The Times, Telegraph, Independent, Independent i and online edition of the Guardian all cover the results of a forensic report by French scientists who concluded that former-Palestinian Authority (PA) President Yasser Arafat’s death in 2004 was not caused by polonium poisoning, but by an infection. A Swiss team of scientists, commissioned by Arafat’s widow, had recently suggested there was “moderate evidence” of poisoning. The Guardian online says she was shocked by the apparent contradictions of the two reports.

The Guardian reports that Ajay Sharma, the UK’s non-resident charges d’affaires to Iran has visited Tehran, becoming the first UK diplomat to do so since the British Embassy was closed in 2011 after it was ransacked by a mob. Sharma visited the compound and met with Iranian foreign ministry officials to discuss continuing to improve relations between the two countries.

The online edition of the Guardian says the White House has called on US Senators not to impose new sanctions on Iran, even if such restrictions will not take effect for several months. Spokesman Jay Carney suggested any new sanctions on Tehran would mean that Iran and others “will see us as having negotiated in bad faith”, during the recent talks in Geneva to broker an interim deal on Iran’s nuclear development. Meanwhile, in Iran itself, the Times reports that former-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has challenged his successor Hassan Rouhani to a public debate after Rouhani publicly criticised Ahmadinejad’s record in office.

The online editions of the Times and Independent both report that commander of the Western-backed opposition force, the Free Syrian Army (FSA) yesterday suggested that if President Assad were no longer in office, his forces could join Syrian army troops in a fight against al-Qaeda affiliated elements currently seeking Assad’s downfall.

Meanwhile, according to the Times online, a prominent secular activist has been arrested in Egypt, despite having backed the military takeover in Cairo in July.

In this morning’s Israeli dailies, Maariv leads with a report that Israel has allocated an area of 20,000 dunam (around 20 square kilometres) under Israeli control in the West Bank to be used for economic development and agricultural projects, which would be operated by the PA and funded by USAID.

With US Secretary of State John Kerry set to arrive in Israel this evening, Haaretz reports that he will present Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a proposed security plan to be implemented if a permanent agreement is reached. Apparently, the US administration believes that agreement on security arrangements with Israel could be the key to making progress in peace talks.

Israel Hayom and Maariv both report that European Union (EU) officials have suggested that if talks do not bear fruit, the EU could withdraw financial support for the PA and that support among EU member states for the separate labelling of West Bank goods would likely gather pace.

The top story in Yediot Ahronot and Israel Hayom and also a prominent item in Maariv and Makor Rishon is the death yesterday of veteran comic and actor Sefi Rivlin, who passed away aged 66 having suffered from throat cancer.