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

The Watertown (N.Y.) Daily Times– on security at the US Supreme Court

The Supreme Court's front entrance is being closed for security reasons.

No longer will visitors ascend the marble steps in front of the building and walk through the court doors under the words "Equal Justice Under Law."

Visitors will first report to a central screening checkpoint at the side of the building. The change drew complaints from two members of the court — Justices Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In a statement issued with a court press release announcing the change, Mr. Breyer said the front entrance and steps "are not only a means to, but also a metaphor for, access to the court itself."

In what The Associated Press described as "almost like a dissenting opinion," Mr. Breyer observed that no other court in the world had shut its front entrance due to security precautions. AP reports that visitors may still leave the building through the central doors and walk down to the street.

It may not be the same. The court's grand entrance has inspired Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Anthony Kennedy and visitors as well. The change is probably prudent. But we are making many concessions to security concerns nowadays.

The Japan Times, Tokyo,– on China's Expo 2010

Expo 2010 — a six-month event that started May 1 in Shanghai, the largest city in China — will showcase the recent economic development and internationalisation of the world's most populous country, once a revolutionary nation that directly challenged the Western political and economic order. The event's theme of "Better City — Better Life" expresses China's hope of improving its people's quality of life.

The economic and social situation surrounding Shanghai Expo, which comes so soon after the Beijing 2008 Olympics, is somewhat like a replay of Japan's position during its period of high economic growth. Japan's gross domestic product grew at an average rate of about nine percent from fiscal 1956 to fiscal 1973. It hosted the Tokyo Olympic Games in 1964 and Osaka Expo in 1970.

From 2003 to 2007, China's economy enjoyed two-digit growth. It grew nine percent in 2008, the year of the global financial crisis, and 8.7 percent in 2009. China will soon replace Japan as the world's second-largest economy, behind the United States.

A record 242 countries and international organisations will take part in the Shanghai Expo. China is hoping to greet 70 million visitors and top the record 64.2 million who attended Osaka Expo. Chinese President Hu Joint said the Shanghai Expo will highlight some 5,000 years of Chinese civilisation and display China's achievements since the reform policies of 1978. He also said the event will contribute to the full recovery of the global economy.

Although China's presence in the world economy is indisputable, China has many internal problems and contradictions. The economic gap between rich and poor is expanding. Ethnic tensions are high. China also has human rights problems, including suppression of free speech. It is hoped that the Shanghai Expo will serve as a chance for China to make a strong turn toward achieving both balanced economic growth and positive progress on social and humanitarian issues.