The Guardian, Telegraph, Financial Times and the online edition of the Independent all cover a huge car bomb in central Damascus yesterday, which killed more than 50 people and wounded around 200. It is unclear who was responsible for the attack, but all of the reports say it was similar to other bombings carried out by Islamist rebel group Jabhat al-Nusra, which is helping push for the overthrow of Syria’s President Assad. Both the Syrian government and the opposition leadership blamed each other for the attack. The Guardian report suggests that Syrian opposition leaders have repeated their overtures towards elements of the Assad regime to hold talks aimed at bringing an end to the country’s bloody conflict.

Both the Telegraph and the Financial Times report that Israel’s Energy and Water Resources Ministry has granted an exclusive licence to Genie Energy to drill for oil on the Golan Heights. Both publications suggest that this could invite international condemnation, as the international community does not recognise Israeli sovereignty of the Golan Heights, which was captured by Israel from Syria during Six Day War. The area has remained relatively quiet ever since then, but previous oil drilling initiatives there were suspended in the 1990s amidst suggestions of Israel-Syria peace talks.

Meanwhile, the Metro reports on continued clashes between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli security forces in the West Bank. The demonstrators are demanding the release of four Palestinian prisoners currently on long-term hunger strikes. An opinion article by Philip Stephens in the Financial Times argues that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s support for West Bank settlements is losing Israel important international sympathy, which is strategically damaging for the country.

The Independent reports that Foreign Minister William Hague yesterday announced increased resources will be spent training the Lebanese army due to fears that the chaos of the conflict in Syria could spill over into Lebanon.

The online editions of the Guardian and the Times cover yesterday’s announcement by Egypt’s President Mohammed Morsi that parliamentary elections will take place beginning in late April. Morsi’s rule has so far been characterised by extreme tensions and violence between supporters of his Islamist party and their opponents and a parliamentary vote may be another point of conflict between the two sides.

Julian Borger’s blog at the Guardian online covers the latest International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report following its’ inspectors recent visit to Iran, which reveals that advanced centrifuges have been installed at a key Iranian nuclear plant which could speed up uranium enrichment.

The headlines in Israel this morning are dominated by the latest moves to form a coalition government, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu still seemingly unable to break the alliance between Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid and Naftali Bennett’s Jewish Home party, which has seen a coordinated strategy whereby neither will enter a coalition agreement without the other. Yediot Ahronot reports that Lapid and Bennett met yesterday with Kadima leader Shaul Mofaz to form a joint front on the issue of drafting ultra-Orthodox religious seminary students. It had been thought that Mofaz was close to signing a coalition agreement with Netanyahu. Israel Hayom speculates that this three-way alliance will demand that Lapid becomes foreign minister, Bennett finance minister and Mofaz defence minister. Maariv suggests the possibility that new elections could be held if Netanyahu is unable to form a government and that his Likud party fear defeat at a fresh poll.

Meanwhile, both Maariv and Sof Hashavua publish polls indicating how the country would vote if new elections were held. Both indicate that there would be a drop in support for Likud-Beitenu while gains would be made by both Yesh Atid and Jewish Home. The Sof Hashavua poll even suggests that Yesh Atid would become the Knesset’s largest party.

In other news, Israel Hayom and Israel Radio News both prominently report Prime Minister Netanyahu’s reaction to the latest IAEA report on Iran’s nuclear programme, which he said is “very grave” and indicates that Iran is speeding up its uranium enrichment.