The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times, The Malta Independent give prominence to the prime minister’s talks with French President Hollande yesterday, particularly Hollande's comment that Malta is not a tax haven.
In other stories, The Times reports that there is no appeal procedure in Enemalta’s procedures for the selection of whoever will build and operate the new power station. No appeal procedure no tax haven.
In-Nazzjon says two Labour candidates are in the new board of Gozo Channel.
l-orizzont says an apartment has been provided for a woman and her young child who had been living in a bus stop.
The overseas press
Ansa quotes Enrico Letta, Italy's Prime Minister designate, saying he would begin meetings later today with various political leaders to try to forge a national government. Letta said he must work quickly to begin the reforms assigned by President Giorgio Napolitano, who wants the 46-year-old to be the premier of a government that has wide cross-party backing to end two months of political deadlock. If Letta judges that he has sufficient support, he is likely to put forward a proposed new government for votes of confidence in the Upper and Lower House later this week, so it can then be sworn in.
Tribune de Genève says EU has criticized the Swiss government’s decision to limit immigration from EU countries because of growing unease about a rising number of foreigners. Switzerland, which is not a member of the EU but which is a member of the Schengen zone, said the measures would apply as of next month. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said the move ran counter to an agreement between Brussels and Bern.
Meanwhile, official British Government estimates of eastern Europeans moving to live and work in Britain could be 50 per cent wrong. According to the Daily Telegraph, Bernard Jenkin, chairman of the House of Commons’ Public Administration Committee, described the error margins as “massive”. The findings will raise questions about the accuracy of government migration figures and a commitment from Prime Minister David Cameron to bring down net migration to the tens of thousands by 2015.
L’Osservatore Romano says in legalising gay marriage, the French government ignored many of its citizens – and not only Catholics. On Tuesday, the government of French President François Hollande legalised same-sex marriage after a fierce national debate. The Vatican newspaper complained the decision was divisive for French society and threatened relationships.
Associated Press reports that from Boston and Washington to Russia, investigators continued to press for answers on Wednesday about the Muslim radicalism believed to be behind the Boston Marathon bombing, while more than 4,000 mourners paid tribute to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer who authorities say was gunned down by the bombers. Among the speakers at the memorial service in Cambridge was Vice President Joe Biden, who condemned the bombing suspects as “two twisted, perverted, cowardly, knockoff jihadis”. Biden explicitly connected the bombings and Collier's slaying to the US war against terrorists worldwide and praised Collier as a “remarkable son (and) a remarkable brother”.
Dhaka Daily Star says rescuers tried to free dozens of people believed trapped in the concrete rubble after an eight-storey building that housed garment factories collapsed, killing at least 82 and injuring 200. Workers had complained about cracks in the structure before it came tumbling down, but were assured it was safe. Searchers cut holes in the jumbled mess of concrete with drills or their bare hands, passing water and flashlights to those pinned inside the building.
The Irish Independent reports that a retired Catholic bishop has admitted mistakes after a watchdog found opportunities to stop dangerous paedophile priests were consistently missed. Mgr Joseph Duffy, who led the Diocese of Clogher on the border in Ireland for 31 years, conceded poor judgment among past hierarchy in dealing with clerical abuse allegations.
Asia Times says the local government in China’s restive northwestern region of Xinjiang has said that a clash between authorities and assailants left 21 people dead in what it described as an act of terrorism. It said that 15 officers and local government officials were among the dead. Six assailants were killed and another eight were captured. The death toll was the highest in months in Xinjiang, which sees recurrent outbreaks of violence pitting members of the indigenous Turkic Muslim Uighur ethnic group against the authorities and majority ethnic Han Chinese migrants.
A UN official has told AFP, that UN-Arab League mediator Lakhdar Brahimi has suggested the Security Council consider an arms embargo on both sides of Syria's conflict. Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman said during a closed-door meeting, Brahimi reiterated the secretary-general's call to stop the flow of arms to either side in Syria and called on the council to consider an arms embargo. Iran is believed to be supplying arms to Assad's regime while Saudi Arabia and Qatar are reportedly arming the rebels. The United States and European nations have until now provided only non-lethal aid to the opposition.
The minaret of one of Syria's most famous mosques has been destroyed during clashes in the northern city of Aleppo. The state news agency Sana accused rebels of blowing up the 11th-Century minaret of the Umayyad Mosque. However, activists say the minaret was hit by Syrian army tank fire. The mosque, which is a Unesco world heritage site, has been in rebel hands since earlier this year but the area around it is still contested.
People magazine has voted 40-year old actress Gwyneth Paltrow most beautiful woman in the world for 2013. Previous holders of the title include Beyonce, Julia Roberts and Jennifer Lopez. Ms Paltrow, who co-stars in Marvel Studios' Iron Man 3, is married to Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, and has two children, Apple and Moses, aged eight and seven. She won an Oscar for Best Actress with her performance in Shakespeare in Love.
US President Barack Obama has warned his daughters that if they get tattoos, he and his wife will get matching ones on the same place on their bodies. In an interview on NBC's Today show, Mr Obama said he hoped the "family tattoo" threat would discourage teen rebellion. Mr Obama said he had warned Malia, 14, and Sasha, 11, that he and First Lady Michelle Obama would show off their matching tattoos on YouTube.