“Final bill for toxic Anglo bailout could now reach €34 billion,” headlines the Irish Independent. Today, Ireland woke to the news that the bill for the nationalised zombie bank, which has already gobbled €23 billion, could hit €34 billion in a worse case scenario, a crippling 20% of Irish GDP. “And it will mean that every man woman and child in the country could end up paying as much as €8,095 to bail out the bank,” notes the Dublin daily. Whereas Finance Minister Brian Lenihan initially claimed the rescue plan would cost eight times less. The depth of public resentment at bailouts and austerity drives was reflected yesterday in the actions of a 41 year property developer, calling himself the “Anglo Avenger”, who rammed a cement mixer truck into the gates of Leinster House, the Irish parliament.
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.