US Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit to the region, which ended yesterday, is covered by the Guardian, Telegraph, Independent, Times, Metro, Independent i and the online edition of the Financial Times. All report that although Kerry did not achieve a breakthrough in persuading Israeli and Palestinian leaders to resume peace talks, he left optimistic that “real progress” had been made. Kerry is reported to have spent thirteen hours in conversations with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and seven hours in talks with Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas since arriving in the region on Thursday. Netanyahu reiterated to his cabinet yesterday that he is willing to return to talks without pre-conditions and pledged to hold a national referendum on any peace deal.

In an interview with the Financial Times, outgoing Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer said that a peace deal with the Palestinians would yield economic dividends for Israel. He also warned against an excessive mood of populism in Israel which could extend beyond appropriate concern over the concentration of wealth into wholesale negativity towards the rich, which could deter investors.

Huge protests which took place yesterday throughout Egypt against the rule of President Mohammed Morsi are reported in the Guardian, Times, Telegraph and Financial Times. A handful of people are reported to have been killed in unrest surrounding the protests which most report attracted millions of Egyptians. The demonstrators, many of whom called on Morsi to resign, believe that Morsi’s first year in office solidified the Muslim Brotherhood’s grip on power rather than improving the everyday lives of Egyptians.

Meanwhile, the Times, Independent, Guardian, Independent i and the online edition of the Financial Times say that President Assad’s forces have launched an offensive, including aerial strikes on the opposition stronghold of Homs, Syria’s third largest city. All reports note the involvement of Hezbollah in providing military support for Assad.

The Times covers the first televised address by Iran’s new President Hassan Rowhani, since being elected to office last month. Rowhani pledged a “new path” for the country in his address, promising change and moderation in Iran’s foreign policy. However, he made no mention of Iran’s nuclear programme. The Telegraph reports that the United States’ Energy Secretary said that the oil market can cope with a further reduction in Iranian oil exports as a result of a future tightening of international sanctions on Tehran.

Haaretz leads with John Kerry’s visit to the region, suggesting that he left PA President Abbas with a proposal to resume talks, including a list of gestures which Israel had agreed to make. Maariv says that Kerry’s fifth visit since March failed to kick-start talks, although Makor Rishon focuses on Kerry’s optimism that the resumption of negotiations is within reach. Israel Radio news reports that Kerry is expected to return to the region soon in order to make further progress.

The mass demonstrations in Egypt also feature heavily in the main headlines. Pictures from Cairo are on the front page of Yediot Ahronot, while Maariv and Makor Rishon report that President Morsi was holed up while millions demonstrated on the streets. Maariv claims that Morsi “feared for his life.” Israel Hayom leads with the simple headline, “Morsi shown the red card.”

Israel Hayom also highlights the internal elections which took place yesterday to select the heads of various Likud Party institutions, commenting that there were “no surprises.” Transport Minister Yisrael Katz defeated Miri Regev MK to become chairman of the Likud Secretariat, while Deputy Ministers Danny Danon and Zeev Elkin were also elected to key positions. Yediot Ahronot describes the election results as a setback for Prime Minister Netanyahu.