The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
Times of Malta leads with the eduction minister's proposal for discussion on raising the school leaving age to 18.
The Malta Independent says an EU survey shows the Maltese most concerned about the environment.
In-Nazzjon says Malta has seen the sharpest drop in industrial production in the EU.
l-orizzont says there has been no comment from the European Commission following criticism by Maltese prime minister Joseph Muscat over migration.
The overseas press
The Italian news agency AGI quotes “qualified sources within the centre-right European People's Party (EPP)” saying former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta is favoured to succeed Herman Van Rompuy as president of the European Council.
Euronews reports angry migrant children, rescued at sea, have clashed with locals outside a crowded transit centre in Sicily. Some Italian opposition MPs want to stop the search and rescue operations at sea which cost €300,000 a day but have saved thousands of lives.
The Times writes UKIP leader Nigel Farage faces a fine or possible jail time if the Electoral Commission refers alleged breaches of electoral law for criminal prosecution. The independent politics watchdog said Farage had failed to declare donations worth £200,000 during a period of 14 years and faces a maximum fine of £20,000 or up to a year in jail.
Meanwhile, Corriere della Sera says members of the anti-establishment Five-Star Movement (M5S) have voted overwhelmingly in favour of joining the Euroskeptic caucus in Brussels of Nigel Farage. The vote was held on the blog of M5S leader Beppe Grillo. Over 23,000 of a total 29,584 voters opted to join Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD). UKIP garnered the most votes of any party in the UK in European elections last month.
According to The Washington Times, President Obama is considering all options, including the use of air strikes, to help the Iraqi government counter the Islamist insurgency that has overrun that has overrun much of northern Iraq. US officials, however, have ruled out any redeployment of troops to Iraq and American contractors in the country have been temporarily re-located.
Kyiv Post reports Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has told President Putin that it was unacceptable for tanks to cross the border between their two countries. Ukraine’s interior minister said separatist rebels had brought three tanks and other equipment into te east. The Russian army described the minister’s statement as “inventive”.
The New York Times announces the death of American actress and civil rights campaigner Ruby Dee. She was 91. Ruby Dee was one of the most prominent Afro-American actresses in Hollywood in the 1950s and 60s. At the age of 83 she was nominated for an Oscar for her role in the film “American gangster”.
Space & NASA News reports US scientists have warned a trio of major solar flares could spell trouble for Earth today – Friday 13th. The solar events, captured on film by Nasa, caused communications blackouts on Tuesday and there may be further consequences later today.