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

The Times, London, on Iceland's economy:

Iceland's wealth has long been a mystery. For centuries the volcanic, windswept island clung to the edge of Europe, scraping a hard living from the barren land and the cold seas. ...

By the start of the millennium, however, Iceland had become extraordinarily rich, with a living standard measured in 2007 by the United Nations Development Report as the world's highest. ...

The wealth, however, was built not simply on hard work, initiative and valuable catches of cod. It was also built on a massive inflow of funds into the country's banks and highly leveraged raids on the riches of Western Europe. By the start of this year, Iceland's three banks had foreign liabilities of more than $100 billion — dwarfing the country's gross domestic product of $14 billion. Now, suddenly, everything may be gone, the economy wiped out with the same cataclysmic devastation that was regularly visited on the land by the eruptions and plagues of earlier centuries.

The mood in Reykjavik today is grim. There is no panic. But the Prime Minister has spoken dramatically of returning to Iceland's fishing and farming roots, rebuilding by simple hard work what may have been lost. ... There is a palpable sense that a nation of such proudly independent people has betrayed its own heritage in becoming so dependent on the vagaries of international capital.

Iceland's crisis is not only a morality tale of global concern, given the number of foreign, especially British, investors; it also lays the country open to predators ready to seize this prize. Russia has offered to bail out Iceland to the tune of euro4 billion ... If we are not careful, Iceland will signal the ominous start of a new round of mergers and acquisitions — not of companies, but of whole countries.

Khaleej Times, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on the nation's future:

Dubai drives at only one speed: full throttle. That it continues to do so amidst the widening global financial turmoil speaks volumes for the city's ambition to become the tourism, financial and logistics centrum for the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia region.

But to many among the mosaic of nationalities living here, there are concerns of rising costs across the board fuelled by inflation and the acute lack of affordable middle-income homes.

To accelerate its turbo-charged ambition, Dubai will need a whole lot more than just architectural marvels that reach for the skies. True, there's an agile administration in place, a first-rate infrastructure — that's now groaning under its own weight — and an enviable services industry, but the strains are clearly beginning to show. The traffic chaos triggered by Cityscape, the region's biggest property show, is an indication that the frightening pace at which the city is growing could have a serious impact on transportation and this is one critical area that will have to be looked into.

Another would be power. Both are essential for the exponential growth of this city as massive changes continue to take place. ... Dubai is going to have to cope with multiple responsibilities and rapid change. According to reports, $35 billion will be required to fund the much-needed power projects in the Gulf.

But Dubai — and the UAE — since the property boom began, proved that it is more than qualified to do so. ... Anticipating the twists and turns ahead and being ready for them may be the only way to ensure Dubai's growth at full throttle.