Newsround: what Monday's papers say

The top stories in Monday's newspapers:

THE IRISH TIMES

- The paper says that Simon Coveney is hoping that grassroots Fine Gael members will resurrect his campaign for the party leadership by persuading their local TDs to switch their support from his rival Leo Varadkar. Coveney is trailing in the race to succeed Taoiseach Enda Kenny as party leader but insists he will see the contest through to the finish.

- It also reports that US president Donald Trump singled out Iran in a major speech yesterday, accusing the Shia country of fuelling the "fires of sectarian conflict and terror" in the Middle East. Speaking a day after Iran re-elected the relatively moderate Hassan Rouhani as president, Trump risked reigniting tensions with Tehran by accusing the country of bearing responsibility for instability in the region.

- Privacy campaigners have expressed concern that a plan by the government to make all citizens applying for a passport or driving licence first obtain a public services card represents the introduction of a national ID card "by stealth", the paper says.

- Theresa May will today attempt to shift the focus of Britain's general election back on to Brexit following a sharp tightening in the polls amid mounting disquiet over her policies. Launching the Conservatives' Welsh manifesto, she will frame the election as a choice between her and Jeremy Corbyn to lead the Brexit negotiations.

FINANCIAL TIMES

- The paper reports that Theresa May failed to consult some her most senior colleagues on plans to overhaul the social care system, which has become the most criticised policy in last week's Conservative manifesto. It also says that Tory candidates for almost half the party's top 100 target seats are refusing to say how they voted in the EU referendum and appear to be erasing evidence from their social media accounts.

- The FT's Big Read, "Too Scared to Spend", focuses on US Hispanics, reporting that Donald Trump's immigration policies have spooked Latino consumers whose rising buying power has been coveted by American business. Many are now hoarding cash in case they or their family are swept up in raids.

- In its Companies & Markets section, the paper reports that the price of extra virgin olive oil has surged by almost a quarter this year as drought afflicts crops at big Mediterranean producers. Output in Greece, Italy, Tunisia, and to a lesser degree, Spain, is forecast to fall sharply.

- Its fund management supplement reports that the Irish Central Bank has become the latest regulator to call for greater scrutiny of how the $4 trillion exchange-traded fund industry works and whether existing guidelines are adequate in light of the industry's astronomical growth.

IRISH INDEPENDENT

- Britain's Tories have launched a furious onslaught on UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, accusing him of "siding with Britain's enemies" by refusing to unequivocally condemn the IRA, the paper says. The pressure on Corbyn comes amid signs his party is gaining significant ground in the opinion polls.

- It also says that Simon Coveney fears his supporters in the Fine Gael leadership race face being axed from their ministerial posts by a vengeful Leo Varadkar. Sources close to the Cork TD have complained that Varadkar's team gave some ministers an ultimatum "to back him or suffer the consequences".

- Just 55 of the country's 37,146 civil servants have lost their jobs since the end of the boom years, new figures show. Data supplied by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform reveal that just 0.1 per cent of the government's workforce was dismissed since 2007 although the numbers accelerated in recent years.

- In its business section, the paper says that Brexit isn't a good enough argument to persuade the EU to loosen its strict budgetary rules to allow for more spending, Finance Minister Michael Noonan has signalled. Noonan has said he wants to spend more money on much-needed capital investment but argued that he is hamstrung by the EU's fiscal rules.

IRISH EXAMINER

- More than 3,000 offers of social housing properties were turned down over the past two years with figures showing the rate of refusal has increased in some of the country's largest local authorities. Most refusals were for reasons such as the size of the property offered, or unsuitable location, the paper says.

- It also reports on the Fine Gael leadership race, saying that a defiant Simon Coveney is to make a major drive to convince party colleagues to switch their support from Leo Varadkar to him. It says that Coveney has revealed that ministers and TDs had pledged their support to him but changed their mind based on backing a winner as the Varadkar campaign gained momentum.

- Long-awaited public sector pay talks will get underway today, the paper says. It reports that the talks on an extension to the Lansdowne Road agreement will begin with unions keen on boosting pay rates for members and seeking agreement in as short a timeframe as possible.

- North Korea has fired another medium-range missile in its latest ballistics test, further fuelling tensions, the paper says. The rocket was fired from an area near the North Korean county of Pukchang and flew eastward about 500 kilometres, South Korea's joint chiefs of staff said.