Qatar's sovereign fund has taken control of one of Italy's prime business areas after buying out other shareholders in a move hailed as heralding a new era of inward investment for the recession-bound country.

Property group Hines Italia announced Friday that the Qatar Investment Authority had taken 100 percent control of the Porta Nuova district in Milan, in which it has held a 40 percent stake since 2013.

German lawmakers approved Greece's hard-won bailout extension Friday in a move the finance minister called "not easy" but necessary, removing the last hurdle to keep crucial international aid flowing to Athens.

Despite scepticism in Europe's top economy, the four-month reprieve for Greece won overwhelming backing as expected in the lower house of parliament where Chancellor Angela Merkel's left-right coalition commands a crushing majority.

After half a century lacking basic goods, many Cubans have become experts at fixing devices and cars long past their prime.

Cuba's "fixers" are ubiquitous on the street corners of the communist-run island, offering to repair items ranging from classic American cars to umbrellas, mattresses and appliances.

Russia has confirmed that it will attend talks with the European Union and Ukraine on Monday aimed at resolving a bitter gas supply dispute which threatens deliveries to Europe.

Russian state-owned gas giant Gazprom threatened this week to cut deliveries to Ukraine over a dispute related to Moscow's move to start direct supplies to eastern parts of the country controlled by pro-Kremlin rebels.

Israel will stop cutting power to Palestinian cities over unpaid bills and will deduct funds from tax money to prevent the debt increasing, a government official said Thursday.

The official also said Israel would connect water to a Palestinian city so that it can be inhabited, after a minister's objection had been overruled. 

Japanese motorcycle giant Yamaha will join the four-wheel market by launching small cars in Europe as early as 2019 to meet rising demand for energy-efficient vehicles, a company official said Friday.

The firm has been mulling manufacturing four-wheel vehicles for years, exhibiting a prototype 1,000 cc engine car and an electric-car battery at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show.

The EU said it has invited the Russian and Ukrainian energy ministers to Brussels on Monday for talks on resolving a bitter gas supply dispute which threatens deliveries to Europe.

Russia's state-owned gas giant Gazprom threatened on Tuesday to cut off deliveries to Ukraine, diverting deliveries instead to eastern parts of the country controlled by pro-Kremlin rebels.

UAE telecom giant Etisalat said Thursday its net profit surged 26 percent last year to reach $2.43 billion as the company saw a hike in subscribers after acquiring a Morocco operator stake.

The company said its net profit in 2014 after deducting royalty reached 8.9 billion dirhams, while revenues for the whole year surged also 26 percent to 48.8 billion dirhams.

Oil prices fell in Asia Thursday but losses were curtailed as dealers focused on positive elements of a mixed U.S. energy stockpiles report, analysts said. 

West Texas Intermediate for April eased 43 cents to $50.56 while Brent crude for April tumbled 31 cents to $61.32 in afternoon trade.

Loans to the private sector in the euro area, a gauge of economic health, fell year-on-year in January, but by less than in December, the European Central Bank said Thursday.

The volume of loans to private businesses and households declined by just 0.1 percent in January compared with the same month in 2014, a  lower rate than the drop of 0.5 percent recorded in December, the ECB said in a statement.