An-Nahar (Lebanon): Moussa delivered 'improved form' for demands of two camps, no breakthrough – The lengthy meeting that Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa held with the rival leaders in Beirut Sunday night revived hope for a surprise that could pave the way for electing a new president. Sources taking part in the meeting said Moussa carried an "improved form" of the Arab initiative and this was the first time discussions were constructive. Nevertheless, he could not report a real breakthrough.

Ash-Sharq al-Awsat (London): Bahrain joins Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in cautioning its citizens against travel to Lebanon – Bahrain joined Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in advising its citizens against travel to Lebanon, but added Iraq and northern Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan, on its advisory list of countries. Bahraini officials denied the decision was due to threats made on their citizens in these countries, where Bahrain has no ambassador in Beirut or embassy in the Iraqi capital.

Al-Sabah (Iraq): Barzani asks Bush to intervene to end Turkish incursions into Iraq – The president of the Kurdistan autonomous region in Iraq, Masoud Barzani, called on U.S. President George W. Bush to intervene to end Turkish incursions into Iraqi territory. Although Washington said military operations would not solve the Kurdistan Workers Party problem, Turkish forces continued ground operations in the north of Iraq, while Iran reinforced its own forces on its borders with Iraq and Turkey.

Al-Ayyam (West Bank): PA president welcomes Yemeni initiative to resolve Palestinian crisis, Hamas expresses reservations – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed an initiative by his Yemeni counterpart, Ali Abdullah Saleh, for dialogue between Fatah and Hamas. But a Yemeni Foreign Ministry official said Hamas still has reservations over the initiative, especially the point calling for returning Gaza to its "natural status" before Hamas took over of the strip in June.

Al-Hayat (London): Communist candidate wins Cyprus presidency – The Communist Party's candidate, Demetrius Christofias, won the presidential election in the divided island of Cyprus, making him the sixth president of this former British colony and the only communist head-of-state in the European Union. Results showed that Christofias grabbed 53.36 percent of the votes, compared to 46.64 percent for his rival, conservative Ioannis Kasoulides, who conceded defeat.