Here are excerpts from editorials in newspapers around the world:Times of Zambia, Ndola, Zambia, on Sudan’s lost chance at African Union presidency:

For the second time now, Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir has missed the chance to take over the mantle as chairman of the African Union.

Instead, Ghanaian President, John Kufuor, is the new AU boss. Bashir has been denied the top post for the second time because of the protracted conflict in the Darfur region.

This, in our view, is the needed pressure by the continental body to get the Sudanese government more committed to ending one of Africa’s embarrassing conflicts.

Far too many people have been killed.

... Bashir’s government has been accused of backing killer militias called the Janjaweed. Though his administration has persistently denied the allegations, independent groups including aid agencies have floated evidence suggesting that the Janjaweed are state-backed.

As it has been argued before, Africa needs to lead the way toward resolving some of the continent’s wars. It does not make sense to glorify people working against African unity or the principles of the AU. It is good to see that there was pressure from African countries meeting in the Ethiopian capital. This is the kind of pressure needed in other conflict areas elsewhere in Africa. Dictators and other wayward leaders flouting the general principles of oneness and lack respect for human rights should know that they will never be left to have their way. They should be isolated as a measure to get them to realise that what they are doing is wrong. ...

Haaretz, Jerusalem, on the Eilat suicide bombing and border fences:

The suicide bombing in Eilat on Monday was a painful reminder of a reality that has been pushed to the periphery of public debate.

... The Shin Bet and the IDF have had great success in preventing attacks, to the point that this success is almost taken for granted, but there is no happy end to every case in this constant struggle. The Israel-Egypt border is porous, for the use of both terrorists and criminals, and no Israeli community is immune to attack — either by Katyusha rockets or by suicide bombers.

Nonetheless, this does not mean that the hastily reached conclusion, that it is necessary to invest billions of shekels in a border fence, with sophisticated electronic equipment, from Eilat to Kerem Shalom, a total of 240 kilometres across desert and mountainous terrain, should be adopted.

... Overall, the Israeli security services have managed to limit the number of both attacks and casualties. They employ the proper tactics, and the proof of this is the decreasing frequency of the attacks. This does not mean that the Palestinians and Egypt — either directly or indirectly — have no responsibility for the bombing in Eilat. The divided Palestinian government is not trying to prevent attacks. Hamas, the Resistance Committees, and Islamic Jihad cooperated in the abduction of Corporal Gilad Shalit, and they continue to plan attacks and carry them out. Some sources allege that Fatah, which prides itself on its moderation, and aspires to return to power, was also involved in the attack in Eilat. Egypt does not insist on exercising its sovereignty over its territory or along its borders, neither that with the Gaza Strip nor that with Israel.