BRITAIN

BRITAIN
The Guardian, London, Dec. 7: Yesterday's terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Jiddah was a grim reminder that (Osama bin Laden's) acolytes are still able to operate at will in the kingdom. Quick responses by Saudi security forces ensured that casualties and damage were limited, though the choice of target -- one of the most heavily defended in the country -- was itself a signal that Al-Qaida and its offshoots have not given up. In recent months, the Saudi authorities have arrested and killed many members of what they choose to call "deviant groups" -- emphasizing the departure from the true path of Islam -- while weapons finds have become sparser.
Not true jihad
On another front, clergymen have been officially encouraged to preach that fighting the U.S. in Iraq is not true jihad. The authorities have also tightened control over mosque sermons and scrapped some xenophobic school textbooks. Attempts are being made, too, to address frustrations over unemployment and the lack of representative government.
The Saudi government argues that it has the situation well under control. But pessimists warn that it is only realistic to expect future attacks on the mighty Saudi oil industry, the reason for the country's close relationship with the U.S. The gloomy lesson of recent years is that the pessimists in the Middle East are all too often proved right.
GERMANY
Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Munich, Dec. 6: Since the death of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, a mood has been spreading in the Middle East that had not been felt for a long time: optimism.
All the signals are pointing toward a new beginning in relations between the Palestinians and Israel. Arafat is history; now only the future counts.
In January already, the Palestinians will choose a new president -- something that the old one had prevented with the excuse that elections were impossible under Israeli occupation.
Show of support
In order to support the Palestinian people on the road to democracy, hardly a day passes on which the European Union or the United States do not send high-ranking representatives to the region.
Still, the positive signals are being overshadowed by Israel's government crisis.
The prime minister now governs with only 40 lawmakers in the 120-strong parliament. Only if his Likud party agrees to include the Labor party in the government can new elections be prevented.
Election campaigns in Israel have never been a good time for progress in the peace process.
ITALY
La Repubblica, Rome, Dec. 8: The deadline of the election in Iraq, set by the end of January, favors the clash between Shiites and Sunnis. The Shiites, about 60 percent of the total population, do not want a postponement. The vote would legitimate their majority. On the other end, the Sunnis are hoping for a delay. And they express this wish in different ways.
Atmosphere of insecurity
Members of the coalition stress the difficulty of voting in an atmosphere of insecurity with men and women forced to vote under death threats. The guerrillas, headed by the Sunnis, are much more determined and are involved in actions against government units that are mainly formed by Shiites and Kurds.
Undoubtedly, the aim of the armed opposition is causing a battle between the two groups. A danger that certainly worries many Iraqis, who try to live normally, with courage, under bombings and shootings.
KENYA
The Sunday Nation, Nairobi, Dec. 5: The renewed American travel advisory is a source of great discomfort in the tourism industry. There is no better description of this than a stab in the back of a good friend.
Hasn't Kenya always been considered one of the best allies of the United States in this region?
But perhaps the operators and all those who benefit directly or indirectly from tourism should begin to see this as a case of the closure of one door leading to the opening of another.
And what better confirmation of this than visiting Swiss Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Franz von Daniken's assurance that his country considers Kenya a safe destination.
Affluent Europeans
With better marketing, Kenya could woo more tourists from this affluent central European country.
The tourism industry should see this official American snub as a wake-up call to look for alternative sources of tourists. The attempt in recent times to woo visitors from Asia is commendable and must be stepped up.