Bahrain dailies issued today focused in their principal headlines on the main local, Arab and international events which happened over the past 24 hours.

Here is a round-up of the main press headlines:

-  HM King receives HRH Prince Turki Al-Faisal and other Saudi royalties who offered condolences on the death of HH Shaikha Noora.

-  King, PM and CP thanked by newly-elected speaker; pledge to implement the royal keynote speaker.

-  HRH Crown Prince arrives in Saudi at the invitation of the Saudi CP to attend the Formula E race.

-  HRH Crown Prince receives condolences from senior members of the Royal Family, officials and citizens.

-  Interior Minister patronises police day; resolved to continue defending the nation.

-  Shaikha Mai: Expo Dubai an exceptional opportunity to promote Bahrain.

-  Housing Minister and Arab League Assistant Secretary-General launch website.

-  Information Minister congratulates the Interior Ministry’s affiliates on Police Day; national security and stability the cornerstone of sustainable development and progress.

-  Bahrain welcomes the Yemeni agreement.

-  Mumtalakat CEO: 2019 years of achievements for Government-owned companies.

-  Tax expert: Bahrain’s taxation approach will be easier than neighbouring countries.

-  Finance Ministry: 94 commodities and other vital services exempted from VAT.

ANNHAR: The last one 100 meters: Hariri the only optimistic one

AL-MOUSTAQBAL: Hariri confirms Lebanon’s attachment to dissociation policy, #1701 facing regional conflicts and Israeli threats

AL-JOUMHOURIA: Some sides hindering concessions to form cabinet

Aoun awaits Hariri for final discussions

AL-AKHBAR: Cabinet formation ball in Bassil’s court: will he give up on third veto?

AL-HAYAT: Baabda sources to Al-Hayat: possibility of forming cabinet still valid

THE DAILY STAR: Hariri: Cabinet formation in last 100 meters

Russian laws can be changed to impose tougher sanctions on foreign internet companies reluctant to abide by the country’s legislation, deputy head of the Russian media watchdog Vadim Subbotin told TASS.

"In case fines fail to make a foreign company change its ways, there is a chance that the legislation will be changed, which will make it possible to block access to Google in Russia," he pointed out.

According to Subbotin, such a measure is not possible under the current legislation. "Blocking will be the toughest measure," he noted.

Subbotin pointed out that at first, the minimum fine of 500,000 rubles ($7,500) was imposed on Google, while the next will be 750,000 rubles ($11,200).

The Russian media watchdog earlier fined Google for its non-compliance with the Russian legislation. The watchdog said that under Russian laws, search engine operators were obliged to remove links to websites containing banned information from search results. In order to do that, they must join the federal state information system where a list of such websites is available. These requirements had been explained to Google more than once, officials said.

The media watchdog also noted that if the company failed to start abiding by the legislation, a second administrative case would be launched. Companies failing to comply with the law violate Article 13.40 of the Russian Administrative Code and may face fines of 500,000 to 700,000 rubles.

AL-AKHBAR: Aoun to Consultative Gathering: Name a minister from outside the group 

ANNAHAR: Brainstorming that is engulfed with "tunnels" 

AL-HAYAT: Aoun: I will intervene in government formation process to save Lebanon from "disaster" 

AL-JOUMHOURIA: Governmental action before the holidays...the 6 MPs in Baabda today 

THE DAILY STAR: Aoun: Disaster if my initiative fails 

Hezbollah, Aoun 'brainstorm' govt formation solutions 

On Wednesday, two Reuters reporters will have spent one year in a Myanmar prison, where they are serving seven-year sentences for reporting on a military massacre of Rohingya Muslims.

Rights groups say the prolonged detention of the two journalists is a blemish on the record of the nominally democratic government headed by State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi.

Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, were arrested in Yangon on December 12, 2017, while reporting on the killing of 10 Rohingya men and boys in the village of Inn Din the previous September.

The massacre is one of several that have been documented by UN investigators, who say that the military's so-called counterinsurgency operations against Rohingya communities in northern Rakhine state starting in August 2017 were carried out with "genocidal intent."

A police officer who was involved in the Inn Din massacre testified during the reporters' trial that their arrest was a trap set by a senior police official with the aim of suppressing their reporting.

The reporters themselves have testified that police tried to persuade them to withhold their reporting in exchange for their freedom.

In February, Reuters published a detailed account of the massacre, and in April, a military tribunal sentenced seven soldiers to 10 years in prison for murder.

But despite the military's admission of guilt, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were convicted in September on charges of possessing secret government information in violation of the Official Secrets Act.

Their sentencing has signalled to Myanmar journalists and free speech advocates that exposing the military's abuses, no matter how accurate, is considered a criminal act.

"Self-censorship has increased because Myanmar journalists have learnt that it does not matter how professional you are, how well regarded your media is, or how important your story may be," said Yin Yadanar Thein, director of Free Expression Myanmar (FEM), an organization that monitors laws used to suppress political dissent.

"If you talk or write about the military, you will go to prison for a long, long time," she added.

Shortly before Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were arrested, FEM published a report showing that defamation cases had skyrocketed after the National League for Democracy (NLD), the party headed by Suu Kyi, came to power.

Although the government she now leads is constrained by the military, which retains control over key organs of the state, including the police, many have pointed out that she has abetted the military's blockade on criticism.

"Aung San Suu Kyi seems to have decided that it is better to cover up problems than to admit her powerlessness to solve them. As a result, her government has actively increased propaganda while undermining media freedom," said Yin Yadanar Thein.

Access to northern Rakhine state remains heavily restricted, and a government agency headed by Suu Kyi has been bulldozing villages vacated by the 700,000 Rohingya who were driven from the country during last year's military operations, destroying what rights groups consider to be crime scenes.

Reuters said the fact that its journalists were still in prison "for a crime they did not commit" called into question "Myanmar’s commitment to democracy, freedom of expression and rule of law."

"Every day they continue to be behind bars is a missed opportunity for Myanmar to stand up for justice,” a spokesman for the news agency said.

Lawyers for Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo say they plan to continue fighting for their clients' freedom. They are scheduled to present their arguments in an appeal to a higher court on December 24.

"We will focus on the unjust manner of the original trial," defence lawyer Than Zaw Aung, who represented the two reporters in their first trial and who is also handling their appeal, told dpa.

"The first trial was controversial because of [its relevance to] freedom of expression, the right to information, and the government's attitude. There was a lot of pressure from inside and outside, so the judge may have decided on the case [based on that pressure]," the lawyer said.

He said he expects a verdict on the appeal to be passed down within two months of the hearing.

Than Zaw Aung stressed that his clients are innocent and carried out their duties in accordance with journalistic ethics, and he encouraged other journalists in the country not to be discouraged from reporting on the military.

"Journalists are the fourth estate," said Than Zaw Aung. "They are trying to get the right information for the people, so they should continue their work."

Russia's efforts allowed participants in the session of the Ministerial Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Milan to coordinate a document on protection of journalists, Russian Foreign Ministry's official spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Saturday.

On Friday Italy's Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi said that for the first time in 27 years, the OSCE Ministerial Council adopted a document on protection of journalists. The details of the document will be announced in the nearest future. An OSCW declaration can only be adopted with unanimous support of all 57 member states.

"The OSCE Ministerial Council did the impossible. Despite the extreme degree of fragmentation in the world community, a document on protection of journalists was coordinated for the first time. This was done thanks to unprecedented efforts of the Russian side," Zakharova wrote on her Facebook page.

Russia's priorities of protecting the rights of domestic media in OSCE member states were included in the resolution, she noted. The diplomat added that the Ministerial Council confirmed the importance of unhampered access of media and citizens of OSCE member states to foreign sources of news and information services. The resolution also reflected concern over the spreading practice of targeted campaigns aimed at discrediting journalists, Zakharova said.

"Concern was registered over imposition of restrictive measures on journalists, which leads to increasing risks to their security and limiting their freedom of expression. Such measures now take very different forms, from revoking or refusing accreditation, banning entry and deportation, to adopting laws aimed at clearing the information space under the pretext of fighting against propaganda," she noted.

The document also mentions links to UN Security Council resolutions that condemn violence against journalists in armed conflicts. "We plan to continue consolidating international efforts to protect the rights and interests of the media in OSCE," Zakharova concluded.

The killing of a Palestinian youth with mental disability by Israeli military during a raid in Tulkarem dominated the front page headlines in Palestinian Arabic dailies.

Al-Quds reported that Israeli forces killed a Palestinian with mental disability during a raid into the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem.

Al-Ayyam said that Israeli forces shot the man dead during ensuing confrontations in the city neighborhoods.

Mohammad Habali, 22, was reportedly succumbed to his critical injuries after being shot with a rubber-coated steel bullet in the leg and a second time in the head. He worked at a coffee shop in the city until late night hours.

Additionally, the dailies reported that Israeli occupation authorities demolished a Palestinian-owned under-construction house in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabal al-Mukkaber.

They added that Israeli bulldozers also demolished commercial structures in Hares village, west of Salfit. Al-Ayyam noted that four structures were demolished, while al-Hayat al-Jadida said that they were three.

Bulldozers reportedly demolished a laundry wash, carpentry workshop, blacksmith workshop and an aluminum workshop in the village purportedly for being built in Area C without the difficult-to-obtain Israeli permits.

On the other hand, al-Quds opted to highlight the Israeli military operation to expose alleged Hezbollah cross-border tunnel attacks along Israel-Lebanon border.

Furthermore, al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida said that the Palestinian Council of Ministers has decided to form the Higher Committee for Statistics of Diaspora Palestinians.

Spotlighting persistent Israeli use of religion to cloak colonialism, al-Quds said that Israeli Jewish settlers lighted Hanukah candelabrum in the vicinity of the Lions’ Gate (Bab al-Asbat) in Jerusalem’s Old City.

According to al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida, Israeli forces detained 28 Palestinians in multiple overnight raids across the West Bank.

They added that Finance Minister Shukri Bishara a €54.4 million cooperation protocol with the German Government.

Moreover, al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida said that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is considering a lawsuit filed by Palestine against the relocation of the US embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Regionally, al-Ayyam said that Saudi Arabia barred Israeli players from participating at an international chess tournament.

According to al-Quds, Democratic Representative-elect Rashia Tlaib plans to lead a delegation of lawmakers to the occupied Palestinian territories.

Spokesman for Jordan’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Majed Qatarneh was reported in al-Ayyam announcing that Jordanian special power of attorney that has recently gone viral in relation to the fraudulent sale of a plot of land, adjacent to the US embassy in Jerusalem, was forged.

Al-Ayyam also highlighted Palestine’s persistent efforts to foil a US draft resolution that condemns Hamas at the United Nations General Assembly.

According to al-Hayat al-Jadida, Deputy Prime Minister Nabil Abu Rudeineh briefed Russian ambassador to Palestine Haidar Aghanin on the latest political developments.

It also reported Presidential Advisor for Diplomatic Affairs Majdi al-Khaldi stating that Palestinian-Italian relations would make a qualitative leap forward and a joint committee would be in place by early 2019.

Below are some headlines from Bahrain's newspapers on local events:

// HM King receives NAC report

// His Majesty thanked

// King, Premier, Crown Prince congratulate Thai King on National Day

// Crown Prince hailed for support to Ironman 70.3

// Three new ministers named 

// Banking veteran takes over as Finance Minister

// EDB signs key fintech accord

// Edamah eyeing stake in car parks company

// Batelco launches new app for broadband and mobile services

// Tourism Potential highlighted

// Training session for 26 new MPs

// Future of ‘clean energy’ in focus

// RCO inaugurates 'Dinar for the Orphan' project

The publications of personal data on Russian journalists working in the United Kingdom in the British mass media is appalling and endangers their security, the Russian embassy in the UK said on Sunday.

"It is offensive that the personal data of Russian journalists, including their IDs and the license plate of their car, were made public. It endangers security of Russian citizens, let alone the fact that it is a blatant violation of the norms generally recognized in civilized countries," the embassy said. "It should be noted that this episode is part of a general campaign by the British authorities seeking to create obstacles for the work of Russian media in the country. Many of our journalists complain about visa problems, accounts with British banks being closed, and numerous cases of baseless nit-picking by regulating bodies."

The Mail on Sunday said that the British authorities suspected a filming crew from Russia’s Channel One TV of engaging in espionage. According to the newspaper, Channel One correspondent Timur Siraziyev and his cameraman were allegedly seen on November 21 near the base of the 77th brigade, a secret unit of the UK army collaborating with MI5, MI6 and the Special Air Service on issues of electronic and psychological warfare, in Berkshire. The newspaper published a photo of Siraziyev’s press card and the license plate of his service car.

The journalist told TASS that the publication has nothing to do with the real state of things. In his words, his crew never bugged anything but was only shooting a video report about the base using unclassified information available in the internet.

Bahrain dailies issued today focused in their principal headlines on the main local, Arab and international events which happened over the past 24 hours.

The following is a round-up of the main topics:

§  Crown Prince: encouraging innovators and the nexus of development starts with a creative idea.

§  Executive Committee, chaired HRH Crown Prince, discussed educational development plans and “Fikra” programme.

§  Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak to Al-Watan: working to achieve peace and stability in the world.

§  Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak to patronize the celebration of the Bahrain Polytechnic’s 10th anniversary.

§  Interior Minister granted award for the advanced “Together” programme.

§  Foreign Ministry hails US envoy’s stance on Tehran’s destructive role in the region.

§  Information Minister: Bahraini people foiled Iranian attempts to influence the elections.

§  Bahrain Ambassador to Washington member of the International Organisation for Combating Violence and Addiction.

§  Islamic Ministers of Culture endorse Bhrain’s Declaration to protect heritage and combat extremism.

§  World Health Organistion grants the Capital Governorate the accreditation of Umm Al-Hassam as a “Health City”.

§  Elections Executive Committee uurges voters to benefit from the general polling centres.

§  Saudi Crown Prince arrives in Argentina to attend the G20 Sumit.

§  President Bouteflika warns againstpolitical plots targeting his country.

§  Sudanese Defence Minister: our participation in Yemen war is a sacred duty.

§  Floods devastate Iraqi governorates and the Governorate seeks the UN assistance.

§  Washington displays confiscated weapons which prove Iranian threat in the region.

President Mahmoud Abbas’ speech on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People hit the front page headlines in Friday’s dailies.

Addressing the UN General Assembly on Abbas’ behalf, Palestine’s Permanent Observer to the UN Riyad Mansour was reported in al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida stating: “]If international and regional efforts fail to find a solution to the Palestinian question[, the Palestinian people will not disappear, nor will they accept oppression and injustice as their future.”

He was also reported in al-Ayyam stressing that the Palestinian people “will continue their legitimate struggle to realize their inalienable rights ]and strive for equal rights for all in historic Palestine[.”

He was also reported in al-Hayat al-Jadida wondering: “How long will Israel be treated as a state above international law? When will the international community shoulder its responsibilities?”

He also reportedly affirmed on Abbas’ behalf commitment to international law and legitimacy as well as the two-state solution on pre-1967 borders.

Additionally, al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida highlighted Chinese President Xi Jinping’s congratulatory letter on this occasion.

Jinping was reported stating that “the Palestinian issue has been at the root of problems in the Middle East”.

He was also reported stressing that “an early, comprehensive and fair solution to the Palestinian issue is not only the common aspiration of the international community, ]but also in the interests of the Palestinians and other people in the region and conducive to world peace and stability[.”

On the other hand, al-Quds highlighted media reports indicating that Israeli occupation authorities have decided to halt security coordination with the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the suburbs of East Jerusalem.

The dailies added that the Palestinian leadership has come under tremendous pressures and threats to release a Palestinian-US national accused of selling Palestinian property to Israeli settlers.

Intelligence Chief Majid Faraj and member of Fatah Central Committee Hussein al-Sheikh reportedly have come under tremendous pressure to release Issam Akel, a dual US-Palestinian national who was arrested two months ago for selling property to Jewish settlers in East Jerusalem.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida explained that these pressures come as part of a “war over sovereignty on Jerusalem”.

Moreover, the dailies said that Israeli occupation authorities extended the detention of 11 Fatah activists, including Jerusalem Governor Adnan Gheith.

According to al-Ayyam, Israeli occupation authorities released 23 Fatah activists under strict conditions.

Furthermore, al-Quds said that dozens of students suffocated after Israeli forces fired tear gas canisters at them in Abu Dis town, east of Jerusalem.

It added that a number of Palestinians also suffocated during an Israeli military raid into al-Khader town, south of Bethlehem.

According to al-Quds, several obstacles face the US draft resolution that condemns Hamas at the UN General Assembly.

Spotlighting rising tensions in Jerusalem, al-Quds said that 182 Israeli Jewish settlers forced their way into Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound and Israeli occupation authorities have installed new surveillance cameras across Jerusalem’s Old City to fortify settlement outposts.

Al-Quds and al-Ayyam said that settlers have installed a huge candelabrum at Al-Buraq Square, known to Jews as Western Wall Plaza.

Al-Quds said that thanks to the efforts exerted by the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III, Britain has recognizes Israel’s religious persecution of Muslims and Christians in Jerusalem.

Yet, the dailies reported that the Irish Senate has approved a bill to boycott products from Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Al-Quds issued a translation for US President’s Middle East Envoy Jason Greenblatt’s article Palestinians deserve better than calcified positions that have failed to bring peace, jobs or opportunity.

It said that thousands took to the streets of and started a three-day sit-in the West Bank city of Ramallah in protest of the controversial Social Security Law.

According to al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida, the Interpol National Central Bureau of Jordan has arrested a Palestinian fugitive responding to a request from its Palestinian counterpart.

Al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida said that President Abbas sponsored a mass wedding for members of security services.

Al-Ayyam highlighted Médecins Sans Frontières’ (MSF) report Gazans’ injuries risk permanently shattering lives.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida added that Israeli occupation authorities released Ahmad al-Zaatari and Shadi Farrah, both 15 of age, after serving three-year prison sentence.

It reported Foreign and Expatriates Minister Riyad Malki stating that Indonesia would not sign a free trade agreement with Australia if the latter relocates its embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The BBC and ITV have both agreed to host Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May and opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in a televised debate on the deal that May agreed for Britain to leave the EU.

The broadcasters said May has accepted the BBC's offer of a debate at 9:00 pm on December 9, while Corbyn prefers rival ITV's offer to host the debate an hour earlier to avoid a clash with the final of the hugely popular ITV programme "I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here!"

The BBC tweeted that May had "accepted the BBC's offer to take part in a debate" on December 9, two days before parliament votes on the deal.

"We're delighted she's agreed and hope to hear soon from the Labour party," it said, adding that it was discussing the format of the debate with both parties.

Corbyn told ITV's This Morning programme that he preferred the ITV time slot "because it's not inconveniencing people who want to watch other things later in the evening."

"One should always have respect for the viewers and also we want to get the widest possible audience," he said.

Two smaller opposition parties, the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish National Party (SNP), demanded a role in the TV debate.

"Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May can offer only a narrow debate," said Ian Blackford, the SNP's leader in the British parliament, in a statement. "All options - including remaining in the EU - must be given voice," Blackford said.

Neither May nor Corbyn supports the idea of holding another referendum on the Brexit deal, which both the SNP and the Liberal Democrats back.

The Liberal Democrats accused May of "running scared of the real opposition."

"This would be an absolute travesty," Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable said in a video message.

"Neither of them believes that the public should be able to have the final say on the deal, including the option of remaining in the European Union," Cable said.

May confirmed Tuesday that she had challenged Corbyn to a debate, amid her campaign to convince lawmakers from all parties to support her hard-won deal.

She has started touring the country to rally the public behind the deal.

May has told lawmakers they face a choice between accepting the deal or going "back to square one." She was criticized for refusing to take part in a customary televised debate before a snap general election that she called last year.

Israel’s decision to seize hundreds of dunums of Palestinian land belonging to the Catholic Church in the northern Jordan Valley dominated the front page headlines in Palestinian dailies on Wednesday.

The dailies reported that Israeli occupation authorities have seized 267 dunums (60 acres) of land belonging to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem in the northern Jordan Valley’s villages of Tayaseer and Bardala.

On the other hand, al-Ayyam highlighted Israeli envoy to the United Nations Dany Danon’s statements on US President Donald Trump’s Mideast vision.

It reported Danon stating that the so-called Deal of the Century was completed and would be rolled out in early 2019.

Additionally, al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida reported that Israeli occupation authorities delivered a demolition notice for the family of Khalil Jabareen in Yatta town, south of Hebron.

Jabareen, 16, was shot by Israeli forces after he allegedly carried out a stabbing attack near the illegal settlement of Gush Etzion, north of Hebron, on Sunday.

The dailies also reported that Israeli military police detained a number of Palestinians who demonstrated against the detention of Jerusalem Governor Adnan Gheith along with scores of Fatah members in East Jerusalem’s Salah Eddin Street.

Yet, the Israeli occupation authorities, al-Hayat al-Jadida said, continue the groundwork for the construction of a new settlement outpost at the heart of the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan.

Moreover, al-Quds highlighted a festival that was attended by Palestinian refugees in the Lebanese city of Sidon, marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

According to al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida, President Mahmoud Abbas received a letter of support from his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

Furthermore, al-Quds spotlighted media reports indicating that Israeli Mayor of Jerusalem Moshe Leon has decided to cancel the construction of two industrial zones on Palestinian-owned lands belonging to Shufat and Anata following settlers’ pressure.

Al-Quds reported the Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation (BASR) calling for an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the killing of Ramzi Abu Yabes near the Gush Etzion junction, south of Bethlehem.

Abu Yabes, 32, worked as a paramedic for BASR and was killed by Israeli forces purportedly for crashing his car into soldiers near Beit Ummar town, north of Hebron.

Highlighting a report issued by Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem, al-Quds said that Israeli forces killed 180 Palestinian protestors and injured 5,800 others with live ammunition along Gaza border from March 30 to October 31.

The Palestinian cabinet was reported in al-Hayat al-Jadida stating that genuine solidarity with the Palestinian people is shown through implementing United Nations resolutions regarding the Question of Palestine and ending the Israeli occupation.

According to al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) and the Government of the United Kingdom launched an $6.4 million agreement to support UNRWA Syria regional crisis emergency appeal over the period 2018-2021.

The dailies said that Wataniya Mobile, the Palestinian mobile phone company, unites brand with its parent company, Ooredoo.

Below are some headlines from Bahrain's newspapers on local events:

// King top  open Pearl Route centre today

// Premier's vow to present and future generations

// Economic strides hailed

// Development goals 'government major priority'

// Bahrain's national origin exports surge

// Elections success hailed

// Overseas voters brave extreme weather

// Security ties in spotlight

// Key NIHR committee holds meeting

// CBB planning new guidelines for banks

// Sharia-compliant firms' assets top $2.4 trillion

// Brave 20 full fight card released

// Stage set for All-Star Basketball Festival

// A special treat for Korean movie fans

The State Duma’s Subcommittee on the Circulation of Medicinal Products and the Development of the Pharmaceutical and Medical Industry held a meeting.

The event was organized by the Subcommittee on the Circulation of Medicinal Products and the Development of the Pharmaceutical and Medical Industry under the State Duma’s Healthcare Committee together with the Roscongress Foundation. The event was supported by the Higher School of Healthcare Organization and Management and EY.

Representatives of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and other relevant departments, parliamentarians as well as CEOs of domestic and foreign pharmaceutical companies spoke at the meeting.

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a retreat on 16 November on measures to improve the effectiveness of the Russian medicine supply system. Participants in the State Duma expert meeting discussed the decisions made at this meeting and also devoted special attention to building a patient-centred model for the drug supply system, the efficient use of budget funds, setting up a public procurement system, and balanced pricing when registering drug prices.

“Despite the importance of medicine supply, it can’t be taken out of the context of general healthcare. We are talking about a healthy lifestyle, timely diagnosis, preventive measures, and a national vaccination calendar – all things that will reduce the burden of the subsequent supply of medicine”, Chairman of the State Duma Healthcare Committee Dmitry Morozov said.

The supply of medicine along with other important proposals to achieve the national goals set by President Vladimir Putin will be considered as part of the agenda of the ‘Healthy Life Forum: Towards 80+’, which will be held on 13 February 2019 in Sochi. The goal of the session ‘The universal drug provision system is key to achieving the national goal’ is to discuss and formulate key proposals for the concept of the national medicine policy in the Russian Federation.

Director of the Higher School of Healthcare Organization and Management Guzel Ulumbekova said: “We need a systematic approach to resolving the issue of effective medicine supplies for the public. This requires the concept of a national drug policy. It should specify the funds and sources of funding required for medicine supplies and the long-term medicine needs of the population of the Russian Federation, and also observe a balance among all stakeholders. Along with EY, we are preparing a draft of such a concept, which we will present for a discussion by all stakeholders. The first discussion of the document will take place in Sochi on the opening day of the Russian Investment Forum. The discussion will then be continued at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum”.

The ‘Healthy Life Forum: Towards 80+’ will be held on the opening day of the Russian Investment Forum. The forum will feature a discussion of the tools needed to achieve the goal of increasing life expectancy to 78 years by 2024 and 80 years by 2030 and will also focus on topical issues concerning demographic development, health, and projects in science, education, and ecology.

Detailed information is available on the official website of the event. Roscongress Foundation is the organizer.

The Roscongress Foundation is a socially oriented non-financial development institution and a major organizer of international conventions, exhibition and public events.

The Roscongress Foundation was founded in 2007 with the aim of facilitating the development of Russia’s economic potential and strengthening the country’s image by organizing international conventions, exhibitions, and public events. The Foundation develops substantive content for such events, providing companies and organizations with advice, information, and expert guidance, and offering comprehensive evaluation, analysis, and coverage of the Russian and global economic agendas. It offers administrative services and promotional support for business projects and helps to attract investment, including in the form of public-private partnerships.

Today, its annual programme includes events held from Montevideo to Vladivostok, offering an opportunity to bring together global business leaders, experts, the media, and government officials in one place, creating favourable conditions for dialogue and the promotion of new ideas and projects, and assisting in the creation of social enterprise and charity projects.

The detention of the Palestinian Governor of Jerusalem Adnan Gheith by Israeli forces dominated the front page headlines in Palestinian Arabic dailies on Monday.

Al-Ayyam reported that Israeli occupation authorities extended the detention of Gheith until Thursday ]November 29th[, while al-Hayat Al-Jadida said that Gheith’s detention was widely condemned by Palestinian officials and the public.

Both dailies added that Israeli troops quelled a rally protesting Gheith’s detention.

Gheith was reportedly detained for the third time in a month following an Israeli military raid into his home in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan early Sunday morning.

Israeli occupation authorities have reportedly prevented Gheith and his predecessor, Adnan Husseini, from travelling for being involved in the arrest and investigation of a Palestinian merchant who sold lands to Israeli settlers.

Al-Quds reported that a Fatah delegation, ]headed by Fatah Central Committee member Azzam al-Ahmad[, has arrived to Cairo to discuss the intra-Palestinian reconciliation portfolio, a theme that was also covered in al-Hayat al-Jadida.

In this regard, Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah was reported in al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida reiterating the Palestinian leadership’s readiness to implement the 2011 Cairo Reconciliation Agreement.

Politburo member of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine Talal Abu-Tharifa was reported in al-Ayyam stating that Egypt’s decision to invite other Palestinian factions to the reconciliation talks is associated with progress in Fatah-Hamas meetings.

Fresh Israeli settlers’ attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank also hit the front page headlines in the dailies.

The three dailies reported that settlers punctured the tires of several Palestinian-owned vehicles and spray-painted racist graffiti in al-Mughayyer village, north of Ramallah.

Al-Quds said that Israeli bulldozers continued to level Palestinian-owned lands in Jalud village, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, for settlement expansion.

Al-Ayyam added in this regard that settlers uprooted dozens of olive trees in Turmusayya village, northeast of Ramallah.

According to al-Quds, Israeli forces briefly detained Palestinian construction workers near Adh-Dhahiriya crossing, southwest of Hebron.

It also reported that Israeli forces raided Deir Abu Mashaal village, northwest of Ramallah, triggering confrontations with Palestinian villagers.

Spotlighting the situation in Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, al-Quds said that 65 settlers forced their way into the holy site, also known as Al-Haram Al-Sharif, under tightened Israeli police protection.

It added that Director of Islamic Waqf Department Sheikh Azzam al-Khatib briefed Director of Jordan’s Public Security Service Major General Fadel al-Hamoud on Israeli obstructions at the holy site.

According to al-Ayyam, staff members of the so-called Israeli Civil Administration delivered demolition notices to several Palestinian homes in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of al-Issawiya.

The “Civil Administration” is the name Israel gives to the body administering its military occupation of the West Bank.

Besides to that, the dailies highlighted media reports that the USAID’s plan to lay off half of its employees in the occupied Palestinian territories (West Bank and the Gaza Strip) in the coming weeks and completely shut down by early 2019.

Moreover, the dailies spotlighted the President of Chad Idriss Deby’s trip to Israel, a trip that marked the first official visit by a leader of the Central African country after it severed diplomatic ties with Israel in 1972.

Deby was reported in al-Hayat al-Jadida claiming in French through a translator: “Of course, the renewal of diplomatic ties between us, which I very much want, is not something that can make the Palestinian issue disappear.”

Furthermore, al-Quds reported US Jewish officials expressing their belief that Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu works to counteract US President Donald Trump’s Mideast plan, dubbed deal of the century.

Regionally, the dailies highlighted the poisonous gas attack carried out by terrorist organizations in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo which caused over 100 Syrians to suffocate.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida said that Lebanon has called on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to take action against Israel over the sinking of a boat carring refugees and foreign workers off the Lebanese coast during the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon.

Internationally, al-Quds and al-Ayyam said that the European Union (EU) has endorsed the withdrawal of the UK from the EU, dubbed Brexit.

Below are some headlines from Bahrain's newspapers on local events:

// Bahrain welcomes Saudi Crown Prince

// Premier pays tribute to loyal Bahrainis

// Solid support for Saudi Arabia

// Bahrain inflation eases in October

// Poll monitors call for permanent election panel

// Elections success praised

// Nine women in race for parliament seats

// Successful candidates set sights on top positions

// Run-off for 31 seats

// Bahrainis abroad to vote in second round tomorrow

// New CR fees on way

// Civic teams on rain alert

// Al Ghaiss bags silver in Luxor

// Terror support rapped

Saudi newspapers highlighted in their editorials today a number of issues at local, regional and international arenas.

The Al-Riyadh newspaper in its editorial focused on the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques reception of the girl who asked the King, through social media, to visit her hometown. 

Al-Riyadh added that in Saudi Arabia, since its establishment, there is a unique pattern of human relations between the ruler and the people. It is difficult for the non-Saudis to understand.

The Al-Yawm Newspaper wrote in an editorial noted clear harmony between the leadership and the people of Saudi Arabia, which was reflected during the visit of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz to the northern border. This visit reaffirms the removal of barriers between the wise leadership and citizens through the policy of the open doors that have taken place since the establishment of Saudi Arabia.

The ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Jerusalem manifest in Israel’s Supreme Court’s to displace 700 Palestinians from East Jerusalem’s Batn al-Hawa neighborhood dominated the front page headlines in Palestinian dailies on Friday.

Al-Quds reported that Palestinians have widely rejected the Israeli Supreme Court’s ruling on Palestinian inhabitants of Batn al-Hawa area in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan.

It also reported Palestinian member of Israeli parliament, the Knesset, Ahmad Tibi slamming the Israeli judiciary as serving an arm of Israeli occupation authorities which legitimizes the forced displacement of Palestinians.

Al-Ayyam reported Palestinian activists warning in this regard that the court’s ruling triggers the largest ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Silwan.

On the other hand, al-Quds opted to highlight the latest round of talks between a high-ranking Hamas delegation and Egyptian officials to achieve intra-Palestinian reconciliation.

It said that Egypt resumes its efforts to overcome the obstacles to Fatah-Hamas reconciliation.

Additionally, the dailies said that Israeli troops conducted a raid into the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Shufat for the second consecutive day.

According to al-Ayyam, troops escorted bulldozers and trucks into the refugee camp to clear the rubble of dozens of Palestinian-owned shops that had been demolished a day earlier.

The dailies added that Israeli troops also raided the Palestinian Education Ministry’s office and the Islamic Orphanage School (Dar al-Aytam al-Islamiya) in Jerusalem.

They added that Israeli occupation authorities have banned Jerusalem Affairs Minister Adnan Husseini from travelling and Jerusalem Governor Adnan Gheith from interacting with Palestinian officials, both reportedly for three months.

Furthermore, al-Ayyam said that Israeli settlers from the illegal settlement of Maskiyyot in the northern Jordan Valley have started to “annex” dozens of Palestinian-owned dunums of farmland.

Moreover, al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida reported that the Palestinian cabinet has approved the National Strategy for Combating Money-Laundering and Financing of Terrorism.

According to al-Quds and al-Ayyam, Secretary-General of Fatah Central Committee Jibril Rajoub held talks with Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa in Bahrain’s capital, Manama.

They also reported that Hamas military wing, Izz Ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, revealed images of member of the Israeli commando force that recently conducted a botched clandestine raid into the southern Gaza Strip.

Exploring reasons behind US President Donald Trump’s decision to postpone rolling out his Mideast plan to 2019, al-Quds published an analysis titled Analysts: Regional variables and the lack of an Israeli vision are behind the postponement of rolling out “Deal of the Century”.

According to al-Quds and al-Ayyam, the International Criminal Court has decided to reopen investigation into the Israeli attack on the Mavi Marmara Flotilla in international waters in May 2010.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida said that Finance Minister Shukri Bishara and India’s Cosmas International Company signed a contract for the construction of the first national printing press in Palestine with funds provided from India.

It said that a bill has been recently submitted to the House of Commons to recognize the State of Palestine.

It added that Foreign and Expatriates Minister Riyad Malki briefed Iraq’s President Barham Salih on the latest developments on the Palestinian arena and Israeli violations.

Malki reportedly met Salih on the sidelines of the Mediterranean Dialogues in Rome.

Finally, al-Hayat al-Jadida reported Palestinian Ministry of Interior slamming a recent Human Rights Watch (HRW) report for not taking the response HRW had received from Palestinian security services.

Bahrain dailies issued today focused in their principal headlines on the main local, Arab and international events which happened over the past 24 hours.
 The following is a round-up of the main topics:
§  Deputy King visits Prime Minister at his palace in Riffa.
§  BDF Commander-in-Chief inspects military units.
§  Khalid bin Abdulla issues ciircualr to allow employees working on election day to cast their ballots and exercise their constitutional right.
§  Foreign Minister reiterates Bahrain’s stance in support of the establishment of a Palestinian state. 
§  Education Minister highlights educational challenges. 
§  Bahrain Ambassador to the UK hails the success of overseas elections. 
§  Dr. Shaikh Khalid hails the King Global Centre for Peaceful Coexisyences as milestone of tolerance and coexistence in Bahrain. 
§  Undersecretary for Islamic Affairs hails the Crown Prince’s initiatives to cultivate the culture of creativity.  
§  National strategy for combating antibiotic-resistant microbes launched.
§  Al-Bouainain to inaugurate of the cilvil society’s observation of the elections. 
§  Electoral silence to start today…candidates banned from campaigning.
§  Elections Executive Committee provides transportation for voters.
§  Royal Naval Force concludes Pearl Dagger 18. 
§  Jewellery Arabia attracts more than 50,000 visitors in 5 days. 
§  Saudi Crown and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince hold talks on bilateral relations
§  Houthis lay obstacles curbing the planned Yemen talks in Sweden. 
§  Afghan Prime Minister accuses Taliban of lack of serious commitment to peace.

The demolition of dozens of Palestinian-owned shops in the East Jerusalem’s Shufat refugee camp dominated the front page headlines in Palestinian Arabic dailies on Thursday. The papers printed pictures of Israeli bulldozers demolishing the structures.

Al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida reported that Israeli bulldozers demolished 20 Palestinian-owned shops in the camp and al-Ayyam said that Israeli occupation authorities demolished 16 Palestinian-owned shops located on the main road in the camp.

The demolished structures reportedly constituted the main source of livelihood for some 60 Palestinian families. They were demolished under the pretext of lacking Israeli building permits.

Al-Quds reported Head of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Department of Refugee Affairs Ahmad Abu Holy condemning the demolitions and warning that targeting Shufat refugee camp would escalate the situation.

On the other hand, al-Quds reported that US President Donald Trump has postponed rolling out his Mideast plan, dubbed deal of the century, until 2019, a story that was also covered in al-Ayyam.

Al-Quds and al-Ayyam also spotlighted Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shakid’s statements describing Trump’s plan as “a waste of time.”

Highlighting detention raids, al-Quds reported that Israeli forces raided the northern West Bank town of Deir al-Ghusoun, north of Tulkarm, as part of an ongoing manhunt for Ashraf Naalweh, ransacking dozens of homes and shops.

Naalweh, 23, is the main suspect of the killing of two Israeli settlers in the illegal Israeli settlement of Barkan on October 7.

It added that Israeli forces detained a number of Palestinians, including lawmaker Ahmad Attoun, during multiple overnight raids across the West Bank.

Additionally, al-Quds and al-Ayyam spotlighted Egyptian efforts to establish ceasefire in Gaza and achieve intra-Palestinian reconciliation.

They explained that two high-ranking Hamas delegations headed to Cairo to hold talks with senior Egyptian officials on reconciliation.

Moreover, al-Quds said that a conference called “Hebron First” is scheduled next week to be convened at the Israeli parliament to call for the immediate evacuation of Israeli settlers from Hebron, in the south of the occupied West Bank.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida highlighted a meeting between President Mahmoud Abbas and a delegation from Hebron during which the president said the people of Hebron are the frontline in defending Palestinian rights.

Spotlighting ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, al-Ayyam said that Israel’s Supreme Court has approved the displacement of 700 Palestinians from Jerusalem’s Silwan neighborhood in order to turn their homes over to Jewish settlers.

Below are some headlines from Bahrain's newspapers on local events:

// Kingdom’s diversity lauded

// Capital Governorate leads in health services

//  Women empowerment stressed

// Polls transparency vow

// Security plan in place for polls

// Open counters to replace old booths at polling stations

// New rule for Indian nationals seeking jobs in Bahrain

// Educational strides stressed as BQA marks 10th anniversary

// $2 billion worth projects showcased in Gulf Property Show

// Alba Interchange project on track

// Athletes from 11 nations to be represented in Brave 19

// Contest set for filmmakers

// Five on trial for breach of electoral regulations

// Weather unsettled with chances of rainfall

Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Russia offers plan to remove Iranian forces from Syria, Netanyahu says

Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered his assistance to the United States and Israel in reducing Iran's presence in Syria in return for easing anti-Iranian sanctions, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Knesset behind closed doors. Based on deductions, Putin suggested this to US President Donald Trump when they briefly met in Paris during the events marking the 100th anniversary of the World War I Armistice, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes. Although Russia’s Foreign Ministry has not confirmed that this discussion was held at this level, this does not mean that the Russian leader had not put forward these ideas, the paper says. Experts say that Moscow has some leverage over Iran in Syria, though minor at best. The Israeli prime minister stressed that this was an unofficial offer and that the Jewish state has not worked out its stance on this issue.

"Israel believes that Russia has leverage over Iran, but they understand that this is limited rather than complete leverage," Israeli political scientist and Head of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, a public diplomacy project, Ariel Bulstein told the paper. The idea that Russia as a country, which de facto controls all of what is happening in Syria, should bear responsibility for this, and namely stop all of Iran’s attempts towards turning Syria into a foothold for an attack against Israel, is an Israeli position, he noted. "Touching on a possible bargain, I believe this is not a reasonable approach as sanctions against Iran are related to Iran’s appetite in the nuclear weapons sphere rather than Syria. The goal of the restrictions in this case is to bring the Iranian leadership to its senses and make it abandon operations in purchasing military-grade atoms."

Russian experts believe that at talks with its Western partners, Moscow somehow keeps mentioning the Iranian factor. "Russia may even say that the containment of Iran is somehow in effect," expert at the Russian Council for International Affairs Anton Mardasov said.

Meanwhile, objectively, Russia is unable to contain Iran, but can only jockey for its influence with Tehran and paint this as containment, he noted. It was important for Russia to make an offer to the US and Israel in order to show that it is an important diplomatic mediator. "On the one hand, this boosts its standing as a mediator," Mardasov noted. "On the other hand, this is bargaining. For example, Russia can say: we'll contain Iran, but you Americans should leave Al-Tanf. We will contain Iranian ambitions, and you should settle the situation along the eastern Euphrates."

Kommersant: Eastern Europe confirms TurkStream pipeline’s route
Russian energy giant Gazprom has decided on the gas supplies route via the TurkStream pipeline, which will run through Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and Slovakia, and is already participating in the procedure of reserving new pipelines in these countries, Kommersant writes. Gazprom plans to launch supplies to Bulgaria and Serbia via TurkStream in 2020, and to Hungary in 2021, and this will make it possible to abandon transit via Ukraine starting from 2022.

This is actually the South Stream route, which the European Union froze in 2014 under American pressure. The system’s expansion will be valued at $1.63 bln. Now it is difficult to pick a bone with this project since Gazprom’s approach is fully compliant with EU legislation, the paper says. But this is unlikely to shield the project from political punches.

Market sources told Kommersant that the Kremlin remembered the letdown of the South Stream’s cancellation and sought to delay the moment of announcing the real route in order to reduce the risk of foreign pressure on transit countries. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not exclude restrictions against TurkStream saying that the US "throws around these measures and no one is protected from pressure."

The fact that Gazprom took part in the open season, a procedure of reserving future pipelines, means that the Russian company "is fully compliant with EU demands and the Third Energy Package rules, and given this it would be very difficult to pick a bone with expanding TurkStream," analyst Maria Belova from Vygon Consulting said. Gazprom is not seeking to attract attention to these projects until the open season ends, she noted.

"There will be certainly political pressure, especially from the US, which has suggested over the past months to impose sanctions on all Russian export pipelines," the analyst said. Meanwhile, it is impossible to stay silent on the project anymore given that the pipeline will be officially launched in a year.

The general tone of the narrative was that Moscow would definitely use the system of red notices (placing persons on an international wanted list) for a ‘witch-hunt’ against its ‘political opponents,’ the paper writes. Ukraine and Lithuania had threatened to withdraw from Interpol if Prokopchuk had won. British MPs also called for pulling out of Interpol in protest against the Russian’s potential presidency. Former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt even suggested that democratic countries could create a parallel organization if Prokopchuk emerged victorious. Four US senators, including Marc Rubio, who had authored numerous resolutions with initiatives to punish Russia, China, Iran and Cuba, sent a letter to US President Donald Trump and Interpol’s General Assembly demanding to prevent the Russian general’s election to this post, noting that this would be "akin to putting a fox in charge of the henhouse."

The unprecedented pressure from many politicians, and even the threats by some states to leave Interpol, indicated that politics trumps Interpol’s primary goals, Alexei Chepa, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma (Russia’s lower house of parliament) Foreign Affairs Committee, told the paper. "Our candidate is a top-notch professional. Time will only tell who has lost or has gained from this."

"Russia would not have gained anything if Prokopchuk had clinched the position because Interpol’s central administration consists of Americans and Britons and it would easily block the chief’s decisions," professor at the Lomonosov Moscow State University and PhD in political science Andrei Manoilo said.

It is noteworthy that Interpol’s president is a ceremonial post. The functions of its Secretary General, who is in charge of the organization’s daily operations, are more important. A German, Jurgen Stock, now holds this position.

Vedomosti: UK-owned DIY retail subsidiary leaving Russian market
British retailer Kingfisher DIY and home improvement tools and supplies, which owns Castorama network of hypermarkets, has announced that it is leaving Russia, Spain and Portugal, Vedomosti writes. "This will allow us to apply our strategy with more focus and efficiency in our main markets," Chief Executive of Kingfisher Veronique Laury said.

Castorama, which has been operating in Russia since 2006, is the fourth largest DIY retailer after France’s Leroy Merlin, Russian company Petrovich and Germany’s Obi, according to Infoline.

The retailer’s accrued losses since the beginning of its work in Russia will exceed 12 bln rubles ($183 mln) by the end of 2018, and most losses were recorded in 2014-2018, Director General at Infoline analytics Mikhail Burmistrov said.

Castorama’s work in Russia was plagued by red tape and was not flexible enough and this prevented the company from adapting to the ruble devaluation and keeping profitability amid mounting competition, Burmistrov explained. The company was very late with launching online sales and was slow in upgrading its hypermarkets, which became outdated, Burmistrov said.

Now, Castorama has 18 hypermarkets with the total area of 225,000 square meters and also two stores in shopping malls, and the total real estate is valued as at least 24 bln rubles ($366 mln). Leroy Merlin is seen as a potential buyer of Castorama’s business, but Russia’s anti-monopoly restrictions could foil its plans, a member of Maxidom board of directors Maria Evnevich told the paper.

Izvestia: Russia’s Fan ID system may be used at UEFA Euro 2020
Russia’s Fan ID is most likely to be used at the 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, which will be held across the entire continent in 12 cities in 12 European countries, Izvestia writes. Russian know-how proved its efficiency at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, the 2017 Confederations Cup and the 2018 World Cup, which was recognized as the best in history by the FIFA Council. The Union of European Football Associations believes that the Fan ID experience will be useful for both football fans and organizers.

According to Izvestia, a decision on the need to introduce a compulsory Fan ID for buying tickets for the Euro 2020 games may be made at the UEFA Congress on February 7, 2019 in Rome.

Head of the Russia-2018 Organizing Committee and the Euro 2020 organizing structure Alexei Sorokin confirmed that UEFA is interested in using Fan IDs. "After the 2018 World Cup everyone understood that this is not just an artificial restriction for security reasons. Fan IDs offer great advantages for fans," he said, noting that the card may facilitate free travel and visa-free travel to any country and also be used for payment and discounts on visiting museums and restaurants.

Russia is ready to share its experience of working with Fan IDs with other organizing countries of Euro-2020, Sorokin said. Besides St. Petersburg, the Euro 2020 matches will be held in Amsterdam, Baku, Bilbao, Bucharest, Budapest, Glasgow, Dublin, Copenhagen, Munich, London and Rome.

During the 2018 FIFA World Cup more than 1.6 mln Fan IDs were issued, including for high-ranking officials and celebrities.

"Not a single major incident occurred during the 2018 World Cup, thanks to the Fan IDs. You should agree that in the modern world it is important to understand who and for what purposes is at a stadium," Sorokin stressed.

Fan IDs may be also introduced during the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, French Ambassador to Russia Sylvie Bermann told the paper.

Media: Russia slams US senators' attempt to meddle in Interpol election
No country has the right to veto the Interpol General Assembly’s democratic choice, an Interpol official told Izvestia, confirming that Chief of Russia’s National Central Bureau of Interpol and Interpol Vice-President for Europe Alexander Prokopchuk was one of two candidates for the Interpol presidency.

The election of a new Interpol president is scheduled to take place on November 21. Prokopchuk will compete against Interpol Interim President Kim Jong Yang of South Korea. However, the Interpol official pointed out that the president was not the formal head of the organization, led by the secretary general elected for a longer period, since the president’s term in office is only four years. Given that former Interpol President Meng Hongwei only served half of his term, the next president will hold office until 2020.

A group of four US senators earlier issued a statement, urging US President Donald Trump and the Interpol General Assembly to block the Russian candidate’s run. In their letter they said that Interpol electing Major General Alexander Prokopchuk as its new President is like "putting a fox in charge of the henhouse," the senators said.

"This is not just a statement which calls for refraining from voting for our nominee. It contains open insults against the Russian candidate. We should not brush this off. It is time we start filing lawsuits, particularly with US courts," said Federation Council Foreign Affairs Committee Deputy Chairman Andrei Klimov.

Retired Major General Vladimir Vorozhtsov, who supervised the Russian Interior Ministry’s cooperation with other countries’ law enforcement agencies, told RBC that Prokopchuk was a professional whose election would do much good for Interpol. According to Vorozhtsov, Prokopchuk is fluent in five languages and specializes in financial and tax crimes, as well as in crimes related to bankrolling terrorism.

Meanwhile, Prokopchuk’s election may bring no changes to Interpol’s activities, said Alexander Ivakhnik, the head of the Political Analysis Department at the Center for Political Technologies. "Even if Prokopchuk is elected, his position will be a technical one because there is the Interpol’s secretary general, after all. He will not become the key figure and his possible election will not expand [Russia’s] influence," the expert pointed out.

"Nationality-based discrimination is unacceptable when electing a head of an international organization. The focus should be on a candidate’s personal merits and achievements," Spokesman for the Russian Presidential Envoy for Affairs on Extradition, Deportation, Federal and International Searches Dmitry Grigoriadi told RBC.

Kommersant: Iran, Russia hit with new US sanctions for Syrian oil shipments

On Tuesday, the United States sanctioned two Russian companies - Global Vision Group and Promsyrioimport - on suspicion of supplying Iranian oil to Syria. Promsyrioimport Director General Andrei Dogayev was blacklisted. According to US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the move is aimed "against a complex scheme Iran and Russia have used to bolster the Assad regime and generate funds for Iranian malign activity." Washington warned that all parties involved in oil supplies to Syria may be sanctioned, Kommersant notes.

What happened to Promsyrioimport was predictable since the company had been created under the Russian Energy Ministry to tackle sanctions risks, namely to purchase Iranian oil even before the Iran nuclear deal.

As for Global Vision Group and Syrian national Mohammad Amer Alchwiki who controls it, the US Department of the Treasury claimed that they "are central to the delivery of oil from Iran to Syria, and the transfer of funds to the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps - Quds Force] IRGC-QF’s lethal proxies [Hamas and Hezbollah]."

"These new US sanctions are based on Washington’s tougher policy towards Syria, as new people have come to the Department of State, who are determined to deal with the Syrian issue in earnest," head of Al-Monitor’s Moscow bureau Maxim Suchkov told Kommersant. "A thing to remember is that sanctions pressure on Russia and Iran has been growing and in this regard, the Syria issue can emerge at any moment. If there is an excuse, there will always be sanctions. Russia will probably find a way to circumvent this package of sanctions. For instance, the already blacklisted companies could cooperate with Syria," the expert added.

"What is going on first and foremost points to mounting pressure against Iran, while Russia has only suffered an insignificant blow," Senior Lecturer at the European University in St. Petersburg Nikolai Kozhanov said, adding that "there is nothing new in the Treasury Department’s statement."

Damascus has never tried to cover up its imports of Iranian oil. In late October, the head of Syria’s State Fuel Company pointed out that the country’s Petroleum Ministry had a credit line with Iran, which helped ensure oil supplies. The company’s head also said that the ministry sometimes had to purchase fuel oil and gasoline through private companies. If it were not for those supplies, the Syrian people would have had trouble surviving several winters when the country’s oil fields were under the Islamic State’s control and pipelines had been destroyed.

Nezavisimaya Gazeta: What caused Saudi Arabia to be treated like a pariah state?

The Saudis have been losing international support not only because of journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder but also because of plans to diversify their sources of weapons, Nezavisimaya Gazeta wrote, noting that following the Khashoggi murder scandal, Riyadh sought to increase arms exports from Russia.

When news about the tragedy started coming in, numerous Western politicians called for an arms embargo on Saudi Arabia. According to Reuters, the Saudi crown prince handed down instructions to the country’s defense ministry to focus on purchasing weapons and military equipment in the most important fields and train the military to use new kinds of weapons. Those particularly include the Russian-made S-400 air defense systems, as Moscow and Riyadh signed a contract on their delivery in May 2017. US officials say that Washington was outraged at that and its willingness to protect Prince Mohammad has been fading quickly under pressure from the CIA and Congress.

In addition, Berlin vowed that arms exports to Saudi Arabia would be curbed. "We have been turning up the heat on valid individual license holders, making sure that there currently are no exports from Germany to Saudi Arabia," a German economy ministry spokesman said. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said earlier in the week that Berlin had slapped Schengen entry bans on 18 Saudi nationals suspected of being involved in Khashoggi’s murder.

According to the Wall Street Journal, France may also prohibit arms exports to Saudi Arabia. However, it is yet unclear if other European countries, particularly Great Britain and Spain, will follow suit.

Meanwhile, experts point out that Russia does not have big contracts with Persian Gulf states. "I think the Saudis came under fire only because they had shown interest in purchasing the S-400 systems," Russian International Affairs Council Expert Yuri Barmin told Nezavisimaya Gazeta. "As for the Persian Gulf region, we have major contracts with the UAE to cooperate on developing a fifth-generation fighter jet. Apart from that, Russia has only been supplying weapons to Bahrain on a more or less regular basis," the expert said. He also pointed out that technical and political difficulties had been hindering the implementation of the S-400 deal.

Izvestia: Washington’s Russophobia not dampening US tourism to Russia
More than 213,000 American tourists visited Russia in the first nine months of 2018, Izvestia wrote, citing data from the Federal Security Service (FSB). This number is nearly 30% higher than in 2014, precisely when relations between Moscow and Washington seriously began to deteriorate. Despite the ongoing diplomatic spat between both countries, the inflow of American tourists to Russia has been steadily growing.

According to the FSB Border Service, most Americans visited Russian in July to September, when over 123,000 US nationals came to the country.

Unlike the Cold War era, now there is no ideological confrontation between Russia and the United States, which would prevent tourist trips, Russian Senator Alexei Pushkov told Izvestia.

"Regarding the general public - common people and US businessmen - I don’t see any mounting hostility against Russia. For Americans interested in our country, Russia is not the forbidden destination it used to be in the second half of the 1970s and in the 1980s," the senator noted.

Washington’s anti-Russian tone has not been dulling the tourist inflow from the US to Russia, added Professor of the Faculty of Law at the Higher School of Economics Alexander Domrin. According to him, "what is happening in Washington is the least of the American people’s worries." "They are far more concerned with what’s going on in their school district and state rather than some squabbles with Moscow," the expert said. "Americans take special interest in exotic tourism in Russia. Many wish to visit Siberia and see Lake Baikal or dream about a journey along the Trans-Siberian Railway from Vladivostok to Moscow. Some are interested in its culture," Domrin explained.

In addition, according to the expert, Washington’s policy of sanctions and the anti-Russian political atmosphere only strengthen common people’s interest in Russia. By branding Russia as the main source of evil, the authorities make many think about going there and seeing with their own eyes if all that is true. Americans have difficulties travelling to other unfriendly states - North Korea and even Cuba - but there are no such issues as far as Russia is concerned. Particularly given that there is no danger for Americans here, Domrin concluded.

Kommersant: Air transport agency says 2018 FIFA World Cup works not enough
Russia’s aviation authorities are facing a great shortage of funds for the reconstruction of regional airfields. Kommersant’s sources say that a number of projects were postponed ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Experts believe that the shortage of funds will primarily affect small airfields.

According to Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, the reconstruction of 66 regional airfields requires 171 bln rubles ($2.6 bln) for the next eight years, yet there is a shortfall of 107.4 bln rubles (1.6$ bln).

The agency has already asked the Finance Ministry to fill the funding gap. "We believe that the money will be allocated," a Rosaviatsia spokesman told Kommersant. A source in the Transport Ministry, in turn, said "we have requested additional funds from the Finance Ministry, and the request is currently under consideration."

According to an industry source, "66 airfields is a ridiculous amount." "Some of them are located beyond the Ural Mountains, and it is not an easy job to bring construction materials there and attract workers," the source told the newspaper.

Another industry source said that at cabinet meetings, Air Transport Agency officials had many times highlighted the need to increase the program’s funding. The agency considers the need to be justified, noting that during the run-up to the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the program was reviewed and the reconstruction of many airports has not begun yet, though the state earlier confirmed it was necessary.

Chief Expert at the Institute of Transport Economy and Transport Politics of the Higher School of Economics Fyodor Borisov believes that private investors cannot be expected to guarantee infrastructure renovation. "There is no money to reconstruct the regional network," he said. "These airfields are not capable of raising the necessary amounts of money for the reconstruction of tarmacs and runways. Besides, these facilities are state-owned, they don’t belong to terminal tenants," the expert noted. According to him, large airport holdings managed to complete infrastructure renovation works before the FIFA World Cup. Therefore, if the program ends up underfunded, it is small regional airfields with no ties to private investors that will have to go through an optimization.

Below are some headlines from Bahrain's newspapers:

// Premier opens Jewellery Arabia2018

// World’s finest gems showcased 

// BD142,000 watch with a sky chart

// Bahrain’s potential to attract investors highlighted

// Gulf Property Show event opens at The Avenues

// One-stop shop for UK investments

// EDB signs major accords with China

// Bahrain, Indonesia sign judicial cooperation

// Bahrainis overseas turn out in large numbers to vote

// National polling centres ready to welcome voters

// BTEA delivers Bahrain’s tourism vision

// New immigration rule

// Brave CF to host three events in December

// Chance to display filmmaking skills

Below are some headlines from Bahrain's newspapers:

// Premier opens Jewellery Arabia2018

// World’s finest gems showcased 

// BD142,000 watch with a sky chart

// Bahrain’s potential to attract investors highlighted

// Gulf Property Show event opens at The Avenues

// One-stop shop for UK investments

// EDB signs major accords with China

// Bahrain, Indonesia sign judicial cooperation

// Bahrainis overseas turn out in large numbers to vote

// National polling centres ready to welcome voters

// BTEA delivers Bahrain’s tourism vision

// New immigration rule

// Brave CF to host three events in December

// Chance to display filmmaking skills

Means and mechanisms to develop technical cooperation between Syria and Iran in the domain of media and TV and radio broadcasting were discussed during a meeting on Tuesday between Director-General of the Radio &TV General Commission Nayef Obaidat and Head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) Ali Askari .

The two sides exchanged visions and ideas on the cooperation in the technical and engineering domains and the requirements of the radio and TV work.

Obaidat reviewed the difficulties which have faced the Syrian media since the beginning of the aggression on Syria in 2011 such as the attacks launched by armed terrorist groups on radio and TV centers and the systematic destruction which the radio and TV stations went through, in addition to blocking the frequencies from satellites.

He noted that Syrian engineers have been able to overcome these obstacles through finding alternatives in cooperation with friendly states to convey an image about the events which are taking place across Syria, and to defeat major media outlets which participated in shedding the blood of the Syrians.

He underlined the importance of bilateral cooperation and the exchange of expertise between the two sides, in addition to benefiting from the advanced techniques to upgrade the level of media performance.

For his part, Askari called for enhancing all means to provide the required support to the Syrian TV in the domain of qualification, training and the maintenance of equipment to overcome some obstacles facing the digital terrestrial television broadcasting which has been recently launched in Syria through cooperation between Syrian and Iranian technicians.

He called upon the engineering team at the Iranian TV to work on removing these obstacles soonest possible.

Askari noted that holding conferences in domain of media technology is useful to “get acquainted with the experiences of the others and to benefit from them in light of the rapid media progress witnessed all over the world nowadays.”

He hailed the efforts exerted by the honest Syrian media which has lost many of its journalists who sacrificed to convey a true image to the world on the terrorist war waged against Syria.

The death of 17-year-old Abdul Rahman Abu Jamal, from Jabal al-Mukabber neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem, in an Israeli hospital after he was shot and critically wounded last week in an alleged stabbing attack was highlighted on the front page of the three Palestinian Arabic dailies on Wednesday.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida said the Israeli authorities also informed owners of 20 shops in Shufat refugee camp in Jerusalem of an intention to demolish them for construction without permit.

The paper also highlighted a meeting between President Mahmoud Abbas and the Chinese envoy to the Middle East during which the president urged China to play a bigger role in the Middle East political process.

It said Human Rights Watch called on Booking.com to remove listings in Israeli settlements from its travel arrangements.

It quoted Palestine’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, saying the Human Rights Council gave Israel 60 days to explain its Nation-State law.

Al-Quds said US President Donald Trump met with his senior advisors and the team who wrote the so-called deal of the century in order to decide on a date to make it public.

It said outgoing US envoy to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, has distributed a draft resolution to the UN General Assembly to condemn Hamas.

It said UNRWA’s chief complemented international efforts to get the UN Palestine refugee agency out of its deficit.

The paper also quoted the UN agency, OCHA, saying 705 Israeli military checkpoints and other obstacles disrupt life of two million Palestinians in the occupied territories.

Al-Ayyam said the Israeli parliament voted on a law allowing expanding the Jewish settlement in Silwan neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem.

It said Israeli soldiers closed entrances to Beit Jala and Beit Fajjar in the south of the West Bank following a stabbing of an Israeli settler in the area.

It also quoted Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah saying that dialogue will continue on the social security law and joining it is put off until January 15 of next year.

It said the Egyptian paper on reconciliation does not include negotiations or signing new agreements.