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.