Papers report on fathers decision

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A vote by MPs to remove the requirement that fertility clinics consider a child's need for a father is reported in a number of Wednesday's papers.

The Daily Mail's report on the landmark move appears under the headline: "Fathers not required."

The paper says fathers have been "effectively declared an irrelevance" in modern Britain.

The move, which was voted on as part of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, is also the Times' lead story.

Misguided tactic?

The Times believes police vote to seek the right to strike over a pay dispute with the government is a misguided.

It says that even though officers' anger might be justified, using the possibility of strikes as a bargaining chip is unlikely to achieve much.

Meanwhile, the cartoonist in the Financial Times pokes fun at the dispute, depicting two prisoners sitting side by side in a cell.

In the cartoon, one is telling the other: "I was arrested by a scab".

'National pride'

The Guardian is one of Wednesday's papers which reports on the attacks on thousands of foreigners in South Africa in recent days.

It says the violence is due to the failure of the country's government to provide relief for the unemployed, unskilled and dispossessed.

The Daily Express leads with the claim that someone from abroad is granted a UK passport every three minutes.

It says a "sense of communal obligation and national pride" is being eroded.

Final countdown

A number of Wednesday's papers turn their attention to the prospect of the Champions League final in Moscow between Manchester United and Chelsea.

The Daily Telegraph hopes that the event, being held later, will not be marred by violence.

"Tonight is a historic night,' says the paper, "we hope it is remembered for the right reasons."

Meanwhile, the Independent says it is "the biggest game in English club football's 120-year history."