Brazilian president Lula da Silva visits Lisbon today to sign a spate of cooperation agreements in the fields of scientific research, defence, technology and renewable energies. Diário de Notícias observes that PM José Sócrates will be seeking to hitch a ride for his crisis stricken country on the back of Brazil’s enduring economic boom. As one of one world’s leading new economies – alongside India, China and Russia, Brazil “could Portugal out of its financial hole it has dug itself,” reports the Lisbon daily. According to Diário, the Portuguese prime-minister will call on Lula to facilitate more Brazilian investments in Portugal, while Lula is also expected to encourage Portuguese businesses to take advantage of forthcoming opportunities on the other side of the Atlantic, notably Brazil’s hosting of the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games 2016.
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.