With potent attacking talent in abundance on both sides, Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao should serve up a Europa League final to remember on Wednesday and remind the continent that Spain is not just about Real Madrid or Barcelona. The 2010 champions Atletico have won 11 successive matches to reach the final while fearless Athletic,

President Serzh Sarksyan's Republican Party will keep its grip on power after a parliamentary election in Armenia on Sunday, final results of an exit poll showed after voting ended in the South Caucasus country. The exit poll released by Gallup International Association put the party on course to win more than 43% of the votes

French President Nicolas Sarkozy conceded defeat to Socialist Francois Hollande in Sunday's presidential election runoff within half an hour of the last polling stations closing. "I have just spoken to him on the telephone to wish him good luck," Sarkozy said, as polling institutes projected Hollande would win the election with between 51.8 to 52%

Russian riot police beat protesters about the head with batons and detained more than 400 on Sunday after clashes broke out at a Moscow rally by thousands of people against Vladimir Putin on the eve of his return to the presidency. Opposition leaders Alexei Navalny, Boris Nemtsov and Sergei Udaltsov were among those detained during

Greek Socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos, leader of the runner-up Pasok party in Sunday’s parliamentary elections, has called for a national unity government of all pro-bailout parties, but warned that forming such a coalition would be difficult. In his first public comments since polls closed, Venizelos said his party had paid the price for handling the

Noble Energy believes that natural gas deposits in Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone could help develop good relations with its neighbours, pointing out that these deposits far exceed Cyprus’ needs and can be exported. Speaking at the Cyprus-US Commerce Chamber’s Annual Awards where Noble’s Chairman and CEO were awarded the 2012 Distinguished Merit Award, chief executive

Thousands of fans of AEL Football Club have been celebrating all weekend in Limassol after their team won the Laiki Bank first division championship following a 44 year wait. AEL’s victory over Anorthosis Famagusta FC on Saturday, combined with the Champion’s League qualifier APOEL’s loss to long-time Nicosia rivals Omonia, helped AEL clinch the championship.

MEPs from the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee on Friday concluded meetings in Nicosia ahead of the Cypriot Council Presidency, with top ranking officials as well as regulatory entities and the civil society. The sovereign debt crisis, financial regulation, and constraints specific to smaller economies topped the discussions. Finance Minister Vassos Shirarly expressed his satisfaction

Andreas Vgenopoulos, the biggest shareholder in the second largest bank in Cyprus, wants the investment management company and the world’s leading asset manager, Black Rock Inc., to assess the banking sector on the island before investing any more of his own money into the troubled sector. Vgenopoulos, speaking to reporters for nearly 90 minutes on