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

The Telegraph, London,

on qualities needed in Parliament

In Thomas Love Peacock's novel "Melincourt," a baronet called Sir Oran Haut-Ton successfully stands for Parliament, having every accomplishment needful in a member. It was unnecessary for the novelist to mention that Sir Oran was born a member of the one of the most attractive tribes of ape.

No wonder, then, that scientists have now found that orangutans take quite as much interest in observing our little ways as we do in watching their skill in propelling themselves through the forest.

Orangutans in zoos, a study has found, may find life stressful, but their days are beguiled by examining the humans who have come to look at them.

We seem to be more interesting than rope-swings or even discarded orange-peel. Perhaps the main political parties will invest in whole focus groups made up of the cousins of the late Sir Oran Haut-Ton.

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

on fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan.

It was 66 years ago on June 6 that Allied forces, 160,000 troops strong and supplemented by 15,000 air sorties, invaded Normandy to reclaim mainland Europe. The rest is literally history.

As a result of the beach landings, which took years to plan and coordinate, D-Day became pivotal in World War II and the fight for freedom.

Nearly seven decades later, America finds itself juggling two wars for freedom — in both cases, against terrorists. In Iraq, there have been welcome signs of noteworthy progress. Unfortunately, little on that score can be said about American involvement in Afghanistan.

Because that's so, the war in Afghanistan rightly has millions of Americans nervous, though its profile has been lowered considerably.

With Afghanistan slipping off the radar screen, it was laudable that veteran White House reporter Helen Thomas spoke out at a recent White House news conference.

She was the only member of the nation's elite press corps to inquire about getting out of Afghanistan. After all, President Barack Obama campaigned on an exit strategy platform.

Obama was hard to pin down in his response to Thomas. But there are hopeful signs that he has a multi-prong strategy in the war on terrorism that extends beyond Afghanistan and Iraq.

Recently, it was disclosed that the administration is conducting a 'secret war' against terrorists. There could be pre-emptive or retaliatory strikes around the world. This kind of activity, if successful, could certainly quicken the pace for exiting both Iraq and Afghanistan. ...