Newsround: what Wednesday's papers say

The top stories in Wednesday's newspapers:

THE IRISH TIMES

- The Olympic Council of Ireland will today begin a process aimed at removing its former president Pat Hickey from his positions with the International Olympic Committee, the paper says.

- It also reports that the US has warned that "all options are on the table" after North Korea fired a missile over Japan, significantly escalating tensions in the region.

- More than 1,500 on-the-spot fines have been handed out to cyclists in the two years since their introduction, according to figures released by the Gardaí. Breaking a red light was the most common offence, accounting for 843 of the 1,660 fines issued.

- In its business section, the paper reports that room rates at Dublin hotels have reached an all-time high, eclipsing the prices of the last boom, as prices in the capital surged at nearly twice the rate of the rest of Ireland over the past year, new research has found.

FINANCIAL TIMES

- The FT also reports on the floods in Houston, reporting that US president Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump flew to the storm zone yesterday where they received a briefing on relief efforts from Texas governor Greg Abbott. With more rain forecast, officials said they expected more than 450,000 people to seek federal aid.

- Angela Merkel said she backed proposals for a euro zone budget and a Brussels-based finance minister in a ringing endorsement of French president Emmanuel Macron's vision for far-reaching reform of the single currency area, the paper says.

- The FT Big Read is on Brexit as it reports that a coalition of Remainers and Eurosceptics is emerging with a plan to sell to Britain as Theresa May becomes a more peripheral figure.

- In its Companies & Markets section, the paper reports that Meg Whitman, the tech veteran who was passed over in Uber's search for a chief executive, has warned the company that it needs to deal with uncertainty over co-founder Travis Kalanick's role and come up with a new governance structure.

IRISH INDEPENDENT

- Workers will need the controversial ID card to access new benefits promised by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, the paper says, as the range of public services requiring the card is growing amid mounting concern over its rollout.

- It also reports that Irish Rail will look for more funding from the taxpayer, even if four of its most costly subsidised routes are axed with the closures just one element of a wider rescue plan.

- Complaints about landlords hiking rents beyond the four per cent annual ceiling in specially-designated rent pressure zones have exploded since the new rules went into effect last Christmas, according to the residential tenancies watchdog.

- In its business section, the paper reports that the four-star Gibson Hotel in Dublin's Docklands has been put up for sale with a guide price of more than €87 million.

IRISH EXAMINER

- Garda security units have conducted searches and arrests to prevent people travelling to Syria or Iraq as the country is described as being "not immune" from jihadist attack, the paper says.

- Rising housing costs are putting pressure on wages and creating social problems -- not least for children and the homeless -- while a lack of supply could stop job investment here, the latest National Risk Assessment report says.

- The paper also reports that the Residential Tenancies Board responded to a record number of queries from landlords and tenants in 2016 with staff dealing with over 130,000 calls, an increase of 10 per cent from 2015.

- In its business section, the paper reports that the euro jumped yesterday after breaking above a key level while the dollar wilted against its low-yielding rivals as a North Korean missile test sapped investor demand for risky assets.