At a time when Greece has called on the International Monetary Fund for assistance in servicing its debts, the Washington based organisation is demanding that Romania, which requested support in 2009, make an additional effort "to keep its budget deficit within tolerable limits," reports Adevărul. Leading with the headline "Burning issue!" the daily notes that the IMF, "which no longer has any confidence in promises made by Emil Boc's government, now wants a 4% increase in the single rate for corporation and income tax, as well as a VAT hike of at least 5%." According to Adevărul, "the Romanian people and the business community will have to pay for the government's inability to reduce public spending – a reshuffle is expected soon – and foreign investors will be encouraged to seek out other countries with more business friendly and predictable tax systems."
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.