In the UK media, all the papers focus on Syria and the “Friends of Syria” meeting in Paris yesterday and the story dominates Middle East coverage online. The Independent carries Foreign Secretary William Hague’s warning that in Syria, “further measures can be taken” if they breach this resolution. The Guardian notes online the further ratcheting up of diplomatic pressure on Assad, and record French President Sarkozy saying, “Bashar al-Assad is lying… He wants to wipe Homs off the map just like Gaddafi wanted to destroy Benghazi”. The Financial Times headlines US Secretary of State Clinton calling for an arms embargo. BBC online quotes UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon describing the situation in Syria as, “highly precarious”, as more UN observers are expected to arrive. The Times concentrates on the increased use of helicopter gunships to crush rebel towns and cities in the north. They also run a leader headlined, “Assad’s last chance”. In print, the Independent includes a short piece noting Holocaust Remembrance Day yesterday, citing Israelis as flocking to Yad Vashem, and noting how the country comes to a standstill for a two minute silence.

The lead story in the Israeli media is the fallout from a tragic accident on Wednesday in which a young female IDF officer was killed by a falling lighting rig whilst preparing for Israel Independence Day celebrations next week. The front page of the Jerusalem Post reports that soldiers warned before the collapse that the rig appeared unstable. Latest developments include legal proceedings against those suspected of negligence. The media also reports on the stabbing of a 20 year old Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) man in the contested Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of Jerusalem, with Maariv describing the area as “one of the most volatile spots in Jerusalem.”In other news Haaretz reports on the release of a file relating to the case of Marwan Barghouti, a Palestinian leader convicted in Israel on five counts of murder. Haaretz reports comments by a Hamas leader that any peace agreement with Israel would not be permanent. Maariv reports on a planned rally of right-wing Likud activists against the evacuation of an illegally build Givat HaUlpana neighbourhood in the West Bank settlement of Beit El. The paper also reports plans by Fatah to re-establish a party infrastructure in the Hamas run Gaza Strip, and on the launch of Amr Moussa’s presidential manifesto in Egypt, which talks of reviewing the Israel-Egypt gas deal. Meanwhile Yediot Ahronot reports on a campaign to appoint more senior judges from Mizrahi (Middle Eastern) origin. Israel Radio this morning reports on Defence Minister Ehud Barak’s comments that Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has not yet ordered the production of nuclear weapons for the fear of world reaction, but that Iran is getting closer to that goal.