"Portugal headed for a perfect economic storm," headlines i, reporting on the exceptionally bleak outlook for the country’s economy. According to forecasts in the most recent bi-annual International Monetary Fund (IMF) report for 2009-2013, Portugal will see the second highest increase in unemployment (after Greece). In 2011, there will be a risk of a renewed recession with negative growth of -1.4%, making it the world’s second worst performing economy in the following year. "Austerity measures combined with low productivity will raise the unemployment rate to 11%, a national record," explains the newspaper. The daily believes the situation will be worse than the one outlined by the IMF, whose figures do not take into account the austerity measures presented at the end of September.
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.