The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
Times of Malta says a decision has been taken not to have monti stalls near Parliament.
The Malta Independent carries a picture of Sai Mizzi at yesterday's Huawei ceremony in Smart City, quoting her saying 'Finally, you found me'.
MaltaToday says parents are concerned by lax supervision in SkolaSajf.
In-Nazzjon features a meeting Simon Busuttil had with a delegation in China. It also says that the MAM Doctors' union has warned against private sector involvement in the health service.
l-orizzont also leads with the signing,yesterday, of an MoU with Huawei for the setting up of facilities in Malta.
The overseas press
AFP reports world leaders have hailed the Iran nuclear deal with President Obama seeing a “new direction” and President Putin voicing a global “sigh of relief” even if Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticised it as a “historic mistake”.
Kathimerini says Greece's left-wing government launched a frantic 24-hour effort late yesterday to push more austerity measures through parliament and meet demands from European creditors as it faced down mounting anger at home. The belt-tightening measures, which include pension cuts and higher sales tax rates on everything, were agreed upon with eurozone leaders to prevent the Greek economy from collapsing, and as part of a planned third bailout worth €85 billion.
Bloomberg says the agreement could sail easily through Greece’s turbulent parliament as Greece’s main opposition political parties – conservative New Democracy, centrist To Potami and Socialist Pasok – have united in supporting the sweeping reform agenda that is a prerequisite to keeping the country in the euro.
Meanwhile, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, in a long interview with public television Ert, said former Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis committed “errors” in the negotiations on the Greek debt, but said “I take responsibility for all mistakes”. He explained he had signed the agreement “to avoid disaster for the country and the collapse of the banks
Britain's Conservative government has announced it would seek to pass a law restricting the conditions under which workers can stage strikes in a move that outraged the country's unions. The Guardian sees the move as “the biggest crackdown on trade union rights in 30 years” while the Daily Mail says the fight against the unions would require a 50 per cent turnout for strike ballots to be legal and a higher bar set before workers such as teachers and rail employees can walk out.
Times of India reports a stampede on the banks of a holy river has killed at least 27 pilgrims in southern India, signalling a tragic beginning to a religious festival season. Officials said the stampede broke out about two hours after the start of the Maha Pushkaralu festival which sees thousands of people bathe in the waters of the Godavari river.
Ansa quotes Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi saying his visit to Ethiopia and Kenya showed that his executive has made Africa a priority after years of neglect. On a visit to Ethiopia and Kenya, Renzi said this was crucially important in combating the Mediterranean migrant crisis and terrorism. “The objective is to become the fourth-largest donor (among the G7 nations) in terms of foreign development funding by 2017,” Renzi said.
Euronews reports the Millennium Development goal of giving life-saving treatment to 15 million people by the end of this year was reached nine months ahead of schedule. According to a report by the UN Aids agency, new HIV infections and Aids-related deaths have fallen by 35 and 41 percent respectively. But areas like sub-Saharan Africa, which accounted for two-thirds of all new HIV infections in 2014, still lag behind other parts of the world.
The Guardian reports that it hardly took four hours to sell in auction the 200 apartments of Maine Tower, a luxury skyscraper designed in the expansion of Canary Wharf, London. The paper said it was a real race to buy and investment in property despite the house keys will be delivered to all owners not before 2019.
The climate change is having an adverse impact on bumble bees in North America and Europe, Discovery News reports. Canadian researchers found that the bumblebee species are losing vital habitat in the southern regions of North America and Europe. This, in and of itself, is a cause for concern, but another pressing issue is that the bumblebee species generally haven’t expanded north.
A group of Scottish bartenders, staff of the famous Hootananny pub in Inverness, have abandoned their kilts after sexual harassment incidents by foreign women who wanted to check whether they are “true Scottish”. Metro says the problem is particularly felt during the weekend, when drunk patrons start to “buzz” around the staff. Kit Fraser, owner of the pub, told Inverness Courier the incidents were episodes of “pure sexism”. A Scottish government spokesman said “everyone in Scotland should have the right to work without fear of being molested”.