Nicosia

NICOSIA – Cyprus will grant its first license for a casino resort within about a year, the government said on Friday, to be built in the south of the island where gambling has been strictly prohibited. Scores of Greek Cypriots regularly cross into the north of Cyprus, a breakaway Turkish Cypriot state recognized only by Ankara and where there are several casinos.

NICOSIA – Bailed-out Cyprus is likely to return to growth next year, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday, but cautioned the outlook was tempered by tensions over Ukraine and banks’ rising bad loans.

The Central Bank of Cyprus on Wednesday announced the suspension of all operations of the Cypriot branches of Tanzania-based bank FBME until Friday, with sources saying a possible extension of the suspension by another two days is likely.

Some of the Bank of Cyprus customers whose deposits were seized as part of an extraordinary move to rescue the island from financial collapse are selling stakes in the bank at a discount, the Financial Times reported on Monday. [Reuters]

Bank of Cyprus Pcl, the Mediterranean nation’s biggest lender, is weighing a capital increase of as much as 1 billion euros ($1.36 billion), said three people familiar with the matter.

The Bulgarian community in Cyprus has launched a fundraising campaign to help the flood-hit areas in Bulgaria, Friday.

Charity boxes have been placed in all Bulgarian stores in Nicosia, Larnaca, Limassol and Paralimni, as well as in the Consular Section at the Embassy of Bulgaria in Nicosia, and the Bulgarian school.

Bulgarian Foreign Minister Kristian Vigenin is on an official two-day visit to Cyprus.

The agenda of the visit starts with meetings with representatives of the Bulgarian community in the country, according to reports of the Bulgarian National Radio.

The leaders of both Turkish and Greek communities in Cyprus recently signed a joint declaration committing themselves to a confederation of two federal states. Thus the Cyprus negotiations restarted. That is better than the alternative. But there is reason to look beyond the usual pessimism of Cyprus watchers. I think this round is truly set to be different. Let me explain why.

Language Transfer boosts community ties

Bank of Cyprus will make a decision on whether to proceed to a share capital increase or not at the end of June, after reporting its first profit in seven quarters on Friday, saying it was on track on deleveraging and improving the quality of its loan portfolio.

First-quarter profit after tax was 31 million euros after a 103-million-euro loss in the last quarter of 2013.