The following are editorial opinions from newspapers from around the world which may be of interest to Royal Gazette readers.

The Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette, –on Nigeria's Muslim-Christian unrest

Another Muslim-Christian massacre happened in Nigeria — continuing a grotesque pattern that has recurred intermittently for two centuries. Muslim herders in the hills reportedly swooped down on three Christian villages, hacking people with machetes, torching homes, killing everyone who didn't flee fast enough. Even babies were chopped to death. The toll was estimated at 500. More than 400 victims were buried in a single mass grave. The attack allegedly was in reprisal for a January massacre in which Christians killed 300 Muslims.

Year after year, decade after decade, such attacks and riots have marred Nigeria — mostly along a central fault-line between the Christian south and Muslim north. The land is racked by what sociologists call religious tribalism. Several upheavals have erupted after fundamentalist evangelists attempted to convert Muslim villagers. Tension worsened after some northern states adopted Sharia law, which requires chopping off hands and feet, and execution by stoning. In 2001, about 1,000 died in rioting that flared after a Christian woman walked through a Muslim procession. Nigeria's government has conducted community meetings to create tolerance and coexistence, without success.

Perhaps the only cure for this tragedy is one that works in Cyprus. During the 1960s, Muslim Turks and Christian Greeks on the Mediterranean island plunged into similar tribal bloodshed. The United Nations sent peacekeeper troops to guard a 112-mile truce line between the warring camps. Subsequent efforts to end hostility between the ethnic groups have failed, so the blue-helmeted soldiers remain on patrol, four decades later.

The Hartford (Conn.) Courant,–on Israel's homes on disputed territory

The announcement by Israel's interior ministry that 1,600 new homes will be built in East Jerusalem on territory claimed by the Palestinians — an announcement made while Vice President Joe Biden was visiting — could not have been an accident. The timing was such that it had to be a deliberate slap in the face to an old friend.

The damage was mitigated somewhat by apologies from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who expressed "regret over the unfortunate timing" and said that ground wouldn't be broken on the project for several years. Perhaps that will allow time for an Israeli government to reverse course on its provocative housing expansion policy, but that's a slim hope.

The way the message about the East Jerusalem housing was delivered was humiliating for the United States. It weakened the position of Palestinian leaders willing to negotiate with Israel. The announcement of new housing inflamed anti-Israel passions in the Arab world. Biden was right, in response, to condemn the construction project. With each new apartment complex and settlement built by Israel on land claimed by the Palestinians, the chances for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian problem grow dimmer.

George Mitchell, President Barack Obama's special envoy on Mideast peace, had been scheduled to go to Jerusalem to see if he could get talks going again. But the State Department wouldn't promise, saying, "This is a fluid situation."

Fluid and icy. Not a good climate for peace.