian will be able to make use of a new environmental law giving more powers to persecute polluters from January 1, 2015.

US Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday said Cyprus has the potential to become a “key player” in the Eastern Mediterranean and expressed Washington’s support for a resolution to new peace talks on the divided island.