Here are excerpts from editorials in newspapers from around the world which may be of interest to Royal Gazette readers:

The Times, London, on the retirement of Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey:<$>

The manner in which George Carey let his retirement as Archbishop of Canterbury be known was an accurate reflection of his tenure. His statement was brief, simple, dignified and he deliberately resisted the temptation to put his own stamp on his era. ...

It will be said by some that Dr. Carey was an almost accidental incumbent who, while a decent soul, was not a charismatic figure. This understates his performance and underestimates the extraordinary difficulties that he inherited. ... The Church of England ended the 1980s faced with an identity crisis. ... It fell to Dr. Carey to restore diplomatic relations between state and church and to seek to manage change within the Anglican community without prompting a serious schism. ... The strategy adopted by the archbishop has been largely vindicated by events.

His own instincts on women priests — a firm but moderate preference for reform — met the approval of most Anglicans. His personal style helped to smooth the transition. ... The seemingly relentless fall in the numbers attending church in England has begun to be arrested, while Anglicanism overseas, especially in Africa, has expanded vigorously. Dr. Carey might thus be regarded as more of a “fixer” than a “philosopher” but the Church of England in the 1990s desperately needed some careful fixing and had perhaps endured too much philosophy. ... One of the archbishop’s august predecessors expressed the modest hope that he had left the Church of England in a better condition than he had found it. Dr. Carey should enjoy his retirement knowing that he has certainly met that challenge.

The Independent, London, on Zimbabwe:

The news from Zimbabwe only gets worse. As the parliament convenes again, a clampdown on the media will top the agenda. A new bill threatens jail sentences for reporters who publish news ‘likely to cause alarm and despondency’ (i.e. the truth about Robert Mugabe’s regime). President Mugabe has tried to portray all critics of his regime as tools of the old colonial powers. In reality, the embattled opposition provides a reminder that civil society has not been cowed. ...

The presidential elections are due in March. Morgan Tsvangirai, whose Movement for Democratic Change came close to ousting Mugabe’s ruling Zanu-PF party in elections in June 2000, is now challenging the 77-year-old Mr. Mugabe as president. The climate of fear and violence means that Mr. Tsvangirai and the MDC still face a difficult task to wrest power.

There are glimmers of good news. Thus, despite Mr. Mugabe’s best efforts, some judges have retained their independence. ... The odds are still, to put it mildly, stacked against Mr. Tsvangirai and the opposition. ...

La Stampa, Turin, Italy, on Afghanistan:<$>

A half-victory — Operation Desert Storm against Iraq and now the war in Afghanistan — in times of economic crisis is a dangerous mix for White House tenants. It contributed to former President George Bush’s defeat by Bill Clinton in the presidential elections of 1992 and now threatens President George W. Bush’s Republicans in November’s Senate elections.

Bush Junior is being hurt by the economic crisis but remains on top of the opinion polls thanks only to the way the armed forces are conducting the war. The tactical battles being waged against Osama bin Laden and the Mullah Mohammed Omar could risk becoming a boomerang for the Bush administration. America has no alternative — pursuit of what remains of al-Qaeda is the only way to minimise the risk of new terrible attacks against the United States and the West.

Bin Laden and Omar are playing cunningly with their shadows. They know the game fosters their myth among fundamentalists and touches raw American nerves. Gen. Tommy Franks, the taciturn commander of operation “Enduring Freedom”, is shrewdly responding to the challenge with the weapon of silence: Not one more word on where the most-wanted could be until they are caught.