A millionaire former telecoms executive touted as a technocrat capable of rescuing Finland from economic slump won yesterday’s parliamentary election, polls showed late last night, but he may need support of a Euro-sceptic populist party to form a coalition.

Bayer Leverkusen defender and former Liverpool captain Sami Hyypia has announced his retirement at the age of 37.

Representatives of feuding parties in Iraq are meeting in Finland to discuss ways of ending the continuing violence in the country, organisers said today.

Russia’s threat to ban imports of EU meat is excessive and threatens the outcome of tomorrow’s EU-Russia summit, the bloc’s chief expansion official said.