The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times says the European socialists are still unconvinced by Tonio Borg’s values pledge.
The Malta Independent says the numbers favour Tonio Borg as the EP vote looms. It also says the details of the police investigations on John Dalli remain vague.
In-Nazzjon says Joseph Muscat’s promises will mean new taxes.
l-orizzont gives prominence to the protests held across Europe against austerity.
The overseas press
The New York Times reports that the UN Security Council met behind closed doors in emergency session to discuss the situation in the Middle East following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City that killed the head of the military wing of Hamas, Ahmed Said Khalil al-Jabari.
Euronews says millions of people have taken part in protests in Europe against rising unemployment, spending cuts and tax increases. General strikes were called in Spain, Portugal, Greece and Italy. Dozens of people were injured in clashes between protesters and police in Spain and Italy. Rallies, coordinated by the European Trade Union Confederation, took place in 23 countries including France and Belgium.
Jordan Times reports the police shot dead a gunman attacking a police station in the north of the country on the second day of country-wide unrest, sparked by the announcement on Tuesday of increases in fuel prices, following the lifting of government subsidies. At least 12 officers were wounded in the attack. Rioting and protests were reported in several other Jordanian cities on Wednesday.
The Washington Times says President Barack Obama has assured Americans that the sex scandal which brought down CIA chief David Petraeus and ensnared another top general has not compromised national security. Obama was asked about the scandal, as well as the economy and the Benghazi consulate attack, as he held a wide-ranging news conference at the White House for the first time since winning re-election last week. Meanwhile, the US military has revoked access for the two women at the heart of the scandal that led to the resignation of General Petraeus. Security clearance has been suspended for his ex-mistress, Paula Broadwell. And Jill Kelley's pass at the Florida air force base where she organised social events has been frozen.
Metro reports an influential group of British MPs has urged Prime Minister David Cameron to boycott a Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka over human rights abuses. The call came in a report on the future of the Commonwealth, which delivered a wider warning that the network's moral authority was being "undermined by the repressive actions of member governments".
The Irish Independent says pressure for a rethink of Ireland's tough abortion laws grows following the death of an Indian woman who was repeatedly refused a termination. Hundreds of protesters gathered outside Parliament in Dublin, calling on the Irish Government to introduce legislation to allow for medical abortions. Savita Halappanavar’s family says the 31-year-old asked for an abortion several times before she died of blood poisoning. But staff at University Hospital Galway told her even though she was Hindu, she was in a Catholic country, and they could not induce her because there was a foetal heartbeat. Speaking in the Parliament, Minister for Health James Reilly said he had no evidence to suggest a Catholic ethos at the hospital prevented the pregnant woman's life from being saved by a medical termination.
Hollywood Reporter reports actress Elizabeth Banks, who recently starred in the comedy “What To Expect When You're Expecting”, has announced the arrival of her second son, who was born via a surrogate. The new baby, Magnus Mitchell Handelman, joins his older brother, 20-month-old Felix, who was also born via a surrogate after the 38-year-old star of “The Hunger Games” and her producer husband Max Handelman faced infertility issues.
Hundreds of angry wives of serving French soldiers have bared their backs in a Facebook campaign for the payment of their husbands’ salaries. For this group of more than 17,000 members, posing semi-naked has become the only way to protest against a Ministry of Defence's computer glitch that has left their husbands unpaid. Written on the naked backs are messages of support for their loved-ones as well as derision for the system they claim has failed them. An MOD spokesman told France24 he was confident that all pay issues would be fully resolved by Christmas.