In response to the violent repression of the popular uprising by Muammar Gaddafi, "Europe freezes Libyan assets", headlines Corriere della Sera, noting that "the stakes and investments of the head of state, worth 30 to 40 billion euros in at least five European countries, will be suspended by Brussels". The measure, taking effect on the morning of March 8, will involve several companies in which Libyan sovereign funds are among the major shareholders, such as ENI, BP and Shell (oil), UniCredit and BNP (banks), Juventus (football) and Vodafone (telecoms). Meanwhile, the influx of refugees from North Africa continues, writes La Stampa: in the last 24 hours more than 1,700 have landed on the island of Lampedusa, whose shelter facilities are on the brink of a 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.