Reuters

NICOSIA (Reuters) - A vessel carrying aid to a pier built by the U.S. off Gaza set sail from Cyprus on Thursday, marine tracking websites showed.

The U.S. flagged Sagamore left the port of Larnaca on Thursday morning. U.S. officials have said the vessel will be used to offload supplies onto a floating pier built to expedite aid into the besieged enclave.

There was no immediate comment from Cypriot authorities, which had earlier said the... (continue reading...)

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland, Spain and a number of other European Union member states are considering recognising a Palestinian state on May 21, according to a report by Ireland's national broadcaster.

RTE News on Wednesday evening said contacts between Dublin and Madrid, and between Slovenia and Malta, had intensified with a view to the countries jointly recognising Palestinian statehood.

According to the report, the countries have been... (continue reading...)

By Andres Gonzalez

LONDON (Reuters) - Investment bank Lazard Ltd has appointed veteran healthcare dealmaker Michele Colocci as vice chairman and managing director, aiming to boost the growth of its healthcare advisory, according to a company announcement.

Colocci, former chairman of mergers and acquisitions at Morgan Stanley, where he also held positions as global co-head of healthcare investment banking and deputy head of investment... (continue reading...)

By Francesco Guarascio

HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam's foreign affairs ministry told the European Union it was not available for a meeting next week with the bloc's top official on Russian sanctions, diplomats said, as Hanoi prepares for a possible visit from Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

Vietnam has been striving to pursue a neutral foreign policy in its relations with major world powers. It has abstained from condemning Russia's attack... (continue reading...)

By Rene Wagner and Maria Martinez

BERLIN (Reuters) - The United States overtook China as Germany's most important trading partner in the first quarter of this year, according to Reuters' calculations based on official data from the German statistics office.

Germany's trade with the United States - exports and imports combined - totalled 63 billion euros ($68 billion) from January to March, while the figure for China was just under 60... (continue reading...)