"The man who would burn books," headlines Libération. The man in question is Farouk Hosni, age 71, who has been Egypt's Minister of Culture for the last 22 years. Last year, he told the Egyptian parliament, "If there were Israeli books in Egyptian libraries, I would burn them myself." However, this is just one of many hostile remarks that Hosni has made with regard to Jews. Naturally, his candidacy for the post of Secretary General of UNESCO has sparked controversy. In recent weeks, several intellectuals have publicly criticized the anti-Semitism of this "firebrand" whose bid to lead UNESCO is supported by France. A key issue in this "diplomatic kerfuffle" is the question of Union for the Mediterranean, which was launched with great pomp and circumstance by Nicolas Sarkozy in 2008, and which is co-chaired by Egypt. In the wake of the 2009 war in Gaza, Arab states expressed serious reservations about the UfM. However, Egypt "will do its utmost to reinstate a semblance of dialogue… if a serious effort is made to save Farouk Hosni," explains the French daily.
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.