European officials gave a lukewarm response to French President Francois Hollande's sweeping proposals for deeper euro zone integration on Friday, noting that many of his ideas were already in circulation. In a 2-1/2-hour news conference at the Elysee Palace on Thursday, Hollande set out plans for an "economic government" for the 17 euro zone countries,
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– 26 countries will compete in Saturday's final – Denmark has the best odds, followed by Norway and Ukraine Bare-chested Irish drummers, a Ukrainian giant and a much-discussed lesbian kiss will be on display at this Saturday's Eurovision final in Sweden which – love it or hate it – promises plenty of pop, kitsch and barefoot
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The European Central Bank will keep its loose and growth-supportive monetary policy stance in place for "quite a long time", ECB executive board members said on Friday. With the euro zone economy stuck in recession, the ECB cut its main refinancing rate to a record low of 0.5 percent and extended its provision of unlimited
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Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday he saw a good opportunity for progress towards ending the division of Cyprus, a move that could further the exploitation of natural gas and oil in the eastern Mediterranean. The island has been divided since a Greek Cypriot coup was followed by a Turkish invasion of
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The new CEO of Bank of Cyprus will be appointed soon, Sofocles Michaelides, Bank of Cyprus’ Chairman of the interim Board of Directors has said. Following a €10 billion bailout agreement with the Eurogroup, Bank of Cyprus, the island`s largest lender, has absorbed the good part (insured deposits and assets) of Cyprus Popular Bank, which
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Valentin Boanta, sitting in his jail cell, proudly explains the device he has invented which, he says, could make the world's ATMs impregnable even to tech-savvy criminals like himself. Boanta, 33, is six months into a five-year sentence for supplying gadgets an organised crime gang used to conceal ATM skimmers, which can copy data from
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A teenager from London was jailed for eight years in Cyprus on Friday for fatally stabbing an off-duty British soldier at a holiday resort on the island last year. Fusilier David Lee Collins, 19, from Manchester, died from knife wounds after a fight broke out in the resort of Ayia Napa in November. Mohammed Abdulkadir
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The percentage of global investment that goes to developing countries should triple in the next two decades as emerging economies catch up to richer nations and become more integrated into financial markets, the World Bank predicted in a report on Thursday. These nations and their comparatively younger and bigger populations are also set to become
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Overtaking Apple Inc as the world's leading maker of smartphones has stretched Samsung Electronics Co's in-house supply lines, and the South Korean firm is now courting some of its rival's main parts suppliers. After costly courtroom battles over technology patents, the two gadget giants are now going head-to-head over securing the best supply of parts
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The dollar held firm near a 10-month high versus a basket of currencies on Friday after a regional Federal Reserve chief said the U.S. central bank may begin to taper its asset buying this summer, while Asian shares were mixed. European stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Friday. At 0604 GMT, futures
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