The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.

Times of Malta leads with yesterday's racist incident at the bus terminus. It also reports on yesterday's visit by the Libyan prime minister.

The Malta Independent says two police officers are to be investigated for excessive use of force in yesterday's City Gate terminus incident.

In-Nazzjon says former police inspector Daniel Zammit made use of former commissioner John Rizzo's name to set up to two companies, claiming he had the go-ahead by the commissioner. 

l-orizzont quotes Prime Minister Joseph Muscat saying Malta is committed to Libyan stability.

The overseas press

Al Ahram reports an unprecedented wave of Islamic State attacks on Egyptian soldiers in the Sinai Peninsula has left at least 100 people dead. The military said 17 soldiers and 100 militants had been killed. Islamic State’s Egyptian affiliate, Sinai Province, claimed responsibility and said that it had attacked more than 15 security sites and carried out three suicide bombings.

Le Soir says eurozone finance ministers have decided to await the result of Greece’s bailout referendum on Sunday before continuing negotiations with Athens. The decision echoes a statement by German Chancellor Angela Merkel in parliament in Berlin that it made no sense to negotiate further until the referendum was over.

Meanwhile, Kathimerini reports the Greek government vowed to go ahead with plans to have the people decide whether they want more austerity measures in exchange for a rescue deal. The news came as Moody’s ratings agency slashed the country’s rating to a deep-junk “Caa3”, warning it is now less likely that official creditors will support the country, whatever happens in Sunday’s referendum. The decision follows a similar action by Standard & Poor’s and Fitch.

Avvenire quotes Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi saying Pope Francis is worried about the crisis in Greece and wants to express his closeness to the Greek people. The pontiff also said that people’s dignity should be a prime factor in the political debate and urged prayers “for the good of the beloved Greek people”.

Deutsche Welle reports a new batch of documents released by Wikileaks purports to show the extent to which the spying conducted by the US National Security Agency (NSA) on German officials was economic in nature, as opposed to being focused on security issues. Some of the espionage also dealt with the handling of the Greek debt crisis.

Croatia Times reports eight EU member states – Italy, Belgium, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg and Spain – have opted to grant all Croatian citizens the right to have full access to their domestic labour markets. Five other countries – Austria, Malta, the Netherlands, Slovenia and UK – have decided to maintain restrictions on Croatian workers for three more years. The other EU member countries had already opened the doors to Croatian workers starting July 2013.

According to Al Jazeera, the world’s 20th richest person, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, has pledged to give away €28.8 billion of his fortune in the years to come to be used to advance intercultural understanding, eliminate diseases, develop communities, and empower women and youth. During a news conference in Riyadh, Alwaleed stressed he owes his wealth to Saudi Arabia, so that country will be a priority of the windfall.

Corriere della Sera reports some 10 of the jihadist group’s suspected supporters have been arrested in an operation against international terrorism carried out in Italy. For the first time, a cell linked to ISIS, also composed of Italian converts to Islam, was uncovered in Italy. Interior minister Angelino Alfano described the arrests as “a severe blow to terrorist cells”.

The 137,000 migrants landing on European shores in the first six months of this year have been a veritable tsunami, according to UNHCR. Tribune de Genève says the figure is an 83 per cent increase over the same period in 2014. The UN refugee agency said, “Europe is experiencing a refugee crisis of historic proportions.”

ABC announces some 11,000 Australian dental patients have been urged to see their doctors over fears they may have been exposed to HIV and hepatitis due to hygiene breaches at clinics in Sydney. New South Wales Health said 12 dentists from four surgeries were accused of poor cleaning and equipment sterilisation practices and advised patients to get blood tests for HIV as well as Hepatitis A, B and C as a precaution.

Sodas and other sugary drinks may cause up to 184,000 deaths a year worldwide, according to a study published in the journal Circulation. Researchers estimated some 133,000 people died from diabetes due to the consumption of what the report called “sugar-sweetened beverages.” Around 45,000 people died globally from cardiovascular diseases arising from sugary drink consumption and 6,450 people died from cancers linked to the beverages, researchers estimated.

Football: Edmonton Sun reports defending champion Japan advanced to the Women’s World Cup soccer final with a 2-1 victory over England. The winning margin was provided by an own goal from England defender Laura Bassett in the 92nd minute. Japan will meet two-time champion United States on Sunday in a rematch of the 2011 World Cup final, when Japan won the penalty-kick shootout 3-1.

 

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