Finland

By Birgit Jennen, Corina Ruhe & Eleni Chrepa

Euro-area finance ministers expressed bemusement on the status of talks with Greece after they were presented at the last minute with competing proposals aimed at resolving the standoff over aid.

Bloomberg reports that the future looks glum with the Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) government of Greece holding firm to its pre-election pledges to end austerity during a flurry of meetings in Brussels on Wednesday. Technical experts are now preparing the ground for fresh talks.

By Ian Wishart, Jonathan Stearns & Corina Ruhe

European officials resumed talks on Greece's bailout on Thursday after a day of negotiations broke up in the early hours without ending the standoff that has brought the country on the cusp of a default.

Eurozone leaders were locked in talks in Brussels late on Monday after Eurogroup officials suggested that an agreement could be reached this week on the basis of new economic proposals tabled by the Greek government.

Ian Wishart & Arne Delfs

Euro-area finance ministers closed ranks to temper optimism that a deal on Greece was in the offing, saying that expectations of a breakthrough were inflated amid confusion over new proposals intended to unlock aid.

A barrage of statements reaping away all hopes for a deal over the Summit were given by Eurozone FinMins.

Even though the mission of this Eurogroup is to prepare the upcoming Summit, this seems to now be a far-fetched scenario since both Wolfgang Schaeuble and his colleagues from Ireland, Finland and Spain lowered the expectations bar saying that they do not expect a deal.

Eurozone ministers Friday insisted that an emergency leaders summit called to solve the Greece debt crisis required firm proposals by Athens in advance of the meeting.

Renowned Turkish wrestler Taha Akgül won a gold medal June 18 in the European Games in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku.

The pair made up of Romanian tennis player Florin Mergea and Indian Rohan Bopanna has qualified on Thursday for the men's doubles semifinals of the 1,574,640 euro ATP tournament on the grass court of Halle (Germany), after defeating the couple made of Marin Draganja (Croatia)/Henri Kontinen (Finland), 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3).

If you love travelling and are constantly on the move, even for just a few days, then the following list might tempt you to settle elsewhere.

Monocle magazine ran its annual “Quality of Life” survey, judging cities based on four basic principles: International Flights, Ability to go around by bicycle, good places to eat, and public libraries.