The Guardian warns that some of Britain’s tax havens may become the latest victims of the financial crisis. Tomorrow will see the publication of an economic healthcheck of the UK’s overseas territories and crown dependencies including Jersey, the Isle of Man and the Cayman islands, which indicates that all is not well in paradise.
Having been criticized for the their role in the economic meltdown, some of the tax havens are now experiencing problems of their own. The daily reports that revenues from financial services and fees from banks have declined to the point where the Cayman Islands had “to beg the Foreign Office for permission to raise a £280m bank loan.” Worse still, some British officials are concerned that poorer territories in the Caribbean, which have been affected by a reduction in US tourism, “could become failed states and be dragged into the illegal drugs trade.” The report is expected to emphasize that there will be no bailout financed by the UK, offshore financial centres will simply have to raise taxes to survive the economic crisis.
The leader of Greece’s leftist alliance SYRIZA is the new bright hope of Greek politics. Steering a course between pragmatism and the rhetoric of class warfare, he has unsettled Berlin, and not just those who back Angela Merkel's austerity policies. 
Europe’s economic woes have forced us to try to understand the secret Olympian world of global finance. But now that we pay more attention to bond yields and stability mechanisms, isn’t it clear that the experts up on their lofty peaks don’t know what’s going on either? 
This year’s Eurovision Song Contest is hosted by Azerbaijan, a country that is far from being a model democracy. An Estonian journalist takes a critical look at the deferential treatment enjoyed by the regime in Baku.