My father often told me: "Build bridges, not fences." It's not always an easy thing to do. And so to Israel, where contractors are welding into place a five-metre-high barrier between the Sinai and Negev deserts designed in part to keep out illegal immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa. Once it is finished, by year's end, Israel will be almost completely enclosed by steel, barbed wire and concrete. This is a fine piece of writing by Harriet Sherwood on an issue that has drawn little media attention. I hope you find it a thoughtful front-page read.
Inside, we turn to Burma, where Aung San Suu Kyi looks to the future after a landslide victory in byelections. There's much work to be done on the reform front, she tells supporters. It is a great pleasure to watch this story unfold. Stay with us as Burma continues its amazing process of change.
Also inside, you'll find a special report from Jack Shenker on a Council of Europe investigation into a boat tragedy that saw dozens of African migrants left adrift in the Mediterranean. In the end, 63 died. The investigation found a catalogue of failures by Nato and coastguards.
On the lighter side, Bhutan wants a happier world, and one that's far less materialistic. It has called on heads of state and leading economists to meet in the capital, Thimphu, and reconsider how countries measure progress. Bhutan measures it based on the happiness of its citizens. I wonder if they need journalists to cover such a meeting? I'd be happy to attend!
On the environment front, subsidence in Shanghai threatens China's building boom. French Polynesia, meanwhile, takes steps to safeguard precious water resources.
On the Comment pages, Martin Kettle warns of a US-style judiciary and Will Hutton considers how Japan can find its way back to prosperity.
In our Review section, we allow extra space as Ed Vulliamy wonders at Claude Lanzmann, witness for the world. I thought it was a compelling piece that deserved some space to run. I'd appreciate your feedback.
Notes and queries asks how to halt internet spam (drop us a line if you have an answer). And our Letter From comes via Uzbekistan and involves eating, singing and dancing. This seems almost Bhutanese in its level of happiness.
This edition really does span, and link, the globe. All part of those bridge-building efforts I mentioned. I hope you find the paper engaging.
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