The following are excerpts from editorials from around the world which may be of interest to Royal Gazette readers.

The (Nashville) Tennessean, on maintenance of infrastructure:

One of the greatest tragedies about the catastrophic bridge collapse in Minneapolis August 1 is that it took a major calamity to jolt the nation's attention to the importance of maintaining its infrastructure.

Rather than find people to blame, the collapse should spur a renewed commitment to a steady, mindful maintenance of infrastructure, such as highways and bridges, with sufficient funding and oversight at both the federal and state levels. ...

... More than any other strategy for maintaining infrastructure, the nation needs the old-fashioned strategy of common sense for the common good. And common sense on this issue means a solid system for inspections, well-trained personnel to handle such oversight and all the resources those officials need to do their jobs properly. It also means recognition that normal wear and tear over time takes a toll on a bridge. Once a bridge is built, its story has just begun.

Fortunately, some reasoned, constructive responses to the issue of the nation's infrastructure are percolating in Washington, where some healthy debate ought to lead to good legislation. ...

... The Minneapolis tragedy never should have happened. But the focus at this point shouldn't be so much on what was done wrong but on what can be done right.

Diena, Riga, Latvia, on the discovery of the Stasi document-order to kill all deserters

Eighteen years after the Berlin Wall was torn down and several days prior to the 46th anniversary of the wall's construction, researchers at the archive of the former communist eastern Germany secret police — Stasi — acknowledged that they have uncovered an order authorising border guards to shoot anyone who attempted to flee across the border to western Germany.

The precise number of people killed is not known — it could be from 270 up to 780 — however, former communist regime leaders and functionaries always denied that border guards had been authorized to shoot deserters. ...

However, researchers do not doubt the document's authenticity and are certain that they have found the first documentary evidence of communist leaders' will "to detain or liquidate" those who attempted to flee, including women and children, as is said in the order issued by Stasi on October 1, 1973...

Though it was not signed, this order is a reminder that not all the crimes of communist regimes have received legal judgment and it is too premature to leave behind this gloomy chapter of history.

The Buffalo (N.Y.) News, on the US federal– wiretapping programme:

Six years after the trauma of Sept. 11, ... it's fair to expect that our federal representatives would have figured out how to balance their legitimate fears with some passing concern for the Constitution, in particular the standards of privacy, due process and oversight. Evidently not.

Acting with efficiency rarely seen in Washington, Democrats and Republicans colluded on a bill that allows the administration, on its own authority, to monitor e-mails and telephone calls between Americans and foreign addresses, as long as the "target" of the surveillance is the party outside the country. It's a cavalier use of legislative power, especially given the record of this administration. ...

So why would a Congress under Democratic control trust a president whose assurances about the prudent use of power have never proven reliable? Here's why: They were afraid. Enough Democrats were worried about being labelled soft on terrorism that, in the hours before the August recess, they allowed the administration to bully them into granting excessive and unnecessary power. ...

The only saving grace is that the law, meant as a stopgap, will expire in six months. That gives Congress and the president more than enough time to negotiate a better law — one that meets the country's legitimate needs for protection while providing adequate supervision and restricting the obvious potential for abuse. If they're interested in doing that.