Latvia

Even as Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis indicated in comments on his blog that Greece was prepared to compromise on certain reforms to reach a deal with creditors, ministry sources said that Athens was "not bluffing" in opposing tough measures and was intent on protecting the country's interests.

No Greek deal is expected at the Eurogroup meeting at Riga, Latvia, on Friday. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble dampened spirits upon his arrival, advising journalists to go see “beautiful Riga” as there would be no new developments.

The crucial Eurogroup meeting for Greece takes place in Riga, Latvia at 9 a.m. The government is optimistic that a decision will be reached in mid-May or before June, but there appeared little optimism in the markets ahead of the meeting.

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The hourglass measures time in a very strange way. Unlike our round watches, or digital timekeepers, it does not treat every sand particle equally. Towards the end it speeds up. Tiny sand particles that are left at the end drop so fast that one wishes to stop it at some point.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and German Chancellor Angela Merkel had ?constructive and positive? talks on the sidelines of an immigration summit in Brussels on Thursday, Greek government sources said, noting that there was a ?convergence of views? on the level of Greece?s primary surplus target this year and next year and as regards privatizations.

UNESCO's Director-General and UN Secretary-General Irina Bokova and Ban Ki-moon will be travelling to Moscow to attend the Victory Parade on May 9, as announced by TASS news agency.

By Eleni Chrepa

Greece and its creditors haven't discussed having the country miss a payment to the International Monetary Fund or default as agreement over bailout disbursements remains beyond reach, a senior Greek government official said.

RIGA, Latvia - When is a deadline not really a deadline and a deal not really a deal? When it's to do with Greece's bailout, apparently.

By Benjamin Purvis

There's a 30 percent chance Greece ends up dropping out of the euro area by accident and if it does then that might make Italian and Spanish debt a good buy, according to the manager of the world's biggest bond fund.